Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev +8.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Transcribed from notes dtd W, 29 Dec 2010.

This was NOT my first visit to the home of "Big" Bob Barrar by any stretch of the imagination, but previous visits have either yielded incomplete or unusable notes or worse, the notebooks have been lost or stolen. Grrr.

It is in the site of a former grocery store, but they have done a brilliant job with the long, bright windowfront overlooking State Street. The brewhouse sits in the window on the east end of the building with the entry on the west end and the middle of the space filled with high tables and chairs for the bar area. The bar itself was a dark wood rectangle surrounding a central island which was used to house glassware, wine and liquor.

I am ahead of myself, however, as you must transit a short vestibule upon entering, followed by a pair of long benches that act as a waiting area, then to the m.d.s. I however, chose to make a hard left just inside the entry and then further make a beeline for the bar area. From my vantage point at the bar, the brewhouse and FVs ran down the east wall with more high tables and chairs along the west wall of the bar area. The majority of the south end of the building was taken up by the restaurant, which consisted of a mix of standard tables and chairs and booth seating. The extreme south end of the building housed the kitchen which was on full display. The lavatories were in the southeast corner, if you don't like asking. I really liked the warm ambiance given to the interior by all of the deep-brown shades of wood throughout the building. This has to be one of their prettiest locations. I know, I know - since when did I become a budding aesthete?

Beers: You should know upfront that Barrar is their most award-winning brewer, so if you do not like his beers, you are in a decided minority. They had the standard five as well as seven (7) seasonals - Noel, IPA, Hopilicious, Holiday Ale, Sasquatch, Hefeweizen and a Belgian Tripel.

You should also bear in mind that this is the site of the annual Delaware Valley Craft Brewer's Festival in May and which is one of the few fests that I have never missed.

11-09-2011 16:43:46 | More by woodychandler

dionlbc

California

3.79/5  rDev -5.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

I've only been to the Media, PA location. The beer was good, food was decent. It reminded me of a large corporate restaurant in design, like a less flared Chili's or something. Interestingly, there is an amazing bottle shop around the corner called "Pinocchio's Beer Garden To Go" that has one of the best beer selections I've seen.

04-30-2013 00:00:02 | More by dionlbc

VegasBill

Nevada

3.68/5  rDev -8.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

First lets start with parking. Media has a very small charming downtown area. The city fathers decided to let a Trader Joes come in, right smack dab in the center of downtown, add to this the micro and parking is impossible. I parked six blocks away. The micro itself has a very warm atmosphere with lots of wood and a very nice bar area looking over the street .
For beer I had the Hopilicous IPA and the Gary Nelson IPA, I was surprised as many reviews said the beers were so so and both I tried were good, not outstanding but good, I enjoyed both. I had a order of steamers also very good with some great bread for sopping up the sauce.
The bar was full and one bartender but he did a good job in keeping up with the demand.

10-13-2012 17:24:10 | More by VegasBill

Dennycurr

Pennsylvania

2.55/5  rDev -36.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 2.5 | food: 2.5 | $$

OVER-FRIGGIN-HYPED!!

I was so revved to go to this joint, after reading the website.

I am basically only a drinker of Belg/Germ, beers, but these Belg-Style beers nowadays, made in the good ol',U-S of A, have expanded my horizon. Because of such things---I look forward, now, when I experience a new place with good American micro-brews. There have been great steps to make the usual bs American beers into great Belg/Style beers. Many times----succeeding.

Let me tell ya about the Iron Hill Brewery/Restaurant...

What is offered...and what is presented, (at least on my occasion), were 2 diff things.
The website boasted so much.
The actual result was not close to the promise.
In March, one was promised in the Iron Hill seasonals---2 Belgian Style Saison's.
Was only 1 and it was a Budweiser-ish 5%. Was also supposed to be a Belg/Triple, there, but that was not there either,, (On tap that is--More on that later). I had a few of their standard micro brew beers...but....none of which I had hoped for. The website lied.
Had to settle for a "Real Boy" and had "Hopilicious". They sort of tasted the same and had that very, micro-brewed taste and after taste, if you get my drift. They, were....OK. Weren't anything to write home about. BUT...were opk.
Also had a India Pale Ale. That also...was a boringly---ok.

