Fat Head's Saloon

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev -4.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I went in to Fathead's on a Friday evening not knowing what to expect. I actually used other's beerfly reviews and compared it to my mood and was pleasantly surprised at first. I like the layout and the appearance with chalkboards and painted metal signs for the draft menu. The acoustics are sort of gymnasium like. There was a group yelling undecipherable utterances by the door. They had to be told to lower the volume and they replied "that's my favorite speech"

It was not a crowded place considering it was Friday and it was happy hour. The view of the street was appealing as I sat at the end of the bar. I could see logos of famous Microbreweries and painted labels on the brick in the corner as well as Fathead's around the world over my shoulder (their picture gallery of Fathead's fans) After I ordered my Renee Burger and Atwater Mai Bock I took a peek upstairs.

The bottle selection was incredible cold and non-chilled you can't go wrong just for the take out selection alone. I contemplated picking out a mix six, but returned to eat the mouthwatering burger and beer battered mushrooms that came quickly. I decided to go with a growler of Gonzo Imperial Porter for the road. I felt the only negative was noise and the service was adequate, but not overly friendly. I enjoyed the fact they had bottles of Rogue's YSB with their logo on, Belgian delights as well as more sandwich and grilled food choices than you could shake a stick at. The selection and quality were very good and I would definitely make a return trip if I am in the area.

05-14-2007 22:32:54 | More by Slatetank

basickness

Pennsylvania

4.59/5  rDev +6.7%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 5 | $$

ok, so the bar will get packed... but who cares. i dont know what to talk about first - the food or beer... so i guess the beer. GREAT selection and if its not too busy the bartenders have no prob dishing out samples. as for the food, its out of this world. must go to in your in the 412

05-10-2013 17:05:25 | More by basickness

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.07/5  rDev -5.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | $$

Yeah, Fathead's is a good spot. Just probably not my kind of spot. Can easily get crazy busy and the whole sports bar thing just doesn't do it for me. Especially not in a chain kind of way. Selection is diverse, yep. Lots of stuff to try. I wouldn't mind a heaver selection of local options on-tap.

01-11-2013 01:20:02 | More by RblWthACoz

kp29

Arizona

4.29/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4 | $$

I went to Fat Heads several times while living in Pittsburgh within the past year.

Food - The Menu is heavy on typical pub/bar food, offering numerous sandwiches, burgers, "munchies", steak, etc... The quality however, is much higher than your typical hole in the wall pub or local watering hole. While it is by no means the best food I have ever had I did enjoy the Sandwich and Pierogies I ate and think that Fat Heads does a nice job sprucing up and altering familiar offerings.

Beer - Wide selection capturing a variety of different styles that will likely please the pallets of nearly any Beer Drinker (although I am not sure of how often they offer some of the "rarer" beers but for my purposes the selection is top notch). I also really appreciate the fact that they update their Beer Menu online daily so that you can plan when you want to visit based on the beers they have available.

Service - Service is on the whole fine. There are times when it can be quite crowded and you can expect to wait for a table or be forced to stand around the bar rather than find a seat on a stool. Service thus varies in my experience, sometimes slower but I have never had any outrageous waits for either food or ordering a beer.

Miscellaneous - Nice, but small and slightly pricey bottle shop located above the restaurant and bar that also sells neat merchandise such as shirts or mugs. Parking can be a hassle since you typically must try and find street parking somewhere off of the main drag on the South Side. One time I had to park many many blocks away on a Friday night.

Overall - One of the best beer bars in Pittsburgh as far as selection is concerned. a MUST try for anyone even remotely interested in trying new/different beers or people looking to revisit old favorites.

12-22-2012 22:52:11 | More by kp29

soulfly1492

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Visited this restaurant on a beatiful weekend in June.

The place was packed, probably the busiest place on East Carson all-day. We got there just before a long line formed outside the front door.

The draft beer selection is glorious. Lots of local brews, and lots of hard to find US craft beers. I tried the North Coast Pranqster Belgian Strong Pale Ale (out of this world) and their resident Fathead's Sorcerer Belgian Strong Dark Ale.

The food menu was good. I was expecting greasy bar-food for the most part. It was pretty diverse, although not quite as hippie-influenced (I actually don't mean this in a negative way) as some other similar eateries.

Their Bay of Pigs sandwhich was fantastic. Basically a Cuban sandwich, but with their extra-spicy barbecue sauce (I was warned that it would be very hot). They do have a milder sauce for those not interested in lots of pepper spice.

Great beer, great food, great atmosphere, all at a pretty good price considering the quality of the beer ($6 for a world-class draft is not a bad deal). I wish that I lived closer to this establishment.

06-24-2012 20:27:47 | More by soulfly1492

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

2.55/5  rDev -40.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 2 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | $$

So I guess I'm going to have to be the bad guy (once again) and bash this place, but whatever; I call them like I see them, and this place was pretty horrendous.

