Lee M.
Yelp
Somewhere among my growing list of reviews on this site lives a glowing review of Pocock Brewery. I'm sure it speaks about the very best pizza in town and their growing list of delicious beers. I may have mentioned the pretzel and even one of their behemoth salads. I'm sure I mentioned the owners Todd and Geoff, and how welcoming they are.
Thankfully I've done all of that, so I don't have to repeat any of those things in this review of their newest restaurant, Pocock Public House. The original restaurant has a vibe... It makes you feel like you're in a brewery and everyone around you is your best friend. This new restaurant also has a vibe. An eerily similar vibe, combined with a totally different vibe. And I know that sounds pretentious, and I know it sounds like I'm trying to be some high brow restaurant reviewer, but that's not my intent. I'm just trying to say Much of how you feel being at the brewery is visited here, but it also has that Gastro pub feel to it, and that's great for date night.
Yes, this place is perfect for date night when it's just you and someone else. As opposed to you and 15 someone elses. That's what I'm trying to get at, the Pocock Public House is a great date spot. This is the perfect opportunity to talk about the ambience... The interior is cozy and attractive. It has a modern feel to it while giving off a pub vibe. But the absolute star of the show is one flight up, the rooftop serving area and bar that will, eventually, be the home to their Pizza oven. I guarantee you, that rooftop is going to be full every night between late March and late September. Once it starts cooling off it won't be as much of a - I can't believe I'm saying this - hotspot, but during the summer, you'll be lucky to get a table.
And having said that the food is amazing.
We wandered in on a cold, cold night knowing that the place was in its first week but still wanting to dig right in and try as many things on the menu as we possibly could. We were rewarded with fantastic service from our waitress, Katie. She took a little time to explain the menu and the dining concept and how it differ from the brewery. And even told us a charming story about how she is a regular at the brewery, attending their trivia night every week and parlayed that friendship and trust into a job. And she is very good at that job.
We decided to split some of the appetizers that don't appear on the other menu. We went with the fried pickles and house made potato chips with barbecue seasoning. Both were delicious. the pickles separated themselves from other fried pickles served in restaurants around the area by being much crispier and holding their fried shell much better than any other pickles I recall. And that simply meant that the crunch was there throughout the entire pickle experience. The potato chips were golden and crispy and the barbecue seasoning was right on. Not a beat missed.
We all settled on burgers, though I really wanted to dig deep into the expanded menu and give that beef Wellington a go, but I decided to hold that off until another time. My wife and mother-in-law both had the Smashburger. Having had an opportunity to try it at the Pocock brewery anniversary celebration a few months earlier, I decided to go a different direction and try the Pocock burger, a delicious combination of half pound burger, pulled pork, coleslaw and chipotle mayo. I think when impressed me the most was all three burgers were ordered at medium rare and they came out at medium rare. It seems such a hassle these days that restaurants don't want to deliver you a proper burger and a proper temperature, but these guys did it. It was an excellent burger and it was a tremendously filling meal, too.
We also got to speak with the owner for a few minutes, which is always nice.
I really look forward to seeing how Pocock Public House grows and begins to fit in with the other cool restaurants on Main Street, which is definitely getting a positive buzz and all of these new restaurants are a big part of that. I can't wait to go back and fulfill the promise I made to my wife tonight... I will try everything on this menu! I recommend you do the same.