Now----the service...

I looked at the beer menu....and was astounded they only had about 15 choices.
With only a half a handful over the B/M/C, Alc %'s, of 5%. I lump the 5.2%, 5.3%, etc...in with that.
I asked the waiter, "Is this, really----all you have in beers?. He said..."Yes".
Then---I asked..."On the website it said you have a bunch of other beers---on reserve. Was that wrong?" The waiter said---"Oh yeah..., we have reserves but...they are in bottles".

????!!!!...Wtf...!!!???

Not only were they on reserve---but they were actually on another menu! A menu, I wasn't privy to, until I asked. In fact---if I didn't ask---I would never have known they even had this reserve. Not only that---but..THAT particular menu had the beers I wanted. 1 in particular, was, the Russian Imperial Stout. I never had one and was seeking one out.
I'm thankful I read the website 1st.
Well....the Iron Hill, had the Russian Imperial..
But...
It was warm!
I told the guy I didn't want it warm & had another choice ...and that was the Belg/Triple that was supposed to be one of the March, Belg-Seasonal choices on draft. I was ok with it in the bottled reserve tho.
They told me---it ALSO was warm.

Amazing!

In any case---I had the Real Boy and the similar Hopilicious and a India Pale Ale. As I said above, they were all...sigh...fine.

What this place had going for it was, fresh beer but nothing on draft that was, of good Belg stock. Then....when I went to the, "secret", reserves, (so to speak)....none there that were cold. I went away very let down.

Words to the wise---
Do not go expecting to have a bunch of beers to choose from. Diff beers?---yes.
GOOD diff beers?----it looks like it's a crapshoot.
And---if you want the reserves---beware. Unless---you like warm.

Den

03-28-2012 00:29:07 | More by Dennycurr

tobelerone

New Jersey

4.14/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Stopped in a few times now while visiting my grandfather in Swarthmore. It’s been so long since I ate here I can’t really speak to the food, although I have heard it’s very good and has improved greatly over the years. Now and then I will pop in for a drink when paying a visit to Pinocchios down the street to grab some bottles or something unusual off the tap. This place can be a real madhouse, it’s extremely popular and is obviously a big family destination judging by the amount of kids in here. Not the place for a quiet drink unless it’s during a real off hour. I came in on an early Saturday night and folks were practically spilling out into the streets waiting for a table. Fortunately I just walked past them all and sat myself at the bar. Watched some playoff football, staff and patrons were all pretty friendly and chatty despite identifying myself as a Giants fan in Eagles country.

You can do flights or full pours, probably a good idea to do a flight your first time, as I found the beers ranging from fair and boring to excellent, most falling somewhere in between. They do some things obviously geared towards the BMC/light beer drinking crowd, which I found to be forgettable, and some more beer-geeky stuff like very good Wee Heavies and RIS. Prices are about average, being from NYC nothing seems all that high to me. The flight is a good deal, I think it’s gone up to 9 or 10 bucks but you get 6 4oz pours so it’s still a pretty good deal. You can choose from between their regular line-up and their seasonal stuff. There were at least 10 different beers on offer the last time I went in.

Not a must-see for me but a serviceable brewpub if you’re in the area. I hear this one is amongst the best of the locations; the head brewer is certainly the most-lauded.

02-01-2012 19:23:24 | More by tobelerone

SolipsismalCat

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I go to this Iron Hill the most, because it's the closest to home for me. As far as atmosphere, quality, selection, and food go, it's right on par with the others. Service has left something to be desired though.

I always make reservations, and on one occasion, I had to wait for nearly 20 minutes. I think the hostess may have forgotten me, which was pretty upsetting considering we had a reservation. Another time, the hostess tried to seat my wife and I at a table where there were lots of families and kids. It was also a very high traffic area, right off the kitchen. Fortunately, I insisted that we be given a different seat, and the manager was eventually accommodating.

Despite the few times service was poor, I've gone here often enough with good service to give it a 3.5.

I always love the food and beer selection.

