Dahlia's Pour House

New tap house that just opened in Riverside. In the heart of a region known for beer already, standing out will be a chore. They do this by overing 1 more tap than their only competition and by overing only local, Florida beer. And Stella, and Hoegaarden, and Root Beer. And some other stuff that really isn't that interesting. Already I'm not impressed.

Walking in I was not that blown away. Billiards tables, ping pong, a huge Sweetwater Mural. It was 4pm on a Wednesday. Not your typical busy time to go in so I wanted to give it a fair shake. Mostly locals milling about. This was 4 days after their opening so I figured they still had some kinks and had fixed the big ones. I was wrong. They had issues with keeping the taps filled. With 85 that can be an issue. But saying that it was because the lines weren't long enough is just poor planning. Watching my beer choice spill everywhere and not knowing how to correct it is just ignorance. If you are going to be a pour house, know how to pour. Not knowing what a Black IPA was and just stating it is an ale is ignorance. Ignoring good advice is just arrogance. I'm sorry that you want to be better than everyone else, but when you are far worse, you have some serious things to work on.

Some good local beers on, pricey though and with only the pint option good luck giving them a good try. No food, but with 2 places within walking distance that isn't an issue. Felt more like a frat house bar than anything. Sad to say I will be stopping back in for some good Cigar City offerings and some new Florida beer, but it will only be during a bar hopping escapade and not because you have the most knowledgeable staff, the best service, or the cleanest atmosphere. You lack in all those respects. Deeply. I don't think you will be working on these issues and will bank on the fact that you have the most taps as your only saving grace. I give it 7 months before there is nothing but stale beer and you are begging the other restaurants to buy up your remaining stock.

I may be a bit harsh, but if Jacksonville is going to move up in the beer world, we need less crappy bars opening and better interest in good beer and good service, not milking off other peoples success. I don't drink to drink, I enjoy new beers and new experiences. Not a rehashing of what has already been done. Yay, a new place has opened. Oh wait, I've seen this before, and done better. Good try.

Cool spot with a lot of taps (80+). Good selection of local (Jax), Florida, and Southern beers as well as the coastal standbys. Wine on “tap” too. Pool tables, ping pong, other games. Not exactly a dive but bohemian and chill. It was quiet on a Tuesday afternoon it I can imagine it gets rowdy on weekend nights. I’d recommend a visit.

 

Love this place. Low key. Dog friendly (and I son't even have a dog). Plenty of local and not so local beers on tap and others in bottles and cans.. Discounts for runners, health care workers and teachers. Ping pong, pool and shuffleboard. Generally knowledgeable servers. Bring in food from Nacho Taco, Bugger King, or Carmen's Pizza. I take all my out-of-town visitors here.

First off: no food. They're fine with bringing in or ordering food.

84 taps of craft. Quality varies across the spectrum, but there's some good stuff here.

Friendly low key environment. Some TVs for sports.

Upon my first visit I was a little taken back by the simple decor and basic wall decor, but after that I was greeted by a friendly bartender names Chris and an amazing selection of tasty brews both on draft and in bottle. A few pool tables and a nice jukebox rounds off the vibe nicely. I'll be back for sure.

I have been coming to Dahlia's since they have opened and came across their beeradvocate page and am surprised there haven't been any reviews since right after they opened!
Dahlia's has around 85 beers on draft and a nice selection of craft cans. They are really supportive of their Florida breweries and always have new things on.
The bartenders remember what I like and will recommend new beers they got on based on what I usually drink or what I am in the mood for. A lot of the time I will ask for a sample first and they are always more than willing to give me a taste, but I almost always go with what they first pick out once I taste it!
They have a new jukebox, and it sounds fine to me, we are in a locals bar and I don't expect them or anyone to have a top notch sound system. They also have a draft display, printed menus and an APP for you to see what beers they have on draft and the prices of them.
I have never had a problem here, but prefer to come during less busy times as on the weekend nights they can get pretty packed!
I am so glad there is a nice, clean neighborhood bar that I can go to and enjoy a few good brews.

 

Great place to try new beers. Knowledgeable bartenders and welcoming atmosphere. Neighborhood bar vibe. Most drafts $4 on daily happy hour.

 

 

 

 

 

bad things first:
prices are not listed.
The junk box needs two speakers, 1 is well just cheap.
Parking blows.

Atmosphere is big open and airy, but some of it is tacky and junky, still its clean and all that. the Big bar is nice L shaped standard design. Lots of things to do IF you have someone with you, if not you can watch TV.

I had good service at the bar. Sure the know nothing about beer who cares. Shaker glasses at those prices hurts. its new time will tell about the quality.

selection was not all Florida beers and I was glad who cares about that theme not me.

they had popcorn, no other food. works for me.

