1885 Taproom — Restaurant in Simpsonville

Mixed feelings on this place.

The good- GREAT beer selection that is always changing. Good wine as well. They also offer white claws and NA beers, which is nice. Very clean establishment. Great music, be it a live performer or just music over the speakers (generally classic rock on the speakers, which is a huge win in my book). Great food as well. Good hours and lovely outdoor seating. Location is right in the middle of downtown Simpsonville, so in perfect walking distance to everything.

The not so good- my husband and I decided to go by last night after having a pizza at Sidewall because it was so nice out. We were just wanting to relax in their outdoor space with the nice weather. This place was loaded with kids. (Which is wild to me to begin with since it's a TAPROOM but hey... parent how you want.) I felt like I was drinking a beer at a playground. We sat at a table in front of the closed coffee shop next door... there was a train of kids repeatedly running up and down the ramp and right in front of us playing tag. Not exactly relaxing since you could literally feel them running on the platform. So we decided to move over to the fire pit... more kids. Digging and playing in the stones around the pit, and behind our chairs. Just no sense of personal space. Who knows which adults were their parents because again, it felt like a playground/free for all with all of these kids running around. So that was kind of annoying. There is even a sign that says no running and to be respectful of others' experience there. (Which means.. don't let your kids run around and annoy the other patrons!) But nobody seemed to take notice of that.

I think this establishment could be improved if they didn't allow kids after a certain time. It was dark out and a school night and almost 10pm. There was an entire child's softball team there and many other younger children running around. I didn't want to be "a Karen" and complain to the workers, especially since they were so busy, but it really kind of dulled my experience. I will definitely be sure to take note of how many children are there next time BEFORE I decide to...

If you need gluten-free options like I do (celiac), 1885 has a few seltzers (LOVE the blue quencher when they have it) multiple ciders, and they also carry 2 kinds of Glutenburg (which is a meh beer in my opinion).

Their hummus platter can be made GF by subbing out the pita for chips or more veggies.

What would be amazing is if they marked what was GF on the board/menu, so us GF people didn't have to pester the staff. Add a disclaimer that it's a shared space so you don't get messed with by a silly celiac who doesn't understand that eating out is a risk they are willingly taking on.

Greenville/Simpsonville is coming around to the GF needs of celiacs, but there are a few steps that could make us more comfortable. I constantly look up menus online, I hate when I have to call a place and they seem flustered when I ask if they have a GF menu.

Also, if the owner sees this review, thanks for being so great when we ask you to modify things for me. Great GF beer to look into would be Greens GF (especially the yellow label). I'd be happy to pay it's difference since it is a bit pricier...

I would love to give this place a 5-star review just based on it's atmosphere, as it is great! Beer selection is wonderful, as well. We ordered food which was a hit and a miss. The good first - French dip sandwich was to die for - bread had a crispy outside and soft inside, meat was not lacking, horseradish sauce was perfect. Now, the ugly. The salsa was not at all impressive, chips were bottom of the bag - small broken pieces. We had 2 types of boneless wings, one which was a "rub"(but it was a sauce - hmm?) that tasted good and had good texture...the other order was a medium hot traditional wing sauce which took the texture of the wing to soggy.

Will we go back - absolutely yes! The staff is amazing, the atmosphere is dead on, and...