The Bulldog

The BulldogThe Bulldog
The BulldogThe Bulldog
Bar, Eatery

4385 Perkins Rd
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808-3032
United States

(225) 303-9400 | map
draftfreak.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.08
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
20
pDev:
11.52%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.28 by LouisianaBeerBabe from Louisiana

Dec 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.33 by Tigerbrau from Louisiana

Nov 01, 2016
 
Rated: 3.79 by Squire from Mississippi

Jun 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4.93 by Jamie_Newman from Louisiana

Mar 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.3 by Brevbin from Louisiana

Jul 10, 2015
Photo of 1Bonehed
Reviewed by 1Bonehed from Louisiana

4.18/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3.5
ATMOSPHERE: Timing is everything. The building & decor itself is quite nice, but depending on whether or not you want peace & quiet or a more crowded party type environment is purely a matter of time & day. Early to mid afternoon is ideal for me. Relaxing, but you're not the only person there.

QUALITY: Appears to be well kept & clean. I've never been served a dirty glass or sat in front of a sticky bar or table. The glasses are typically frozen, but you can request a room temp glass & they will gladly oblige.

SERVICE: The staff has always been very polite & timely with their service. I've always been served in a friendly & timely fashion & they seem to well familiarized with the beers & food menu. I've always felt very welcomed when visiting their establishment.

SELECTION: Massive variety of beers on tap & considerable variety of bottled beers as well. The bottled craft brews tend to be a bit on the expensive side, but nice selection available.

FOOD: Food is descent, nothing to write home about, but tasty non the less. Good burgers & typical finger food & bar type foods. Food is a little pricey, but that's a relatively typical markup for that type of dining.

I go there every now & then just to chill out a bit & grab a brew. I've got no problem recommending this place to a friend. CHEERS
May 25, 2015
 
 
Rated: 3.98 by astronautjones from Michigan

Feb 12, 2015
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Reviewed by JamesStreet from Louisiana

3.93/5  rDev -3.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.75
Went early on a midweek afternoon so place wasn't overflowing with people. Probably about 40-50 taps. Did drink a Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus on tap. Burger was good and didn't take too long. Overall, not a bad spot for craft lovers in BR.
Oct 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Yeti1979 from Louisiana

Jul 23, 2014
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Reviewed by esanchlsu from Louisiana

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 4
It's a popular place in Baton Rouge, so it can get crowded, usually the typical older college crowd, yuppies, bros, drunk barbie queens, hipsters...everything you'd expect. It is a bar in a college town, so, there you have it. The patio is the better environment. The late night menu munchies selection is exceptional - get the loaded nachos! The beer selection has any and everything. Not sure about the tap count, but its substantial. Pet friendly.
Jul 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by tbryan5 from Louisiana

Jul 07, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by utah44 from Louisiana

Jun 16, 2014
Photo of LSUPT
Reviewed by LSUPT from California

3.53/5  rDev -13.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3
I'm in this place pretty often. In Baton Rouge, it's the Bulldog or the Chimes for draft beer, and they are about the same in terms of quality and selection.

The atmosphere varies greatly. All the Bulldog locations I have been to seem to be the spot for middle-aged Bud Light or Abita drinkers; but being in Baton Rouge, you get a good number of college aged Bud Light Mich Ultra drinkers, and it can get very, very crowded and smokey on a busy night. It can get to the point that you can't taste your beer and have trouble seeing to the other end of the building. But on a slow night or if you go early enough it's a very enjoyable experience and the outside area with the tap fountain is nice and the decor inside, while cheap when you look at the detail, is nice as well.

Quality is OK. I wonder about cleanliness of lines but I haven't had any experiences that were too bad. Frozen glasses, but you can ask for a room temp glass, and they will offer one if you order a stout or porter. "Belgian style" glass will be offered if you order Delirium or something like that but they are smaller than a pint and not really the ideal style for said beers.

Service is pretty good for a bar like this and they are good at what they do. Rapid service, you don't get ignored and as long as you can find your way to the bar you will be helped in both a friendly and timely fashion. I have had issues with bartenders being too hasty and mishearing me and I watch them pour the wrong beer, but they can't really hear you to be corrected, so, it's not really their fault.

As mentioned in earlier reviews, there are a good number of macro lager imports that are always on and few rotating taps, but there are rotating Sam Adams, Brooklyn, Abita and St. Arnold seasonals and Select/Brewmaster's Reserve taps. Bottle selection is quite pricey but pretty good. Decent number of Belgians and imports as well as SN, Sam Adams, Mikkeller, Rogue, Unibroue and Anchor regulars and seasonals.

Food is typical bar food. Quality isn't anything to be concerned about but isn't fresh made stuff that you would rave about. If I'm feeling like a fat ass I'll get the Porter fries. Burgers are pretty good too.

Food is definitely overpriced, $10 w/ tax for cheese fries? No thank you. Beer is pricey as well especially the bottles.

I will continue to go to the Bulldog as long as Im stuck in Baton Rouge, and although it isn't great compared to other areas of the country it is tops for Baton Rouge.
Jul 01, 2011
Photo of mvforegonian
Reviewed by mvforegonian from Oregon

3.98/5  rDev -2.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
I'm just impressed that Baton Rouge has a beer bar! Not as many rotating taps as I would like but each time I've been there the selection has been pretty solid. Glassware, well I hope you like everything in a pint glass (better value I suppose). Wednesday nights are pint night and it gets CRAZY busy!! Probably my favorite place to go out in Baton Rouge. The bottle selection is not impressive but made up for it in taps. There is a large outdoor seating area with a bad ass fountain which is really nice in Southern Louisiana spring time. I've only eaten there once but the food was fantastic!
Jun 22, 2011
Photo of 3rdRowTailgater
Reviewed by 3rdRowTailgater from Louisiana

3.25/5  rDev -20.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
The Bulldog is a decent beer bar for Baton Rouge, which isn't really saying a lot.

