Raleigh Beer Garden

Great beer selection. Ill definitely be back here for the beer. It’s a beautiful space, too.
Otherwise…
The service? Sub par. The two waitresses running our area were either nowhere to be found or tripping over each other. Our food was taking a while. When we asked about the status of our burgers, we got attitude
The food? Go eat somewhere else first! My burger was COLD when it arrived. So were my saltless, tasteless fries. No ketchup or salt to be found anywhere. The bun was stale and fell apart. The onion on my burger was actually the skin of the onion. Gross.

This is a beer house, and boy do they have beer. The food is so so, but nothing goes better with beer than a soft pretzel … Now batter it and fry it!
350 beers on tap!

Raleigh Beer Garden has some of best selection of beers on tap in the city. The bar backs know their stuff and are happy to give you recommendations. Take them up on it because it is hard to get through all their offerings! The menu is always changing in their TV menus. You can look on your phone but is hard to tell how up to date they keep their website.
I love the outside eating area, but of course those are the popular night to go grab a beer, and they lose a lot of space when every one has to move inside. However, if it’s just a little chilly outside, don’t let that stop you. Try to get an outside table with a fire pit!
My favorite bar is the downstairs one with all NC beers so if you haven’t been yet, stop by there first :)

I went last night, and my second visit was worse than my first. My food was cold, and the first-​floor back bar smelled a tad like vomit.
Also, the lamestream 90’s music they were playing was downright heinous (Linkin Park, Creed, Eve 6, OLP, Serial Joe, Methods of Mayhem, Savage Garden, Evanescence, Good Charlotte, Fall Out Boy, Jonas Brothers, All Saints, etc.).
But, our bartender was nice/​helpful, and they have a million different beers, so that earns them 3 stars.

366 beers on tap??? YASSSS. The most in the world??? YASSSS. Of course I had to stop by and see this spectacle in person while visiting Raleigh! I was definitely impressed!
Raleigh beer garden is a chill place to grab a bite and a beer with great ambiance. We came here on a Thursday night so parking wasn’t too easy to find on the streets. I love that this place is walking distance from other bars so it could be a stop along the way or the final destination.
On the lower level towards the entrance is the bar with harder liquor. Don’t ask for a menu. They don’t have them. Be ready to tell them exactly what you want! Upstairs is where you will see all the beer and it’s a sight to see!
Lots of seating is dedicated for those that are dining, but the bar space is large as well. Plenty of seats at the bar itself and tables surrounding it. The night I visited, people were standing around the bar but that’s expected at popular spots.
Even if you aren’t a beer drinker, stop by and enjoy the food. Seeing all the beers on tap is definitely impressive!

I really, really, really want to like this place, but with so many incredible bottle shops around Raleigh, I’m taking my business elsewhere. While the interior is incredible, my issue comes with the beer itself. With 300+ taps it is absolutely impressive, but I’ve seen on multiple occasions beers going for $ 20 a pint that I can find at other local bottle shops (on tap even) for only $ 8. Who are these people who are paying $ 20 a pint for beers? How fresh is the beer?
I find that 300+ taps is very overwhelming, and the rotating signs makes it difficult for a non regular to know what to order. I think if they had a list of constant taps, and a selection of rotating ones, a la Flying Saucer, the concept would be better executed.
I continue to visit to try to change my opinion, but go somewhere else for a great variety, and way better prices.

It took me a while to try this place out but I’m glad I finally went. The beer selection is so big you’ll have a hard time picking something out. But no worries, just try a flight and you won’t be disappointed. They serve everything on all levels now so that’s a definite plus as it was the one thing I was worried about before going. They also don’t have their menu printed so bring a fully charged cellphone to view the extensive menu online. If your cellphone is dead, just ask for a flight of your favorite type of beer and be adventurous!
The food is just okay as it didn’t blow my hair back. But it was nice to have a food option while sitting down in the awesome chairs for some tasty beer.

