BridgeWay Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Mauldin

Our family tried Bridgeway Brewing Co for the first time this past Saturday afternoon. When we arrived, we were told by the hostess that due to only having two cooks that food was being delayed by an hour. I assumed they meant it may be an hour before the food could be brought out. No, it was over an hour before our order for food was even taken. We were there over an hour and half just to get some burgers and sodas.

I am giving them two stars in this review only due to the fact that staff was extremely friendly and apologetic for the delays. STILL, it took probably 20-25 minutes before a waitress even stopped to take our drink order. Honestly, I really wanted to leave, but our son wanted to try it, so I decided to stay.

The food coming out didn't even look too appetizing and I was dreading the meal. After they had gotten "caught up" on orders, they finally took our order and luckily our food came out fairly quickly. Our burgers did end up looking better than others and tasted better than expected, but the patties were small. These were small burgers for the price. If you want a delicious burger meal and not just glorified bar food, go elsewhere.

By the time we were almost done with our food, we still hadn't been offered refills. We had to ask for them and over ten minutes later we still hadn't gotten them. We had to flag down our waitress again for them. She exclaimed, "They haven't come out yet?" and proceeded to put the drink order in. Neither my husband nor I saw her put the refill order in to begin with. It appears that the waiters are having to rely on the bartenders to provide refills. Why they don't have a station for soft drinks just for the waitstaff is beyond me.

Everything also seems to be so unorganized. When we first got there we were asked by a girl (who ended up waiting on our table) if we had been helped yet. Servers just seemed to be jumping from table to table and didn't have distinct areas they were serving.

Also, the noise from the bowling alley is almost unbearable. Our family couldn't carry on conversation at a normal speaking level and I kept having to ask my husband and son to repeat themselves through the sound of banging bowling pins. By the end of our over 1.5 hour visit my head was starting to hurt.

While our server was friendly, there was total lack of attention to details like refills and we were only brought out two napkins and two sets of silverware for three people. Finally, when I asked for the check, we saw that the servers were using those portable credit card readers where the staff can hover over you while you stress about the tip amount. I wanted to ask my husband how much to leave for a tip, but it's hard to do that when you're instantly shown your amount and expected to choose your tip percentage right in front of the server. This new way of paying has gotten very frustrating and that in itself makes me want to pass on patronizing business that utilize this way of paying.

In the end we spent $75.00 (including an overly generous tip of 20%) for very slow, inattentive service and mediocre bar food (three small burgers, fries, and sodas). I'm easy going and it takes a lot for me not to enjoy a restaurant, but nothing set well with me about this place other than the friendliness of the staff. Overpriced, slightly decent food, and slow service...

I want to preface this by saying, I do understand this was opening day (Visited on 22Dec2023) and service would be slower and the crowd would be larger. However, this does not excuse blatant neglect or rudeness from the staff. I have worked for Nate before and know this is not how he encourages his staff to interact with customers. Below is not an opinionated review, but rather an actual recap of events that occurred during our vist.

Walking into the bar, I was greeted with high energy and 2 hostesses that eagerly took my name and number for a table and gave an approximation of 30-45 minute wait time while pointing me towards the bar and informing me I was able to walk up and order there and could walk around Bridgeway Station in the mean time. As my friend and I got in line two seats opened at the bar and we considered it our lucky day. We sat there around five minutes before a bartender asked us if we would like a beer to which we replied yes. She immediately turned around grabbed a glass and walked away talking to another customer. Another bartender stops by shortly after and helps and we have two beers. As we finish them a new couple takes the seats beside us and proceed to wait for service. The lady points out that every glass.on the bar is empty at that point except one that is half full of beer. We see an influx of patrons squeezing between people sitting at the bar to order beers as the staff with jo rhyme or reason begins filling those orders. We have now been sitting here with empty glasses pushed to the bar's edge for 10 minutes, the couple beside us has yet to receive a word from any staff. I see people squeezing in getting served and leaving before anyone at the middle of the bar gets noticed. After I watched someone order a beer, drink it, order another one and be served it prior to the couple beside us even getting acknowledged after 20 minutes, I called for the attention of the bartender that served us our first round. Clearly overwhelmed, he was very apologetic and receptive of the feedback while taking our second order. We proceed to enjoy the atmosphere as we finish our second round. At this point the couple beside us had left and another pair had taken their seats, stating they had put their name for a table and was told it would be 30 minutes. At this point I check my phone and see that we have still not been contacted for that table we initially put our name for and it had been approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. At this point we want to settle our tab and leave. Another 15 minutes goes by to where I finally flag down a bartender (it is the same one that shrugged us off before) she comes over and asks if we would like another beer. We declined and told her we would like to pay for our tab (no payment was ever taken in the beginning so no tab to close out) she shrugs us off again and then proceeds to take the orders of people around us and walks away. At this point we had been there for 2 hours and had received 2 beers each so after attempting to pay we walked out. It is difficult to run a business that doesn't want to provide service or take people's money.

TL;DR

Beer was good, service was slow, some of the staff were rude and I am still waiting...

I am a resident here and I finally decided to give this place a try! I was a bit wary due to the menu not having much variety and the noise from the duckpin bowling lanes, however, I can't just live here and not try the Bridgeway Brewery at least once, ya know?

Upon walking in, we were told we could seat ourselves at the bar and we did. A bartender greeted us pretty quickly and took our order. Our drinks were great - Mimosa, Long Island Iced Tea, etc. We were allowed the sample the one available cider they had (raspberry flavored) and it was only okay. It didn't taste very strong and I personally prefer apple flavored ciders so neither of us ordered a glass.

We ordered the smash burger and the charcuterie board. The burger was pretty small, and hamburger buns were wimpy - not toasted at all or anything. Just simple buns you can buy at a Dollar General. The fries, however, were great, but that portion was small too. I counted about 16 fries and if I'd gone super hungry, that meal would have left me wanting for more. My charcuterie board was good - simple and small, not out of this world by any means but tasty for sure! That honey mustard it came with SLAPPED!

The prices, I find a bit concerning... I personally think they're a bit high for what you get. I'm glad I wasn't starving when I went because I may have had to order two meals for myself lol!

The duckpin bowling was very loud. Despite sitting at the bar, we had to yell at each other to be heard, but I understand it's a brewery and that's just the theme they're going for, so that's totally fine. I wouldn't go bowling, but I totally dig it - what a neat concept to incorporate into your restaurant!

If I come back, I think I'll just...