Firkin and Gryphon

«O Beer! O Hodgson, Guinness, Allsopp, Bass! Names that should be on every infant’s tongue.»
— C.V. Calverley — English Poet
I have tried to like this place. I really have. I like the idea, I like the atmosphere, I like the beer selection, I like the service at the bar. I hate the food. They have a vegetarian sandwich on the menu which everyone who works there recommends, but they never have it when I ask for it. Nothing else there is ever great, and no one ever wants to come here with me. Still a great place to get a Guinness though.

To be honest, I only went here because I had a coupon.
Actually, I paid $ 7 for $ 30 worth of food and drink. At that price, I would go back. At the prices on the menu? Nah, I’ll find something better.

It gets 3 stars because we can play pool while waiting for our food. We usually come around 4 pm on a school night. After we pick up our son from school before he plays basketball. He loves to play pool. We are able to play pool without having to fight a crowd, that’s good!
I’ve only been once and since it’s a pub specializing in fish & chips that’s what we ordered.
Maybe being married to a South African has made me super picky about this food group. Maybe Americans are used to more grease & breading on our fried fish. Either way, YUCK!
Flavorless, grease filled, doughy fish is not what fish & chips mean to me. The fries were also greasy, soggy & flavorless.
I will probably give this place another try so my kid can play pool but I will never order the fish & chips again!

British pub style food in ATL, on the Perimeter so hard to say ITP or OTP but not a bad location at all. Plenty of parking, big space so lots of seating too. Nice bar area and pool table for some entertainment. Definitely be a great place to go watch a game. They have some interesting British staples, but was surprised to find some Indian food there as well. We went all British and tried a pot pie and a sandwich with fries. Loved the food, service was reasonable. We were with a pretty large group. Will probably head back a few times to try some of their other offerings, esp. the Indian items on the menu.

Between good food and good trivia, I’m sold on our new spot to go to on Thursday nights.
There’s an excellent variety of items to choose from, whether you like burgers, salad, fish and chips, or savory pies. Portions are huge, so if you’re not too hungry, split the meal. You can also sub in ANY side (some have an upcharge so be mindful of that). I’ve yet to have a bad meal here: fish and chips, salads, salmon, appetizers… everything comes out hot if it’s supposed to be hot, cold if it’s supposed to be cold, and tastes fantastic.
It’s also not incredibly loud for a bar, which I like. Speaking of the bar, they have a lot of great beers on tap and a few other great selections in the bottle.

I was very iffy about coming to this place because of the mixed reviews I’ve read, but since I had a HalfOff Depot voucher I decided to give it a chance. Let me start by saying Sara is an awesome waitress! She gave us great suggestions and was on point the entire time. We started with the fried green tomatoes. They were really tasty and delicious BUT you only get 3 slices of the tomato on a bed of greens. For $ 8 I def felt like you should get more. I ordered the Turkey Melt (Sara’s suggestion) and it was great! As a dipper I requested some extra marmalade sauce on the side and it definitely satisfied my desire for sweet and savory. The fries were really tasty!
My boi ordered the lemon pepper wings fried hard and those were a no go. He let Sara know and she apologized and was more than willing to bring him something else. He ordered (I believe) the chipotle BBQ wings and he said they were «ok». I really wanted to try the Krispy Kreme dessert but they were out so I had the brownie Sunday. It was pretty good.
As far as the atmosphere, they had a small tv at the table with cable so that was really cool. The bathroom was clean. There was a lot going on design wise as far as carpet, fire place, signs, and bright red velvet booths but it was cool. I would definitely go back and get my sandwich again!

