Boylan Bridge Brewpub Review

awesome brew pub. beer brewed on site. food is getting better. great upside seating.

The VIEW!!!! Went there last Friday before heading downtown to enjoy the bluegrass festival. The cheeseburger was killer, along with great fries, cooked well die on request! Super friendly service and a patio with an amazing view. Such a fun evening!

Great views, good beer, great staff eager to please. Glad to see Boylan Bridge back!

Boylan Bridge is great for a large party on the deck. The view of the Raleigh skyline is hard to beat. The food isn't winning any awards but will suffice to keep you planted in your seat while you listen to trains pass by underneath. Don't go if beer is on the mind as nearby competition edges the brews at Boylan Bridge almost every time.

Great casual environment, with excellent outdoor seatings. Enjoyable beers, didn't have a chance to try the food.

Some friends and I recently came here for dinner after not having been in a while, and our experience was okay. The deck is just amazing - even in the cold. It's got a great view of downtown and is just a fun place to be. The onion rings are good and worth trying, and the beer is not bad but isn't spectacular when you consider the other craft brews nearby.

Two of the guys in our party ordered the Raleigh & Gaston (philly cheese steak), and both actually didn't like it. Their comments were that they were pretty bland and dry. I ordered the Orient Express (Asian chicken wrap) and really did enjoy it - the sesame ginger dressing has a good amount of sweet but not too much, and the crispy noodles give it just the right amount of crunch (since going, I've actually made my own copycat version at home).

This is definitely a place you should go if you haven't been, especially if you're a craft beer person, just to experience it at least (and bring your camera - you're going to want a shot from the deck)!.

Great food with an amazing view of downtown Raleigh.

Great location beer was great, chicken wrap was dry and no hint of flavor. Sorry the food was disappointing.

A whole mess of fried pickles for $6; crispy and not greasy at all.

Average beer, stellar view. Great summer night spot to take out-of-towners... if you can find room.

Thank you Boylan Bridge! Every month our Rotary club hosts a social for members and the team at BB couldn't have been more accommodating and excited to see us. The service was great and as always, the view of the city from their patio is the best in town.
Welcome back Boylan Bridge Brewpub!

I d actually give Boylan Bridge Brewpub a 2.5 out of 5. I am a gluten free person because of an autoimmune disease, not by choice. I was very excited to see a few options like pickle chips and fries on their menu that were gluten-free! I ordered the Boylan burger for dinner and asked if they had lettuce to eat my burger with because most gluten-free hamburger buns are not tasty. They were not able to offer any lettuce option, but offered for me to pay the extra dollar for the bun. I was skeptical, but ordered the bun anyways. The bun was okay. I feel like it probably was the Udi s brand bun. The reason I am giving them a 2.5 is not because of the gluten-free bun, or the lack of options, but the fact that they were going to have me pay an up charge to get fries instead of their basic potato chips. Their potato chips are fried in the same oil that other things with gluten are fried with. I asked if I could do either fries or another option that was gluten-free for no charge, and they said no. I feel like if you are going to go out of your way to have gluten-free options, you should at least have a gluten-free option as a side with no upcharge. I would also love to see more of a variety of either gluten-free beers or local ciders. There was only one gluten-free option and it was not a local cider. A local venue that calls itself a brewpub should have other local options besides beer. I will most likely not go back for food or drinks, but the location is fabulous! One of the best views of Raleigh!

Great selection of in house brews as well as the best view in Raleigh. Home cooked potato chips are also on point

Such fast and perfect service. The outdoor patio has such a great view of the city that you can really get lost there for hours. The brewing they have there was amazing and you can get the snaple tray to get a good taste of the beers.

Great beer and food, awesome outdoor seating with veiw of downtown Raleigh

Awesome evening with friends on the outdoor patio. Had Endless Summer beer , which is a great lite beer. Delish salad for dinner, Emily our server was superb! We were a crowd of 40 people - coming and going- not all sitting down. She kept the drinks and food coming. Wonderful place glad they opened back up...

Absolutely loved the view of downtown Raleigh from the patio! The beer selection was great (and tasty!) and the food was very good as well! I will definitely be going back!

Pleasant server. Out of most of their beers. Nice time on the terrace.

Best view of the Raleigh skyline, and a fun time table for the train included on the menu

Pretty good Beer. Great view of downtown Raleigh at night.

Beautiful view! This was a very cool spot to hang out and have drinks. The food was good, the waitress was sweet and very helpful. I m glad we got to come here on the last night it was open. At least I can say I was there once!

