Wharf Hill Brewing Co.

Probably the best food option in quaint Smithfield. Was in town for work for a week and ate at Wharf multiple times — tried a few other local options and was disappointed every time. The specials are where it’s at for Wharf — the best was a lunch BLT made with fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese. So good it should be on the regular menu. Also really enjoyed the zesty fisherman’s stew.

Really great service and restaurant. They had craft beer we pay $ 7 in Portsmouth for, for $ 3.50. Food was good, great bbq sauce that came with the wonton. It was a little confusing walking in to a sign that said please wait for the host, without knowing where the host was. But they were busy, so no reason to get upset over that. Everything was priced accordingly and great quality.

I don’t claim to be a big fan of se Virginia. Customer service typically is weak and food is run of the mill in most places ava to top it off there it’s the high food tax.
Wharf hill is a definite exception! I went here on a tues evening for the prime rib special.
The place is very quaint and has a bright friendly warm atmosphere. Lee, the proprietor, was at the bar and very attentive to everyone’s needs.
I had the prime rib, blackened and rare. I good choice cut it seemed. Cooked sugar snap peas were very good. The red potatoes wee good but a bit dry.
The beer selection is excellent ads I even got me first, on the house, as a thank you for serving my country. Nice:)
I tried the peanut butter chocolate pie. It is good, but a bit dry and almost chalky.
A great dinner and a great place.
I highly recommend and I promise to be back soon!
Thanks Lee

Went to lunch with a friend here and it was so nice. The service was great, very friendly and quick. He constantly came to check on us and refill our drinks. I got the chicken pot pie and it was delicious and a good sized portion for me. The biscuit top to it was nice and flaky. My friend got the chicken Parmesan and ate every late bite. She loved it and if she had room for more would probably have ordered another to go. We got the loaded fries appetizer and man was it filling, and no little bacon bits. This had full chunks of bacon with all the cheesy goodness. Some of the best fries I have had in awhile. Would totally recommend to go during lunch as is not as crowded.

Came here with my family for a weekday lunch today, and was surprised to see the place just about full: clearly Wharf Hill does a good business. The restaurant’s in a neat location in downtown Smithfield, and it has a great location and ambiance.
My primary reason for visiting Wharf Hill was to check out their beer, and they did not disappoint. The bartender was very friendly, and the beers I tried were great: «their Isle of Wheat» hefe is one of the better Hefeweizens I’ve had. I love that they have reasonably priced ½ pint pours, too.
The food was mixed. The fried green tomatoes were the best I’ve ever had: crisp, just the right thickness, and perfectly seasoned. The french fries were also excellent. The oyster po’ boy, however — which I’d had high expectations for — was sub-​par. I counted six small oysters on the sandwich: given the large bun, they were lost. The bread, tomato, and remoulade (admittedly tasty) completely overwhelmed the oysters. Given the price, $ 9.50, I’d hoped for more of an oyster sandwich.
Wharf Hill is absolutely worthwhile if you’re looking for good beer. If I’m ever back, I’ll go for beer and appetizers!

Been several times and try something different each time. Food is always good and service is great. Can’t wait till next time!!!

Great atmosphere, outstanding service, good drinks & awesome food. What more can you ask for? I am a big fan of flights and was so excited they offered them here! It’s a great way to try something new. The Ace Cider was by far my favorite. My husband ordered one of their specials, I believe it was soft shelled crab. I ordered the crab cake with a side of fried green tomatoes. Everything was excellent! I love that you can make fried green tomatoes a side. We are in town for the outage & Wharf Hill Brewing Co. has become a new favorite!

We were very excited about a new brewery in town, but must say we were a bit disappointed. The atmosphere of this restaurant is fantastic and very well done, but that is where it stopped for us. The food was mediocre with nothing too astonishing. However, what made it worse was the lack of front-​of-​house organization. The night we were there it seemed like a free-​for-​all rather than the normal organized chaos one can usually expect of the restaurant world. Our server did the best with what she had, unfortunately it just wasn’t enough. The management was downright rude and it seems to us that they are getting a pass since it is the only restaurant of its kind in this area. Luckily for us, there are plenty of other enjoyable places with polite service and excellent food for us to visit. As for Wharf Hill, we will not be back.

I don’t know how we missed this treasure of a restaurant. Fresh, delicious and plentiful entrees .
My husband had the pork bbq plate with a side of hand made onion rings, the best he has had in a very long time!!! I had a the salmon cooked perfect.
Definitely would recommend well worth the trip.