Been here twice. The first time was several months ago and we had a very pleasant experience. For an app we ordered the Irish Nachos. How can you go wrong with waffle fries, cheese, sour cream and bacon? So good. For my entrée I got the roasted veggie sandwich with sweet potato fries. The sweet potato fries were just ok. Not horrible but not the best I ever had either. My husbands regular fries were better. Service was great and we played trivia that was a lot of fun.
Now, we went back again this weekend. I had a half off depot voucher so we figured what the heck. Our experience was terrible. Our server was super slow. To her defense it looked like they were under staffed. It was probably 15 minutes before we were even greeted at our table. It was probably another 10 before we got our drinks. For an app we got the nachos this time. They were average. Not the best. They use regular shredded cheese and clearly they had been sitting for awhile before they were brought out because all the cheese was hardened. I don’t know why anyone would put shredded cheese on nachos and then melt it. Just use queso people! For my entrée I ordered the chicken cobb salad at the recommendation of my server. When it came out I was shocked. It was seriously the portion of a side salad with some cold chicken on top. And the lettuce was all ice berg. The menu description was mixed greens. I don’t know what is mixed about ice berg lettuce. The other toppings that were in the menu description were slim. I sent it back and didn’t order a replacement. My husband ordered the Firkin burger cooked medium well. It was cooked medium at best. The bacon was gross and rubbery and the sauteed onions were mush. I tried a bite and it was a major disappointment. My husband took two bites and didn’t finish it. We ate the waffle fries that came with it.
Really disappointed in Firkin. This place probably won’t last long with bad food and bad service. You can only sell so much beer. Anyway, we have to come back because I have two more vouchers. unless someone wants to buy them off me so they can experience this for themselves? I would never pay full price to dine here.

My friend and I came here specifically for their fish & chips. I’ve always loved this dish ever since I got to study abroad in London back in 2000, and it’s difficult to find good English pub food. Many people may say that English food is total crap, but fish & chips is the one thing that you can’t go wrong!
Loved the fish, it was nicely battered and crispy. I wish there was a way to make the batter a little less heavy though because I do like the fish part more. The chips were great, not too soggy or overloaded with oil. They come plain just like they’re supposed to and I put malt vinegar and salt on it.
I ordered the collard greens to be healthy and this is where I feel like there was a bit of a fail on their end. It was pretty standard to me, nothing that great and definitely something I could make myself at home. (hence the minus 1-​star).
If i do get a fish & chips kick again, I will definitely come here!

So the menu has something for EVERYONE & they make ALL of it Delish!
My boyfriend is English & very critical & he LOVES this place. When he’s in the country we go here at least 2 times a week.
I’m a National Figure Competitor & when I get a cheat meal, this is where I head to.
My daughter is taking me here for Dinner tonight & I can’t wait.
Dessert — Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding — OMG!!!

Ok, I’ve been here enough times to write a review. I have been on the hunt for scotch eggs in Atlanta. I tried to make it once and let’s just say, my dog ate it (jk). I was very happy to find out that possibly the only restaurant in Atlanta that sells GOOD scotch eggs happens to be a block away from my apartment (stalkers gon’ stalk). The scotch eggs are big, crunchy outside and packed with meat inside just the way I like it.
I have eaten in there (patio and indoors), gotten take out and also delivery (go waiter). I ALWAYS get the 2 piece fish n chips and I only eat one because the pieces are SO big. I eat the 2^nd for next day lunch because, yeah I don’t share food.
I have also tried their spinach dip which is also good but not my favorite. I really like this place and I plan to go many more times and introduce scotch eggs to as many people as possible.
You may now crown me the Queen of Scotch Eggs.

