Taphouse On Queensway

SuperSpy

Georgia

3.65/5  rDev -8.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The wife and I stopped in here for a late lunch on a Wednesday so it was not crowded at all. The atmosphere had a very local feel to it. The bar is dark, solid wood, and fits in with the rest of the decor. There are about 40 taps on the wall, guitars hanging from the ceilings, and we saw lots of ads for live music. But once again, at lunch time it was pretty chill.

I think this place deserves an "A" overall, but sadly I'm going to have to mark it down here. The food was excellent and so was the first round of beers. My complaint is that my second beer (a Doppel Bock from some East Coast brewery I was unfamiliar with) arrived smelling like old stagnant dish water. I decided to brave a quick sip and the flavor was just as bad. You could tell there was a big malty delicious brew somewhere underneath but for the most part it was like lapping up something from a sewage drain. I don't know if the lines were dirty or if the keg was infected but I can't believe they would serve something that terrible. You could even smell the dish water aroma from across the table. The waitress quickly changed it out for something more palatable. All of the other beers were great and so was the food.

Service was prompt and our waitress was knowledgeable. She was quick to change out that terrible Doppel Bock and she immediately suggested other bocks that were on hand. She even pointed out which were Bocks, Weizen Bocks, Doppel Bocks, etc.

The selection was about 40 beers on tap and over 125 in bottles. The selection spanned the entire spectrum of what's available in the area. I was very impressed with the selection.

The food was mostly standard pub fare. We had crab cakes and knew we had made the right choice the moment it was placed in front of us. I can't speak for the rest of the menu, but the people around seemed pretty satisfied with their meals.

We definitely got our money's worth. Everything on tap was between $4.50 and $8.00. Some great Belgians and plenty of American micros. We were in the area for 3 days and from what I saw the beer and food prices were very reasonable for the area.

06-13-2011 12:21:33 | More by SuperSpy

Zraly

Virginia

4.08/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

The Taphouse on Queensway is our typical beer haunt. I'm not sure I how many times I have been there but it is safe to say they've made some $$ off of me and my lady.

Overall, the beer list rotates quite well. There is often a solid line-up of Belgians and Belgian-style ales (e.g., Chimay, Duchesse, Allagash) and plenty of pales, stouts, lagers, etc. to please. For example, tonight my girlfriend had a Heavy Seas Winter Storm ESB and I had an Anubis Coffee Porter and a Palo Santo Marron. Usually a couple of "tried and true" imports such as Aventinus and Paulaner on tap as well. Plus, there are at least 100 bottles and cans available. For Hampton, Virginia, this is the best tap and bottle selection.

Food-wise, this is consistently good pub food and beyond. I've had everything from a salmon wrap to a veal chop to sweet and sour rabbit. Prices are quite reasonable. Even the burgers are good (and quite big -- you'll get your money's worth). The food is tasty and solid and has been for years now.

Service is always with a smile and most of the wait staff have a rudimentary understanding of beer and what to recommend. My girlfriend is a big fan of hops and they always update her when serving us as to anything new or special in the way of hops on tap.

My only gripe is on occasion I will get a beer that tastes a bit stale or old. Typically the taps rotate but not all the time. If you are not sure, ask how long the beer has been there and how popular it is. Some of this could also be an issue of tap lines not being maintained. So I do have to deduct for quality as some of this is controllable. But most of what I have had has been served fresh and in the appropriate glass.

If you are in Hampton and want beer, come here.

12-01-2011 03:11:50 | More by Zraly

CpnYates

Virginia

2.78/5  rDev -30%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$$

Stopped in last Wed after spotting this place while eating lunch next door at Marker 20. Anyhow grabbed a seat at the bar and waited for a few minutes. Was never given a beer menu, and asked for a food menu. The bartender that evening (Mid 40's guy, short grey hair) seemed to be upset I was breathing the air in his establishment, but then again he semed to have the same attitude with the other folks at the bar as well. Picked a tap I knew. Had one other beer, a Dale's in a can.

Recived a stone porter in good condition. Ordered the fish tacos. The tacos themselves were okay, but the salsa was straight from the jar and the chips right out of a bag. Total for two tacos and two beers $28.

08-18-2011 14:40:36 | More by CpnYates

MadCat

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Atmosphere: Seems like your standard bar fare, not a huge place, was mostly empty when we got there, but filled up quick.

Quality: Good food, good beer, they know what they are doing, what else can I say for quality?

Service: Started out great and prompt, a knowledgeable waitress, very pleased to serve us. After a bit of time it got pretty crowded, and there was still only one waitress and a busboy or two who helped keep things under control. Wait time for anything started short, but got long at the end of our stay. Still, good for what it was.

Selection: 37 beers on tap, quite a few more bottles. What more could you ask for?

Food: Not a very big menu, but what they had was delicious. Much better than standard bar fare, but still had some bar feel to it.

Value: Reasonable to me, coming from NJ. A large portion of the beers (tap and bottle) were $4.50 to $6, with the most expensive taps being $8 (Belgians that I had no idea came on tap!) and the cheapest being PBR at $2.50. For food, sandwhiches, burgers, and wraps were generally about $9, and entrees were mostly $13-$14, which isn't bad at all considering how great it was.

