trailhead brewing co

two exhausted eclipse watchers who had started at 4am in nashville ended up here for a light dinner after a very long day. hadn't been in st charles in 25 years so it was great to see this lovely town again. we were going to the restaurant next door to eat outside but they were closed so on to trailhead! we started off with the raspberry beer that certainly hit the spot. it was happy hour with half priceappetizersand pizza so we began to graze. the boiled shrimp was fresh and a good size. next was the sausage and pepperoni pizza. loved that sausage. we would have tackled the shrimp stuffed jalapeños next but alas, we were stuffed ourselves. service was decent with a friendly server. bathrooms were clean. the reason i deducted a point was that my seat which was half of a booth, was in desperate need of spring repair. there were many appealing menu selections so i will try to make it back before the next 25 years go by.

good beer. the beer is the reason to go here. all their beer is good, but the stout is my favorite. the food is better than bar food, kind of like an average restaurant food quality. they mainly have appetizers, pizza, sandwiches, and salads. if you go late at night, around 10 or 11, theappetizersare half price. this is one of my friend's favorite restaurant. he gets the pretzel burger or wings every time. another friend loves their chicken pizza. i like their hummus, chicken fingers, and salads.

atrocious service. i wish i could say great thing about this place. well, there are a couple of positives: the beer is extremely good (i had the pumpkin spiced ale, which was among the best i’ve had anywhere). and the space is nice, with good views of the brewing tanks in the dining room we eventually ended up in. but the food was only so-so and the service was atrocious. our party of 5 arrived about 10 or 10:30 pm after seeing a show. we walked in and there was no one at the hostess desk, so we went upstairs. when you get to the top of the stairs, there’s a bar area. it was fairly crowded with people standing around. we squeezed through the standing people to a dining room at one end. it looked closed. so, one of us went to the bar to get the attention of the bar tender to see if we could sit in that dining room or if there was somewhere else we could sit. after 5 minutes or so of no employee even looking his way, another one of us squeezed back through the and found another dining room with maybe three of the tables filled with customers. so, after another 5 minutes or so, we found a guy who looked like he worked there and asked if we could sit at one of the tables. he said, “you should ask the hostess downstairs.” we replied that there was no hostess downstairs. he said, “just a minute,” and walked downstairs. one of us followed him, thinking he would find out. but no, instead, that guy totally ignored our friend, went behind the bar, and started bartending.

our group of 5 stood around, no drinks in hand, no seating, with every employee in the place ignoring us for at least 20 minutes before we could flag one down and ask if we could sit in the dining area. finally we got seated (after we removed a dirty, wet bar towel from the back of one of our chairs). the waitress said we could only orderappetizersand pizza at that hour, which was fine with us. and theappetizerswere half price. great!

the beer came (sloshed all over the table as it was delivered). we had fried asparagus with wasabi sauce (good, but no wasabi taste), wings (very hot but good), nachos (disgusting, with greasy sheets of cold cheese on top), and crab artichoke dip (ok, but very greasy). when one of us opened the silverware, which was wrapped in cloth napkins, the napkin was crusted with someone else’s food remains. the waitress was prompt at refilling drinks, and aside from dropping a dirty knife on one of our laps, she was good. so, while the beer was tasty, the service in this place is so bad we won't be back.

always a good time. their happy hour is the best. beers are under $3 and half offappetizersand pizzas. their bbq chicken pizza is some of the best i've ever had. we always get their shrimp stuffed jalapenos, spicy chicken drummies and onion rings and are never ever disappointed. great bar food, awesome atmosphere.

ridiculous wait for food. we went there with another couple for dinner before a concert. arrived at 6:00. said it would be about 15-20 minutes. seated at 6:55. we asked about the happy hourappetizersand were told by the waiter we missed the cut off. someone at the table said the wait was much longer then we were told to expcet. he allowed us to put the order in. order ofappetizersarrive at 7:50. at 7:40 i caught the waiter and asked if he could check on our food. he said that he just sat a "tabletop" of 16 people upstairs and 10 on this floor and the kitchen was backed up. he then proceeded to tell me that i needed to have "some patience". our meals came out at 8:15. two of us ordered burgers, both were good. the other two split the flatbread pizza. it was cold. we asked for our bill right when the entrees came out and he did not bring it to us until 8:30. by the time we got to the concert, we had missed both(!) opening acts and found a seat just in time for the headliner. disappointed. don't seat people if you can't handle the business. ps. we asked to talk to the manager and the server told us he was busy and it would be a while. we got up and left. i understand that sometimes restaurants get busy. not ok to be arrogant and rude.

i love this place. you can always find a beer to fit your mood or the season, the food is great, and theappetizersare to die for. my fiancée and i stop here every time we drive through st. charles.

tasty beer and solid bar food. stopped in forappetizersand cold brews on a recent sunday afternoon. if you set your expectations as such, you'll probably enjoy it.

pleasantly surprised by the excellent microbrew, all served up in a unique restored mill setting.

noisy but enjoyable. expect to wait and be surrounded by noise in the evening and weekends; this is a very popular place! great place to enjoy a drink andappetizersaround 5 p.m. lively; food pretty good, always fun. i've been here a dozen times with groups and it changes very little. don't expect a cozy atmosphere and you will be happy at trailshead.

tough to beat. i love theappetizers(the crab dip especially), the hot beef sandwich, or bratwurst are a couple of favorites. their beers are very well brewed, and the service has always been above average. a regular stop on the dinner/lunch rotation!

try the pumpkin ale. trailhead is one of my favorite places to take people when they are visiting st. louis from out of town. it is also a fun place to hit for happy hour during the week, although it can be a bit crowded.

first and foremost they have two of my favorite consumables in the area. the crab and artichoke dip appetizer served with fried pita bread is one of the bestappetizersyou'll ever get. i have yet to have someone try it and disagree. but by far the best item trailhead produces is their fall seasonal beer, the pumpkin ale. i'll go so far as to say it's my favorite beer against all others i've ever tried. they usually carry this pumpkin ale from the first of october until sometime in december. while i always enjoyed the idea of a pumpkin beer everything i had tried prior to trailhead just didn't make the cut. their pumpkin ale is smooth drinking and finishes with a slight aftertaste that will remind you of pumpkin pie.

all-in-all their food and beverage selection is of good value and excellent taste. of their beer selection i also like the red amber ale and the missouri brown dark ale. most of their food is can't-miss, but my favorite meal is the caribbean "jerk" burger (sans pineapple) with onion rings (huge) substituted for the fries and served with a side of their jalapeño ranch dressing. other items that deserve mention is the spicy chicken wings (they have some kick), deep fried shrimp stuffed jalapeños, italian sausage & pepperoni pizza, seafood bisque (go for the bowl), and the center cut pork loin medallions.