Wolf Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Mechanicsburg

We went to Wolf Brewing Co excited and hungry - but left disappointed and unsatisfied.

We started with the crab dip and nachos. Both arrived lukewarm at best, and without any app plates. By the time we flagged down our server and received app plates we had waited about ten minutes. We complained about the crab dip because no one liked it, and our server offered to have remade. When the remake arrived, it was ice cold, colder than the original. Regardless of being warm or cold, the dip itself was gross, despite it being one of their "best sellers". I highly doubt the crab is anything but imitation, but I have no way of confirming this. The nachos were actually very tasty, despite their cold temperature, but I'm not sure I'd pay $18 for them again - that pricing is insane when compared to other restaurants in the area.

Dinner was full of unmet expectations. The waffle portion of the chicken and waffles entrée tasted overly sour and salty, the Caesar dressing was essentially anchovy sauce, the mushroom flatbread was soggy, and the $17 cheeseburger and coleslaw were underwhelming. (Side note on the cheeseburger, it's $3 to add bacon, $3 to add a single fried egg, and $2 to upgrade to fries. Compared to other restaurants in the area, that's double the price.) With that said, not everything was terrible - those of us who ordered the tomato soup were pleased, and the kid's burger was well received.

The drinks were okay: the ciders and sour beers were tasty, the mule was good, the pomegranate margarita was terrible (we sent it back but did pay for it).

I'd like to clarify, too, this is not just a matter of personal preference: we all tried the "margarita," the sour waffle, the anchovy dressing, the soggy flatbread, and the imitation crab dip - all eight of us agreed they were awful. We do like crab, we do like fish, we do like Caesar salads. We don't like gross food.

Now onto service. Our server accommodated us as best he could, but he seemed swamped. He did remove the most offensive items from the bill, and he offered us free dessert as an apology for our experience - we appreciated the gesture but just weren't hungry anymore. We were surprised a manager did not make an appearance at the table due to the heightened customer dissatisfaction with the food. Additionally, there seems to be a disconnect back in the kitchen, perhaps the expo line, in properly setting the guest up for success. They sent out soups without spoons, the kid's burger and fries without ketchup, and the apps without plates, which created more work for the server and longer wait times for us. Maybe this kitchen doesn't have an expo, and that's why our table was served the cold imitation abomination not once, but twice.

By the end of the meal having spent $215 ($180 bill + $35 tip), our family was left feeling extremely dissatisfied, and we would neither recommend Wolf Brewing Co. nor ever return unless there was an extreme upgrade in food quality and restaurant organization.

I am ready for "due to rising food costs" and "I'm sorry for your poor experience but we are understaffed" but let me save you the time: invest in your food menu and your kitchen staff. Focusing on a smaller menu may help to improve food quality whilst minimizing food costs. Get rid of the crab nonsense until you have a strong enough recipe to carry it. You have so much potential but you are squandering it. And for the love of God, invest in some tray stands for your poor...

I've been here before and had other food that was okay but tonight's visit was not too great. I like the ambience of this restaurant (fireplace, nice decor, etc.) but ultimately food is what you come to a restaurant for. It's basically one big open room with concrete floors so hearing your tablemates can be difficult at times, especially when it's busy.

I ordered the Italian sandwich/sub that's in the picture.

Strike 1 against the sandwich was that it was 18 dollars. 18 dollars for a deli sandwich and chips is not great value. It's really not that much meat anyway and it looks like it was about 8-10 inches long. Supposedly it was on a Liscio's roll, but that doesn't justify the price. The fries? They were all right but they were two dollars extra.

Strike 2 is that it had some sort of stringy meat it in it like prosciutto. I was pulling strings of something out of my sandwich while I was eating it.

Strike 3 is that the sandwich was dry so I asked for a little extra oil/dressing/whatever it was that the sandwich supposedly already had, but not enough of. I got my bill at the end of the night and I was charged a dollar for the extra oil/dressing. Seriously? An 18 dollar sandwich and extra oil costs a dollar? A tablemate asked for some hot sauce for his French fries (since he ran out of ketchup) and he also got a surprise dollar charge (he had ordered a nearly 20 dollar meal and received about a tablespoon or two of hot sauce).

At the end of the night, a sub and fries, a burger and chips, an alcoholic drink, and 3 pretzel sticks and cheese set us back almost 90 bucks. Other guests at my table came back with the same reaction of this food was all right, but not worth the price. 19 bucks for a single patty burger and chips, not a great value.

I've been here three times (as a guest in someone else's group) but I would not make an effort...

So yesterday was my first visit to Wolf brewery. All in all it was an average experience. My lady and I took a seat at the bar and were promptly greeted. Pleasant waitress and attentive. We ordered a flight of beer and one of those were full of citrus flavor and one was banana flavor forward. Banana flavor kind of threw me. The other was kind of tasteless. The other citrus one tended to leave a bitter aftertaste and was cloudy. My lady ordered a larger sample of her favorite and I had water with my meal. My lady ordered the House burger with slaw on the side. The burger was cooked to a nice medium rare and was topped with lettuce, tomato,and mayonnaise. Definitely would order again. The slaw had little zing and could have been pleasantly transformed with a bit more vinegar , Cheyenne pepper, and a bit more salt. I ordered the beef sandwich. It came topped with giardiniera vegetables. And a side of fries. The beef was a bit dry and the vegetables really didn't take it to a higher level. Would have rather had a horseradish sauce , cheese and au jus for dipping. The fries were a bit soggy. I was expecting more crunch from a twice fried fry. Maybe they hang them above the hot oil between frying. After her meal she ordered an espresso. She loved it. I also ordered sides of sauces to try with my fries. One was a ranch with jalapenos, the other was a garlic something. Neither memorable. Overall a nice place. Would have to try more beer to find a favorite. They have a little wolf inspired gift area, and enough bathrooms even if you're questioning your identity. $61 bucks for all this. $66 was what I paid. That should be fair for lunch...