Tyler's Taproom & Restaurant / Speakeasy

wedge

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Through a mysterious swinging door in the back of Tyler's Taproom (or the door on the street I suppose), you decend a small ramp into a darker, more laid back bar. The atmosphere is decidedly different from its more polished neighbor, though pretty much the same establishment, this place has a much more hang-out with your buddies, shoot some pool, type of feeling. Old-looking walls with exposed brick, the pool tables and arcade games, the darkness, really make the "speakeasy" atmosphere in the main room. The bar hugs the wall to the right, a few TVs stuck in and around it. There's about 15 taps of good beer on the wall, probably not what people unfamiliar to the place would expect. If you want a Corona or Pabst, you get it in a bottle. There are bottles of good beer too: Delerium, Unibroue, Duvel...and more but that's all I can remember. Basically, if you're not satisfied by the draughts, they've probably got you covered. The selection was great on tap though: Hercules, Celebration, Hop Devil, 90 minute...lots of IPAs now that I think about it.

In the back, there's another room filled with couches and comfy chairs and a couple of large televisons so you can just sit down with your friends and shoot the shit. Very casual and informal overall.

This place might not be for everybody, and in fact, is probably more attractive to the younger crowd. If you don't like the smoke or the more gloomy feel, go next door, Tyler's is the place for you. For me, its just part of its charm - a casual, relaxed, good-times kind of bar with great beer.

11-01-2006 21:17:23 | More by wedge

Mantooth

North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

On a recent trip to Chapel Hill, NC, we readied ourselves, making certain our passports were in order, and walked the five step journey to Carrboro & Tyler's.

38 drafts of mostly great stuff served by pint or half pint - including:

Delirium Tremens
St. Louis Framboise
Kasteel Rouge (never seen that anywhere on draft)
Brewery De Halve Maan
New Belgium Lips of Faith, Prickly Passion Saison
Foothills People's Porter
Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA
Foothills India Style Brown Ale
Rogue Mogul Madness
Old Rasputin Nitro
Young's Double Chocolate Stout

We were in twice over the weekend & found the bartenders to be knowledgeable and very cool. The bar has an extensive list of blends they make from the drafts, something I've not seen done many places - at least to the extent of their menu for it. A bartender made us a mixture of Young's Double Chocolate & Kasteel Rouge that was quite good.

Overall, we had a blast there. The bar is small but nice & there were lots of choices. Pretty hard to beat a half pint nitro pour of Old Rasputin for $2.25. We didn't try the food but the menu looked good. Give it a shot, and be sure to drop by the Carrboro Beverage Company & Bottle Shop next door for a very nice selection of beers catagorized by type - nice Belgian and smoked sections - growlers & draft samples.

02-13-2012 17:54:20 | More by Mantooth

jonmacklin

North Carolina

3.2/5  rDev -20.8%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$

While its true that this is the original Tylers, I have to say it is the saddest of them all in terms of the beer selection. you'll find some good stuff on draft, but nothing geeky, out of the ordinary or anything you haven't seen before. On top of this the atmosphere is pretty stale with very basic and non-descript pale wood tables and booths. The food is pretty straight forward bar food with pizzas, burgers and sandwiches serving as the staples.

I'm a big fan of the other Tyler's locations as they each have a far better beer selection than the one in Carrboro. If Carrboro had better beers I'd be all over it, but sadly there just aren't that many exciting or interesting beers on tap.

Check our their locations in Durham or Apex (haven't been to the new one in Raleigh yet) for far superior draft selections.

01-10-2012 22:30:35 | More by jonmacklin

VncentLIFE

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

The bar is kid of small, but the beer selection is actually pretty good. There are beer signs everwhere (although I spied PBR and other AAL signs), and the bartenders know their beer for the most part. The lady told me that Flemish Red was really sour (It was a Rodenboch and was a solid Flemish, but not overly sour). Last time I was there, they had Kasteel Rouge (which was actually good) and Lindemans Peche. They had loads of local brews (gotta love that), as well as some other staples.

The biggest knock was the people there. Im rather young, and there were families playing pool and things in the side bar. Not really what Im looking for when I walk in carrying a bag full of Boon Lambics and plan on having some solid brews like Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin. They did have Harvest Time Pumpkin Ale which is rather hard to find on tap in the Triangle (its kind of like Christmas Ale in Ohio: they cant meet the demand at all. like not even close).

The food was average. Overly garlic fries and a chili cheese burger.

The beer was a bit pricey for the selection. Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin is the same price as Kasteel Rouge and Lindemans Peche? not good in my book.

10-01-2011 01:28:05 | More by VncentLIFE

EasyReader

North Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I've been hoping to have a chance to stop by Tyler's Taproom, and finally got the chance on a recent trip through the Triad. The restaurant looks reasonably spacious, but I sat at the bar. They have a nice selection of local, American and import craft beers. I had the Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve Main Engine Start and a selection from local Fullsteam Brewery. The food was pretty good as well, and I'd have no trouble stopping back by for a bite of dinner and a couple of beers on a future trip.

