Front Street Brewery

Myk

Massachusetts

3.15/5  rDev -17.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5

Downtown Wilmington, NC- very pretty historic area. You are walking down Front St. and then you see through gigantic windows fermenting kettles. Nice. Atmosphere is wooden and long. Good view of the brewing area from anywhere in the brewpub. Beer is pretty average with some nice surprises every once in a while. I would have to say that their strongest beer is their Scotch Ale. Service was average and the food was pretty good as well. The area it is in is probably one of the best reasons to visit this place if you are in Wilmington.

03-30-2004 23:31:32 | More by Myk

apr3940

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +14.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25 | $$

Great place to sit and enjoy a nice selection of brew. Just wish the seasonal selections didn't run out so quickly. (Good sign for good brews) I love the environment, and always enjoy seeing the beer out front! I would recommend FSB whenever you visit Wilmington!!!

02-16-2013 15:10:20 | More by apr3940

BubbaSteve

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

This has fast become one of my favorite places to eat and grab a beer in Wilmington. The food is always excellent, the beers are always delicious and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. On our most recent trip, I threw caution to the winds and ordered the grilled salmon. I almost never do this in restaurants anymore as you usually end up with dry, tasteless salmon that has probably spent more time in the freezer than in the water. Imagine my surprise when the salmon turned up perfectly grilled, moist and flavorful. I was already feeling pretty good as I had just finished sampling the Bourbon Barrel Porter and was basking in the glow of this beautifully crafted wonder. The fact that my fish was so well-cooked was the frosting on a particularly tasty cake. My wife was enjoying (immensely) a glass of their Coastal Kolsch along with the Brewery's very nicely done take on Texas Barbecued Brisket. Being somewhat of a barbecue afficianado myself, I convinced her that a small sample of the brisket passed from her generously laden plate to mine was in the interest of the entire brisket eating population. Skeptically she handed a frightfully small sample over which I found to be nicely cooked with a rich full smoky flavor.
Emboldened by the successful tasting of that aforementioned porter, the young lady serving us prevailed upon me to dive into one of their beer samplers. This turned out to be a good decision on my part as I was impressed by every beer I tried. I have been a committed beer geek for over 30 years and I have never had so many beers by one brewery that were so consistently outstanding. What a great place!

10-29-2012 18:44:18 | More by BubbaSteve

jcran83

5/5  rDev +31.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$$$

Great place! this place hands down is exactly what downtown Wilmington needs. wonderful staff that are managed very well. beer taste extremely fresh with lots of flavor. all the beer can be paired with the food extremely well. very pleased with the friendly and knowledge staff including waitstaff and bar staff. feels good to walk into a place and fee welcomed and not overwhelmed or looked down upon when you ask questions about the beers. the brew tours are very informative in a short period of time too.
Thanks guys i will be back!

09-19-2012 21:54:10 | More by jcran83

Burnsy22

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

As an eatery, FSB is pretty good. I tend to eat there at least once, every time I visit Wilmington for more than a day. The food is good, the service tends to be pretty solid, and the prices are reasonable (especially the discounted appetizers during happy hour). I recommend the Shepherd's Pie. It is tasty. The Burgers and the pulled pork are pretty good as well.

As a brewery, I haven't been impressed. The beers are all pretty typical, and any time I have been in there, I've never seen anything too adventurous on the menu. In a world where just about every small brewery does an IPA, a Lager, a stout, etc... you really need to stand out. I never thought any of the beers there have stood out among their peers. Don't get me wrong, every beer I've had is good, but not amazing.

If you are in Wilmington, definetely stop in, if nothing else for the food. It is good, and served up at a good price. However, you are probably not going to stick around to drink all night. There are plenty of options for drinking, even micro and craft brews, in several other drinking establishments within walking distance. I would recommend heading over to the Cape Fear Wine and Beer after dinner to imbibe in a truly great selection of Beers.

12-28-2011 01:53:21 | More by Burnsy22

beerslushy

Ohio

3.03/5  rDev -20.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3 | $$$

I was anxious to try this place but left disappointed. I found the beers to be very average and the food was mediocre. The service was adequate but not really friendly. The hostess seemed very put out that we wanted a table. It was crowded for a Wednesday afternoon and there was a 20 minute wait for a table. The IPA was decent, but nothing I would make an effort to drink again. None of their other beers were particularly appealing either. They could have been having an off day, but I found other places close by with better beer and food.

07-01-2011 17:23:24 | More by beerslushy

jophish17

Georgia

3.2/5  rDev -15.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5 | $$

Visited while on vacation recently. I've had a couple growlers from them, but never been here till now.

Front Street has a great location in what was a surprisingly nice little drinking town. There are some tanks up front kinda across from the bar, with plenty of seating (and more up top). It was a weeknight, so it wasn't packed but the crowds were still lively. Smokers occupied the sidewalk out front.

The beer is ok - some styles better than others. Their raspberry hefe and scotish were weak, the kolsch and regular hefe was ok, and I liked their IPA this time around (I did not like it as much from the growler I had last summer). Overall, pretty average brewpub beer if you ask me, some hits and misses alike. I noticed they had some bourbon barrel aged beer available only in growlers, for [gulp] almost $30 a fill.

Food was actually quite disappointing - my bbq sandwich was weak, but I'll chalk that up to the NC style not being my preferred choice. However, my sweet potato fries were inexcusably weak as well. We had a really great, friendly server, which is worth mentioning.

Value was acceptable, and overall, like most brewpubs, I came away enjoying my night, even if neither the food nor beer really impressed me.

05-15-2011 02:04:12 | More by jophish17

beer2day

North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Located in the middle of downtown Wilmington.

Been going here for the last 12 years or so. Love the bar area. Seating in the front and upper loft is nice. Seating on the upper floor is pretty bad. Noisy and service seems to lack up there. A couple of outside sidewalk tables.

Good selection of drafts, both in quality and quantity. Have had bad luck in going there in terms of getting an IPA, but there Scottish makes up for it.

Very nice selection of apps and lower end entrees. More typical brewpub menu.

Fairly kid friendly, especially upstairs.

08-24-2010 14:56:23 | More by beer2day

Klgkenny

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

When in Wilmington, NC, Front Street Brewery is a must-visit.

The lunch and dinner fare are reasonably priced, better-than-average brewpub food. The crab cakes are great, as are the fried green tomatoes! My wife loved the scottish ale and I love the ipa. We also tried some of the other 8 beers that are on tap. There are four regulars, the ipa, scottish ale, and two others. The other four beers rotate -- organic, belgian, a "dark", and a "german."

The server was knowlegeable and nice. Even my wife liked her, even though she generally dislikes any other females.

Every time we come to wilmington, we make it a point to visit. Actually, my wife makes sure that we go. She suggests it for lunch or dinner every trip. And this trip we've gone twice. I guess I'm just lucky.

05-19-2010 22:57:34 | More by Klgkenny

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

The m.d.s. sat directly in front of the entry with the copper-clad brewhouse just beyond on the left. Booths lined the right wall with some high tables and chairs along a short wall in center. The copper-topped "L"-shaped bar with its impressive vintage dark wood and mirror back bar ran along the remainder of the right side, culminating with kitchen. A staircase on far left led to an upstairs dining facility. Small bookshelf and benches just aft of brewhouse. Décor had a Victorian feel. Friendly, helpful waitstaff.

Beers: Lumina Lager; IPA (out); Raspberry Wheat; Scottish Ale; Kolsch; Hefeweizen; 80 Schilling; Belgian Brown; Oatmeal Stout.

12-15-2009 23:00:17 | More by woodychandler