Brazenhead Irish Pub

While the atmosphere is quaint and the food isn't bad at all, the staff are less than enthusiastic (or attentive, in some cases), and the draught beer selection isn't phenomenal.

 

This place is about a 15 minute drive from home, one of the few places in the Mason area that can reasonably call itself an Irish pub. The outside of the building looks much more German or Bavarian than Irish, but once you get inside the décor is decidedly Irish with lots of dark wood, low lights and a big inviting bar. There's also a nice outdoor seating area that is especially enjoyable on a cool summer evening.

The beer selection is decent but not impressive, mostly domestics with a lot of local stuff, more bottles than taps. They do have a couple Belgians (e.g. Trappiste Rochefort 10) and a few bombers. The prices have the typical mark-up, i.e. double normal retail, so that bomber of Arrogant Bastard that I normally buy for $5.50 is on the menu for $11.00.

The food is decent, a lot of standard pub grub with some better quality traditional Irish fare. When I was there Friday night we ordered potato pancakes, which were overcooked, in my opinion, and I had a "Schlow Burger" (smoked cheese, horseradish and tabasco-fried onions) that I ordered medium but came out closer to well done.

I've been to the Brazenhead maybe 6-8 times, and I normally enjoy it, but there are definitely some better places in the greater Cincinnati area if you're willing to make the drive. This place rates about a B-.

It's a very large and impressive building. Three floors as well as an outdoor patio area. I've visited this place several times. Even when it's crowded, you can still find a seat. This is one large place.

The food has always been very good. On Sundays they have a fish and chips special for $9.95. The portions were VERY generous. The chips are actually thick-cut potato chips, but come with a delicious garlic dipping sauce.

The beer selection is rather hit-and-miss. They usually carry some decent regional brews on tap. The rest of the taps are dedicated to macro european and U.S. beers. Bottle selection seemed okay, but it was hard to tell because the bartender did not seem particularly interested in mentioning them.

I like this place but the bartenders are kind of a downer. They're not inattentive, but they don't seem to like their job.

Overall the atmosphere was great. Very large interior and although we were there during peak hours, it wasn't very crowded at all. I was there with a large party and were allowed to use a private room off to the side.

The service was decent at best. We ended up having 2 servers. One was on the ball, a bit slow, but she got everything correct and made sure everyone was taken care of. The second was not. Someone else in my party asked for a snifter glass for his beer and after her third attempt at bringing the right glass, he had to go to the bar to get one.

The selection was great, offering the typical Irish fare as well as your standard "domestic" offerings. Burgers, steak, chicken fish, salad etc. I only caught a quick glimpse of the beer list and from what I could tell and recall they were light on tap beer and had a large selection of bottled beer, but nothing that stood out as something new or worth a try.

Food was great and I heard no complaints from anyone in my party.

All together I consider it a good value. I think I made out for under $13 after tip, which is cheap when I do dine out for just myself. It could get expensive with some of their other offerings and possibly more drinks or appetizers added on, but nothing too drastic given the demographics of the restaurant.

The outside and inside were both quite attractive and expensive looking. Lots of wood and brass.

The slection was a little limited in that the taps were populated with some macros american and euro. There were a few offereings on tap from goose island, bell's and great lakes. The selection by bottle was okay but I still struggled to find three beers to try. By bottle I did have a Great Lakes Nosferatu, but at a suprising 6.99 for the bottle when the bill came. I also had a bottle of Stone IPA, always good

The bartender was not very knowledgable about beer or even the beers availible. When I spotted the Nosferatu in the cooler behind the bar and asked for it by name, she just stared at me. I had to point it out in the case. The manager on the otherhand came over to chat and he was very knowledgable. He needs to train his staff better.

The food was good, I had a steak over smashed potatoes, it was fine.

Prices of food and beer were high