June 19, 2009
I’ve been to City Beverage a few times and always enjoyed it. They have 2 separate sections inside, one is quieter, the other one is more pub-like. The big outdoor seating area is very popular and great when the weather’s good. The food menu has a pub-fare section with decently made food in the $9-$12 range, then another section of fancier dishes around $20 or more. I’ve had a lot of the cheaper stuff and it’s all much better than normal bar food. The draft list isn’t enormous, but well chosen mostly craft beers. There are normally about 35 beers and only a few aren’t craft. I think PBR is the only standard American macro. My only complaint with the beer selection is that there are usually only a couple seasonal taps, so the list doesn’t change much from one visit to the next. The wait staff is hit or miss. Sometimes they know their beer, sometimes they have no clue. Sometimes the service is attentive and quick, sometimes quite slow.

January 10, 2009
Visited City Beverage for the first time with friends last night - a little difficult to find as I was not that familiar with the area but I tracked it down using GPS - had to use the address as the business name was not located on my Garmin. Cool 60’s vibe to the Lava Lounge and once I got past the fact that the bartender directed me back to my table full of friends for the server to assist me instead of just pouring me a beer and letting me pay for it there, I realized that they had a pretty substancial beer menu - not the Flying Saucer or Tyler Tap room substancial - but decent none-the-less. The beers prices were all VERY reasonable. Each of the beers I tried was solid - everything looks clean, tasted fresh ....none of the beers appeared to be old kegs etc. I only tried a couple of appetizers but they were solid and the entrees some of my friends ordered looked tasty and were plentiful on the food. The server we had for the evening hustled, never left us thirsty and was very courteous. I will say th

August 19, 2007
We ate here about two years ago and it was pretty good, but when we returned, we had a very bad experience. We were seated at a table behind which was some kind of video game, and three children were playing it loudly, jumping around, crashing into each other, while their parents blithely continued on across the dining room, talking, and not supervising the kids in any way. They collided with our table a couple times as well. We and a couple other adults advised them to take it easy but they continued on. Why must there be a video game in this place? With a good food and beer selection it seems they could do without it. On top of it all we were not greeted by waitstaff during the first 10 minutes we sat waiting, nor did they do anything about the children. Ultimately, we left this scene of absolute chaos. I will not be returning anytime soon. I’d recommend skipping this cramped place and opting for Tyler’s a few miles away. I do not recommend this place at all.

April 19, 2006
Good place. Coffee shop by day, restaurant by night. Food is excellent. You can eat, or just sit at the bar. Nice mix of local and other domestic micros and some imports. 20ish draught and 10-15 bottled beers. The place is well-kept and there is no smoking (a defintie plus). They have a patio. The only detractor is that they don’t rotate their draught selection very often.

March 18, 2004
City Beverage is brand new, and a bit hard to find. But if you know the woodcroft area of Durham, it should be easier to locate. This place is Coffee bar by day, Restaurant/Beer bar by night. During the day, I would assume that the chairs and tables, and wall colors look a bit more normal. But at night, the place seems a bit under dressed. The menu is definitely not burgers and fries. The entrées are in the 15 to 20 dollar range and the ones that I tried (jerk crusted Mahi, and a Strip steak with marinated mushrooms, were very large and flavorful). City Beverage has 21 taps, and a handfull of bottles. Amstel Light is the only light beer on tap, most of the other beers are fairly well known imports and craft beers from the US. A few of the tap selections are; Red Seal, Mash House IPA, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn Lager, Hoegaarden, Pilsner Urquell, Red Oak and Harpoon IPA. The atmosphere of City Beverage is probably it's weakest point. It's coffee bar by day, fine dining/beer bar by night. It just feels a little weird, but it's only a week old. It was clean, with nice restrooms, and a solid bar. There's not much more you really need. The service was nice, and the bar was well lit and comfortable. The entire restaurant is non-smoking, which in my opinion makes for a nice tasting environment. All together this place is a very nice addition to a burgeoning Durham beer scene.