The Tap House & Empyreal Brewing Co.

This is a great brewpub if you're looking for somewhere to eat after being a tourist.
They got my family of four in right away and I was able to drain a couple of beers while scarfing some yummy food.
All the baked goods are from a local bakery.and they are delicious.
Don't miss it!

Owner response

Great food, great atmosphere, just dress up a bit. We were visiting Chattanooga for the weekend and were looking for places to eat.
Several places were either closed on a Sunday or some closed permanently without proper Google updated info. We settled on The Tap House. We walked in with our shorts and Bucee’s sweatshirts and immediately looked out of place. The food was very good.
I ordered a pimento bacon burger.
It was stellar.
One of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time.
Served with shoestring fries it was delicious. Staff was wonderful.
Everything was great.
Seemed a little pricey for what I wanted to spend, but so is the world right now. Great place just be a little aware of dress.
No official dress code, but we clearly felt out of place.

Owner response

A quick edit: Chris, from the Tap House wrote one of the best responses to my review I have ever seen.
He was not defensive.
I added a star. Cold and a bit depressing inside with a server who is not knowledgeable about the beers. Why three stars? 1.
I’m sure this place is packed and lively in the evening, but I came in on Friday around 1 PM, and it was really empty and cold.
I know that this is an older building with high ceilings and glass windows, but it was freezing.
I probably should’ve just left, but I thought once I had a beer and some food in me, I would warm up.
I did not.
It was really chilly the entire time. 2.
I will say my server was initially attentive.
She was very nice.
But it was only me and two other tables…the entire time.
And she just didn’t appear again except to bring the food.
The place had only three seated tables out of several, and two people working, thus, the server should’ve been much more present.
(See the photo I took of no one behind the bar).
Later, I saw the two servers way off to the side, talking to each other, behind the bar.
But if you’re looking to catch a server’s eye to refill water or anything else, it’s really awkward when you have to go up and start looking around for her.
At a minimum, I should not have to be flagging her down, very, very minimum she should at least be visible somewhere in the restaurant so that if I do have to walk around, I can find her. She asked me what I wanted to drink, and then disappeared, did not offer much advice on the beer at all, even though I told her I was from Asheville (a big beer town) and I asked if she had any High gravity, and she said,“just scan the QR code.” I told her what type of beer I liked, and I asked for suggestions, and again she said, “Scan it and you’ll see a list.” She wasn’t offering any advice on any beers and I found it really unusual in a bar that is so beer focused…And so empty.
It’s not as if she had to rush off to a bunch of other tables.
I really expect my bartenders/servers (at a place known for beers) to say “this has some undertones of this” or “this one’s a little grassy“ or “this is a nice hoppy IPA, but it’s a bit cloudy.“ But she wanted me to do my own research and just told me to scan the QR code.
Again, with no one here, she could’ve walked me through some of the beers.
Since I did not have any recommendations, I thought I would have a flight, and even then, when I was saying, “what about this one?” she told me to write down the numbers.
Maybe I’m spoiled from living in Asheville, but I am really accustomed to the bartenders telling me the details about the beers when I ask a question.
And this is a place that… does… Beers.
I just really expected to have a conversation about it, and that’s one of the reasons I came in.
The server seem to know absolutely nothing about the offerings. 3.
Terrible Wi-Fi.
It is free Wi-Fi, but the entire time I had less than one bar.
It made it tricky, because I needed to contact a couple of people and get a few things done, but it was really really bad Wi-Fi.
I know this is not a business or a café or people that come to get the work done, but hopefully with the Wi-Fi you should have at least two bars. 4.
Food.
Here is the real reason for three stars.
I really did not enjoy the food.
I would never give a three star review to a place just because the Wi-Fi was spotty and it was cold.
Or even if the server was not knowledgeable.
But the food was really disappointing.
I ordered the boneless wings, and the barbecue sauce that covered them seemed rather generic, and they felt a bit soggy and they were cold! The blue cheese was runny and not chunky and they were $20! For a pound basket.
I ordered a pound so I could have some to take home.
And I really wish I had only ordered a half a pound.
They just weren’t good.
I’ve had boneless wings all over the place, and these tasted like something that you would get that were frozen and then thawed out and just slathered in some sauce.
The sauce was too heavy, the wings were not crispy and good.
The sauce weighed them down.

Owner response