Bru's Public House — Restaurant in Raleigh

Came here on suggestion from another bar that was closing. Ordered the adult grilled cheese ($16 for a plain hard cheese sandwich and half a cup of bitter/sour tomato bisque, the table watched me put a spoonful in my mouth and spit right back out), the Brussel sprouts (was 3 sprouts shredded to individual leafs and burnt like yard waste to dust and crumbs, pointed out to server and she said “yea people don’t really like it or maybe it’s just what was left in the back, they’re shutting down” so basically knew it was crap or left over crap and made no offer to correct or remove), the truffle fries (were cold and tasted like old stale oil with no seasoning besides a pinch of unmelted cheese, no salt or truffle and were just terrible, server also didn’t care), the poutine (canned gravy taste and just garbage like the other food thus far), the coconut shrimp with large and pretty good and the sauce was good, my wife had the caprese sandwich and was pleased with it so that’s good, got the pep pizza (was the quality of a frozen grocery store pizza but with worse sauce and not much cheese and loads of garlic, ate 2 pieces and threw in a box to feed the dogs the dogs didn’t eat it, got the arugula Caesar salad that was massively unimpressive and not enjoyable to eat, and lastly an order of the spicy pasty which the portion size was good, but other than being spicy it had no flavor at all. Server wasn’t surprised by any of the remarks and stated most people say that, the crap that was brought out could be because they were closing an hour later and no effort was made to amend the issues or offer any solution, my wife and my portion of the bill for the lacking service and awful food was $127.72 and this was our first and last time here. Staff doesn’t care they serve crap quality and take feedback like a fart in the wind with no accountability. Zero f’s given to experience, quality, food, service. This was a massive waste of money and time. $130 for bad food and service from a “sucks for you is what it is” attitude really leaves a solid reminder to not return and...

I’ll preface this with the fact that I’m also in the industry so while I can forgive a lot and be understanding I cannot in this situation. I went into Bru’s around 5:00 on Tuesday the 1st with my girlfriend. We like sitting at the bar so we found a corner spot. I will say that the bartenders are friendly and checked in made sure we had water, drinks and a food menu. I ordered a drink and she didn’t. It came out quickly and I was satisfied with how it tasted. We then ordered the fried chicken nachos. They came out quickly and were hot. My only food issue was they were not plated correctly, and the combination of the ingredients was not spread out as nachos should be. No worries though it tasted fantastic! Just wish we had more queso :) After we finished that she ordered the caprese sand which and I ordered a burger. This is where things took a turn. While waiting for our food we witnessed a bartender (older bald gentleman) making drinks for the servers who was making a drink and then drinking the leftovers OUT of the tin. He did this 3 times and never once I saw the tins being washed. That is abhorrent and disgusting. Quality control of your cocktails is key but for god sakes use a straw!! We later discovered that he’s the bar manager (while he’s bragging to 2 ladies seated next to us), the fact that he’s in a leadership role and is doing something so blatant, illegal and IN FRONT of guests is horrid. Our food that we had was delicious but I have massive reservations about ever ordering a cocktail from Bru’s again. I had a beer for my last drink and didn’t even want to finish it. We were both disgusted but the other bartender (younger gentleman with a hat) was fantastic so we tipped him and left. As a bar manager myself also this is completely unprofessional and disgusting. I hope this issue is addressed by...

Went here for the AFC Wild Card game last weekend AND a little early inside tailgating for the Hurricanes since Bru's is close to PNC Arena! Got there at 12:45 and it was about a third full. Not bad we thought, as we ordered our beers from the tap. I got a delicious Guinness and my wife got her go to Blue Moon. Both were fresh and cold. Since it was lunch, we decided to start with their Bru's Sliders. They were delicious, especially the fresh jalapeño slices! I'm getting more next time!! Pretzel buns were fresh and a nice addition. Classic Pep pizza was next. Sadly, underwhelming with average pepperoni, a very thin crust that had no flavor, and the usual sauce and shredded cheese that were not very good. The pizzas LOOK good, but they are probably frozen and/or pre-made. I'd pass on those. Our friends arrived about 2 hours later, just in time to see what a zoo Bru's became as people started arriving for the Hurricanes game! They ordered Crab Cake egg rolls, which were interesting, but still average. This place got busy to the point that groups were circling the restaurant looking for places to STAND! Lots of TVs, a combo of bar seating, bar tables, and normal dining tables were scattered in good enough locations to see at least several of the mounted TVs. Service was excellent! Only two young ladies were serving everything when we arrived. Our server Keri was outstanding and kept her cool and friendly demeanor despite the explosion of guests arriving! The interior is nicer than your average pub/sports bar. So, 2 stars off for some of the foods that were completely average, but an additional star added back because of the awesome service! Come early if you plan to get a...