Brood & Barley

-----Update------

I'm not sure if this is strictly a Flyway Brewery gastropub anymore. My most recent visit, they had North Coast Scrimshaw on the slow pour. Which was excellent. Though they also had Stone, Deschutes and a few others along those lines. Which is all fine and good, but seems to have lost its identity with Flyway. Again, not saying that is bad, just giving a bit of an update, and instead of a unique Flyway outpost, its just another beer bar. A good one at that, though the service continues to get worse and more unorganized every time I visit. Flyway probably couldn't keep up with demand (just conjecture on my part, but I'm also not digging their beers a lot, so there you go). Still a worth while spot to check out if you are around though.


----Original Review------

This is Flyway Brewing's Gastropub, and is just around the corner from the brewery, in downtown North Little Rock. They also have a full bar and cocktails. I have tried to come here at least three times when I travel through town, over the last year or so. It is packed, and hard to get into. Until now, I was only able to get a quick beer while standing a the bar and left. Though, that just means they are making a good product for the area and neighborhood.

There is a long bar, that always seems to be packed. Plenty of seats spread around, which again always seem to be filled. Get your name in at the front podium. They will try to get you a seat. When I was finally able to get a seat at the bar, service is knowledgeable and friendly. Though pretty slow. You can't really blame them, but with the difficulty of getting a seat, I'm ready to order. Anyway, being patient, you will get taken care of.

They have about 10 beers made by Flyway. Most of which you can't get at the brewery. The Slow Pour Pils was out on all my visits (I ordered a beer standing at the bar and closed out quickly a few times). There is a single hop IPA, porter, hefe, barrel aged barleywine and a red wine aged Belgian Tripel. I like that variety. All the beers I had were decent, though not exceptional. Which is generally my feelings on Flyway itself.

Food was excellent though. Crispy Blue Chips. Basically house made Kennebec Chips and blue cheese were excellent. As was the big bowl of mussels. Lots of other stuff on the menu, including specials and happy hour. Both drink and food everyday.

I'll for sure check this spot out again when I travel through town. I just wish I like Flyway's beers a bit more. Even saying that, I can certainly enjoy this spot. For fans of Flyway, and people in the downtown North Little Rock area, this seems like a must stop.