Black Raspberry Pub — Restaurant in Plymouth

Firstly, for anyone thinking of coming here...it is absolutely worth all the hype. The food is absolutely OUT OF THIS WORLD and every staff member we interacted with was genuinely nice and helpful. There are a few things I'd like to touch on, so I'll break it down into sections.

LOCATION-- The location of this establishment is not ideal. It is in a type of industrial park, squished in amongst random businesses that have nothing to do with food or shopping (a satellite college campus location, an insurance company, etc.). Because of this, it is very difficult to know where to go. Our GPS took us to the South Entrance canopy, which ended up being the correct entrance even though it looks wrong from the outside. Good thing it was decorated for Christmas, otherwise we wouldn't have found it. If you go in the South Entrance, it's the very first door on the right.

ATMOSPHERE-- Being decorated for the holiday season, the atmosphere was festive and cheerful. Just know that the Instagram-worthy ornament ceiling is only in the small bar section, and the actual dining room does not have as much impressive decor (still some, but kind of craft-project-esque rather than the more upscale decorations at the bar). The music was lovely (all the Christmas hits) and the staff was excellent! The only thing is there is a kind of musty smell that comes from the bathroom door being opened and closed (it leads to the "mall" hallway where the bathrooms are located), which can kind of be a bother before your food comes to distract your nostrils. It was much smaller than we expected and the tables were arranged a little oddly (sporadically in a semi-kitty corner fashion rather than straight rows). I would give the cleanliness score probably an 8 out of 10.

WAIT TIME-- We made a reservation for 6:15, and we had to wait at least 15 minutes past that even though we arrived at 6:10 (so all in all a 20 minute wait). We didn't mind, though, since it was so festive. However, there's really no "waiting" area since the space is so squishy, so we just kind of hugged the wall. But the hostess was very apologetic and kept updating us on our table (there was a large party they'd used our table for that wasn't leaving when they should have, since the reservation details a 2 hour maximum for most parties).

FOOD-- The food. THE. FOOD. We got the Loaded Nachos, Cheeseburger Sliders, the Nashville Chicken Sandwich, and Onion Rings. The nachos came out first, and with our first bite we knew we would be back to Black Raspberry as soon as possible. Oh my GOD, they were so good. They were super cheesy with both queso and melted cheddar jack cheese, and the chips were perfectly crispy and not too thick. And the portion was huge! (We ended up taking half of them home.) As for the sliders, they were equally as delicious and seasoned very well, although they were a little colder than I'd prefer (though that's pretty typical with sliders). The onion rings were crispy, lightly breaded, and they came with this superb dipping sauce that was some type of horseradish/chipotle aioli situation with just a hint of sweetness. This was a very pleasant surprise as not many places give you that kind of dipping sauce anymore! My sister also loved her Nashville chicken sandwich, and she said their fries were good and crispy. During the consumption of our bounty, we even said to each other that this must be what Heaven is like. We were also so into our food that our poor server had been standing there for a full minute without us noticing, asking us if we needed anything (Sorry, Kelsey!).

STAFF-- Our server, Kelsey (I hope I'm spelling that right) was phenomenal. She was super nice, knowledgeable, and when I told her about my tree nut allergy she assured me she would let the kitchen know right away (and it was even printed on our receipt). I never know how servers will react to this request, and she handled it very professionally and in a way that reassured me it would be safe.

All in all, we were very pleasantly surprised by our experience here and we will...

Stay away if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies. Wait staff and management are not educated on the menu and what allergens are in what dishes. When our table got our food, my wife and I immediately recognized that the fries were coated in something before being fried and there was another question about the short rib. The waitress said the chef would come talk to us about any food questions we had. After about 10 minutes we ended up talking to possibly the manager I think. He didn't know if any of the food was safe for my wife either and said he had to run across the hall to check with the chef which took another 10 minutes at least. By this time the food is getting cold while my wife is waiting to know if she can eat it or not. (Red flag, the kitchen is not part of the restaurant?) Long story short, my wife's food that she ordered came out and contained gluten despite a very clear conversation about her dietary restrictions. Our friend also ordered something requesting the sauce on the side. Her food came out with the sauce on the food and with a side container of it. Waitress asked if it's okay despite when the order was put in, she told waitress it needed to be on the side. Waitress seemed too busy or uninterested enough to not check with chef if particular items in the food were okay for my wife. The kitchen re made my wife's food and it came out when the rest of our party was done eating. The manager said we could keep the screwed up food for the rest of our party (because obviously they can't send it back to the kitchen and redistribute it to the rest of the patrons). When we requested the meal to be comped for the frustration, he then turned around and said "well you guys were eating it" Like yeah buddy because you said to!!! As a chef myself I understand the importance of an educated staff. You can't afford to screw someones food up and feed an allergen to someone who can't have it. It's cute in here for a Christmas vibe though. Could have a few more decorations throughout the rest of the restaurant and not just over the bar. Kinda of feels like false advertising when you see the Instagram reels and website showing the decorations. Not trying to be Grinch here but just wanted to leave an honest review. I would not recommend eating here unless you're willing to accept "okay/good enough" service. Here's what I see as being the major problems here with this establishment. #1 effective communication. #2 proper training. #3 too busy for the amount of employees. #4 why is the kitchen "across the hall" as if it's not part of this restaurant? If you guys work on these things I think you will see continued positive reviews. Until then you will continue to deliver subpar service to anyone...

Pizza making is an art and a labor of love. The folks at Black Raspberry Pub are masters of that craft. They serve New England bar pizza and they are easily my favorite on the south shore. I’ve been here a handful of times and have tried a different pie each time and all of them were absolutely delicious. The restaurant itself is off the beaten path in Cordage Park and feels like a hidden gem.

There are a lot of thoughtfully crafted pizzas as well as a build your own option. My favorite pizzas so far have been the fig and pig, the arrabbiata, and the fall harvest. The crust always has that perfectly browned crust in the bottom and the caramelized back. All of them do a great job of combining sweet and salty flavors. I’ve also greatly enjoyed their Caesar and Greek salads. Both offer fresh ingredients and are well dressed. They offer a nice reprieve from the inevitable (and worthwhile) grease brought on from the pizzas.

The interior of the restaurant has the look of the reclaimed industrial factory that you can expect in Cordage Park. The service is always top notch. Every server I’ve had here is attentive, cheerful, and great at making reservations. Without fail, the folks here deliver a great experience every time. This is a hard thing to achieve in any restaurant, which hopefully means that the owners treat the staff well. Overall, this is where you need to go if you’re looking...