Review of Fretboard Brewing & Public House

Stopped in with my wife and son for lunch. We arrived around 1:45ish on a Thursday afternoon. The first floor seats around 25 to 30 people and features some of their in house brewing. We selected this place based on the menu showing a high percentage of the selections that could either be made gluten-free or already were gluten-free because my wife has Celiac. This is always a challenge when we eat out. We were seated on the first floor but we're given the option to sit up on the second floor if we wanted to. Walking with a cane I'm clearly handicapped but the hostess made sure to tell me that they do have an elevator on site and it would have been no problem for me to go upstairs to sit. We opted to stay on the first floor and sat along the back wall at a high table. This gave us a great opportunity to see the entire restaurant from where we sat. The menu is very nice with several lovely selections. My wife was very excited that she could select anything she wanted from their menu apart from one or two items that could not be made gluten-free. We decided to get an order of the loaded hash brown squares. I highly recommend these. These are fried potato squares that have been cut into sticks and then covered with beer cheese and bacon. Could you ask for anything better than that for an appetizer? I paired it with their in-house brewed Fret light beer. An excellent choice I think. That was the best light beer I think I've ever had. My wife ordered the fish and chip platter and there is a picture attached. I wish I had taken pictures sooner but everything was so good we just started eating. I got the meatloaf meal which is served with mash and green beans. My son got the Pimento Pub Burger. And he's never had pimento cheese before. I think he's hooked now. The fish and chips were absolutely delicious!! The fish was haddock, cooked to perfection and very firm and meaty. The coating was not your typical gluten-free coating. This was crunchy and delicious. As many people know who eat gluten-free, coatings tend to be on the oilier side and normally fall off after a couple of cuts taken off the main piece. The chef should be very proud of the creation he/she/they made! The french fries served with both the fish and the burger were crinkle-cut and were cooked to perfection. Lightly dusted with salt they were an absolutely great addition to both meals. And even got a side mention as we were walking back to the car, as in "what did you think about those french fries huh? Weren't they the best you had in god-knows-how-long?" Yeah they were that good. I do consider myself a bit of a meatloaf snob and this creation put my best recipe to shame. It was meaty it was beefy it was fantastic! And the best part is ,it too was also gluten-free! The green beans were cooked just right. Not under done/not overdone. The meatloaf was served on a pillow of smashed potatoes that were cooked very well but we're seasoned a bit on the salty side but that's okay, paired with the meatloaf it was a very nice way to complement each other. The burger was done medium exactly the way he ordered it and it was served on a pretzel roll with the pimento cheese spread and a fried egg on top along with two very nice pieces of bacon. It was so large he couldn't put his mouth around it and he broke out the knife and fork and polished it off along with the fries. That was one happy young man right there! The dessert was the Donut Hole Sundae where the caramel was excluded because that could not be made gluten-free. And it was supposed to be shared by the three of us however I got one or two spoonfuls in before the two of them blocked me out, but from what I was able to try it was delicious. I'm sure the two of them loved it you could tell from the evidence on their faces LOL! Our server was the absolutely nicest person! If anyone from the restaurant is reading this please I apologize for not getting her name but know that she was the nicest and sweetest person we have experienced in a long time. This place is a definite CAN'T MISS!! 10 STARS!!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Very

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for dinner
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Offers outdoor seating