the hollow bistro and brew

awful experience. my wife and i decided to try this place a second time on april 5th. we had a 7pm reservation and arrived a few minutes early. we were seated at one of the tables in the center aisle, and even though we complained about being uncomfortable the hostess (who turned out to be the owner) only moved us to another of the little tables in the very tiny aisle, but farther from the cold wind from the door.

we both felt claustrophobic, with very large customers standing on either side of us, their expansive backsides just inches from our heads. waitresses must have bumped my arm or shoulders at least a dozen times, trying to squeeze through. when i complained to the completely useless hostess that i felt like we were eating in the middle of a freeway, and i felt the management should make some adjustment on our bill, her reply was "have a nice day."

really?? what could have been a nice, romantic meal was anything but. i can understand that this greedy owner might want to maximize her revenue per square foot, but not that she'd want to do it at the expense of the customers' comfort.

i wrote and complained, by the way, and got nowhere. the owner was completely unapologetic. how does a place like this stay in business?

food was only average, and certainly not worth the trip or the aggravation.

cool! visited this place on a recent trip home from chicago, how exciting for clarence to have a gastro-pub! food was excellent for the price, staff was courteous and helpful, restaurant was clean and well maintained. even my 14 yr old picky eater liked it! thanks for a great experience!

staff friendly, environment warm, sorry food was not good. rice was hard and tasteless (microwaved?), stingy with the ahi, red pepper dressing tasted like it was from those little plastic containers from a chinese shop. overall tasteless. and expensive for what it was. disappointed.

lamb rack. amazing presentation and tender meat

very impressed. my husband and i were told by a few friends to try out the hollow bistro and brew. we were finally in the area last week friday. for a friday night it wasn't too busy, which was great for us because we got a great table in the front window. its a nice spot to sit on a sunny day. our waitress was very pleasant and attentive. we didn't know much about the menu but she let us know what was popular and informed us about the specials. we were in between a few things to start with, she recommended the hot banana peppers and i'm glad we got them they were amazing. my husband had the ahi tuna which was cook perfectly (which very rarely happens) our waitress also told us about the upgrade salads that we both tried, the portabella salad was fantastic. food, service and atmosphere was great-cant ask for much more. we will most definitely be back!!!

wonderful. great service, great food, great atmosphere

1st visit to the hollow bistro. my wife & i stopped in last week for lunch. we had appetizers, salad and a pizza. all were very good as was the service. i would recommend.

mixed feelings. the hollow bistro and brew is a small restaurant located where i call clarence hollow downtown. it is a clean restaurant with classic decoration. but it is not ready for people with babies, because the high chair belt was broken and they tried to do a quick fix to it. what it lost so many points to me.

stopping your car there could be a problem on a busy day because their parking lot is shared with other business. however when i went there on a saturday afternoon for lunch, there were a lot of spots to park my car.

we had no reservations. but that was not a problem, because the place only had 2 tables filled and during my stay only 2 more were filled. the senior waitress that received me was a very polite and charismatic and directed me to my table. unfortunately she was not our waitress. the noise level was very low, so i think this is a good place to enjoy intimate conversation.

the lunch menu was ok. not so many options to choose, but they have a good variety. i just recommend that they fix their lunch menu page on their site, because i'm the kind of person that likes to see the menu before i'm going to a place. and asking for options on the dinner menu it was not allowed, where sometimes is possible from some restaurants.

we started our lunch with soda and a delicious bread basket. the soda taste was not so good, maybe a problem on the carbonation of the fountain. but kudos for the bread, they were delicious but very expensive ($3). for this price, i was expecting more bread pieces.

we asked for the hollow burger ($9.5) and a pasta with shrimp scampi that i don't remember the plate name. first and more important, i was impressed how quick our food was done. it did not take 15 minutes to have the plates on our table. very impressive!

the hollow burger pleased me so much. it was a delicious gourmet burger and the fries were crispy. until now, i did not find a so good gourmet burger like i found here! however, the pasta for my wife was not so good. we did not found the capers and the scampi sauce was more a plenty of oil than the sauce. i do not recommend the pasta.

another bad point of my experience with the restaurant was the young waitress that served us. she was not charismatic as the senior waitress and forgot to tell us the specials. i was only aware of that because i overheard the other waitress offering that to the other tables. we left the restaurant upset because the specials seemed to have better options that the lunch menu.

but even with the bad points, we enjoyed our visit to the restaurant. the burger was very good and the food delivery was very quick. if i plan to eat again at this restaurant? maybe... but it will not be my first choice, mainly because the unsafe high chair for my baby.

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good for babies? no
good for big groups? yes
enough parking spots to everyone? no

exquisite!. i am so proud to have such a lovely establishment just down the road from my home. not only is the food, service and selection excellent, but the quaint cozy atmosphere is always inviting. the bistro is one step to the clarence hollow being what it is meant to be - a desirable walking district.

i recommend trying the calamari and a choice from the eclectic drink menu. the bistro never disappoints!!

great!. right before the christmas season, my husband and i were invited to dinner with a few friends. although we have never been to the hollow bistro and brew we were definitely willing to try something new. they accommodated a party of 8 quickly. my first impressions were that it was very "cozy" and comfortable. we were greeted by a very nice young lady named danielle. my friend and i were going to split a bottle of wine, but wasn't sure what one we would like. danielle recommended a bottle of kendall jackson chardonnay and we loved it.(i actually bought a bottle for a new years party that i had.) we also weren't sure what to order because all of our friends that have been there before and had their favorite dishes. even though we had many questions about the menu, our waitress answered all of our questions with many recommendations. my husband ordered the ribeye and our waitress recommended the sesame chicken dish, which i ordered. we loved our dinners. they were cooked and seasoned perfectly. the hollow bistro is a classy restaurant with great atmosphere. the service was excellent, we will definitely be back!!!

i ate here last night for probably the 4th time since it opened. the food was phenomenal. my parents and i shared one of the app specials.. pumpkin ravioli, it was kind of a mix between sweet and savory. absolutely delicious. for my entree i had the chicken that's on their menu... chicken breasts with some kind of sauce and smoked mozz. sooooo good. for dessert, we had the creme brule which we were informed was just added to the dessert menu. ameretto flavored with candied walnuts on top. yum! great experience and cheaper than going downtown

quality food and service. so happy the hollow opened up a couple years ago. i have to hold back from eating there every weekend. very friendly staff that really care about your experience. the menu has some standards, but always with a great twist or addition - like the hollow burger. it's a great burger but becomes excellent with the fried egg and blue cheese. you won't be disappointed.

food is amazing. me and my wife visited the hollow about a month ago and i was very pleased by the food and the service. the atmosphere is great to have a nice dinner with friends or family. i will definitely be going back.

the generous angus beef patty is boldly charred on the outside, sealing in the juicy flavor, and topped with a fried egg (perhaps a nod to the fact that the region’s largest egg farm, kreher’s, is right down the road) and melted blue cheese. served on a pretzel roll with lettuce, tomato, and red onion, it’s a combination that reminds me of a late-night dish you might whip up using random ingredients you have on hand, but the results exceed expectation.

great food! service fine!. i live nearby and have been here several times when i am craving something really tasty. last trip i had a
fantastic mushroom and goat cheese soup followed by a favorite--strip steak sandwich with mushrooms and
onions. never had a problem with service. for those really decadent dinners, they could offer some better
dessert options. overall though, i am so glad clarence has something other than pizzas and well, pizzas!