Elysian Brewing Company and Public House

02/28/2008 Posted by JohnThorton

The Elysian has always been inconsistant, but worth going to. Often great, sometimes not. Always good beer. The change to the menu makes it tough to choose it over some of the other local restaurants. But if you are looking for good beer on the hill, it is one of your best bets.

Pros: Beer

Cons: Lack of food selection

02/02/2008 Posted by sunplease

Dear Elysian Proprietors, I have been a loyal Elysian patron for many moons. I love your friendly and efficient wait staff, your convenient location and your outstandingly delicious beer. Your food, unfortunately, has never been great. BUT, I found a dish that I enjoyed, often multiple times in a week: the buffalo wings with an extra large side of celery and carrot sticks. Your fish and chips were also quite delicious. When you recently closed your doors for a brief remodel, I was excited. What might you crazy Elysian people have up your sleeves? Turns out, I was about to be deeply disappointed. Your new, elongated bar is quite nice. Your menu, on the other hand, is a boring disaster. My greatest sadness: no more wings. Also, no more fish and chips. And your formerly delicious and affordable burger now costs over $12 bucks if you add a wee slice of cheddar. Please, Elysian, remember who you are. Bring back the wings. Bring back the fish and chips. I can only speak for myself, but I assure you that the fine people of Capitol Hill will thank you.

Pros: wait staff and delicious beer

Cons: menu...boring and expensive

01/04/2008 Posted by aburton98102

The beer is great, as is the service and ambiance. The food was horribly, heavy, and didn't taste fresh at all. I would never eat here again although I hear the Elysian downtown has awesome food.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

09/25/2007 Posted by curatipsum

Let me start off by saying, I am not a beer drinker. But I can tell you that my friend if a beer freak, and he loved this place. Usually remarked that the beers were quite good. What I can tell you is that I dig the place because the menu was pretty darn good for a brewpub. Some german fare even! It's also a place where there are a lot of people, but you never feel crowded because the tables are spaced out nicely. Nice big windows. Probably see some interesting people there. Kind of college-kiddy, probably about half their patrons or more - but that is not a bad thing. Groovy place. The bar staff is also super nice.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

08/01/2007 Posted by aleksandr111

Ah the Elysian. It’s a mixed bag here. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. I’ve had some great service and food – but the past couple times, not so much. It’s really for yuppies, but it’s worth checking out for the beer. All in all, it’s not as good as Six Arms down the street – go there instead, their service kills anything you’ll get at the Elysian.

02/19/2007 Posted by rainorshine

Picture this: Four pitchers, at least 20 pints sitting atop the bar waiting to be served...and it's been almost 25 mintues since your sassy waitress said, "I'll be right with you". Another case of greddy waitstaff, who take on more than they can handle. Even if the food is tasty, or the beer is decent (35 minutes after showing up), the whole establishment becomes a bad memory. Maybe they should consider hiring a few more people to join their waitstaff, or offer "self-serve" beer on tap.

12/30/2006 Posted by william_f67

For being rated "best french fries" on City Search it is funny that the folks rating it have been duped by yet another restaurant. These fries are merely pre-seasoned, frozen fries that come in boxes to be dropped in the deep fry. Anyopne could buy them at a store and other "chain restaurants in town also use the same fries (Wingdome), just to name one. But then again maybe the people rating "best fries" actually havn't ate many around town to tell the difference between hand-cut and frozen bulk. The Elysian fish 'n chips are among some of the worst in town, suprisingly. It's hard to understand how a good cook could screw up battering cod fish but they do. The cut is far to big and soggy in it's light batter, when two otr three smaller pieces would have turned out crisp and tasty. The batter itself tastes "out of a box" i.e. breadcrumbs (mixed with parsley?). To make the feeling of over-rated tasteless food worse, the servers are curt, if not rude, and portray a better than thou aditude that leaves the diner with an upset stomach. If looking for good breweries in town, skip this one.

11/11/2006 Posted by mamamermaid

Elysian is the place to go when you don't want to cook, your college roomate is in town for a meeting & has 2 hours to spare, on the way to a movie..... well, in short, a great every day place. Our family hits this spot at least 2 times a month -- a good 10 block walk home after the fries & beer. Nice to have a brewpub in a neighborhood that feels good for families yet doesn't lose its Capitol Hill / Pike Pine edge. We like the tatooed hipster waiters. We have had nothing but great experiences -- you may have to wait an extra minute or two but it is a big & busy joint. Our 12 year old has moved from the kid menu to a full burger and the waiters have always treated him like an adult. Favorite foods? Hands down the Pork Taco with peanut arbole sauce.... also great burgers & fish & chips.... big piles of fries & homemade tartar sauce. Prince Charming likes the Perseus Porter & I drink whatever is gold & cold.

10/26/2006 Posted by binman69

this place delivers for people watching as well as getting a good pint of beer. i find this place relaxed, easy and fun

09/15/2006 Posted by alicianoele

I went to the Elysian Brew Pub for the first time last night, and overall, Im giving it a thumbs-up. As Im not much of a beer drinker, I was concerned that I might have to leave my comfort zone being that the Elysian -is- a brew pub. My fears were immediately put to rest, however, as I entered to see the full bar. My drink for the evening was a glass of Syrah-Viognier, which was only $6.00 and pretty enjoyable. The Elysian has high ceilings, low-backed booths, and plenty of windows which keep the space airy and open. There appeared to be a couple of standing-only tables, but for the most part, this seems to be a sit-down sort of place. I was impressed with the many food offerings, though there didnt seem to be any happy hour chow specials. My friend and I settled on the yummy crumbly-coated French Fries (accompanied with a unique sour cream-horseradish) and a great Mediterranean plate complete with hummus, baba ganoush, olives, roasted peppers, feta cheese, tomatoes, and stacks of pita wedges. The food was tasty, although we did seem to come up short on the pita wedges...or maybe we just received gargantuan servings of hummus and baba ganoush...? Our server, while perfectly friendly, did seem to stop passing by our table as the place filled up. As she was otherwise attentive, I have to wonder if the pub was short-staffed. Id go back, though...nice place, worth a visit if you havent been there!

Pros: Many choices on menu, full bar, high ceilings

Cons: No happy hour food specials? Seemed short-staffed