Thistle Draftshop — Restaurant in Texas

People of Spring, Tomball, pretty much everyone in North of Houston, Thistle Draftshop is a destination you have to check out for great food and beer at a great price! I have came here a few times already and every time it's always a great time. Now, I live on the west side of Houston so it would take me at least 45 minutes to get to this place, but man, every time is always fun and get to meet new people there.

The first thing you'll notice is how spacious the restaurant is with all kinds of seating, event space, lounge couches, and patios. There's always some sort of special every day of the week days and of course great happy hour price on the beer. Speaking of beer, the people who work there are very knowledgeable about what they have on tap and even if you have read the menu thoroughly with great detail on the styles of beer, sometimes a human suggestion is all it takes to find a new beer for your liking. They also sell cold beers for you to take to-go.

But you can get beer anywhere, it's the food that really made the time here even better. The menu is extensive but not overwhelming. I was recommended to get at least the braut of some kind and my friend decided to go for the Kimchi Braut while I got the Bacon Grilled Cheese sandwich that came with a tomato soup. Before that since I was there on Monday night, I got the oysters on a half shell as it's fresh Gulf oysters that's shucked well and decently flavorful. My friend and I got an appetizer, he got Dees Knots (because his last name is Dees) and I got the Octopus tostada, both were wonderful and tasty.

One thing surprised me was how cool the tomato soup was. I thought the soup may be piping hot but a slightly cool soup goes better with a hot cheesy melting sandwich for me to dip in. Thistle Draftshop also have games like corn hole for you to play inside or outside, and it's always a good time drinking beer and playing corn hole with new friends. But sometimes, you will get a few surprises like a local patron who have a bird to accompany him! Thistle Draftshop is definitely a new local gem in the Spring area, I will always do my best to visit this place when I am up...

My wife and I stopped into this place late on Saturday night. We were looking for something new, and never been. We were pretty hungry, but did not expect anything more than typical barfood. The bartender, Brandon told me the food was “awesome”. I do not know why, but I believed him. He was not wrong! I had the Bratwurst on a pretzel bun, made with housemade Kimchi. The bun was fresh, soft and perfect. The bratwurst was hearty and filling, and the Kimchi was spoton! Could not recommend more! My wife had the Pork belly tacos on corn tortillas. She loved them, I stole a bite and was impressed. The food was all very fresh and definitely NOT typical or boring. Prices were reasonable as well. Of course, we were there for the drinks, not the food! I had a Jai Alai IPA which was the most drinkable IPA I have ever had. I like the bitter hoppiness of IPA’s, while my wife hates them. She actually liked this one. She had a Chardonnay which was ok, the wine list was pretty limited, but I am not much on wines anyway. I followed up with a Saloon Door Tasty AF Stout,peanut butter and chocolate. It was legit. The service is second to none. Really friendly, really informed, really THERE when you needed anything. Quite different from the usual bar. We will be back, and with friends! They had a small lounge, TVS, and tables with a lot of board games. Highly...

Unfortunately this place has gone downhill over the years. Food quality has gone down significantly since the previous head chef left, service is pretty spotty with bartenders not properly circulating all sides of their bar, and food times are far too long.

Today we had an 11am reservation for Mother's Day and left with our food never arriving at noon. The place was busy, but not packed, and seemingly with plenty of staff. So I have no idea what was happening in the kitchen as food appeared to be dying in the window for upwards of 15 minutes at a time (I was seated at the bar with a direct line of sight to the kitchen). Our initial bartender seemed visibly frustrated but left water refills to one of the other bartenders. He did inform us our food would be just a few more minutes at around 11:40a and finally that it was "just about to be plated" when I had to get up to speak with him on the other side of the bar in order to close our drink tab. He was courteous enough to not charge us for my mother's single beer.

Overall just an awful experience on a day where everything should be humming and which shows clear issues in service and kitchen when all of these small problems on slower days add up to an experience like this on an important day for...