The Ale House Columbia — Restaurant in Columbia

4/3/2022 Update: The food here is still really average, service has gone downhill too. Last time it took almost 30 minutes just to get my check. The Tex Mex rolls which I usually love weren't cooked through properly and the chicken inside was rubbery. The sweet potato waffle fries felt like they had been sitting out really long before we got them.

2/28/2018 Update: It pains me to update this review to just 3 stars but that's the reality. The Ale House still has great atmosphere and the food is just OK. Certain dishes are fantastic (the Blackened Chicken Pasta) but most are average at best. The flatbreads are a bit pathetic-- a margherita flatbread consists of what could be Subway flatbread topped with cheese, haphazardly sliced tomatoes, and a tiny bit of scrunched up basil.

The service here also continues to disappoint-- many of the waiters I've had have been inattentive and uncaring. I have had to ask for things too many times and overall it seems as if employees don't enjoy working here. Original Review: So I finally came here for the first time and I made a reservation through OpenTable for 7:15PM on Saturday night (glad I did!). The wait time without a reservation was 50-55 minutes, which attests to this place's popularity. I've been back several times since then and this place definitely gets real busy real quick. The happy hour is decent, you'll get discounted house wines, Olivers, and premium rails. The discounts aren't so gracious towards food, but there are a few things priced appropriately.

The atmosphere is busy in a good way. Lots of people but lots of space and a decent bar. There's TVs everywhere which is nice and the outdoor patio is very nice, as is the patio bar.

Things I Liked: Tex Mex Rolls - Pretty good. The chicken rolls and the avocado dip were savory and satisying, though it was a rather small 4pc. serving. The fried taste is a bit overbearing and they are a bit too salty for my liking. 4/5

Blackened Chicken Pasta - This has to be one of the restaurant's best entrees. The chicken is extremely flavorful and pairs well with the cheesy pasta. I definitely recommend trying this dish with a nice wine. 5/5

Baked Soft Pretzel - This is good, the pretzel and accompanying dips are delicious. 4/5

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich - It's your classic buffalo chicken topped with crisp lettuce and blue cheese dressing. Pretty good. 4/5

Things I Disliked: Chicken Tacos - The tacos were extremely bland and I didn't eat any more than 1 taco. 1/5

House Wine (Avia) - This has got to be the worst wine I've ever had. And at $22, it's absolute garbage. I got it for half the price on a Wednesday (half-price wine night) but even then, not worth it at all.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread - Though the flatbread was tasty, it was poorly put together. It's essentially a flatbread with some chicken tenders on top with cheese and a buffalo drizzle. I'd expect the buffalo flavors to be better incorporated into the dish--it felt like an entree I'd get at a low-end tavern, even if it was tasty. 3/5

In short, the food here is solid (though overpriced), great beer selection, decent service and busy atmosphere. I'd come here for an occasional dinner and...

First time dinner at this place on a Friday night and never coming back. Service: waiter took the order and never came back to check if we needed anything. Our food came out late, all at once and cold. Yes—the round of appetizer and entrees were brought out all together. When I asked why we are getting everything at once, the female staff member stated that “this is how the order came out on the ticket”. When I said that we would rather have our staters first, she said that this was not her fault, this was the waiter’s fault, and that she can’t take them back. When I asked again if we can have appetizers first, she said: “Do you want your food or not?”. She was VERY rude and vocal. I asked “What’s with the attitude?”, she responded: “I am not the one with the attitude here”. It is worth to note that this dialogue took place in front of my 6 yo son, who then asked me if we did something wrong and why “this girl was so angry?”. The waiter came up to us later and appeared apologetic. He said she was stressed out because she had a tough party going on inside…One more thing worth mentioning is that while my family was sitting there waiting for food, several times the staff would bring out customers’ orders and would have quite obvious difficulties figuring out which table it was for. “We did not order this” and “This is not our food” was an ongoing theme in the background. To my eye they did not look busy (yes, it was Friday night around 19:00, with many tables unoccupied both inside and outdoors). Food: my All Burger tasted like nothing. Had no flavor at all. It was grossly undercooked and was topped off with over fried onion rings. There was so much mayo, that the bottom half of the bun turned to mush. Our appetizers, including tuna tacos and meatballs were also devoid of flavor. To be fair, my wife enjoyed her shrimp and orzo. Bottom line: I was a full time waiter for years, and even in my darkest moments I would never whale out on a customer, let alone in the presence of an underage child. When I go out with my family now being in my 40s, I don’t expect much—just basic human decency, and at least some quality of the product that is served (like a $20 burger). Good location, mediocre food and...

Worst dining experience I've had in a long time. We came for lunch on Black Friday and expected it to be super busy, but it seemed "normal" busy for any typical restaurant. We were seated right away, but everything went downhill after that. We waited way too long for drinks, but they were good at least. Ordered fried pickles as our app and they came out as huge breaded spears. The breading just crumbled off whether you were trying to take a bite or using a fork and knife. Big bites of warm pickle with a bit of soggy breading you had to force to stay on the fork. Yum. We had to ask for our app plates and menus to be taken away so we had room once our food came out. My brother ordered the French Dip with fries and a (normal) pickle spear. The pickle had an OBVIOUS black hair right on top, so my brother immediately took it off his plate and put it on the table. He asked the server for a new pickle (explaining why) and although it was brought to him, the server didn't think to take the nasty pickle off the table?! Unacceptable imo. He said the sandwich tasted like microwaved lunch meat btw. I got the Tavern Burger and sent it back because it was a greasy, nasty mess. I didn't want it replaced by anything else, so I just shared my husband's steak and eggs. That was the only dish that was actually good and cooked correctly. My sister got an order of egg rolls and fish and chips. The egg rolls came out with the rest of our food and were "okay" in her opinion. We were basically wrapping up when the server came and asked if we needed anything else. She asked about her order of fish and chips and he said he'd go check. He comes back saying it's being made but would take about 15 more minutes. We had been there long enough and beyond ready to leave, so she said to just forget it - she didn't want to wait just to take it in a to-go box. We split checks and my burger was removed from mine and my husband's bill, but we still ended up around $70 for four drinks, one meal and one appetizer. Not worth it at all and will never return whenever we're in town for the holidays. I know this review is long, but I felt the need to share our experience and hope management addresses this bc they have a lot...