This weekend was Octoberfest and the weather was actually beginning to feel a little like fall, so to deepen our autumn spirits we hit The Crypt Pub for dinner. The Halloween themed pub is located downtown on the west end of Broughton St. The newly opened Crypt Pub is a large, wide opened space speckled with talking busts, bleeding paintings, and other surprises. The large U shaped bar in the center of the room takes up a majority of the space and gives the feel that you should be there for the drinks not the food, but the menu will surprise you.
Upon entering the pub we were sat at one of the (about) 15 tables in the place. We scanned our menus and were very intrigued by the creativity and fresh, not fried options. Their menu offers starters, salads, sandwiches and entrees. We put in an order of nachos and drinks while we debated on our meals from the appealing selections. For my meal I ordered (from the app. list) the Inferno which is a hunk of homemade focaccia bread piled with a thick tomato sauce, shrimp, and oozing mozzarella cheese and a house salad. Others in my party ordered sandwiches and burgers.
The changing pictures on the wall were entertaining while we waited....
and waited....
and waited...
finally our waitress came and told us that there was only one cook in the kitchen tonight so the food is coming out really, really slow. Some people were getting up and leaving, however we were in no hurry so we waited some more...
Finally our nachos arrived! It was obvious that they make their own chips (Yum!) and they were piled high with cheese black beans, bbq, onions, peppers, and sour cream. Great choice!
Not long after, the waitress brought us a complimentary cheese plate and round of drinks for patiently waiting.
Our meals arrived a bit later and were delicious. The entire party remarked how the fresh baked focaccia was a nice touch. The Crypt Pub surpassed my dining expectations for a bar. Instead of fried white and tan foods, their selections were fresh, colorful and unique. Not only were they delicious to taste, but they were also well plated and appealing to the eye.
At our meal's end, our check arrived with a 25% discount as well for the wait. Which proves that patience and understanding pays off in the end. Even though our wait was long for our food, I would return to The Crypt Pub. The management genuinely were concerned about our wait and generously compensated us for that. The food was delicious and comparably priced to the other downtown restaurants.
We didn't stick around to see the space change into it's late night costume, but after looking at their drink list they have a lot of interesting signature items I would be interested in trying. We did walk by about 11:30 and there was a line out the door. They advertise live music/ dj every night.
If the cook situation is amended, I would say at least the near future looks good for The Crypt Pub. Hopefully after the Halloween season, it won't loose it's luster.
*photo from lobo235
