Salmon River Brewery — Restaurant in McCall

SRB has been a staple for my family for quite some time now. I've never been disappointed with of the beer or food I have tried. My latest visit wasn't as fantastic as previous ones, however I have to take in consideration the fact that they were short staffed and it was a busy Saturday afternoon.

You can dine in one of three areas at SRB. I'm not a fan of the interior, it's rather dark and stuffy, diminishing the potential for a great experience. If you're stuck with sitting indoors, sit at the bar so your glass never has to be empty. My favorite spot is the outdoor seating area attached to the main building. You get a great view of Payette Lake, and you're in the vicinity of servers so it's easy to wave one over. For the ultimate experience, grab a drink at their outdoor bar and make your way up to their raised patio that overlooks the area. You can't beat that view while also working on your tan. 10/10 this is where you should sit if it's your first time here.

Enough about that. Let's get to what's important. They offer a wide variety of booze ranging from Ales, Porters, Stouts, Pilsners, Lagers...you name it, they probably got it! My husband says I "live and breathe" for IPAs, which isn't too far from reality. I ordered the Inland Surfer Hazy IPA (6.5%, 50 IBU, $6.50). It was strong, crisp, refreshing with notes of tropical fruit and a little spice. My husband's Face Shot White IPA (7%, 73 IBU, $5.00) was perfectly hoppy, just the right amount of bitterness with a fruity bite. I would have ordered more but I had to leave some room for food.

We started with the SRB Pub Fries (beer battered fries tossed in garlic rosemary salt topped with bacon & parmesan with SRB's spicy aioli, $7.00). Whoa, these hit the spot. Whatever is in that aioli is magical, I mean it. It didn't even matter that the cheese wasn't melted, I had no problem picking up pieces of bacon and parmesan separately. For my meal I got the Spicy Chicken Wrap (grilled or crispy chicken SRB swampy style in our spicy wing sauce, pepper jack cheese, tomato, onion, greens, ranch dressing, garlic rosemary fries, $13.00), skipped the fries since we already had some. Damn, they weren't kidding. This dang thing really was quite spicy and I love every single bite. I forgot to specify how I wanted my chicken cooked so they defaulted to crispy and it was a great choice. I also got to try a little bit of the Alaskan Cod Fish & Chips (Alaskan cod, Co-Chillin beer batter, Carolina slaw, caper tartar, grilled lemon, garlic rosemary fries, $15.00) from my mother's plate. They weren't soaked in grease so that was good, but I thought they lacked a lot of flavor and would have been very bland if they weren't drenched in lemon juice and dipped in tartar.

Overall, I still love SRB. Great views, wonderful beer and yummy food. I would recommend to locals and...

This place offers inside seating, patio seating, and courtyard seating. We arrived, family of five, and decided on courtyard seating for the opportunity to sit outside. Once seated outside we realized they didn’t offer a full menu in the courtyard, which the host did not share with us when we opted to sit there. So I went upstairs to the host stand to ask if they had any tables available for five people up there. He told me there was nothing inside, but I could go outside to the tables next to the Tap House and I could try there. I’ve never been here or to McCall, so I asked the guy, “We just sit down in the waitress will come?” He answers, “Yes, it’s open seating.” So I find a table that’s open, sit down, and text the family to come upstairs and sit. No one comes, so I ask the waitress serving the next table over how to get a menu. Didn’t even realize it was a problem at this point. She apologetically gives us a menus, and tells us she’s so sorry, that the guy inside isn’t always sure of what he’s doing or something to that effect. We don’t think much of it, but then the host from inside comes out to tell us there’s a misunderstanding. He says what he meant is we could try eating at the Tap House, not that we could sit at one of THEIR tables to eat. Confused, I ask him, “So, are you asking us to leave?” He says, “Yes, there is a waiting list, I’m sorry”. What!?! When I went upstairs to ask for a table, there was NO ONE waiting in the lobby and half their inside tables were not set up with for service with the chairs stacked on top of them like they had no plan to use those sections.At this point, the table next to us is totally looking at us like we’re some kind of weirdos. We would never intentionally cut in front of a bunch of people if they were obviously waiting! How stinking embarrassing! We have to get up and leave with the menus, still sitting on the table like WE have done something wrong! The waitress didn’t make it any better when she gave us the menus and apologized profusely and acted like someone would be coming to take our order. We spent 45 minutes at your establishment, didn’t even get served a water, then embarrassingly were asked to leave. You made the mistake, Salmon River Brewery! We did exactly what we were instructed to do by YOU/ your host. Rather than flip this and embarrass us, you should have just served us at that point. We were not, and are not rude people, as a matter of fact we were really nice to the waitress who gave us the menus and told her she did not need to apologize for us not getting them. But what you did to us was very rude and embarrassing! The food looked great, but we’ll never get to know how it tasted.Thanks for the...

I was blown away. It's hard to find places in small resort towns with quality food, consistently good service, and reasonable prices (relative to said quality). They often get very mixed reviews and especially when still up coming (very much like SRB), so when you do take the plunge and it's utterly heaven- sent, it makes it a totally unique experience. We arrived later than expected from Boise and brainstormed for good grub. Settled on pub food and a flight of beers. McCall Brewing Co was closing early, but SRB answered right away and they were honest about keeping the joint open until people started clearing out. We headed out and arrived round 8:45. Most tables were taken and the Ohio State- Ducks game was on to draw attention (not too loud or too many TVs either, I like that). A server approached us right as we seated ourselves, menus came in a flash, and for the whole of the evening that guy was on point (realizing now I would love to know his name). I call him Tall Guy with Red Beanie. And he was on top of menus, drinks, food, check, and growler. Not hovering and with no waiting. Tall Guy with Red Beanie, you're awesome, fella. Then the food. Ahhh the fooood! Fred pickle spears= dynamite. Breaded thickly, but tender and just perfectly crispy. Not like biting into fried leather as some fried food mimics. Then, an elk burger with smoked gouda and mushrooms= oh my word dreamy delicious. Perfectly cooked and seriously filled with excellent ingredients. For my honey, a spicy chicken sandwich, and even with my elk burger from Valhalla, I was jealous. Best fried chicken sandwich I've ever had. Tender, fried in fresh oil, spicy to a T and perfectly dressed. We both got fries for our side, which was a sterling choice. The cut was unique and slightly wavy, lightly crispy and totally fluffy inside. How did they do it?! I will wonder til the last of my days... And the beers! All good, two made our favorites: the Buzz Buzz and we went with the Big DIPA for our growler fill. It's rosy without being sweet, hoppy without being musty. Delicious. At check time, it came out to about 50 total, with tip, growler, app, entrees and a flight. For the stellar time we had, you could pay another 15 in my experience. I hope that if you do choose Salmon River, you have the same wonderful experience we did. But if you find yourself there on an off night, keep calm, order another, and come back again. Phenomenal is still...