I thought this place was pretty darn good. We came with a group of 9. 6 adults and 3 children (under the age of 10). For a bar/​grill place, there were tons of seating, the noise level was pretty average (we could talk down the table without yelling) and the food was fantastic. There were a ton of TVs throughout the entire restaurant. I imagine this place would get packed on a Saturday (NCAA Football) or Sunday (NFL) in the fall, but I can imagine that it would be a lot of fun to watch games at this establishment.
Now, on to the food.
I ordered the full rack of Ribs with Brunswick Stew. The ribs were fantastic. You could not pull the bones apart with your hands (a steak knife is given to you) but when you actually bite into the ribs, you get the smoke flavor, a mouthful of juicy, tender meat with a little bit of sauce on top. I believe they use a dry rub during the cooking process and apply a little of their BBQ sauce right before serving. The ribs were really good, and are a very good price ($ 15 for a full slab and $ 8 for a half, one side included). The portions are extremely generous.
My wife ordered ribs and chili. In all honesty, I did not like their chili. It was cooked perfectly but I did not like the flavor at all. This is just a personal preference, like I said, it was cooked well but it did not tickle my fancy.
They have a decent tap list. My wife does not enjoy beer, but she does enjoy hard ciders. They lacked a little on their cider options (really only 2, Crispin and Strongbows). They allowed my wife to taste the Strongbows (which she didn’t like, a little too sweet) so she ordered something else.
All in all, I will absolutely go back. Good food, good environment and good people, how can you go wrong.
OH, before I end, Thursday night was Trivia night. Really fun to do. We finished second, but I am not sure where the MC put the $ 20 I gave him for a little «help» with the scoring. There were 13 teams total, so it seems like a lot of people like the trivia night. According to their website, the following is their events every week.
Mondays — kids eat free
Tuesdays — $ 0.68 wings
Wednesday — Karaōke begins at 9:30 p.m.
Thursday — Team Trivia begins at 8 p.m. with DJ Prism afterward.
Definitely check this place out.

I finally decided to write a review of this place after three visits. This is the new post-​kickball bar for my Sunday league. I will not miss Firebird’s, the food at that place was mostly disappointing. Not true of F&G. This place used to be a Smoky Bones. Perhaps that is why they have multiple BBQ items on the menu (SB must have left all the BBQ equipment /​smokers). F&G has a decidedly odd /​addlebrained British /​UK theme.
So far I have tried the the chicken wings (Cajun Rub, Regular BBQ and Chipotle BBQ varieties) the fried fish sandwich, and the grilled chicken club. So far I like the grilled Chicken Club sammy and /​or Cajun rub wings best. The fries that are the usual side option are okay but not great; crunchy /​crispy coating straight /​long cut fries similar to Arby’s /​Gyro Wrap’s curly fires in texture /​style but without the curly fry spiciness in the coating.
I know the chicken fingers are very popular and hugely portioned. I also see people ordering chicken pot pie (which gets mixed reviews). Pizza’s and hoagies look similarly interesting.
The place has a rather large menu of item offerings with a great variety of dishes (including pasta and BBQ items). Perhaps there is too much variety; the menu is pretty much all over the place kind of like most Atlanta neighborhood Greek diners (the ones with lots of chrome) but instead here, in this case, with a confused and /​or addled British /​Scottish /​Irish twist.
The beer menu is impressive and extensive, with lots of foreign and microbrew options, but I don’t like how they list alcohol content yet, oddly, no prices. You have to ask the wait staff /​bartenders about prices rather than read them on the menu. That bugs me.
I have not been to Tilted Kilt but I imagine F&G is similar but somehow better. Perhaps F&G really deserves 3.5 stars but I will go with 3. The waiters are helpful and the waitresses are smoking hot (as well as friendly /​nice). I hope I am able to bump up the rating to four stars with future upcoming visits.

I really like the atmosphere. Big, red, fluffy booths! And TVs all over the place. The brew list was decent, but definitely not a taco mac. I noticed some booths also had their own mini flat screen tv. Nice.
I enjoyed the ribs (full rack) and the bbq sauce. I did *not* enjoy the fries or the side salad (ick). The dressing tasted like oil. The salad was kind of bitter… weird. And the fries weren’t crispy at all.
But hey, I’ll come back for the ribs.