05-31-2011 23:52:04 | More by EasyReader

cvstrickland

North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

I'm a big fan of Tyler's in Durham, so I made a point of checking out the original in Carrboro!

Set in a partially-refurbished older brick building in the middle of downtown, Tyler's is casual and a bit rustic. The ceilings and upper walls are tastefully unfinished, the decor mostly consisting of empty wine and liquor bottles. The centerpiece of the tavern is a gleaming mahogany bar sporting twenty-one tap handles, two flat screen TVs, and appropriate glassware for all the drinks offered.

The atmsophere was light and friendly with a few dozen patrons in the bar on a Sunday afternoon, plenty of conversations going on, but with the volume kept to tasteful level.

Service was quick and friendly, knowledgeable of the products, and more casually-clad than the shirt-and-tie operation in Durham, but hey, this is Carrboro... you have a hard enough time getting the barefooted free-lovin hippies to put on their Birkenstocks, let alone get them to tie a necktie!!

So, back to it, Tyler's original bar has nice selection and variety, and the folks there have opened a bottle shop next door that will feature a craft tap or two of its own (Founders Red Rye the day I stopped in). With Weaver Street Market a mere pitching wedge away and Milltown a few minutes walking distance, a one-stop craft beer Mecca has sprung up right next door to Blue Heaven.

09-01-2008 14:13:15 | More by cvstrickland

SIRIUS2

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Atmosphere of a typical older building with some relatively recent updates. Very casual and comfortable, the kind of place I could get used to visiting regularly if it were closer to me.

I had a couple different selections on my recent visit and both were very good quality and served in the appropriate glassware. No chilled mugs or frosty glasses and the staff seemed relatively knowledgeable.

Great waitstaff; very prompt and attentive. My visit was on a Saturday afternoon and the place was probably at about 30% capacity. Everyone was very friendly.

Beer selection was decent, but I have been spoiled by the newer Tyler's in Apex and their monster selection! However, they have a nice solid baseline of brews - local, domestics, and imports - along with some specials and harder to find items like the Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve. So much more than your typical bar stop.

Good food, a few notches above the normal pub fare. Tyler's is noted for their garlic fries and they didn't disappoint here. They go great with the pulled pork sandwich and nice hoppy IPA!

If you get a chance, stop by and see these guys. They really do have some great beer and good food and the atmosphere is quaint and comfortable. Another perk is the bottle store that they opened right next door. I wonder if they are going to eventually offer the selection at the restaurant that they have in the bottle shop? That would be perfect!

08-26-2008 19:14:08 | More by SIRIUS2

GJ40

North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I've been meaning to try this one for a while and it didn't disappoint.

They have a great selection of beer on tap including Delerium Tremens, Rogue Dead Guy, Rogue John's Private Locker Stock, Sierra Nevada PA and Maredsous 8. It's got a great atmosphere too. It's one big room with a bar on one side and dining throughout. It's a very casual feel which I like.

The food is pretty good too. I had the Pulled Pork. The garlic fries that come with most sandwiches are great.

I look forward to the new one opening up in Apex which is very close to me. By the looks of it, it won't have the same casual atmosphere but as long as the beer selection is good, I'll manage.

03-31-2008 20:48:42 | More by GJ40

blackie

Virginia

4/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

a: Decent atmosphere, but nothing to really set it apart. Visited on a quiet Sunday evening.

q: The Foothills Oktoberfest was a little warm, and the Kasteel Kriek was too cold, but the actual quality of the beer was fine.

s: Good service. Waited for a bit as the barkeeper struggled to get a new keg hooked up and working, but no big deal.

s: Selection not nearly as impressive as the Durham location, but still enough to keep things interesting. A few locals, a few Belgians, Blanche de Brooklyn, and others.

09-10-2007 16:39:51 | More by blackie

atsprings

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

I have visited this bar twice now and I must say, I enjoy the laid back atmosphere for a place that carries such good beer. As the Raleigh Flying Saucer is now shying away from the Rogue Locker Stock series, this place and the Durham location will now become a more common stop for me even though they're out of the way. They also now carry the Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve series. On my last visit, a Saturday night, my friends and I were able to snag 3 seats at the bar even though a UNC game was starting in one hour. I was pleased to see that they still had Highland Cold Mountain Winter on tap. The waitress informed me that they had pulled it several times so they would have it later than anyone else. They have about 20 taps and always have glassware that matches the brewer, a nice touch. Service can be a little slow when their busy, but that's to be expected. The food is pretty good as well, I love the garlic fries. This is a pretty cool place and I will likely try and visit around once a month.

02-23-2007 18:31:05 | More by atsprings