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Taps Brewing Company
Categories: Restaurants Nightlife Bars Pubs Food Breweries Restaurants, Pubs, Breweries [Edit]
4680 Queen StNiagara Falls, ON L2E 2L8
(289) 477-1010
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Lunch
- Music:
- Live
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
12 reviews for Taps Brewing Company
12 reviews in English
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Review from Simon B.
10/25/2010 1 photo
Excellent beers although, as others have point out, their selection is limited. Their premium lager and their cream ale were excellent (for a beer loving non-snob, and I left a very happy man if you know what I mean.
The decor is very industrial (which I can really appreciate) but it is too big for what they are trying to do. The place is so open and big it feels empty and there was no atmosphere whatsoever. Add to this the giant projector showing off Don Cherry's crazy suits, we were in for a very strange Saturday night.
I will add that I was pretty excited about their food menu. It's kind of a collection of eclectic offerings from others regions. I was thrilled to see poutine (I'm from Quebec) and cheesesteak (I've been living in Pennsylvania for many years). Each food is paired wonderfully with a beer. Poutine was paired with the cream ale. I complied.
My limited experience with their food suggests it was an afterthought to the beer. The poutine had the wrong cheese (cheddar but not curds) and the gravy was completely tasteless. Trying to be fancy, the poutine was put in the oven to melt the cheese but the fries ended up tasting, for a lack of a better word, weird. Oh well, I was tipsy at that point and didn't care all that much.
In short, I was pretty happy to get away from the touristy areas and to grab some good beers. Their selection is limited but their beers were excellent. Don't expect too much of the food, bring your own conversation and you'll have a good time. -
Review from Marc S.
1/29/2012
Meh is right. Even with hardly any patrons the service still managed to be pretty bad. The food wasn't good. We'll look harder for food next time we're in the area.
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Review from sub z.
Brampton, ON
HOW HAS NOBODY HERE MENTIONED THE FLUORESCENT LIGHTS?
Honestly.
I just went here for the first time on a trip to Niagara Falls last week. I love my beer, especially brewpubs that brew their own and love to support local businesses, so after a night at Brasa Brazillian Steakhouse we took a cab all the way here to go drinking instead.. It was a very weird night, to quote another poster above. A very strange place.
Basically, the place is pretty nice in the sense that its clean, modern, lots of stainless steel, open concept kitchen, and brews their own unique beers. The downside? Well let me just say I don't know which genius decided to install these blinding, bright white fluorscent lights right in your face but he really deserves a kick in the pants. The problem with this place I feel is the horrid lighting selections which are more like a prison cell than a comfortable place to sit, drink, eat, and socialize. They are so long and hanging so low that you feel like you're in permanent daytime, a horrible choice for people drinking pint after pint and it really starts to get annoying at about 1AM. It's baffling to me how they could have made that decision, it really has to be seen in person to believe it
Other than that, at the bar there were some young 19 year olds who were being extremely loud and hopped up on blow because there was empty powder bags all over the washroom floor, but that doesn't bother me
The other reviewers are dogging the beer, but I'd say they are being nitpicky as none of the beers I drank were bad or offensive. Some were certainly better than others, but I was very satisfied with their "Chuck Norris Roundhouse IPA". Fresh draught that is very hoppy, citrusy, and a crisp bitter finish makes it far better than anything you're getting at a different local bar.
Food looked and sounded pretty decent, more upscale than regular pub fare, but some of it sounds weird too (their burger is pork and beef, theres no beef burger. It looked "grey" and unappetizing), but alot of the menu did sound good too. They closed the kitchen at 10PM and refused to serve a poor table next to us who was in there literally at 10:05... Service was abysmal, had to go the counter every single time to get our own pints even though he kept swearing he'd be by the table, but I wont blame him, he was the only guy working besides the cook
Overall: Fix your friggin lights and keep the kitchen open later and I think this place could be much, much better. And clean the paraphanalia from your washrooms LOL. -
Review from Anna R.