Love this place! Got a chance to try their dry rub ribs because it was highly recommended by the general manager. The boyfriend and I loved it! The customer service here was splendid! :) We not only had our lovely waitress check up on us more than a handful of times to make sure our drinks were half full and our food was cooked to our liking, but it was also a team effort since other restaurant staff members came by to greet us and make sure our dining experience was up to par.
Their bar is beautifully layed out and you can’t help but notice the comfy red velour seating throughout the restaurant. Come here for the food and spirits! Firkin and Gryphon is conveniently located right down the street from Perimeter mall with plenty of parking and one of the friendliest pub staff in the «ITP» area. I will definitely come back with new friends and show them a great new hangout spot where you can enjoy good food, beer and catch a game or two on one of their many flat screen tvs!

Second time here. First time I had the fish and chips; they were ok.
Second visit, I tried the tuna sandwich. The tuna sandwich was not what I expected, in appearance and in taste. (I had in mind a tuna sandwich like Chili’s served years ago)
However, the flavors that were on the sandwich worked well together.
From the menu: Seared Ahi tuna, arugula, sambal mayo, lemon vinaigrette and pineapple mango salsa.
I had my tuna prepared medium well.
The fries were good and well seasoned.
There is a large selection of beers on draft and available in a bottle.
There are other menu items that I may return to try.

I cannot comment on the food, because I came here to have a drink, since it’s advertised as a «pub.» I didn’t really get the whole pub feel. It’s a restaurant more than anything else. The bar size isn’t impressive enough for me to classify it to pub-​status. The chicks that work there are dressed like they may or may not have just come from the Tilted Kilt. I wonder if the Firkin guys realize that uniform already exists…
Anyway, they have darts and a pool table, and outdoor seating, so that’s a plus for this place. I don’t know if I’ll return. I wasn’t wowed enough by the vibe (or the douchebags with tight t-​shirts that were hitting on the bartender) during my visit.

Came here because I heard Bono came here and ate, and I thought it had to be good. And it was. I had the fish and chips and a Guinness, and both were perfect. The fish was a little on the «still dripping with grease» stage and I had to soak it up with a couple of napkins, but it was delicious. Very tender, flaky fish. My wife had the chicken pot pie, which was freaking HUGE. She loved it, said it was probably the best pot pie she’d ever had. Not lots of filler, just chicken and fresh vegetables. The carrots inside had a nice, fresh snap to them.
The only thing I didn’t like was that we were seated next to the bar on some cheap folding table and chairs like you had to sit at at family dinners as a kid, not ready for the «big kids table.» Other than that, they had a nice varied menu, and the BBQ looked great. We’ll definitely be back.

Seriously, try this place. It is good. It’s not great, you won’t be singing «Whiskey in the Jar» with dirty redheaded Irish lasses covered in Guinness, but it is a pretty good pub.
I’ve been here on a Monday and a Friday night, and both times the service was good, and the food was tasty. The menu runs from brunch to pub fare to dinner entrees, and Gryphon does a good job on everything. I even tried the special Winter Cobbler, and it was awesome. My friend who is against any dessert with cooked fruit thought it was good.
Too many good pubs are dying in Atlanta, don’t let this one fail.

Fan of the food, love that it’s local, undecided on service.
The new space is wide open and well decorated. Sort of a cross between Taco Mac and the Dunwoody Tavernish English pubs.
The food was excellent! Cottage pie with veggies was wonderful. Veggies some of the best I’ve had. It was a cold night and this warmed me thoroughly. My husband had the pulled pork with mashed potatoes. He loved the potatoes and the pork was quite good.
Service was good when we arrived then the bartender got distracted with other patrons. My credit card was on the bar for about 10 mintues after we finished dinner and drinks. The other bartender seemed to notice the card but did nothing about it. I eventually had to get out and hand the card to the bartender so we could leave. She did apologize when she realized we had been waiting.
Overall I would recommend this new restaurant.