I wanted to give this place a few chances before writing a review. They were absolutely slammed when they first opened and had many kinks in the service to work out. It still gets pretty crazy, but they seem to be handling the crowd much better.
If you love beer, this is your place. They have the most beers on tap than any where! They have local beers on the1st floor and everything else on the 2^nd floor. You need to look up the beer menus on your own device, which is a bit annoying — they should get a few tablets to pass around from table to table. Also, not everyone has a smartphone. They also offer cocktails and have a great liquor selection if you aren’t feeling beer.
I love the interior. The tree motif is amazing! If I was basing this review on just the beer and the ambiance, it would be 4 or 5 stars for sure.
The reason I am only giving 3 stars is that the food is sub-​bar. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. Last time I was there, I ordered a flatbread with sausage and there were only like 3 pieces of sausage on it.
I still plan to frequent this establishment often, as I love the beer and the overall feel of the place, but I probably won’t be ordering any food.
Tip: Follow Raleigh Beer Garden on Twitter (
) — they announce new beers tapped! Also, look at the beer menu beforehand so you have an idea of what you want and aren’t overwhelmed when you arrive.

Wasn’t sure what to expect with all the mixed reviews, but I was pleasantly pleased! I met one of my girlfriends here for lunch the other day and left feeling satiated and full.
They haven’t yet tapped their Great Lakes Christmas Ale, so instead I tried the Southern Tier Christmas Ale. A solid second choice!
I had the burger and fries. I chowed down on it. I love the carmelized onion and bacon jam or whatever that was on it. Yummy.
Atmosphere is just as everyone says: quite lovely. We sat outside on a mild December day with minimal need for the heat lamps, but they did have them on just to make it a little more comfortable.
I will likely be returning here. I am impressed with the space and the menu. And either it’s because it was a slow lunch, or they have picked up on the service flaws, the service was top notch. And our server was knowledgeable about all the beers (there are sooooo many) and he was also kinda cute!

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to make it over to the Raleigh Beer Garden. I went with a group of 8 in the late afternoon the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was crowded, but we had no problem finding a table big enough. Getting a beer was a bit difficult, they didn’t seem to have enough people working. Once we did get up there, the bartender was really helpful in making recommendations. She was knowledgeable about what she had on tap, and very friendly. We got a beer from the North Carolina section. They had international and domestic beers upstairs and high gravity beers on the floor above that.
The beer was a little pricey, but they definitely had a wide selection. We didn’t order food this time, but I’d like to get back and try it sometime!

I want so badly to rate this beer garden higher. They have a great concept but are executing it poorly.
The food is nothing to write home about. The only food worth getting are the pretzels which you get two of and are the size of your head. If you order food you have to go inside to the bar to order which doesn’t make sense because they have servers.
Now for the beer which is what they should be known for… If you start a tab on the first floor then you have to start a different tab for the second floor. This makes no sense and limits you from being able to try all 388 beers they house. I even went to the rooftop where they told me that the taps weren’t even working so they couldn’t offer us any beer. I also think that they have trouble keeping fresh beer on tap with this many taps.
The décor is amazing and I love that the windows pull back. Its very open and literally has trees growing up through the building. The liquor bar has a giant tree with bird cages hanging on it and its quite beautiful.
It’s going to take some time for them to work out the kinks since they are still a new location. I love the idea but not sure that it is really working for them. I hope they figure it out and that they end up with better review from me in the long run.

Loud and a fun place for college kids and young professionals alike. Several floors of space to socialize, and drinks here are certainly in no shortage.
Choose from a wall of taps on the second floor. Bartenders are knowledgable. Or get you a mixed drank on the first where they’ve got this sweet rolly ladder just like something from Beauty and the Beast.
Just a note: If you open a tab on the first floor, you have to open a separate one if you park your ass on the second floor and decide to stay there. Tabs don’t transfer between floors.
I’m not sure what prices look like in the rest of the city, but drink prices absolutely kill this place for me. A can of Woodchuck and a Jack and Coke cost $ 14.00 without tip. Not sure if we are in Raleigh or in LA!

I have mixed feelings about the beer garden. On this most recent visit Mom & I decided to check this place out on a Sunday afternoon, to my surprise the beer garden was not packed (lucky us!).
Likes:
–This space was huge and amazing!
–A beer lovers Heaven
–5oz pour option is available so you can try several
–Mom loved the Pork Belly Cheese Fries
Dislikes:
–Beer menu was difficult to read on my phone, too many options to scroll through so that was a bit overwhelming
–Waitress no 1 at the table could not answer several of my questions relating to beer
–Boyfriend decided to join us, when we moved the party to the bar area, and asked for a sample of ciders and went with one of the recommendations. turns out it was $ 5.50 for a 5oz pour! I wish they would have mentioned it was a bit more expensive prior to ordering, we would have gone with a different option
–I wanted to order a few beers but was told that those were only served third floor so I went to the third floor where I was told «I don’t know why they are sending people up here for those, we only have these 12 beers up here.»
I will definitely be returning again (when it is not busy, lol).