I would gladly stop by again next time I'm in town.

06-08-2011 01:45:32 | More by MadCat

ebby82

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Until a few days ago, it's been a while since I've been here.

On a Friday night, it was surprisingly not crowded. However, I believe this was the whole area, not just the Taphouse.

The tap selections was pretty good, including several different Belgians, some local selections, and such things as DFH Palo Santo. The bottle selection is even more impressive, and it includes such things as Fin du Monde, and a couple Trappistes. I ordered something on the beer menu that they didn't have, but the waitress was quick to recommend a Lagunitas IPA as a suitable replacement.

The waitress was a young woman, yet she still clearly had at least some knowledge of beer.

I've had the meals before, and they were pretty good, but the chips and salsa were unimpressive. However, I would come here for the nice beer selection and the ability to hear one another speak on a Friday night.

03-06-2011 19:42:55 | More by ebby82

ExMachina1

Tennessee

3.08/5  rDev -22.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$$

This is the kind of place that I SHOULD love. Good food and an respectable selection of beer. However, the whole concept is killed when the beer--great selection aside--is shot to hell by poor cellering. I have been to the Taphouse now on three successive nights (cuz the food really *is* good--seriously, the meatloaf is **amazing**) and I have sampled multiple draft beers there and ended up drinking only beer from bottlesr. Why? Well the beer was too warm (pilsners) and they do not take good care of their tap lines--one beer I tried was absurdly sour.

I'll give them one possible "out" in that there's been a silly hot heat wave here (daytime temps above 105) and maybe something happened to their cooling system. But in that case, they should simply refuse to serve beer which was in such poor condition.

As it is, I regrettably cannot recommend this place for their draft beers.

07-26-2010 01:44:58 | More by ExMachina1

Perkuno44

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +14.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I hit Taphouse on Queensway tonight for a couple of beers and dinner. Very good selection of taps and bottles, with friendly bartenders and good food. Not too crowded on a weeknight and I was able to try a couple of brews that were new to me. I would have liked to see a few more local taps, but that is nitpicking.

There appeared to be a couple of bottles behind the bar that were not on the list, but since I was driving I didn't get the chance to inquire about the JW Lee's I saw.

I will definitely hit it again when I'm back in town.

06-14-2010 23:45:39 | More by Perkuno44

whtguitarguy

Virginia

4.15/5  rDev +4.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Went out on a Thursday night that wasn't too busy. The service was excellent. A minimum of 37 Taps each day, and at least 120 beers available in the bottle. I got the Texas Burger with Fries. It came about 15 minutes after we ordered, so it wasn't too long of a wait. Had a Unibroue Trois Pistoles to drink at first and given a tulip glass to enjoy it with, then switched to a Legend Brown Ale on Tap, served in a typical bar glass. Let me just say, the Texas burger was huge, I could barely wrap my mouth around it, and I am a pretty big guy. And it was only $8.00. This is my favorite place in downtown.

12-18-2009 23:32:36 | More by whtguitarguy

SaCkErZ9

Florida

3.1/5  rDev -21.9%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$$

I went in here for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon and wasnt too happy with the visit.

Nothing was necessarily wrong with this place, I just wasnt happy with my visit. I arrived at about 1215, placed an order for a club sandwich, and it took OVER 30 minutes for me to get my sandwich. There were five other tables and three people at the bar; thats it! I was alone and the tables were atleast three tops. I am assuming the kitchen works under the "First in, first out" mantra, because I have never had a restaurant take so long to make a silly club sandwich with potato chips. I used to work in a restaurant and multi-tasking and cooking for more than one table at once is imperative. This place obvisously doesnt subscribe to that mantra. I dont know what category "kitchen" goes under so I chose the atmoshpere category.

The sandwich was okay but certainly wasnt worth a 30 minute wait. About 40 drafts but nothing was really notworthy. All drafts were about $5 with some under that mark.

I wouldnt come back for food. The wait was entirely too long. The beer would be the ONLY reason I would come back.

09-09-2009 19:14:39 | More by SaCkErZ9

clayrock81

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$$

This TapHouse seemed better than the other one I frequent in Ghent - something about it seemed livelier and the beer selection is as varied but it seemed there were more "diamonds in the rough" at this one. Unfortunately, that's why it earned four $ in my opinion - $16 for ST Heavy Weizen or Stone Russian Imp Stout? I know it's a bar but those aren't $16 beers. My only other gripe is the food - I paid $9 for a Cuban sandwich and fries and had a measley small handful of the fries on the side as the sandwich itself was bland. As for the beer and the drinking atmosphere (which is why you're coming here) it is a cozy local place with a mix of people and well-lit (I can't emphasize the lighting enough to people who have been to the other TH in Ghent and it's lit like a prison cell). On this night the server busted her ass as her section was packed and the place had a lively feel with people talking to each other and partying, not little tables of people keeping to themselves. The beer selection of bottles and taps is a mix of local, micro and imports - there are beers here you won't find anywhere else but like stated before, some of them are priced out the ying-yang. I will come here again but I forewarn anyone that this place is a little pricey, even just sticking to the basics.

02-16-2009 19:05:02 | More by clayrock81