Arooga's Draft House & Sports Bar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downtown Harrisburg, wandering around for somewhere to watch Euro Cup. Arooga's fits the bill…

Atmosphere: A 2nd St. bar, take that for what you will. The open air facility will not, under any summer circumstances, provide a respite from the heat. One side of the bar, in a nice touch, as walk-up access from the street. All around the bar are tables, including a few on an outdoor patio. But really, the entire place is like an outdoor patio.

Quality: Admirable beer list, friendly and attentive and provocatively dressed barstaff, clean facilities. My only complaint would be the sweating balls aspect of sitting in an open air bar. Some of the patrons nearby were annoying as hell, but I feel wrong dinging the establishment for that...

Service: Greeted immediately and visited repeatedly. Big points for telling me about a new beer that wasn't on the tap list (while I didn't have it, I liked being told about it).

Selection: Ample selection, over or right around 40 beers. An emphasis on Rogue and DFH, although Victory, Troegs, Founders, Spring House, and Magic Hat also appeared. Plenty of BMC but Sculpin and Chimay White help to balance that out.

Food: The wings can't be beat (especially the twice cooked ones). Beyond that, think pub grub sandwiches, fried food and sweet desserts.

May 2012 review of Arooga’s Downtown (Harrisburg, Pa.) First and foremost the staff appears to be woefully untrained. The atmosphere is that of a loud urban sports bar with waitresses showing ample cleavage. I try to avoid loud bars therefore I rate the atmosphere as poor.

Arooga’s Downtown is relatively new. I noticed their sign advertising half price growler fills during happy hour. So I brought in my unmarked amber 2L flip top growler one day. I was told, no, we can only fill Arooga’s growlers. Their growler is a clear glass screw-top. Totally inadequate but I bought one since I had a cooler to keep it from become light-struck. When I asked to have it filled with Founder’s Breakfast Stout, I was told no, only certain beers can be put into growlers. Strike two. I picked something else. I went back the following week and ordered DFH 90 minute and was told that will be about 10 minute wait. I watched the bartender fill the growler until foam just started to come out the neck then stop and let it sit for 7 minutes (yes I was timing her). She then struggled to get some more beer in the growler. In the end I ended up with a short fill. These people are clearly not trained and/or not setup to effectively fill growlers. After these two bad episodes I decided to go back one more time the following week. After waiting for too long the bartender asked me what I wanted and I told her the Victory St. Victorios but I asked how much is was. Apparently the bar only had one worked register so she could not answer my question just then. Eventually what I assumed to be the manager told me that he could not sell a growler of it because while it was on tap it was not in the system yet. This was the last straw. I expressed my displeasure and began to leave. He came around the bar and stopped me from leaving trying to persuade me to get something else. He suggested Founder’s Breakfast or some cider brand that I can’t remember. I explained I had previously been told I was not allowed to get a growler of Founder’s Breakfast and I have no interest in cider.

At a homebrew event later that day I told this story to a number of people and was treated to several other stories of bad experiences (screwed up food orders, incorrect bills, etc.).

[edit: Arooga's contacted me a few days after my original post. They apologized and offered a comp. growler. I accepted the apology but not the growler fill.]

Update: I went to Arooga’s for a forth attempt at their growler special. I left disappointed without any beer again. This time the reason is that they moved their happy one hour later and that time does not agree with my schedule.