Flat Branch Pub and Brewery

August 3, 2008
Another must stop on the trail from Kansas City to St. Louis. A very cool beer oasis in an old studebaker dealership. Very clean, all wood with an open loft like ceiling, lots of exposed beams and views of the brewing area depending on which side of the bar you are on. They also have a comfortable open air pation in the spring and summer. Service is hit or miss at best. Food is great and moderately priced. Solid beers with very impressive simple seasonals.

March 30, 2008
I’ve been to a lot of brewpubs. This one is special. Brewpubs are about beer and they have outstanding beer along with good food, good ambience, and good service. Throw in the fact that it is non-smoking (a minimum requirement for any place to be rated highly - if a place allows smoking they probably don’t worry too much about complying with health regulations either).

December 17, 2007
The quality of the beer makes this easily one of the best brewpubs in Missouri, possibly THE best. There’s a nice, very big bar with seating all the way around it, at least a dozen beer selections on tap any given night, and the food is pretty good too. There’s a big terrace outside when the weather’s inviting. Fun crowd, usually helpful staff. The whiskey menu is also worth a look, if you’re into that sort of thing. Lots of space. Did I mention the quality beer? Oh. Right.

October 26, 2007
This is a great brewpub. This was my home pub for many years, and I miss it dearly. They generally have a dozen of their own on tap, and most are well worth the hangover if you end up having one too many. The Brown ale was a staff and local favorite when I was there, and the Great Pumpkin Ale is unsurpassed in that category in my opinion. The food is fairly standard for a pub, but the pizza’s just seem to make the beer that much more drinkable.

August 7, 2007
Visited 8/4/07. No Smoking bumps its ambiance to a "5" in my book. Another airy old brick building that brewpubs like to nest in. Big dinner crowd in afternoon, but some seats at the bar. 12 beers on tap, including a regular green chile. Samplers available at 6/$5.50. Solid basic beers with notable exceptions: the brown ale was hearty enough to be a porter, the porter could be a stout, and the stout could be Old Engine Oil. I only had some fries and a sweet beer bread to filter my 12 samples. Nicely landscaped patio, too. More beer-curious patrons than I’ve seen at other pubs. Talked beer with their landscaper, who got me to talk to the brewer, too.

June 29, 2007
Stopped in on the way back on vacation. Glad I did. Beer was excellent, and they had 11 beers on tap. Had a sampler of 6 (since I had to drive back to KC). All very good. Their California Steam was outstanding. Only problem was they ran out of it when I ordered a growler. Food was awesome. Service was so-so, and the beer garden was great. Definitely stop by if in the area, and it’s even worth a trip just to go there.

January 12, 2007
OK, I have to admist I’ve lived nearby since ’96...This is my favorite place in town and it’s grown with me! It’s now non smoking(city ord) but wasn’t back in the day(when I didn’t mind an occasional square or 2) Food is phenom, and the beer sampler is my fav! When its warm and the patio is open and it’s the best! They don’t seem to mind if you want to sit taking up space and drink all night like other places that throw the bill at you after the food service. It’s a very popular place so prepare to wait for a table. There is a special place in my heart for the Flatbranch Pub!

August 13, 2006
This is a really nice place. We got there at 4:30pm on a Saturday, beating the dinner rush. I’m sure it helped it was still a week before the Mizzou kids returned for the fall semester. Anyway, we got a nice big round table up front by the big window on the street. The back area with its high ceilings looked nice too, but the front area was more family friendly for us. They were definitely baby friendly. Patio area looked really inviting. Service was good, attentive and friendly. Beers were well done, wife liked the root beer but not the cream soda. Beers on the whole were pretty solid - and they had 12 on, can’t beat that. Food was really good. I had the buffalo meatloaf, which was good as was the sauteed vegetables on the side (you’d usually expect those to be poorly done, they were great). Tasted their pizza (good), ribs (OK), and brownie made with oatmeal stout (good). Overall a nice experience and I hope to get back there to try more beers. Definitely an above average brewpub.

July 31, 2006
First, I appreciated the brewpub being smoke free, that is very welcomed on my part. Down side of brewpub is service, it is hit or miss. Most places try to impress the local business crowd during the weekday lunch hours, but I’ve found service slow and not caring. I have gotten good service on the weekends when they are packed. My favorite brews are the Katy Trail Pale Ale, the Oil Change Stout, the porter and the kolsch.

July 16, 2006
Ambiance was nice, spacious feeling, and the place was clean. The service was disappointing. The waitress we had wasn’t rude, but she was certainly inattentive, especially since the place wasn’t busy at all when we stopped in. The food was okay, though a bit pricy. The ESB was cask-conditioned and quite good, but they were out of their Oil Chnage stout, so that was a bit disappointing. Next time I come through, I’ll go to Shakespeare’s Pizza rather than the Flat Branch. The food’s much better, the service is superior, and they have Boulevard Pale Ale on tap, along with a decent bottled selection.