Peterborough, ON
5/3/2011 3 photos
We are big fans of micro-brews and made a point of stopping at Taps while visiting Niagara Falls. The beer was terrific! It was fun sitting right alongside the brew tanks. Our server was very friendly. The food was typical pub fare. We had the daily special of a pint and pulled pork sandwich for $10. By no means the best we've had but not bad. The meat was good and the bun very fresh. The accompanying salad was obviously made with local fresh greens - a nice touch. We also had wings - hot with some suicide on the side for dipping. The sauces are made in-house, again, a nice touch. The suicide wasn't terribly hot. The wings themselves were so-so. I would go for the beer more than the food. It's a large place, good for large parties, big TV screen. There are roll-up doors and a patio for warmer days. You can also pick up cans or growlers of beer to go. Exceptional beer!
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Review from Rob K.
8/15/2011
My brother in law and I visited Taps Brewing Company a few months ago when we were in Niagara Falls. We were staying at the Hilton Fallsview and walked down (approximately 3 miles). It is an easier walk if you walk along the water. Back to the brewery. We only had beers here, no food. The beers were outstanding. The IPA is the one that jumps out at me. Very friendly bartender, and knowledgeable. They also had a beer tower for approximately 30.00 that would discount your pints if you were drinking at least 6 beers in your group.
I would definately go back here. The prices were reasonable, the beer was great, and you get to walk and see some of the less touristy parts of Niagara Falls. -
Review from Elizabeth B.
7/30/2010
My husband and I walked a long way on a hot day to get to Taps. Please factor that into your reading of this review.
We were in Niagara Falls for the 4th of July weekend, and found ourselves with a few hours on the parking meter but nothing to do. My husband - a huge beer nut - had spotted Taps while researching local breweries, so we decided to walk up from the Falls viewing area to grab a beer.
If you're currently doing the math on the distance, I'll save you the trouble. It's about 3km, at least the way that we went. It was also about 33C and very, very sunny.
So we arrived at Taps sun-tired, sweaty, and very thirsty. We were seated right away, but it took some time for our waiter to return to take our drinks order. They were out of a good third of the beers on their menu - even the ones listed on the chalkboard - leaving us with limited options, none of which were the beers we were interested in trying. We settled on the Vanilla Wheat and the Charleston Lager - both of which were eminently drinkable, but nothing remarkable. We thought about dinner, but decided against it.
It was nice to get off the beaten path for a bit and to see other parts of Niagara where I imagine "real" people go. It really wasn't worth the trek, though. -
Review from Shane B.
8/4/2010
I am writing this review as a one-time visitor from out of town, but since many people who may go to Taps might be someone just like me, I think it's a fair way to go about writing it.
Taps was a total disappointment. Their fairly meager beer list featured the usual suspects, a pale, an amber, a wheat, an IPA, etc. Unfortunately they were out of at least two beers, which of course were the ones I wanted to try. I ended up with a basic pale ale that, while unoffensive, was as average as can be. I've brewed better myself, and I'm an average homebrewer. Their prices were fairly high, as well. Well, honestly, beer in Canada seemed expensive wherever I went so these might be average prices. But if you are a brewpub, you aren't paying for distribution or packaging, so what's the deal with charging a ton for your pints?
The interior was cavernous and generic, and they had a giant projection of television on the wall. Tacky. The service was fine.
If you are going for the beer, I'd say avoid it and deal with the fact that Niagara Falls has really really little to offer beer geeks. -
Review from Christopher L.
1/12/2011
I went there with a friend in October. It was recommended to me by a B&B. It was a bit early and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. They were out of a couple beer selections, including the pumpkin beer which we had heard was really good. Which was the basic reason we went there in the first place.
Service: slow, not overly friendly. The restaurant was pretty dead, but the service still could have been way better.
Food: I had the fish and chips. The chips (fries) were pretty decent, however the fish, while quite huge (it was like 5" across and 16" long), was quite bland and VERY greasy.