After a nice stroll through downtown Smithfield, we stopped into the brewery restaurant that several people mentioned. Portions and prices were reasonable; service was okay and friendly. The décor was interesting, lots of stories behind things which I enjoy; personable. The food was okay — we tried the onion rings as was suggested and they were fresh, crispy and plentiful… but they really lacked flavor. The same I found with the fried green tomatoes. They are fresh and well cooked, but bland. Each are served with a remoulade to help give some flavor, but I think the batter and veg could have used some salt and seasoning.
We ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and crab cake sandwich — the crab was tasty. Overall I would come back, but more to try the next beer they’re brewing. We tried the only beer brewed there at the restaurant and I believe it was called the Isle of Wheat (thick and cloudy, but pleasant).

Great place with lots of character and charm. Food was very good, we had crab cakes, meatloaf, crabcake sandwich, crab bites, fried green tomatoes (which are to die for), salad and Berry Cider on draft. Great new find!

Decided to visit the brewery with a friend. I loved the look of the place. The owners have really taken the time to gather history on the building and share it with the customers. It was nice to see customers get up to read the various history around the rooms.
Upon entering we were seated fairly quickly and received menus. Waiter gave us menus and discussed the specials and Beer specials. My recommendation would be for the waiter to give more information on the specials. I love to try new beers especially those with a fruity content. The beer I received I could not drink. It was terrible. Next time I will be sure to ask more questions. I ended up switching to another drink.
The meals looked great and were cooked well. I ended up having an appetizer as my meal and it was okay. My friend had BBQ and she loved it.
Again a nice place, I would recommend this to anyone in the area.

My fiancé & I stopped in yesterday for lunch & fell in love with this cool spot. I love the history & charm this building has. The décor is super cute & our server was wonderful. I thought we may have to wait a bit coming in at noon on a Sunday, but we were seated right away.
I was surprised that they only had one beer on the menu that they brew themselves, but the one they have is delish. The Isle of Wheat is the name & it tasted like honey suckles. Yum! They also had a decent beer & wine list from other local spots as well.
Everything on the menu sounded awesome. Their prices are fantastic! I had the oyster po boy with the fishermans stew that I added for little upcharge. The sandwich was tasty & a little spicy. The stew tasted like a red clam chowder & very yummy. My fiancé ordered 6 of their wings, breaded, & I had one. They were great! Moist & crispy at the same time with a spicy/​sweet sauce coating them. He also ordered the fried fish sandwich with a side of their fried green tomatoes. We enjoyed it all!
Definitely a place to stop in whenever we’re in the area!

You were so close to a 5, Wharf Hill Brewing Company (WHBC)! So close! After my first visit less than two weeks ago, I was flying high. The service provided by Noël was impeccable; the food was sensational; and the atmosphere was lodge turned tavern equals comfortable perfection. So, what happened, you say? Well, it’s all about location, location, location. Maybe I should start over…
During my first visit at WHBC, I arrived promptly at 11:30 a.m., but there were already customers sitting at tables. I guess people were impatient – that’s a good sign, right? I picked my table by the window in the main dining room. I picked that table because of the natural lighting for taking pictures, but it turned out to be a quieter, more spacious area. Remember that – it’s important.
I ordered the Dark Hollow Double Stout on tap and it was delicious. They do offer ½ pints, which is the perfect amount during lunch. I also ordered the Shrimp Po’Boy and a salad instead of fries. The salad was an extra $ 3.00 but seemed a bit pricey for me. (For the same price, I would highly recommend getting the Fisherman’s Stew, but I’ll get into that later.) The sandwich, however, was wonderful. I’m not even a fan of shrimp, but these were cooked to perfection. The bread was soft enough without cutting your mouth and the huge fried shrimp were crunchy and delicious. The star of the meal was the cilantro rémoulade. Every bite of that Po’Boy made me smile. So much so, that I couldn’t stop thinking about it the next few days.
So, today, I decided to take my son to WHBC. When we walked in, I immediately noticed that *my* table was being taken, and so was the other table by the window. She seated us along a wall of two-​seaters. These tables and chairs were quite close to one another. When someone arrived behind me, I had to push myself as close as I could to my table and they still ended up bumping into me as they sat. That’s just too close for me. I also noticed how loud it got in there especially with the people next to us. Every time servers walked by, I felt like I had to keep moving my arms out of the way. I wanted my window table oasis again!
My son order the Obligatory Burger with fries and I got the Crab Cake Sandwich (broiled) with Fisherman’s Stew (instead of fries, I added the stew for $ 3.00). According to my teen, he said the burger was okay, but salty compared to most burgers. I took a bite and thought it was well seasoned. The fries were just okay – not bad, but not my favorite. My Crab Cake Sandwich was very good (I opted for rémoulade), but I do prefer lump crab cakes. That doesn’t stop me from devouring every morsel and made my taste buds happy. The crown jewel today, though, was the Fisherman’s Stew. Man oh man! I’m not a seafood lover period (except crab and lobster), but I still wanted to try it. I am so glad I did! The flavor was wonderful, and didn’t taste «fishy» at all. Some of you might not like that, but I loved it; I don’t want to taste the ocean when I eat.
Now you can see my dilemma. I love WHBC, but I definitely had two different experiences when it comes to the atmosphere. My recommendation would be either get a table by the window, sit at one of the booths, or try sitting in the bar area if it’s lunch time – it seemed quieter over there.
Oh! And one more thing. It’s very odd when you walk in the door. It is cramped and there is no lobby area. The first time I visited, I looked around at the bar trying to figure out what to do. Then I spotted the servers in the dining room trying to catch my eye. I know it’s difficult because of the set up in that old building, but it’s weird and somewhat unwelcoming when you walk inside.
With all of that aside, I am very impressed with WHBC, especially with how short the amount of time they have been open. There were no problems with my food or the service – they get huge points for both of those. And I love the interior. I will definitely – most definitely – return. I just need to make sure I arrive before anyone else so that I can grab my window table oasis. 4.5 stars