They've got 81 taps, but unfortunately they don't have near enough rotating taps, so if you go there often you're stuck picking from the same beers every time.

It's got a nice feel to it with the seating areas and outdoor patio and fountain, but it just gets way too crowded sometimes, which affects the service.

Don't expect to get proper glassware here and get used to having imperial stouts being served in frozen pint glasses. I really wish they would do a better job of educating the bartenders.

The food is pretty good pub fare, but food and drinks can get a little on the expensive side.

Not bad for Baton Rouge, but it's nothing special.
Feb 02, 2011
Photo of markbatonrouge
Reviewed by markbatonrouge from Louisiana

3.83/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 2.5
The Bulldog is fairly new in Baton Rouge. It happens to be very close to where I live -- walking distance with my dog; they encourage dogs to visit in their patio area. That makes it pretty cool at times, to have the pup around while drinking good beer.

The Chimes is the old standby here in town, with quite a good beerlist, so The Bulldog starts out with some good competition. But The Bulldog seems to have more beers on tap. And, the beers they pour are really good. It's easy to notice the qualitative difference in the beers at The Bulldog compared to other places around town. They claim they clean their lines regularly and use a blend of nitrogen and CO2. I can't atest to all of that, but I know that doppelbocks and IPAs and stouts really taste wonderful here.

I'm glad they've opened and I hope they'll stick around. It gets too smokey inside when there's a crowd. But it's also fairly easy to get there when it's a bit quieter and get a really good draft beer.

And, my dog is taking to the bar life. I'll keep going back (and bringing her with me)!
Mar 06, 2010
Photo of t3hcho53non3
Reviewed by t3hcho53non3 from Louisiana

3.51/5  rDev -14%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
I have heard nothing but great things about this bar especially for students around college age. One of the main attractions to this bar is pint night which is every Wednesday night. If you buy a pint you get to keep the glassware that it comes with. This would be an awesome concept aside from the fact they absolutely murder with the prices of the beer. I bought a SA Octoberfest the other night for $8. I realize this is a bar but come on. I can buy 6 of that same thing for $7.99 from Walmart or Albertsons. It is always packed to the max and filled with tools. If you wear affliction this probably is your place.
Sep 27, 2009
Photo of dickroop
Reviewed by dickroop from Maryland

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
The Bulldog in Baton Rouge is a worthy establishment. Being in Baton Rouge on business, and knowing about the reputation of the Bulldog in New Orleans, I stopped in to check out the place. I was well rewarded.

This place aims to be "a beer tavern that really [takes] draft beer seriously". With 81 taps, I'd say "YES". It's true that many, MANY of these taps deliver beer that is BMC or nothing all that special. But remember that this is Louisiana, and the Bulldog entertains a crowd with widely varying tastes and levels of sophistication. I'd say they deserve to be taken seriously, and they'll probably succeed admirably.

The Bulldog is located in a strip-mall shopping center not far from the LSU campus. The place looks newish from the outside, rather traditional and pub-like. On the inside it's large and rather dark (also pretty noisy). The bar seats 15-20, there are high, narrow-table stand-up or stool areas, and perhaps 25 tables. Food is available at a "Grub" window, and you go to the bar to get your drinks, British-style.

I sat at the bar, right where everybody came to get their pints, pitchers, etc. My server was efficient and knowledgeable, and the behind-the-bar staff all seemed likewise, very helpful and attuned to quick service. It was about 6 pm on a Thursday, and the place was pretty full. This Bulldog establishment only opened in early January 2009, so it looks like they're dong very well.

The selection - quite impressive. There were about 6 Belgian brews, including Delirium Tremens, Grimbergen dubbel (both of which I got tastes of), 2 lambics, Hoegaarden, and Stella. All 7 offerings from Abita were available, plus a wide array of German brews (several types of Spaten, Pauliner, Warsteiner). Also Carlsberg, Pilsner Urquell, and Kronenberg 1664 (French). Among the more commonly available brews were all of the Anheuser Busch offerings, Blue Moon, SNPA, 2 types of Redhook, Dos Equis, Harp, Guinness, Bass, Newcastle, Heineken, Amstel. There were 6 Flying Dog offerings, Anchor Steam and Anchor Liberty Ale, about 4 Rogue brews (including Dead Guy). There really was something for almost everybody, although the offerings for a hophead like me were limited. Prices were moderate, $4-6 for most, more for the high-test Belgians and rarer beers. Happy hour pricing 4-7 pm was 0.50 cents off for pints.

I didn't sample the food - it was too noisy and crowded (but there is a great Mediterranean/Lebanese restaurant in the same shopping center). The crowd in this place was all over - locals coming in for pitchers of Bud Lite and many people enjoying a great many different beers.

This establishment probably has a bright future. Overall it's a good place to visit, and even if you don't find your favorite or most exotic craft beer, there will be something you like. I was happy for a chance to sample the Anchor Liberty Ale on tap, and the Abita Jockomo was a good find as well - it was much better than the bottled version I have tried back home. This place really is doing what they aim to do, providing LOTS of draft beer to satisfy the many different tastes of this city and region.
Jan 30, 2009
The Bulldog in Baton Rouge, LA
Place rating: 4.08 out of 5 with 20 ratings