Jonah S.
Yelp
This place has some stuff going for it, but falls flat in other crucial areas. The location is nice, its easy to spot, and its a really well appropriated place. I appreciate that they have a dozen dragon statues and art pieces in the dining room to stay on brand. Our server, Angela, was attentive, and pleasant. Chatty without being overbearing, and answered all my questions.
I ordered three beers. The first was the Reddy or Not, which was really good! It's a little more bitter than red ales I usually like but it eases up on the palate a lot very quickly. I would get it again. The cider on rotation was a Made Marion blackberry cider which was excellent. It had a faint mead like taste, and strong berry notes that set it apart from apple ciders. Id definitely drink this one again. The third was the Tangerine Cream, and it conversely was awful. It starts off with almost no flavor at all, and finishes bitter and almost polleny. I would not order this one again. I wish I'd ended on a different beer.
The appetizer sampler came with quite a few items. The jalapeño poppers were tasty though slightly over fried, just by 20 seconds or so. I wish they'd been just a little lighter, but the flavor was really good. The chicken strips were just chicken strips but they were a great vessel for the three sauces: the bbq sauce here is very good, sweet and tangy, thick like a Kansas city style bbq sauce. The dragon sauce is also tasty, with a little hint of spice that was not overwhelming. The ranch was ranch, but it was a good ranch!
Also on the sampler were the mozzarella sticks, which were the ideal for a mozzarella stick. They were big, hearty, and fresh. My cheese pulled across the table. The dragon eggs were the most unique item on the plate, its like a meatball, with cheese in the middle, beer battered and fried. It was good, but a little scrawny. I could have stood a little more heartiness here. Finally, the buffalo wings were kind of a star on the plate, and I don't usually like buffalo sauce. It wasn't overwhelmingly vinegary or spicy. Paired with the ranch, the wings were excellent.
Also ordered the pretzel and cheese app, and it was an A+. Soft, chewy, warm pretzel with flaky salt, and a gooey spicy cheese dip. I'd order a round of these for the table if I came with a group.
I ordered a bbq burger, with onion rings, and I regret to say I have less nice things to say about it. The burger came with bacon, bbq sauce, and an onion ring, but somewhere in it all of the potential flavor just gets lost. There wasn't enough sauce on it to taste like bbq. The onion rings were greasy, and tasted oily. The bacon was plentiful but tasted cheap, and overcooked. I was highly disappointed in the burger. I would not order another burger or sandwich from here. The chefs special menu looked much more interesting, and I regret not ordering from it. I would come back to try the chefs specials.
All in all, this is a cute date night spot or a nice place to beer with the boys. The staff is all pleasant, and they even have a bar game called Singo that they do every so often, though I overheard it was going to be 80's hair metal themed and thought that sounded pretty lame, so I didn't hang around for it. Another theme might entice me to get another brew and hang out, but hair bands are wildly played out in 2025.