Clarion River Brewing Company

This is our second visit. The first, was opening night… Which was a different experience, but unlike half of the extremely judge mental reviews, we understood opening night woes.
Today, I ordered the bacon and goat cheese salad, then added chicken. It was a fantastic decision. The portions were huge and the food was amazing. I’m usually a salad person, and this one is in competition for the best salad I’ve ordered at a restaurant, second to a place in New Orleans.
My boyfriend ordered the Cuban sandwich with homemade chips. He was also impressed. Although they were out of French fries, the home made chips were great. Not too undercooked and not over cooked, which seems to be a common issue with homemade chips.
Although they do not have their own brews on tap yet, the selections available now are delicious.
Moving to a tiny town like Clarion has been a huge change, but having a place like Clarion River Brewery helps to make it tolerable. I can’t wait until they have their own beer on tap!

I’m improving my rating on Clarion River because although the items I ordered on my first visit were not good, my next two visits were definitely better. Food was better and the servers are excellent. I’ll give a higher rating when the menu expands over time. My advice: don’t order the Korean burger and try to get the burger done medium well (which, I’m not sure they know at this point). Good experience overall. We’re all patiently waiting to see how it develops.

This place is amazing! I just had the mushroom ravioli with a mustard and balsamic sauce. My reaction to this would be «X-​rated». The pita dip is amazing and unique. Johnny was my bartender. The food around here can not compete. Great job. Check this place out, you won’t be disappointed. I’ll be a regular.

Decided to go here today for lunch. The hours on the door say they open at 11:00 AM. We showed up at 11:45, doors were locked…

Pro: bacon and goat cheese salad is superb!
Pro: fried sausage egg is good!
Con: hours suck. Dinner on Sundays stops at 6?
Con: they were out of a lot of stuff. No craft beers, no fries.
Con: they promote trout but don’t actually serve it.
Con: restaurant brands itself as American French but no French! Instead a good mix of Asian infusion.
Con: they offer Kraft Mac and cheese for kids and you’ll pay $ 6. Whoa — really?!
Con: no ambience music.

This place is a nice change of pace for Clarion. Great food, good beer and they have a nice variety of entertainment on Fridays. Definitely check it out if you’re a local or just passing through.

Amazing food! I really love the duck wings and the spinach dip with pita bread as an appetizer! I also liked the fried green tomatoes, which are something that I typically wouldn’t order. Fun crowd on Friday nights when there is entertainment! Cream brûlée is out of this world as well

I have high expectations of this place and really hope to be editing this review in the near future, but…
This is not a brewery, but rather a restaurant and bar with the expectation of becoming a brewery and/​or the appearance of one through branding. Most breweries start with the key — beer, and then the restaurant/​brewpub. An unconventional approach is fine, especially when it means a new restaurant for the town. I do love the approach to promote local history with their signature brew names, but the brews are not even available until early 2016. The popularity of breweries is due to the craft and the actual brew/​recipe should dictate the name, not the other way around. The impression that this gives is that any Average Joe who has experience brewing in their garage will be able to produce the signature Leatherwood Brown Ale, as the label is more important than the actual beer. But hey, branding is good for business and I really hope to be proved wrong when I do get to taste the Leatherwood Brown Ale.
I’ve had two visits to this place, one was average and the other was a 10 minute wait and walk straight out the door. The food was great, this will be the one reason I would go back. But then I go back to the beer. It was a struggle to find a beer on the list that wasn’t ‘sold out’. Finally got to a beer that wasn’t sold out and it was a struggle to get a glass, let alone the correct beer glass type. If we are to pay 5 bucks for a beer, it best be in the proper glass and please do not let guests drink from the bottle. This is to be a ‘brewery’, there should be class — this is not the Tavern down the street.
The second trip was a huge disappointment as I learned that dining hours end at 8:30pm on Fridays. We arrived at 8:31pm. We were offered the appetizer menu, and took the chance. The appetizer menu was not impressive enough to keep us there, but we were on a line and almost committed. However, not a single member of wait staff acknowledged us for 10 mins and out the door we walked. It only takes 15 seconds to ask a patron if they need a glass of water… we would’ve stayed if there was the promise of something coming.
Families eat earlier. Young professionals, date nights, etc. typically dine within the 7 to 9pm timeframe, with happy hours typically between 5 to 7pm — especially on a Friday. But understanding that the small-​town business might not be profitable enough to offer dining beyond 8:30pm, having a burger or few other options on the ‘appetizer’ menu would go a LONG way.

This was really disappointing. They were out of the beer I ordered, there was no trout on the menu despite the menu bragging about how good the clarion river trout is, the duck wings were ice cold in the middle and we had to send them back (they didn’t give us as many the second time, then still charged for them), the room was still under construction, the pretzel croissants were just burned croissants, and there was not enough cheese with the pretzel croissants. Waitress was really good though.

They don’t have their own beers ready yet, as they have just opened about a month ago. But, they do have a very nice selection of draft and bottled beers to get by until then. I was told that they should have some of their own beer by early in the next year and have a full selection of locally made craft brews by summer. Something for everyone, even the most seasoned beer snob. The service here was great and the bartender/​server that helped me was extremely informative and helpful. I had a BLT sandwich and some fries for lunch along with a couple of beer. The BLT was great and the beer battered fries are even better. I’ll definitely be making another stop here soon to check out the dinner menu. Exactly what this town needed. This may be my new go-​to dinner stop in Clarion.

Decent beer selection. I get that they are new but in the three times I’ve gone they’ve failed to actually serve the meal I ordered each time (nothing the first time… Then out of fries… That kind of thing)… And they still don’t make their own beer… Hopefully things turn around when they are actually open. I would love them to be a great local brewpub and have high hopes.

Great food and friendly service! Was a little slow for me which is keeping me from giving 5 stars. This is a newly opened place though so I’m sure it’s going to get better. Keep up the good work!!!