Great Lakes Brewing Co

We visit the brewery at least once a month but find ourselves going there a couple times a month! The burgers are EXCELLENT(pretzel buns)! and of course the beer is awesome! I really love the atmosphere! Every time we go we have excellent service! If you want some good bread pudding this place has it! Also the Edmond Fitzgerald ice cream is a must to take home!(ask for spoons cause we can never make it home without taking a bite!)

Went there tonight (8/15/09), and despite having reservations for 9 of us, we had to wait 45 minutes for a table. Then, we were put upstairs...

As with so many other reviews of GLBC on the internet, I thought the beer was really good but the food and service were simply pitiful. First there is their rather odd selection of appetizers...when one reads the menu one really must ask, "Do people really eat this rubbish?". Ok...perhaps I'm just a bit spoiled but I'm used to a few "standards" when it comes to an appetizer menu. mozzarella/cheese, stuffed mushroom caps, chicken quesadillas, etc.. I certainly welcome the unusual house specialty but in this case, that was the only thing on the menu...weird and unusual. While the Fried Eggplant was actually very good (kudos on the marinara sauce), the Meat and Cheese Board left a great deal to be desired...the sausage and splutch of cheese mush were practically too spicy to eat. Thank goodness there wasn't much of it there. This Board also included 4 thin sliced of a salami-like deli meat, 4 sliced of (stale) bread and a couple of other small nibblings, none of which was really ap... Read more

Personally, the Great Lakes Brewing Company is the sole reason I moved to Cleveland! Not really, but if I did not grow up here and still ha...

Before I get into my review I just want to say that Great Lakes has the absolute best beer ever! Saying that, I dont live in Cleveland and always make a stop to Great Lakes when in town. This last time I was very let down. They were having their " End of Prohibition " party. I figured we would have to wait but we were seated right away. I had a Dortmunder and my boyfriend had an Eliot Ness. They were both delicious. We ordered the Meat and Cheese bored for an appitizer and then ordered Fish N Chips and the Pretzel Crusted Chicken. The appetizer was good minus the fact that you dont get that much for what you pay for it and we didnt even get 30 second to enjoy it before both of our entrees came out. My boyfriends Fish N Chips wetre delicious. My chicken breast was okay, but the side of mashed potates were the worst instant potatoes I ever had. Also my "steamed veggies " were nothing more than cold, limp, GRAY on the inside broccoli. The waitess didnt even come back until the meal was al... Read more

GLBC makes great brew! My favorite is Dortmunder, it's fantastic. The dining experience is not the greatest as their food is kind of over ...

I have been visiting GLBC for many, many, many years. It is about 20 miles from my home on the eastside, so it is an effort for my husband and brothers to get there (and sometimes an effort to get home!). The trip has always been worth it because the beers are extraordinary...Burning River, Blackout Stout and Edmond Fitgerald are my favorites. BUT, what has happened to the food quality? It has been getting consistently worse over the past year or two. The Marguerita Pizza was horrible on my second last visit. It is supposed to be mozz cheese and tomatoes. You could hardly even see the tomatoes they were cut so thinly and the cheese was very sparse. The crust on the salmon and cream cheese pizza was very dry. I love veggie burgers, but GLBC are the worst I have ever had. Last visit I settled on the Bruschetta bread (served as an appetizer) for my dinner....it served the purpose. Mr. Manager, please heed this review. Your beer is expensive, but delicious. We will travel t... Read more

Let me start by saying that I love this beer. It may even be the best in the world. But that is well known, and I am here to call attention to one of the most often overlooked aspects of a fine restaurant: how they treat their employees. In my many visits to the GLB, I have never seen a server get a break. In fact, I have seen on several occasions, a fat lazy manager(his name is pete), who is rather like a despot. Requiring employees to work 10, 12, 14 hours with NO BREAKS. NOw I understand that this is totally legal in Ohio, but that does not mean it's okay. THis place has 4 floors! and none of them are level surfaces! These girls work their asses off to provide outstanding service and they're treated like DIRT. I will not support this business until they figure out how to ACTUALLY be a place of integrity, rather than just profitting off the illusion, and hiding behind their small carbon footprint and organic beer. shame on you conway brothers, shame on you.

We visited GLB on Sat afternoon on 4-5-08. We had to wait for a table so we went to the bar to get a beer. Granted, they were crowded due to the Cav's game crowd, but we could not get the bartenders attention to order some beers. Hey buddy, your beer is that that great where you can ingnore your customers! After about 10 minutes and no service, we decided to visit the West Side Market instead of having a few beers before dinner. A business needs to understand that you are there for the CUSTOMERS and should be somewhat attentive to them. No amount of arm waiving or yelling could get his attention. He could have atleast acknowled that we were there and said that he'd get to us shortly. The food was good and our food server was excellent. Good thing they do not sell Miller Highlife. An $11 hamburger. Come on now, it was not that good for the price and the fries were way too salty. We will remove GLB from my list of restaurants to come back to.

If you accept average food go ahead and order whatever you want, it will be totally mediocre. The beer is great. From now on, I'll go to Giant Eagle and get a 6 pack of Dortmunder and make my own burger. This place used to have great food, it's garbage now, I don't ever recommend going here to eat.