Get the wings! The local brews are good too. I especially liked the Hollow, a dark stout with a rich flavor. But more importantly, and back to business, get the wings!

I really love the old school feel this place has– it is really reminiscent of some areas in downtown Richmond. The beer is good (according to my husband) and the staff is really friendly.
As far as the Food goes there are some hits and misses. The chicken sandwich can be dry (it needs sauce!) and the meatloaf also was dry. This being said their po’boy sandwich was amazing and their cornbread was the best I’ve ever had.

This place is good, like surprisingly good! I would of been happy with a cold beer and some mediocre food. But instead I got excellent microbrews with awesome food. I had the wings and mushrooms. The mushrooms were good but not great, but the wings were really amazing! They were cooked perfectly, breaded with sauce on. The breading was crispy and crunchy and held up under the sauce. The sauce was amazing, just enough heat to feel it but I was still able to enjoy it and taste everything else. It started sweet and moved to hot, I’m still licking my lips trying to get the last bit.
They seem like they just opened which explains the spacey GM but I think they’ll learn. I’m only in town for a week but this is by far my best choice and I’ll be back… this week.

As other people have mentioned, it’s a bit disorganized and a lot busy. But we had a great time and enjoyed the food and beer.
The bad. Loud, disorganized, very busy on a Friday night. Only one beer on tap that they made.
The good. Service was awesome, our waitress was simply awesome. I expected lack of attention due to how busy the place was. I was wrong. And the food was really good. And since it’s a brewery, the beer they had on tap was awesome.
Go here. It’s fun and they have good food and good beer.

I had pretty low expectations of this because most restaurants in Smithfield have failed us but here are the pros and cons.
Cons:
–incredibly disorganized. No clear hostess station. Had to wait just to find a hostess and then another 20 minutes to be seated despite the four tables waiting to be bused.
–once seated it was another 15 minutes before a server came by.
–sandwich was cold while fries were piping hot. Poor planning.
Pros:
–nice, fun vibe. Definitely a place for younger and older crowds alike. It’s extremely loud packing so many people in a small place but that’s to be expected.
–food other than temp was good
–price and portions were good
–once someone got around to serving us the server was pleasant and attentive.
Overall I will come back and give it another shot. It’s new so I suppose they are working out the kinks. Definite room for improvement but good overall.

My wife and I went here on the rare occasion that we did not have our kids. On first entrance it was a bit disorganized. There was a sign on the door that said please see the hostess. Typically this means that the hostess will greet you. This was not the case. We actually had to ask for the host. In the meantime we were confronted by the owner whose name we learned was Lee. Lee was extremely nice, and new exactly what type of beer I would like. Recommended a great IPA from California for me and a nice wheat beer for my wife. After that we finally got the host, Robert, to pit us on the list. At this point he said that he had no idea how long it would be could be 30 – 60 minutes. Kind of a large window but we didn’t have the kids so no problem. We sat at the bar while we waited.
Atmosphere
This place has some amazing history. It has a lot of local touches that date back pretty far giving the place a very unique and genuinely rustic vibe. If you can have Lee give you a bit of a history lesson (which I did) it is pretty neat the things that are in there. The bar was extremely crowded, which for me is a great thing because it means that local business is thriving. Was a bit chilly so bring a sweat shirt. Overall, one of the best atmospheres for a place that I have been to in a long time.
Food
We had a button mushroom appetizer that was absolutely amazing. Bit of sausage and cream cheese stuffed in a mushroom. Appropriately portioned for an appetizer as well. Not too big and not too small. For dinner I had a po’ boy with fried oysters. Everything was cooked right with amazing flavor, but on my sandwich I had 5 rather small oysters that made it a bit disappointing. My wife had a crab cake sandwich that was nothing to write home about. Very average but still good nonetheless.
Overall I will recommend this place to all of my friends. Decent food with absolutely amazing atmosphere and a staff that introduced themselves by name and made me feel right at home. This was the exact experience that I want on those rare date nights with my wife. If you ever get the chance, stop in and tell Lee what kind of beer you typically like and he will hook you up.