River City Restaurant & Bar

No longer called River City Ale Works, just River City, they dropped the Ale Works thing years ago. So, they don’t brew beer here anymore and haven’t for years, but they have a very good tap list of locals as well as a variety of decent crafts & Belgian. First thing you’ll think when you see this place is its a well done classy place. A restored 4 story building in downtown wheeling. I was nervous at first because all I saw were guys walking around in ties and jackets, with pretty girls in dresses and business casual, and I only had my t-shirt on. Yes, so dog-gone classy, one of the classiest beer places I’ve ever been to. A fun & cool place to hang out fer sher. Dining area is separate from the bar so that was OK with me. Bar tender was attractive and helpful. Parking on street with coin meter, 25 cents per hour. Was a little disappointed that the beer I wanted didn’t have the co2 working, so I tried yet another and same. I waited for a while while they tried to fix it but I must have been down on the priority list because even after about 20 mins, it still didn’t work. However, the bar girl gave me a free glass of beer and I also finally did find a brew on a tap that worked. So any way, it must have been a fluke so I won’t penalize them for it. For service I gave an 8 but my bar tender actually deserved a 10 because she did all she could to get those managers to fix it. Second and third floor has a trinket shop in it. Nice wood and granite all over this place, if for nothing else, you got to stop by and check out the interior, open foyer up to the third floor! Nice classy overall beer tasting experience except for the beers I couldn’t try. I really did want to try the Wild Wolf 151 but no luck on that rarity. Too bad.

This place has a great vibe to it, if nothing else. Nice restaurant, very clean and nicely decorated. I was disappointed to learn that the Ale Works no longer sells Mountaineer, as I had dropped in looking to try it. Selection is not that great - mostly macro with the exception of a few Great Lakes brews. The bartenders and other staff members were friendly and helpful, and the prices are great compared to what I’m used to.

(Visited 08/2007): Although this place’s sign reads River City Ale Works, I learned pretty quickly that they no longer brew their own beer. A shame, really. The bar/restaurant/banquet facility is located in downtown Wheeling on Main Street. There is nearby metered street parking and garages here and there. The building is 3 stories with lots of windows on the outside and sits on a corner. Inside it is very spacious and has a yellow brick and greenish metal motif. The bottom floor has a bar on the left side, including what looks like a small room that used to house the brewing equipment, which still displays a nice collection of old beer bottles and cans. The bar is opposite a group of pool tables and big screen TVs. Again, the beer selection here is pretty weak. As River City no longer brews their own beers, they have settled on 6 macros and 2 Mountaineer brews. Service here was fine on a weekday afternoon. The server knew enough about the 2 regional beers to be able to describe them. The food also came out quickly. Speaking of food, my beer battered fish sandwich and fries were above average. Overall it seems this place would have been a better visit a couple years ago (even if the beers they made weren’t great), but as far as non-chain restaurants in Wheeling that serve regional beers on draught it will do.