Great beer! Will definitely be back to try the food.

I have had great food here (tomato basil soup) and terrible food (grilled romaine wedge- it tasted terrible and smelled disgusting-I couldn't eat it). I really want to like this place but they make it hard. We ate here a few weeks ago and the music being played (inside) was too loud and full of expletives.

Excellent, excellent, excellent specially the man mr winn the beer man...he is good, I tell you.

Beer is mediocre, service as well. But the view is one of my favorites in Raleigh. Worth putting up with the other stuff.

Meh the beer was very mediocre, but the outdoor seating area on the Boylan Bridge is awesome.

Nit as good as when it first open. Great outside sitting and pets are allowed so I will be back for that alone

Went once, had a less than stellar experience, thought I'd give them another shot. They had no beer brewed on premises...only guest taps. What? Food was just ok but the kicker was getting panhandled IN THE RESTAURANT.

Go to Clouds or Trophy for a brewpub or the Flying Saucer for an awesome selection.

Love the new menu and environment. Tried a variety over the last two visits and enjoyed it all. The shrooms and saltimbocca are big winners.

There are much better options for beer than this place. The place is not clean and poorly run (my son said, 'look dad a beetle' but it was a roach). Went for a tour via Groupon and the owner gave an ok but efficiently run tour - it felt like we were being herded through like cattle. And the sample beer is all you get on the tour - nothing more. No beer specials, nothing. Can't speak to the food as we didn't stay to eat after seeing the roach.

Food wasn t the best, though the sesame wrap was decent. Don t come for the food. This is a great place for a drink and sitting outside with a good view. Not too busy during the week but picks up on the weekends. You re right by the train station, so it can be cool to listen to and watch the trains!

Good beer in a good Raleigh place to visit. The neighborhood is very good to know.

It took at least 20 minutes to get a menu.Bad over priced beer. The Blt had all if two pieces of bacon on it. DON'T GO HERE

Food was average. Beer was good. Views of the city and train station are great. Nice neighborhood as well

This place is currently closed for a "reboot"...whatever that is.

The first time I came here (years ago) the food was just okay, a year later it was incredible, year after that it was horrible every visit. I've never experienced the bad service that others are commenting on but I didn't go there after their big (forced) closure because of the leaky pipe and collapsed retainer wall. I was hearing bad things about the food and also the service...and now they're closed again for a re-boot. I still don't know what that means...if a re-boot is coming up with a tasty menu with a good cook and some trained wait staff with some attention...then I get it. Otherwise it will be like last time and I'll wait and see what others say. Oh, for what it's worth...the Dillon construction has really soiled the atmosphere for me.

Cockroaches. I was there last night on the outdoor patio September 4. It's was about 9 pm and I saw something move. It was huge. Then I started noticing more. I don't know how many really were there because they kept hinding under through the cracks in the wooden patio. I saw as many as 5 at one time before they hid. They were as big as a macadamian nut. Side note: the porter was good.

Best chicken club, mac, n irish nachos ive ever had. Great amber beer brewed in house. Perfect view with a wonderful breeze. Staff was pretty awesome as well.

Had a great experience. Excited about the change. Service, food, and beer were all great.

Interesting spot to take a date with great views of the city. Worth checking out at least once to see for yourself

My husband and I went tonight for a date night. Excellent service, food and drinks! Not to mention an awesome patio (with heaters) and the view is amazing. We will definitely be back! Thank you so much.

Great place to grab a beer with a view of downtown Raleigh.

Love this place! The views are superb and the food is very good! Great place to take a dog! Wait staff is eclectic, very capable and attentive. 5 paws up!

We've come here twice recently and both times the service has been awful. The first time we never even got silverware or napkins (even after we asked for them), never got a single water refill, and had to ask another server for our check because our server was nowhere to be found. It wasn't even busy, hardly any customers were there.

The second time was very similar. Barely saw our server, our food was taken to the wrong table and had to be remade, and it took eons to get our check. Again, it's not like the place was busy, the service was just inexplicably bad.

The food and beer is okay here, and the view is great, but I really hope the service improves. It was much better before they reopened the place.

Besides one dazed and confused waiter, I've always had a great experience here. Food is incredible and the micro brews are on point. Also go here if you like trains, great view of rails and downtown Raleigh.

Sub par beer offerings, but they have sweet potato fries! They are well worth the stop and they have the best view of the city!

