Bar review- Carleton Grange Pub

As I drove to my eye appointment the other day, I noticed a new bar in the neighborhood. I did a double take as I drove by, wondering when the place opened and why it was where it was. Stood out like a sore thumb in an area that had no bar before. In fact, the place used to be a machine shop. Outside of the place was a good sized patio to boot. I quickly put it on the list of places to check out.

A couple days later I did a search online to see if they had a site. Yes they did. The Carleton Grange Pub had opened a couple of months ago. After perusing their menus- both beer and food but of course I found the beer menu more interesting- I moved it to the top of the list. The bar would be a nice place to check out after work, to have a couple beers and sit outside in the makeshift beer garden. When some friends wanted to go out for dinner last night, I suggested we check the Carleton Grange Pub out.

When I got there, the place looked busy. I had to park a block away. Nice looking place inside. I like the woodwork. Bar area wasn't that big though. Enough space for stools and maybe room for a couple people to stand. It quickly became apparent they were more interested in selling food that being a regular type of bar.

When they seated us, they gave us both a beer and food menu. Nice touch. Unfortunately, both menus were different than what was online. Or so I thought. Earlier in the week they were featuring some Belgian beers that I wanted to try. But on Friday, they had switched over to a new listing. I see they did update their site as well. Now don't read me wrong. I cannot blame a place for changing their beer menu. In fact, I find that encouraging. More beers to try. I hope that they keep changing the beer they feature.

Food menu changed slightly as well. But nothing too major. The offerings were mainly bar food but with a slight English twist. I had a 3 Kings burger that wasn't anything special. Typical bacon cheeseburger and fries. The others had the fish and chips and the pub club toastie. Or so he thought.

The waitress screwed up the order. This shouldn't have been a surprise as when he ordered some Irish whisky "neat", she asked if he wanted that on the rocks. Ugh! So instead of the club, he was served a piraino. I guess the combination of salami and roast beef was pretty bad. He described is as "death in my mouth". Great line. I suggest you use that in the future, I know I will.

As for the beer, I did try the Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Big thumbs up. Frothy head, full body with the distinct chocolate flavor, but not overbearing. Good beer. Went down well. But not being a huge stout fan, I switched back to the local favorite, Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. Nothing else on the menu looked that appetizing for me to try.

Overall, the Carleton Grange Pub was just ok. Nothing special about the place. If they focus didn't appear to be on food, it could be a nice place to hang out. Too many tables in the bar area for my taste. Made you feel squeezed in when you didn't need to be. I will give it another shot when I see the beer menu has changed. That would give me a good reason to try the pizza as well.

One topic I notice that has the search engines bring people to this site is the question "What should I eat before drinking?" I can answer part of that. Don't eat a big burger. The burger I had last night sat in my stomach slowly digesting. I wasn't even able to finish a 32 ouncer after dinner as I felt totally bloated. I was in some pain later. I am formulating a formal answer. It may not be that simple or again, it may be. I think eating not that much is the key as well as to what you are eating. Give me a little more time to research for the best answer.