Came with 7 others on a Tuesday night.
It was busy.
Our service was great. We were all surprised how fast the food came out.
Being all tech geeks, we all had the tap hunter app installed and were able to figure out what we wanted.
Well, two of us couldn’t figure it out, so our server made them sampler trays — one for ciders and one for hefeweizens.
You have to come here just to check out the outdoor area and 3^rd story bar.
I’m not sure if all the quirks have been worked out or not, but everything was great for me. And my friends, all out-​of-​towners, were duly impressed.

I love the concept of this place but the service was horrible. Our waitress forgot to put our food order in and 45mn later we still didn’t have our food. She told us the kitchen was backed up but we arrived there around 10pm on a Wednesday night. There were barely 30 people in the entire place.
When we received our food everything was overcooked! I did love the design of the beer garden and it’s perfect for groups. Also the selections of beers is amazing. I just wish our group had a better experience.
I will give the beer garden another try in the future and update my review then.

I never knew that Tuesday nights could feel so much like the weekend. The hype of Raleigh Beer Garden obviously hasn’t died down yet, because this place was packed! It may have felt more crowded inside because it had been raining, but there were still way more people out then I would expect in the middle of the week. I did notice that the bars on the first floor were busier than the bar on the 2^nd floor. So if you want less of a wait for your drink, there are plenty of great beers upstairs (and a better chance of snagging a chair).
We initially went and sat at the bar, but put our name in for a table. After about an hour wait, we got a table in the corner of the 2^nd floor. But there was an awkward tree in the middle of the table that made it difficult to talk to the person across from you. It looks cool, but it is not exactly practical.
Comparing my experience to some of the other reviews, it seems like the service is improving. When we were seated, we were served promptly and ordered a couple of appetizers for the table to share. The food came out surprisingly fast. I guess by this point it was past 9PM, so those who came to eat dinner were probably done. The beer battered pretzels were delicious! Crunchy on the outside, but also very fluffy. The cheese fries were pretty standard and nothing special. I definitely recommend ordering the pretzels first. And of course there are a ridiculous amount of options for drinks. One thing I didn’t like about the beer menus on the screen above the taps was that the screen kept changing. This made it difficult for me to read all of the options or point anything out to my friends.
I definitely expect that we’ll be back as this seems to be one of the hottest spots in Raleigh and there really isn’t another place like it around here.

What a great concept. This beer garden hits all the points that are missing at Flying Saucer and World of beer. Visiting less than a week after they opened, we had a great time, but there are a few things you should know.
The venue is AMAZING. Huge! Beautiful inside! There is a huge, dog friendly back patio with lots of shade. I saw servers bringing bowls of ice water to the pups — love that! Subway tile, sanded wood plank bars, wood everywhere with metalwork accents. Very similar in style to Cary’s Pharmacy. Can I just move in? Three floors, AC on floor 2 (which is national and international beer taps). Go to
and their whole menu is right there. Pick your beer in advance! Perfect.
We arrived at 3:50pm for the special opening time of 4pm and were let in at 4pm on the dot. According to their social media, they are closed for lunch for the next week in order to work on some of the issues they’ve encountered — many of them mentioned in reviews here. Being receptive, responsive and proactive — what more could you ask for?
We knew better than to go for table service. It’s too crazy right now! There’s no way service can be good, no matter how hard they try, between the kitchen getting drilled and the servers all being in the weeds immediately. I’ve never seen a restaurant fill to the brim in 15 minutes at 4pm on a Sunday. Geez! Menu looks awesome, but we’ll wait until next time. I’ll be back for those heirloom tomato crostinis and the herbed crab fritters.
Beer selection was awesome. I went straight for the NC beer bar (first floor) and had two pints of NC beers that were brand new to me, and I’m a big NC beer lover! Flat Top Black IPA out of Banner Elk and Starpoint’s Surfin Buddha IPA out of Chapel Hill. 4 bartenders working — any more and it would have been way too crowded. The two I interacted with were friendly, knowledgeable and attentive despite the quickly accumulating crowd.
I really enjoyed this place. I’ll give them a month or so to let everyone try it out, but I’ll certainly be back in September or October to enjoy a drink from the cocktail bar or a new beer on the rooftop deck!