One of those restaurants with an unbeatable patio, cool vibe, good craft beer, servers and cooks who are always working hard, but the management has gone downhill over the few years we've been going here. The prices have gone up a little, no big deal. The menu has changed, again no big deal. The service takes a really long time. They run out of menu items- this is a frustrating one- because it's happened at least six or seven times to us, and usually on things like chicken or sweet potato fries or pork or whole entrees. We used to really like this place, but now it's a joke for us and we take bets on what they'll be out of and how long it will take to get our order (30 minutes? 45?) And the cumulative effect is that our favorite menu items aren't served anymore, and our second choice they're usually out of, and then the third choice takes half an hour to arrive. We have great memories here but after giving two years worth of second chances, it's over. Boylan Bridge Brewpub pretty much sucks. The potential is still there- if you're a good restaurant manager, please take this place back to where it was.

It's a cool looking place with a great view but because of the service I will never go there again. Service, when they do show up, is terrible. Drinks are very weak. Rather than complaining about my tiny vodka and cranberry I ordered a double for my second drink. It came out in a ever so slightly larger glass and tasted exactly the same. When I suggested that the waiter may not have heard me say double (I in no way made it sound like it was his fault) he insisted that he did. When I mentioned that it didn't taste any different he sent the bartender out to prove me wrong.... Who does that? I wasn't looking for any discounts or special treatment I just wanted a drink served in something bigger than a thimble and when I ask for a double I should be able to tell it's a double.

I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Best view of any bar in the Triangle! I checked this place out on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon. It was packed and clearly a few servers ditched work to enjoy the sunshine as well. However, despite all that, the hostess and remaining staff kept things together admirably. At one point I think the Brewer was helping bus tables.
Anyway, service struggles aside, the beer is great, food is pretty standard pub fare - but priced right - and the view is the best in town. Their beers all have accurate descriptions including abv and IBUs, something essential unless (or until) you're a regular. Atmosphere is relaxed and friendly dogs are welcome. This is a great spot to enjoy a brew and good conversation.

I went here last night for dinner, and saw the server once the entire time. We ended up leaving after getting a drink because the server was inside texting and never showed up again. It's a great view of downtown Raleigh, but it's not worth it if you're not getting served.

DON'T GO THERE ON A SUNDAY. PROBABLY NOT FRIDAY EITHER.
Liked: Scenery, Beer
Dislike: Bad Service, Long wait, Average food, Not pricy but not worth the price
For anyone interested in going to a new cool place in Raleigh, do yourself a favor, DON'T GO HERE. My husband and friends use to go here every Sunday evening and occasionally my husband and I have gone on Friday evenings. USE TO. Get pass the view and the beer it is easy to see this restaurant is poorly ran. They very habitually run out of food by Sunday but the waiters have taken our orders after being seated only to tell us 15 minutes later that they are out of it what we ordered. At first it was a funny joke of "let's guess what they don't have tonight" but it got old real fast especially when you start to notice that the servers are not attentive even on slow nights when your drinks don't come out after a while (even though most of us just ordered water!) and there is clearly a sign by the bar that says what foods they are out of that I noticed later at dinner. The waiter finally took our checks afterwards only to come back and ask us again who ordered what meal. This particular night they were out of Chicken, Pork, Sweet Potato Fries, and Fried Banana Cheesecake. They no longer have our favorites Lobster Mac-N-Cheese or Brownie bites on the menu but have traded them in for food that is subpar and more pricy (Lava Cake the size of my palm cost $7!) . Friday is the highlight of THEIR week crowd-wise but you'd typically end up waiting over 1 HOUR to be seated outside and another HOUR to eat. Maybe that's how long it takes to enjoy a good view of the city? You minus well eat somewhere nearby and walk to this place to sit over the edge.

Food is always great. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable.

The views are great the food unfortunately does not match the view. I am also not a fan of their in house beers. They are good but just not my style.

Visited on 4-15-2018 for dinner and drinks before a show at Charlie Goodnight's Comedy Club. We arrived to the Brewpub at 5:30pm and finally received our drinks at 5:50pm, and I should mention that the waiter refused to take our drink or dinner order at the same time. The food was subpar and they only had 4 beers (out of 10+) available. This was an extremely painful visit. Highly WOULD NOT RECOMMEND.

