Ale House Is No Stale House
HungryKnights.com Critic
September 18, 2008
The Scene
The Ale House is a sports bar environment, and is very group-friendly with its loud atmosphere. There are televisions plastered all over the place so you won't miss anything on TV, and the pool tables and karaoke machines give it a very lively feel. It’s a great place to go when you want to eat and watch a game, or just to go with a big group of friends. They have a bar as well, so they have many drink specials and later-than-average hours for a restaurant.
The Food
Everything is good, but nothing is particularly amazing. In other words, you can order just about anything and you will be satisfied, but I wouldn’t give Ale House any chef awards any time soon. They have a great selection of salads and burgers, with a diverse list of appetizers to boot. They are known for their zingers, which are fried chicken fingers that are made with a variety of sauces, and Ale House even has a Zinger salad, which is quite popular. The Ale House also has a diverse list of appetizers, with the most famous being the Chicken Nachos; this is an absolutely enormous pile of chips, cheese and nachos that a table will almost never finish.
The Track Record The Ale House is fairly consistent, but some times they are clearly better than others. This is not to say the food is ever bad, but sometimes it’s just clearly better than other times. They always have good burgers and salads and are always a great place to watch a game or hang with friends.
The Service
It really depends on the waiter. Sometimes, I have been served quite slowly, while there have been times I have been served quickly and had free food thrown in because the waitress was just incredibly nice. Usually, however, if the service is bad and you point it out, you will get something for free. So you may not have great service from your waiter, the establishment as a whole is certainly great and they are always out to please their customers.
The Price
The Ale House is definitely cheaper than most restaurants. Their burgers are around $6-8, with most meals costing about the same or just a dollar more. You can comfortably order almost anything on the menu and, including tip, leave for under $11-12.
Overall Assessment
The Ale House is a great place to go with friends or to watch a game. Not the best place to go on a date, unless you both really want to watch sports. The food is generally good and you rarely have to wait very long to get a table. The location in Waterford Plaza is definitely a bonus if you have plans to see a movie afterward.