My friend had the chipotle enchilladas. The enchilladas were VERY good, however they were very small and the dish did not come with anything else. We had ordered an appetizer of the hummas and pita, so it wasn't such a big deal. The hummas and pita was quite good as well. I would recommend that. Also, they were out of all desserts. They were on the menu, however the waitress stated, "i'm sorry they are all gone today". Kinda strange since it was only 3pm and the place stays open to quite late.
Beer: We had the Red Cream Ale. It was very good. We tried a sample of the Chuck Norris IPA. It was QUITE bitter. I have a high tolerance to such, however its something I would have not been able to drink. They seem to do a lot of beer sales (people can just walk in, bring their own jug and they will sell a quantity of beer. They were already sold out of the pumpkin beer as well as a couple other specialty beers they had however. They had several other beers they were going to be offering in the coming future.
In conclusion, it seems like they focus more on the beer side of things instead of the food and service. Service was pretty lousy; food was hit and miss. Pricewise, its pretty reasonable. Go there if you want to buy beer; go someplace else if you are hungry. -
Review from Joe D.
2/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
We went to Taps while waiting for the train last week. I thought the beer was great. The stout and the Scottish were very good. My wife loved the vanilla wheat. We also had a flight which most of the beer was good, I would stay away from the Dubbel, but I think it is more just my taste.
My food was good, but not great. My wife on the other hand had the fish and chips, which we both thought was great. It is extremely large and very tasty. We saw they have live music on the weekends, if we are back in Niagara, we would probably want to head hear for one of those nights. -
Review from Nathan I.
7/15/2010
I'm thinking Taps may be a Work In Progress- they're doing a lot of things right, but need to work on a few issues before they truly get it right.
First off, I really liked the decor, with the long bar wrapped around the huge brewing tanks. Saw these devices that look like mini-taps at a few tables and my eyes bugged- who wouldn't want to replenish their glass from their very own tap? But since I had the kids with me and had driven to get there I had to forgo that particular experience.
Upon asking about a kid's menu we were told that there was none but the kitchen would accommodate us. Cool. I was a bit disappointed that there were only 6 selections of beer available (and no IPA) but made do. Service was friendly but sporadic. The food: no great shakes. My beer-battered fish & chips was about the greasiest thing under the sun. Once I picked off the batter it was better, though bland. We got a cheese quesadilla for the kids but that wasn't a hit with them- somehow it was hard and crispy on the top layer while only the bottom had that buttery pan-fry the way it should. My wife got the buffalo-style chicken sandwich, which she said tasted fine except it was stacked so high as to be impossible to fit in her mouth. We did appreciate the hand-cut fries. And we happened to be there on 22-cent Buffalo wing night! I'd have loved to try a pound but knew I had a long drive the next day and didn't want to tempt fate.
So, I'd say Taps is a mixed-bag. Would love to go back in a few years and try it again (and re-visit the underrated Queen St. area). -
Review from Katie M.
8/13/2010
More than typical bar food. Fantastic assortment of beers. I liked thery're Wite beer.
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Review from Sandeep R.
7/14/2009
Visited Taps Brewing last week. They brew and sell their own beer. They make and sell 4 kinds of beer - the Red Cream Ale, Charleston Larger, Premium Lager and the Vanilla Wheat Ale. They also have a restaurant and my suggestion is not to order from the restaurant. We were a group of 4 each ordered different menu items but neither one was good.
Now with the good stuff. The beers are really good. I tried all 4 and the order in which I liked them are Red Cream Ale, Vanilla Wheat, Charleston Larger and Premium Lager. On Saturdays they have a free tour of the brewery. I recommend this brewery, give it a shot when you are in the area. They just moved to this location and had only one type of beer they were selling to take home (they had all on tap for dining in/staying at the restaurant). So call or send them an email before you go, if you are interested in bringing some back with you.
