Craft Ale House
| Address: | 708 W Ridge Pike, Royersford, PA 19468, USA |
| Phone: | +1 484-932-8180 |
| Site: | craftalehouse.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–12AM 11:30AM–12AM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
A
A Private User
On the good side the steak was excellent although they told me they make it medium rare instead of asking me how I like it (rare)...which struck me as odd. I generally have found that superb restaurants are willing to give you a raw slab of meat if you ask for it while the ones that worry (for good reason) about germs will not cook it less than medium rare. Moving on, another good point is they have a wide selection of beer; shame they dont have any made on site although considering the steak conundrum maybe thats a good thing. On the bad side, first I noticed on the menu a seemingly innocuous request that guests be "considerate" of other guests and vacate the table quickly after having dinner. That sounds reasonable enough until you start to consider the other bad things...among them the menu also thanks the customer for not asking for any substitutions. Allergic to the side dish? Sorry, please do not ask for something else because we make it the way we make it. Moving on again, about halfway through dinner my wife and I figured wed get an order of chicken fingers to go for the babysitter. The waiter seemed somewhat nervous at this request and explained to us that things get really crazy so he would ask but usually they did not take those type of orders. Okay now this is really setting off my weirdo-meter. He comes back and tells us it is not possible to get chicken fingers to go. I look around and notice that the restaurant is not even full yet...interesting. My wife asks for a box and the waiter gladly brings one....so they are not against boxing food to take home unless you order it halfway through your meal? Never mind the fact that we were going to be there another 20 minutes or so anyway and that was plenty of time to deep fry chicken fingers. Moving on, did we want anything else? Um, no, just the check, thanks. Reflecting on the experience some interesting things I think are going on. I realized that when we arrived the people at the table to our right and left were the same people that were still there when we left. When we left a line was starting to build at the door. Considering that in conjunction with the experience we had I think the reason they were "too busy" to accommodate another order was because they wanted to turn the table over faster. Interesting, especially considering that they could have easily accommodated us without taking up any extra time on the table. Oh, well, what can you do except write a review like this and choose not to go back. Maybe the people on either side of us were lingering at the tables just to upset the management...if so, who can blame them? So they lost customers that typically eat, drink and leave and they get to keep the ones that eat and then chat for half an hour or more afterward (who I also noticed were nursing their drinks)...bravo. Granted most restaurants make their money from the bar but if that is the case then why not encourage people to hang out and order more drinks rather than trying to flip the table? Is this a nice restaurant or McDonalds? The only reason I went there in the first place is because a friend of mine said he goes there as often as he can because he likes the beer selection. Ill be sure to introduce him to the great and much better mannered restaurants in Phoenixville.
MA
Mark LaMarre
We live local and this is one of our few places we like to go to, mainly because of their extensive beer list. The menu could be much bigger but whats on there is nice. The main problem this place has is the consistency of their service. Weve had some great waiters/waitresses that are very personable and attentive to you as a customer. But for every good day of service, there is a bad one. This restaurant really tries to flip tables as quick as they can. Yes, they do note on their menu that due to limited number of tables, that they ask those who are just drinking to excuse themselves from the table. However, that shouldnt imply that staff should be pushy. For instance, a table of 4 adults and a child were eating dinner with drinks. Our waiter told us I could not open another bottled beer because there were guests waiting to be seated. First, everyone else had a drink at the table that was at least half full leftover from dinner. Second, there were maybe 4 people waiting to be seated. He then had the attitude of not wanting to put in an order of dessert for the table next to us. I then overhead the waiter tell other coworkers that "thats how you make money in the restaurant business." We approached the owner afterwards and he seemed to be coming up with excuses such as "well thats why the menu says what it says" as opposed to be being sympathetic to our experience. I believe this "pushy" philosophy comes from the top and we didnt feel like we were being treated well, by both our server and the owner.
AN
Anthony P
We went to the restaurant this past Saturday. We were planning on sitting outside but the septic system nearby smelled pretty bad (Not sure if it was the restaurants or not). We had a nice dinner and the food was good. But as many others have noted in their reviews, they try to rush you out of your table. We were finishing our drinks from dinner and were asked if we could move to the bar. I stood up and looked and the bar was full. I asked where we should go. I was given a "tough luck" look from him and he ignored me. We did find two seats at the bar rail so at least the wives could sit. To cap it off the septic system smelled even worse than before we walked in. When we left we could barely stand outside long enough to say good bye to our friends. How can you have an outdoor patio with that smell? I guess if you took care of that problem people may want to sit outside and you wont have pushy waiters asking their customers to move. Its a shame the crappy service and septic issues over shadowed decent food and beer.
DI
Dianne Crowley
I cant comment on the food but can tell you about the initial service we received from the hostess: we walked inside and although there clearly were several empty tables, with no reservation signs, we (my husband and I) were told that it would be at least a 45 minute wait. The thing was that it wasnt even that crowded! We came to the conclusion that this place will most likely accommodate regular patrons rather than newcomers. Well, its probably not a place we need to visit again. If youre looking for a place with a fun atmosphere and good, reasonably priced beer, check out the Appalachian Brewery Company a few miles east of the Craft Ale House. Its located in Collegeville.
A
A Private User
If youre going for the beer, they have a great selection. If youre going for the food, I would go somewhere else first then come back for beer and music. Very small menu, which would be ok if they perectly executed what limited menu they have. Tater tots sound great, but texture sucked and the cheese sauce was watered down. Who runs out of burgers in a beer joint? They did! The mushroom tagliatelle was ok, but the cream sauce lacked creaminess. Overall the food wasnt terrible, but given the prices youre paying, the wait time for a table, and the great beer selection... I just expected much more. Ill be back for beer, but not for the food.