3 of my coworkers and I stopped by on opening week so we set our expectations lower, and thought we would be prepared for the long lines and long wait times. Boy was it worse than that. We arrived at 7 PM and were lucky enough to be near a table as a group left and were able to snag it within 10 minutes of arriving. Otherwise we would have been in the other unlucky group of customers milling around the bar while one overworked bartender attempted to grab as many drink orders as he could. We were pumped about getting a table and chairs so we settled in to enjoy our surroundings and get prepared about the long wait.
The décor and setting of the place is awesome. It was beautifully designed with trendy wood furniture and wooden walls all around. The large tree in the center of the building was a nice, creative touch as well. It was amazing to see all the taps on the walls, and then go up to the second floor… and see even more taps! I didn’t get to check out the outside area, but I saw a steady stream of people heading up and down so it appeared to be just as popular as the lower 2 floors.
We really wanted to try some beers and try the food but it was not meant to be. We watched as our waitress – with her head propped up with her elbows leaned in on another patron’s table the entire 30 minutes we sat waiting for someone to come by our table. Apparently whatever that customer was showing her on his phone was more important than the completed receipt from the previous customer left on our table and our entire table sitting there. I have never, ever seen that type of behavior from the wait staff at any restaurant I’ve been to – no matter the type of place it was. It’s clear that the Beer Garden has severe staffing issues they need to work on including hiring WAYYYY more staff and training their staff and getting rid of those who are unable to complete their job duties.
Another issue was that there were many, many leaks in the roof everywhere. There was big buckets and towels placed all over the place. Unfortunately, there were 3 right next to our table by the window that no one seemed to care about. This added to our table’s agitation as we were continuously splashed by the leaks while we stared at our completely unprofessional waitress flirting with the customer.
Disappointedly, we left our table 30 minutes later, foodless and drinkless. I would like to come back because this place has so much potential, but it won’t be anytime soon.

I was really excited to try this new hot spot tonight in downtown Raleigh. With this being opening week, I expected it to be packed. And it sure was! Before ordering a beer I scoped out the establishment by checking out all the different levels, with indoor and outdoor seating. They have an array of picnic tables, patio furniture, and yellow Christmas lights decorating the outdoor areas which gives it a nice feel and vibe.
They have a ridiculous selection of beers which is impressive. I didn’t try anything off the food menu but what I saw being brought out to other tables looked delicious.
Areas of improvement:
1) The beer menu is on flat screens on the wall of the bar. Not a bad idea but the font and color of the menu makes it incredibly hard to read.
2) The wait time to get a beverage. I stood in line at the bar which was 2 people deep, and waited 35 minutes to get my beer. The bar staff seemed extremely overwhelmed, under staffed, and slow moving. I am hoping with time this gets better.
I will probably wait awhile to go again until the staffing situation is more organized.

Well, I was wondering how Raleigh Beer Garden was going to support 360+ beer taps and now I know how. This place is H-​U-​G-​E! Three floors, NC beers on the first floor along with a full bar. Second floor is all the other beers and the third floor hasn’t even opened yet. And according to Forbes, Raleigh Beer Garden may have broken the world record for beer taps in one location, phew!
I’ve come in for two visits so far and either sat at the bar or back patio which are both first come, first served. So far I’ve been lucky enough to never order a beer that was out so pretty good in terms of selection. Obviously if you can’t find something to drink here, you’re in trouble! Wait times for a beer was 15 — 20 minutes on a Thursday night.
Their small menu of pizzas, apps and entrees looks decent. Had the chance to try out their fried beer pretzel which was really good and will report back more when I’ve eaten a full meal there. I think Raleigh Beer Garden is doing a good job but the logistics of running the biggest beer garden in the world along with the crush of popularity is killing the staff and operations, they will get better. But only time will tell. Still I think Raleigh Beer Garden is off to a strong start already.