Parking is an issue, but no different than the rest of the places in that place/ area.

its kind of tacky place, but its a bar. No smoking was great.

they have minor problems that can be fixed and it will one of the best in town, its easy to be on top here, the rest blow.

Disclaimer: I never overate places, especially if I live in town. I want a accurate and fair review. I been to 1000's of places in the world and I know good from bad.

Ok its new. there are things to work out.
dislikes no pricing, that bugs me!
a tad pricey but no higher than most "mostly" micro places.

no itemized bills that really bugs me.!!!!
FIX THIS ASAP, or I cannot come back!

shaker pints and the beer quality was good and was served well it can be in a shaker glass, I do not take off for glassware.

ok it got crowded I was not to happy about it, but that's just me. Still i got to chat and play my music I was happy. till the trivia event started and screwed me out of the rest of my songs, lol...

ok its a beer bar, in an old historic building, which is par for the area. the walls stuff is fine. only folks selling beer would care otherwise. bathrooms nice big and clean. who looks at walls? really? or I guess it's a kitsch factor that can add funk? its new things will evolve...
parking yea an issue as always.

that all said the owners are nice, knowledgeable, and friendly.

its a mainly Florida beer line that will I bet not last and really this is a good thing, because well most Jax, Florida beer sucks.
the folks that come here will dictate that in the long run.

ok chairs kind of suck, but no worse than any other place in town and fact I could stand them longer than any other place in town I reviewed.

the staff were nice and got us food from across the street! while that was weird money wise, it was still very nice of them.

now you go to a bar with 85 taps for the beer, ok the menu printed is not totally accurate, but they are new and one has to give them some leeway here. TIP get a chalk board that can be updated daily and a web site that reflects that.

still the bar is nice and big, they got ping pong, music, a jukebox, pool, etc. really a much better place to drink beer than the crowded place around the corner, which we will never go back too...which is a restaurant with the bar from hell, LOL

ok we go early (215pm) and we like it not crowded, so we left near 6:30pm. a fair review I think!

no food on site, but there is food everywhere near here.

wow the other review was done by a person that either works for the bar around the corner or is Steve buds. KB's was worse when they opened, and has only gone downhill...one would hope they would welcome competition. Time will tell, I predict kb goes out of biz before this place does.

85 taps beats everything in town....hence the 4.5 selection score. plus they carry bottles. that I can see in a menu, good move there.

Perfect no of course not, its a beer bar. nothing more or less.
4 tv's sound off. ;.)

Dec 2012: We tried to go back during the day and they no longer open early.

So I've been into Dahlia's twice now. The first time was on their second night after opening. I refused to place judgement on anything that first time because I've been on hand for many Craft Beer Bar openings and things don't always go as planned. Kegs pour foamy, bartenders serve in the wrong glassware, and the service can be lacking due to the craziness that goes with a packed first/second opening night.

Having been into the place since however, it seems to constantly have the problems I described above, no matter what day of the week you choose to visit. This time I went in to meet my girlfriend and some of her friends. The building itself is kinda cool. Tall ceilings, lots of space, a pool table, ping pong, and "Beer Battleship" which looked cool. However the general idea of the bar doesn't make much sense.

The Dahlia Pour House menu touts a selection of 85 drafts of which all of them are "Florida Beers." Except the PBR, Bud, Stella, Hoegarden, Root Beer, etc. Also, if you're going to open up a bar for all Florida beer, why put a GIANT Sweetwater Mural on your wall? Seems like an opportunity was missed to team up with local Cork artists and do an Intuition mural, or a Bold City mural, or even a Cigar City mural. These conflicting ideas just don't translate well and make little sense in the long run of a business.

Service here is also, unfortunately, lacking. As I went to order a beer a stood there for what seemed like 10-15 minutes only to be very abruptly and bluntly asked "Can I get you something?" by the girl behind the bar. She was not pleasant. Also, everything I saw was served in a Pint, with much overflow of beer going to waste in the drainage system they have set up below the taps. I was told by a friend who responded to their craigslist ad that they are purposefully hiring people who have no Craft Beer experience. If that is the case, congrats, you've succeeded.

In the humble opinion of this Craft Beer drinker, it would make more sense to not only try to acquire the most knowledgeable staff you could, but if that's not possible, train them at least on the basics of beer styles, proper glassware, and how to pour beer. Not doing this, is just Poor management.

What's unfortunate is that during Dahlia's Honeymoon period, it will flourish, if for no other reason then that it's across from Kickbacks and on King Street. However I hope in the future as the Craft Beer scene continues to evolve in Jacksonville, someone will open a bar that prides itself on Quality, Knowledge, and Creativity and put this place out of business.

To call Dahlia's Pour House a missed opPourtunity is an understatement....