UPDATE: Came in and enjoyed the pub this past weekend. It was truly great! The Scotch Eggs were extremely authentic (translation: I think they were a bit over-​cooked), the service was FANTASTIC (thanks, Dana!), the pool table is in great shape, and the freakin’ ribs were firkin fantastic!
First off, this is a mini-​review, based on a sneak peak. The fine folks at Firkin and Gryphon allowed me to come inside and poke around a couple of times as they were remodeling, prepping, and training.
Grand Opening is Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 (next week).
Come by the Firkin and Gryphon and check out this beautiful brand-​new bar! 31 craft drafts on tap (say that three times fast), a beautiful selection of whisky and whiskey, and 36 fine bottled beers.
Upon entering, you are greeted first by a suit of armor, a stone fireplace, and then by a kilted lass. Booths are really quite nice, upholstered in a luxurious faux-​velvet. 19 brand-​new large flat-​screen TV’s line the walls, making this a great place to catch a brew and the game.
Two fabulous bristle dart boards are in the sports room on the left (bring your own darts and let F&G store them for you behind the bar), and a niiiice slate pool table is nestled in the back corner. All of these features are comfortably arranged in 7200 square feet (about twice the size of a typical Firkin pub).
In addition to the fine beers and whiskeys, they feature a well thought-​out drink selection, divided into categories such as Martini Mojo (their own martini recipes), Mix It Up (featured mixed drinks), and Winter Warmers (great coffee, cider, and hot chocolate based potables) that go great with one of F&G’s desserts.
Now, I have not said anything about their food. I did mention that this is just a sneak peak, and F&G are not quite open for business just yet. But, I did get to see the menu, and it does look yummy, with a wide variety of pub fare, salads, sandwiches, and pasta, including vegetarian selections just never seen at «just a pub». The Classic Scotch Egg appetizer, the Mac & Cheese with Ham, and the Pesto Shrimp Penne pasta all caught my eye. That, however, was before I saw their great selection of Pizzas, and their Fine Fare entrees.
The Firkin and Gryphon is part of the Firkin pub family, founded in Ontario in 1987, which has about 30 pubs in Canada and 15 here in the US. Their sister location is the Firkin & Lindberg, which has been open since July of last year.
Overall, I cannot wait to come in once they open! I am also looking forward to the opening of their patio space in the spring!
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Drafts:
Bass Pale Ale, Bells Two Hearted Ale, Blue Moon White Ale, Boddingtons Pub Ale, Bud Light, Carlsberg Lager, Dogfish 90 Min IPA, Duvel Green Belgian Lager, Fat Tire Amber Ale, Fuller’s ESB, Guinness, Heineken Pilsner, Kronenbourg 1664 Pale Lager, McSorley’s Irish Black Lager, Ommegang Hennepin Ale, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Sam Adams Seasonal, Smithwick’s Irish Ale, Southampton Double White Ale, Southampton Seasonal, Stella Artois Pale Lager, Strongbow Cider, Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale, Terrapin Seasonal, Weihenstephan, Wild Heaven Invocation Ale, Wild Heaven Ode To Mercy Brown Ale, and Yuengling Traditional Lager
Bottled Beers:
Abita — Andygator 22 oz, Amstel Light, Bells — Amber Ale, Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale, Brooklyn Brewery Lager, Budweiser, Chimay White, Coors Light, Corona, Flying Dog Gonzo, Harpoon Brewery — UFO, Harpoon Brewery — IPA, Innus & Gunn — Oak Age, Innus & Gunn — Rum Cask, Legbiter Ale, Michelob Ultra, Modelo, Moosehead, Newcastle 18.5 oz, Ommegang — Abby Ale, Ommegang — Rare Vos, Red Stripe, Sam Adams Light, Samuel Smith — Oatmeal Stout, Session Black, Session Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, St. Patrick’s Best Ale, St. Paulie NA, Stone — IPA, Sweetwater Seasonal, Taj Mahal, Terrapin — Golden Ale, Terrapin — Hopsecutioner, Terrapin — Rye Pale Ale, and Victory — HopDevil.
And, they have purse hooks under the bar!