First of all, as soon as we drove into the Carson Street area and saw the scene and the crowd, I had a bad bad feeling in the heart of my bottom. It didn't help that it was Saturday evening, but the crowd was about as douchey as you can possibly get, with all the brosephs and biddies out for a night on the town. The bar itself was pretty busy, which isn't usually a turn-off for me--obviously popular spots are going to be busy, and I have plenty of patience to wait for a bar spot--but the crowd was obnoxious and trashy, and not giving off a good vibe.

But I did eventually snag a spot at the bar, as it wasn't quite as busy as the dining area, so the wife and I took a seat. And waited. And waited. And waited. Three bartenders behind the bar, and not so much as a passing glance. Like I said, I have plenty of patience--in context--but even I have limits. It was busy, but not THAT busy, to the point where 3 bartenders bs-ing behind the bar couldn't even acknowledge us.

On the plus side, the beer selection here was quite good with a lot of diversity in styles. But my question is this: doesn't Fat Head's brew their own beers? I was really interested in trying their beer, but when a bartender FINALLY approached us and I asked which house beers were on, she told me "none." Well...how can a place not serve their own beers? Not even one? I know they're not a brewpub, and the actual brewery is in Ohio, but...not even one? Maybe I missed something about this place, and maybe I didn't. But by that time, I'd had enough. I turned to wife, nodded to the door, and left without even ordering a single beer.

So basically, **** this place. If I was brand new to the beer scene, and I walked into this place during a slow hour, I'm sure I'd be pretty impressed. But in the reality that is the here and now, I am not impressed. If I ever find myself on Carson again, I'll be at Piper's. I'll take better service and a better crowd over a slightly more impressive tap list any day.

05-20-2012 01:30:03 | More by Rifugium

Advocate_Ames

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$$

I had an epic lunch here the other day. The hamburgers are wonderful. The draft selection is above average (42). If you go here try the Fathead's Headhunter. It was a wonderful IPA. The bottle shop upstairs is lacking. I didn't see over 200 different beers to choose from as advertised. The upstairs area is more of a gift shop than a bottle shop & their prices are not great compared to other establishments.

4.0 on selection because of the 42 taps & it had over 50 different bottles of beer in their shop to choose from. Most places don't have either those numbers.

3.5 on service because it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The bartender was polite and will give you samples to try. Beyond that don't expect much.

Overall this place was a delight. I will be back. I even left with a growler of the Headhunter IPA & bought an overpriced 6 pack of their TBA Collaboration Brown Ale which was pretty good.

03-23-2012 23:14:37 | More by Advocate_Ames

wvsabbath

West Virginia

4.34/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Atmosphere - Really cool bar/pub feel. Clean, tons of room, huge glass windows in the front so you dont feel like your inside a closed building.

Quailty - Great list of beers on tap. The bottle room upstairs wasnt nothing too special, bout 100 different beers, but they didnt have any fathead beers there bottled, was a disapointment for sure.

Service - Was greeted at the door, seated really fast, and bartener was cool, friendly and knew about the beers he had on tap.

Selection - About 30 taps, nice selection of all styles, ipa;s, stouts, even a few dubbles and tripels.

Food - N/a

Value - The tab prices were average to decent compaired to any other bar in a major city ive been in. Cant wait to go back for some headhunter and the other exclusive fathead brews!

03-02-2012 03:32:21 | More by wvsabbath

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Nice bar layout, with 42 visible taps. Nice, laid-back afternoon crowd.

The good stuff is showcased, both in view and by bartender's suggestion.

Excellent service. A knowledgeable and fun barkeep with pleasant staff all around. You can tell they love and respect beer here.

Selection on-tap is incredible (enjoying a snifter of JW Lees Harvest Ale). Wish the bottle coolers were a little more stocked. Will be taking a six-pack home, chock-full of goodies.

Enjoying a delicious and spicy take on a Cuban pork and ham sandwich. Succulent.

Decent value. Some beer bottle prices are lower here than I've seen anywhere else. Drafts are greatly priced! As is the menu, especially for the portions.

01-31-2012 20:41:29 | More by thecheapies

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

I always go here whenever I visit the South Side

Atmosphere: typical large sports bar. There's a nice upstairs area for take out beers.

Quality/Selection: Large bottle list and tap list. Often has rare and difficult to find beers. No matter who you are or what you like, you'll find something great here. I was so excited to find Bells Hopslam on tap last week. I often stop upstairs before I leave to find some good beers to take home.

Service: nice but average. generally not extremely knowledgeable on beers.

Food: The burgers are absolutely perfect. I'm actually craving one now just thinking about it

01-23-2012 18:54:18 | More by AdamBear