08-13-2011 22:04:08 | More by SolipsismalCat

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Several other locations, but I've only been to the one in Media. This is a pretty decent place. Atmosphere is pretty basic: casual dining / family friendly, and not too intimate, but still nice. Staff is friendly enough, and typically well-educated at least when it comes to the house beer. All microbrews of course, and all pretty non-threatening, though they do tend to get daring once in a while. Everything is on tap, but there are vintage bottles available. Generally, the beer is very good, and often excellent, and at any given time there are about 10-15 choices. (Try the roggenbier, which is probably my favorite.) They have a pretty extensive menu with some items that make the place worth revisiting (mac n' cheese, ahi tuna, what have you), however, the prices can be a bit steep, with some entrees reaching into the $20-30 range. I guess the best thing about Iron Hill is that it's so close to me. The more I sample their beer, the more I like them.

04-29-2011 19:45:51 | More by Rifugium

cevafm

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

After visiting Iron Hill many, many times over the past few years I finally decided to review.

Took my dad to dinner for his birthday last night. There was about a 45 minute wait. Not bad considering it was 6:30 on a Saturday night. However, the wating area is way to close to the door, so we were freezing cold the whole time. Points off for bad layout.

Once we were seated the service was fast and efficient, but points off for the waitress asking me if I was talking about the Ironbound Ale when I asked for the IPA, which is a January seasonal.

We both ordered steak dinners because of the special occasion, but at $21 bucks a pop, the portions should have been larger. Or, a caesar salad should have been included in the price. However the steaks were exceptionally seasoned and the pepper sauce was delicious. Another quality meal from Iron Hill.

Their house beers are $4.50 a pint and seasonals are $5.50, which I don't mind paying because the beer is delicious. What really kills me though is the prices on growler fills. I brought mine with me that night and it was $12.50 for the Pig Iron Porter. There should be a better discount for buying in bulk.

When I can get Storm King for $10.99 a sixer, it kind of bugs me to pay $12.50 for a growler of 5% abv porter.

All in all, another good, yet not GREAT, experience at Iron Hill. I will continue to visit this establishment because of the beer and it's proximity to my house.

01-09-2011 14:09:44 | More by cevafm

pburland23

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

I've been to Iron Hill Media several times, but haven't attempted to review it until now. Last night, I had dinner with my family there.

Iron Hill is located on State Street in Media which is the county seat and usually hopping on a weekend night. Parking is a little tricking, but I was able to find parking in a municipal lot about a block and half away.

The restaurant has a quasi-industrial feel to it. It's loud and a dark, but if you get seated in one of their large booths you are afforded some privacy.

The large bar area is to the right of the entrance and has tables as well as ample seating at the bar. The tap list is hanging by the bar as well as on one of the walls near the entrance. You can get a drink while you wait for your table or grab a growler to go.

Iron Hill usually has about 10-12 beers on tap. Their signature brews are always available as well as several season beers. I always find Iron Hill's beer enjoyable and try to try several different kinds each time I visit.

The menu is upscale pub food and the quality of the food is pretty good. The menu is large and diverse. You can get anything from burgers to pizza to meatloaf to duck breast. Their seafood dishes are usually quite good as well.

My biggest problem with Iron Hill is that the service can be quite slow. I know it's busy, but the wait staff seems to disappear at times.

All in all, Iron Hill offers good beer and good food in a fun environment. It's worth seeking out if you are in the area.

11-07-2010 15:48:18 | More by pburland23

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -10.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$$

had lunch on a Sunday afternoon. atmosphere was clean, modern, well lit. classy looking, upscale.

quality of the beers and food was pretty good, no real disappointments. I had pints of the porter and english bitter and both were good. waitress service was attentive.

the selection of beer was average, they had their 6 "house" beers, and then 6 seasonal. my only complaint is that they had no brown ales or stouts, two of my favorite styles.

Everyone seemed to be pleased with their foo. , I had a burger and fries which were good, but my caesar salad was kinda bland.

It was a bit pricey for the food and on-tap beers.

I was considering taking home some of their bottled special releases, but they all were between $15 and $20 for 750mL bottles, which I thought seemed very high compared to what kind of beer you can get at local bottle shops for that kind of price.

10-24-2010 21:32:22 | More by jmdrpi