Everyone used to say how the dining at Great Lakes Brewing Co. was as good as their beers. Not anymore. The "seared" Pretzel Chicken was deep fried and my Fish and Chips had a soggy batter for being deep fried. I would rather have had Arthur Treacher's fish for less than half the price. It took them about half an hour after our beer order to take the food order, and the waitress messed up the second beer order. Their beers did shine, notably the Commodore Perry IPA on tap; the Brewer's Pretzels appetizer were great as well, but I will not be going back to eat there for a long time.

Great beer, fun atmosphere. However, I have experienced a steady decline in the level of customer service, menu selections and quality of food. In addition, current management doesn't really seem to care about customer satisfaction. I recommend having a few beers at the bar, maybe enjoying the artichoke crock as an appetizer, then leaving for a better dining experience.

I really enjoyed my night at the brewing company. Having already known their beer selection, deciding on one to drink was the hardest choic...

YUM! I love the steak salad here! This restaurant is so fun. The atmosphere is just wonderful - we love to eat outside in the Courtyard i...

While in Cleveland on vacation, we decided to try out Great Lakes Brewing... had a hard time finding the location, but it was well worth it! Our server was amazing, and gave several good suggestions on what to order. The food was exceptional (if you're ordering dessert, try the infamous bread pudding)! And, of course, their beers are unbeatable... we tried the Edmund Fitgerald Porter and the Blackout Stout, both very tasty and smooth. Try this place if you enjoy finely crafted beers, and if you want to support local small businesses. Great Lakes Brewing Co. rocks!

The Scene After spending the workday anticipating the taste of that first beer, Clevelanders expect some food at quitting time, too. Great Lakes Brewing Company draws a diverse crowd, ranging from weekend hop-crafters to barley-challenged heretics who don't much care for suds--even if they're hand-crafted, award-winning ales, stouts and lagers. The Food The kitchen uses beer before, during and after each preparation. The opener of choice is a crock: artichoke hearts, Parmesan cheese and red peppers baked in a ceramic vessel and served with pita chips for dipping. Besides the solid Brewhouse burger, the pretzel chicken--served with mustard-ale cream sauce, vegetables and garlic-scallion mashed potatoes--is a must-try. Dessert might be bread pudding with Jack Daniel's sauce, or you can keep sampling the Eliot Ness lager or the Edmund Fitzgerald porter, rich with bite and local historical references.

The outdoor seating is amazing. It has so much charm, especially the courtyard. There is no better outdoor dining in cleveland on a beautiful weekend day or night. On the flip side, I don't recommend sitting in the downstairs. Its damp and feels like you are in the dungeon basement.

interesting setting but boring menu....beer has some flavor but could be colder...Tony

Visited Cleveland, stumbled upon this brewpub, and am duly impressed. Beer drinkers will appreciate the hand-crafted beers. Foodies will delight in an ambitious menu. Vegetarians will be amazed at the inclusion of many choices of non-meat items. Service was a bit spotty; ambiance was warm and inviting. The burgers and fries stole the show. If you are a fan of Belgian fries, you want to eat here. If you appreciate good beef, the burgers are to die for. Soft pretzels made with grain used to brew the beer served with various mustards and cheese spreads were wonderful. The bread pudding was scrumptious. Stay away from the "specials" and stick with the standard, tried and true menu items. My party of 6 gave GLBC a big thumbs up. Keep up the good work!

I love Great Lakes Brewing. This impeccable restaurant/brewery always has a diverse crowd to please any people watcher. It goes without saying, but the food and the beer are out of this world...I've not yet been disappointed with anything I've tried. The Pretzel Chicken and Jack Daniels Bread Pudding is to die for. My absolute favorite dish however was the Squash Ravioli--although I've not seen it on the menu recently. The Stilton Cheddar Cheese soup and the Bratwurst & Pierogi Plate are a nice substite until they bring back my Squash Ravioli.

I may be a bit harsh on this place, but I had a hard time choking down the beer. I have had several people in the area say that they loved the beer, but I was disappointed. My beer selection is normaly a german weizenbier or a bock, so maybe this will help you when you go.

Our party of 6 went the GLBC the day after they reopened as a smoke-free restaurant. Thank you! The home-grown beers were wonderfully diverse but the food was inconsistent. My corned-beef sandwich was dry & rather tastless--as were the fries. My companion's catfish, however, was exemplary. The dessert, an apple cheescake dish, was scrumptious. Service was efficient without being overbearing.

Could be Great Lakes again. Not as friendly as it once was, no mistakes, no dumpers ! I'm not looking for free drinks but it gave the place that old neighborhood feel. They used to service very good wings twice a week but that also ended. BUT THE BEST BEER IN TOWN is there so you ALWAYS go back. It would just be nice to have the old place back. I recommend Great Lakes on the beer alone. Food is good but upscale.

Best in the midwest for consistency in it's brewing. Great indoor/outdoor atmosphere. Severely lacking in food quality, presentation, and service. It was an embarassment to bring someone after raves by word of mouth only to be disappointed not once, but 3 times. Having vast experience in this industry, it makes it even more difficult to offer negative feedback in these areas. I shall only patronize the bar from now on!