I would have normally given 4 stars, but bumping it up to counter previous reviews which seemed unfair. Decided to come in because of the amount of bad reviews, which mostly seemed like prissy college girls whining and overreacting. Decor More

We have visited this establishment for years because of its location, excellent food, and excellent beer. Our most recent trip was not as pleasant as expected. I called to complain and the owner responded to my complaint and was extremely understanding of our situation. In the end he made things right and I will definitely be returning for years to come. This place is run by a local businessman with high ethical standards.

What an amazing view!!!!!! Nice to go for a little drink and to watch the sunset.

Good food... Great beer... Greater view. Definitely will return.

Updated review...

I had the fish and chips and I can say the flavor was good (peppery), but the batter was a little too thick for my tastes.

The selection of beers is limited, but the beers they have are the most local beers (about 20 feet away). Great craft beer!

The view is what is the most amazing! Will need to return on a summer night and sit outside taking in the vast, beautiful skyline!

The place was not busy on a Saturday, which seemed weird, but we got a table for 10 people rather easily. They have a great map of the United States and of North Carolina for patrons to pin where they are from, which is a cool thing to look at. They also have board games to play.

Overall, very pleased with this choice. I will try something else next time when I am there, but will definitely be returning. Very cool place!

Best view of the city and most dog friendly restaurant in Raleigh.

Great spot. Good drinks, tasty food, and a great view of downtown.

The view of Raleigh is one of the best. The service and food was poor. It is easy to see why this place was not crowded. It has so much potential and could be a really cool spot.

The food was ok but the view of the Raleigh city skyline made up for it.

Best time to arrive - a little before 5 PM. Grab a table outside, order drinks, catch up with friends and wait for it ... If on time, you will hear the horn around 5:20 - maybe a few minutes later.

Amtrak rolls in between 5:20 and 5:30 most days.

We had a freight train come through around 6 PM. Around 6:30 the train from Charlotte arrived.

Plenty of trains to see if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Also, the nachos were great, beer great, Pinot Noir great, friends great ...you get the idea.

View is great, food is good, beer is great, customer service is the only downside

Expensive and slow service. Beer isn't that good either

food is great....just too bad that your experience, regardless of when you come, will consist of you waiting at least 45 minutes to an hour from the time you walk through the door to when the food hits your table. they are consistantly bad with the service. horribke wait times.

We received excellent service and tasty beers! Great to see this place back and better than ever!

This is an amazing place to spend an evening outside in Raleigh. Cheap drinks and amazing food! Also, John is the guy to see, he's the best!!

Wonderful Saturday lunch; burger cooked exactly like I ordered; service prompt and attentive. Boylan Stout stood up to Guiness! All in all, glad I went; you will be as well!!!

View is the only thing worth visiting here. The beer is meh, service awful, and food is pitiful. We wont even talk about the owner.

My favorite brewery/bar in Raleigh. I don't like beer, but their mixed drinks are incredible, their staff is the bomb, and their food is amazing. My boyfriend loves the beer. It's just a really great friendly place to pass time and get a little tipsy.

Boylan bridge you've disappointed again. Beautiful day wanted a beer and food so we walk to your bar. Not busy so figure we should get service quickly. Wrong! Sat at a table on the deck, was seen by staff as they walked by. No one every acknowledged or said "be with you in a minute"... they just let us sit there. Enough is enough.. your service is horrible! We got up and walked to trophy... great service and food. Thanks trophy...

Food and drinks were good, view and people watching is fantastic, service is disappointing.

Best view of Raleigh skyline from the ground floor!!!
The beer is awesome. Chris and his staff are great!!

Great view and outside seating!!! Inexpensive beer selection and food! Must stop for good raleigh views and vibes!!!

Nice microbrewery with good food & a great view of downtown. Large outdoor patio with plenty of seating overlooks west side of downtown.

Tough the skyline is not as pretty as it used to be, the outdoor seating still offers a view of it. The beer wasn't the best, the choices limited, they should try stocking some other local brewery selection. Didn't try the food.

The view is amazing but the food and service were horrible, very dirty also. Black bean burger patty was not cooked, at all. I would not recommend, at all.

Awesome brews made on location to go with great food and the best view of Raleigh in town. Jasmine is the server to get, she keeps the place humming. And laughing!

Awesome beer, awesome food! It has become the only brewpub I visit downtown. I highly recommend checking this place out!

Had the grilled iceberg. I think it's the new "thing" at restaurants. I, for one, approve. Try to get there when there is good weather, they have outdoor seating with a view of the city and some trains. Right across the bridge from a very good neighborhood.