Great Lakes Brewing Co

06/07/09

Very disappointing

by Lomitus at Citysearch

As with so many other reviews of GLBC on the internet, I thought the beer was really good but the food and service were simply pitiful. First there is their rather odd selection of appetizers...when one reads the menu one really must ask, "Do people really eat this rubbish?". Ok...perhaps I'm just a bit spoiled but I'm used to a few "standards" when it comes to an appetizer menu. mozzarella/cheese, stuffed mushroom caps, chicken quesadillas, etc.. I certainly welcome the unusual house specialty but in this case, that was the only thing on the menu...weird and unusual. While the Fried Eggplant was actually very good (kudos on the marinara sauce), the Meat and Cheese Board left a great deal to be desired...the sausage and splutch of cheese mush were practically too spicy to eat. Thank goodness there wasn't much of it there. This Board also included 4 thin sliced of a salami-like deli meat, 4 sliced of (stale) bread and a couple of other small nibblings, none of which was really appetizing. In fact the only good thing about this meat and cheese board was the 2 fresh strawberry's.

The story was the same about the entrees. The Sirloin steak actually wasn't too bad, included mashed potatoes and fresh green beans (the demi-glace was particularly noteworthy although it should have came in a plentiful gravy boat on the side). It was well prepared and the presentation was what one would expect from an establishment of this caliber but for $19 again the portions were beyond petite and when compared with other "nice" commercial restaurants of similar price range (Outback, Roadhouse, D&B, etc) the portions were downright inadequate. The same is true of the "Half Slab of Ribs". Have these people NEVER attended a Cleveland Rib Burn Off??? Do they honestly have no clue as to how large "a slab" of ribs really is? In this case, the actual slab was LESS than one quarter of a slab...it was literally nothing more than the pointy end of a small slab of ribs with a few small bones. In this case as with the meat and cheese appetizer, the sauce was also so spicy that it was virtually inedible. One can only surmise that GLBC expects their customers to be quite drunk at this point so as not to notice that the "spice" is clearly intended to cover up the rest of the flaws of the evening as a whole. No comments can be made on the cole slaw as it never even arrived at the table. The "pub fries" were of generous portion but that was about it.

The service was slow and inattentive at best. After having told the server that we were "on a schedule", she seemed to do everything she could to drag things out and make us late for our next evening engagement. While we placed our appetizer and dinner order when we first arrived, it took close to half an hour for the appetizer dishes (as unappetizing as they were) to arrive at the table. While the dinner entrees were a bit more timely, it then took over 15 minutes for us to get the guest check so that we could complain about the missing cole slaw (which we received NO compensation for).

Bottom line: if you want a "trendy", over-priced meal with more spice than actual substance which leaves you hungry afterward and you want this event to take all evening with a great many mistakes, by all means Great Lakes Brewing Co. is the place to go. If you want a really good glass of beer, their Dortmunder Gold was indeed wonderful. On the other hand if you desire a -good- meal and a pleasant experience from a restaurant in this price range...do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. GLBC simply was NOT worth even half the price of admission.

• Pros: Good beer
• Cons: Over-priced food, poor service

12/10/08

Disapointed

by SallyLB at Citysearch

Before I get into my review I just want to say that Great Lakes has the absolute best beer ever! Saying that, I dont live in Cleveland and always make a stop to Great Lakes when in town. This last time I was very let down. They were having their " End of Prohibition " party. I figured we would have to wait but we were seated right away. I had a Dortmunder and my boyfriend had an Eliot Ness. They were both delicious. We ordered the Meat and Cheese bored for an appitizer and then ordered Fish N Chips and the Pretzel Crusted Chicken. The appetizer was good minus the fact that you dont get that much for what you pay for it and we didnt even get 30 second to enjoy it before both of our entrees came out. My boyfriends Fish N Chips wetre delicious. My chicken breast was okay, but the side of mashed potates were the worst instant potatoes I ever had. Also my "steamed veggies " were nothing more than cold, limp, GRAY on the inside broccoli. The waitess didnt even come back until the meal was almost done, I told her I didnt like it and she brought me a side salad. She tried to charge me for the chicken plate and it was eventually taken off the bill from the manager. When you pay that much for dinner I expect fresh ingredients and the fact that instant potatoes were used just is so disapointing. Next time I come back I think I will stay at the bar, have a few drinks and then go somewhere else for dinner.

11/11/08

Best Beer in the World....Eat before you go.

by murpay at Citysearch

I have been visiting GLBC for many, many, many years. It is about 20 miles from my home on the eastside, so it is an effort for my husband and brothers to get there (and sometimes an effort to get home!). The trip has always been worth it because the beers are extraordinary...Burning River, Blackout Stout and Edmond Fitgerald are my favorites. BUT, what has happened to the food quality? It has been getting consistently worse over the past year or two. The Marguerita Pizza was horrible on my second last visit. It is supposed to be mozz cheese and tomatoes. You could hardly even see the tomatoes they were cut so thinly and the cheese was very sparse. The crust on the salmon and cream cheese pizza was very dry. I love veggie burgers, but GLBC are the worst I have ever had. Last visit I settled on the Bruschetta bread (served as an appetizer) for my dinner....it served the purpose. Mr. Manager, please heed this review. Your beer is expensive, but delicious. We will travel the distance and pay the price, but we expect to have good quality food too or we will just buy a couple of 6 packs and stay home.