Initiative Brewing (the Hub) — Restaurant in Redmond

Its a 4 star review because 3.5 isn't an option.

Our table ordered a cheeseburger, a Cubano, and a Korean burger, and for sides; Asian slaw, fries and Kim Chee fries. For beers three of us had the Hoppy Habit and a Porter so just we all weren't ordering the Hoppy Habit.

First the bad, the Kim Chee was too strong and too rich and did not work together. It was like a Korean inspired Poutine. Then the Asian slaw was way too plain. Maybe adding some toasted sesame seeds and some Asian radish to provide textural diversity would have been better. The fact that one out of three of us ordered a porter is an indication that the range of beers wasn't very good.

Now for the good and there was plenty of it. The Hoppy Habit was outstanding and as good as any IPA in central Oregon. The fries themselves are hand cut with skins left in the way all fries should be. All three of the sandwiches anybody would have been happy to order again. These guys have decided to use top notch ingredients and a flare for creativity and it shows in the food. The burgers were ordered in a range from medium to well done and all were perfectly prepared. The buns/breads on all were delicious. The fresh house made pickles are necessary but so often overlooked or under delivered.

To elevate this to a 4 or above would require some additional attention to the sides and a better range of beers but all in all we will definitely come back.

Efforts like initiative are a reason why Redmond is excelling culinary/brewpub...

Warning tldr. Ordered food from doordash and it was an interesting experience. Let’s just say I eventually received food after the restaurant hade to make it 3 times to no fault of the restaurant.

Let’s talk about the food. The burger I ordered amazing. Pineapple jam with what tastes like fresh pineapple and fresh ham on the fresh hamburger patty. Cooked perfectly. The bun was one of the best I’ve ever had. A little hard to pin point but it was flaky but no falling apart. Almost like a well put together croissant style bun? So good. Next was the beer cheese nachos. The corn salsa and black beans was deliciously and the chips seasoned perfectly.

Now that we’ve talked about the food let’s move on to the customer service. Can’t say enough about how well things were handled on the restaurants end. I ended up getting a re-delivery after the first attempt went arie. Then that had its own host of problems. After finally getting a refund from DoorDash I re-ordered the food on my own. I got a phone call from who I imagine was the manager at the restaurant. He was genuinely concerned about what was going on. He detailed the whole ordeal from their perspective, which, was interesting to hear. He insured the food ended up in the hands of the new dasher who arrived promptly. Food still hot and amazingly delicious. Where’s the 10 star option because these...

I was driving thru Redmond and discovered a new brew pub and so decided to give it a try after reading the reviews. My family and I stopped in and was directed to the outdoor seating. Waitress was really friendly and we were properly seated to conform to Covid 19 social distance requirements. Ordered a number of different entrees and some of their beer. Beer was excellent and would highly recommend. However, the food was a really disappointing. The children all had chicken nuggets and fries. The kids refused to eat the chicken nuggets because they were so overcooked they were nearly impossible to eat. So, the kids ate the French fires that were still edible. All the adults had the rice bowls. Two were vegetarian and one was a chicken rice bowl. Unfortunately, the execution was again a real disappointment. All three dishes were lacking enough sauce to make the dishes complete. The chicken bowl was really disappointing because the chicken was also way overcooked, extremely dry and tasteless. A huge disappointment. Not sure what the issue was but I am mystified why there were so many 5 star ratings for their food. I am will try this pub again in the future to give them another chance. Hopefully, they will not leave me disappointed again. Only reason I gave three stars was because...