*pre-covid visit review* If I'm hungry and with a group that wants to get drinks-- I often recommend Ashley's because they have all of the bar classic drinks but also have pretty good food! It's not the best bar food ever, but their creative menu items are pretty tasty most of the time! Would I come here if I were craving a good quality burger? No, but their appetizers are pretty good! Pros: lots of variety, good alcohol options, good food options Cons: not every food item is great, the indoor seating can have that sticky, "bar" smell, a little expensive for bar food My recs: the pesto fries, spicy Brussels sprouts, artichoke dip Pro tip: check out their happy hour for deals!! read more

Ashley's Restaurant - Fish tacos, Pesto Fries, Platter - Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Amazing drink selection, and some delightful appetizers. I regret my decision to order their buffalo wings though, and I'm praying I don't get sick. After a day of traveling, I was incredibly hungry and kept attempting to eat the wings, but the texture of all of them seemed undercooked. Having read others' reviews here, I get the distinct impression that their business manager is going to respond to my comment and blame me for my experience rather than acknowledging it as a genuine issue and addressing it in house. You get one shot to make a good impression, and this place didn't do that. read more

Bar tender was amazing. She knew what I wanted before I ordered and I hadn't been there in months. Great mixes but not too much and not too pushy. Best convo w staff and patrons. Ashley's is the Ann Arbor staple and Kala is one of the best of the best. read more

Ashley's Restaurant - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

We came here for dinner following a tour of U of M. The selection of beers on tap was outstanding. Our food was great and the service was excellent (thanks Liz). The lobster roll was our favorite but we also loved the cheese curds! A great location a block away from campus and the M Den. read more

We came to Ashley's on Monday evening for trivia night. While here, we got the bacon cheddar fries, which was some solid bar food - crispy and cheesy. We also got the sour beer flight - I loved all of the beers in this flight, but the real standout was the framboise. Only gripe was the slow service, and the brusque staff (not overtly rude, but not terribly welcoming either). Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time at Ashley's, particularly the trivia, and would certainly come again. read more

Would recommend beer here, not food. Overpriced for the quality. Severely lacked salt. The chips were flavorless and oily. Patty was good, and the bread was nice and fluffy but crisp. The ambience is great but the food cost is not worth it read more

Ashley's Restaurant - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Went in for drinks, bar service was awful. Waitstaff went out of their way to be rude to multiple customers.

If you are thinking about Lobsterfest, don't bother. We had a 1:00 reservation that we arrived 5 minutes early for. Place was only 1/2 to a 1/3 full. We were told that we couldn't order until 1:00 when the event started. Fine, but at least bring out drinks right away, not mid meal. Tap list out of date ; one of the beers we ordered was unavailable and it took over 10 minutes to get back to us to order another beer. Lobsters were small. Potatoes were shriveled and overcooked, likely from yesterday. Homemade rolls were supposed to be provided with the meal, received a stale piece of baguette. Had to inquire about the rolls 3 times before we each received one. Didn't get any silverware until we asked after our food arrived. And to top it off, they also added in 18% gratuity for a party of 2 for subpar service. Edit following response: My husband did book the reservation specifically for Lobsterfest at 1:00 on open table. We arrived to a table prepped for Lobsterfest with our name and reservation time written on the paper tablecloth. read more

One of my friends has been telling me about Ashley's for about the past 15 years and I feel like every time I've ended up in Michigan I've "almost" come here or the idea of coming here has come up. Why? They have probably every single kind of beer you can ever possibly imagine on tap. I really need to come back here sober some day though because this was our last stop on our bar crawl and I just got a Great Lakes Ellie Porter (which I've had before and its solid) but I was at that point where reading was hard and let the bartender make a dark beer suggestion for me. The staff was nice in letting us stay a few minutes longer while they closed up because someone decided while I was in the bathroom to order a round of mugs of absinthe. Which is never a good idea. The pours were incredibly healthy. I feel like I could live in this bar and never grow bored. read more

We visited during the summer and enjoyed drinks and some appetizers outside. The wide beer menu and the happy hour deals were great! Great service with limited interaction with other guests and staff so we felt comfortable dining here. Highly recommend checking out this restaurant and perusing their beer menu. read more

Ashley's Restaurant - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

We've not had good luck here. We tried it again last night. We walked in at 10pm ish looking to have some drinks after a show. We were informed there was a wait (even though there were many tables available). We were suggested to sit on the patio, which we did. After 15 minutes of no service whatsoever, we went back inside and just sat at a table that was open. Another 15-20 minutes elapsed before a server even acknowledged us. From that point forward it was fine. But seriously- 30 minutes to wait for a beer?! We're pessimists that like to be pleasantly surprised, but this place is testing our patience. read more

Came here during the art fair in Ann Arbor. A friend was with us and mentioned the place. We were like why not. We had been walking around and had gotten hungry and thirsty. The place was packed with the fair going on. At that time they had outdoor seating which allowed us to have our dog. The drink list is beyond reading and has something for everyone. I would recommend this place for people who are into craft beer. The food was decent as we only got appetizers to share amongst all of us. The service was good with the waitress taking very good care of us. She even provided some water in a bowl for our dog. That was a plus in my book. We need more places in Michigan that are dog friendly and let you have your pet with then. read more

If you like Belgium beer this is your place. If you're looking for good food, keep looking. So bland, no flavor. Do they know what seasoning is? Service is good. read more

I had a great experience here. We came here to chill,watch a game and beer pleasure. We had a very knowledgable and personable staff and I couldn't ask for more. We had the ARTISANAL CHEESE PLATE AND FRIED CHEESE CURDS. These were super good. The fried cheese were served fresh and hot,the way I liked it. I liked the loudness of the crowd and it was pretty busy. We chose the bar table this time and it was a great spot to enjoy the TV screens. read more

Ashley's Restaurant - Great beers! - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Horrible service. We asked the waitress for straws. She threw them at us! This place is a DIVE. Let me repeat: This place is a disgusting DIVE. Avoid at ALL cost. God only knows what the kitchen looks like. Go down the street to Red Hawk. Much better atmosphere and service. read more

Food was good, burgers, Philly cheesesteak, steak salad, macaroni....all goods. Service was friendly. Atmosphere was college oriented. It was fun. Service was a little slow but it was game weekend. The place was seems to be at the center of college life. read more

I came here during Ann Arbor Restaurant Week 2021 to get their three-course meal to-go, which consisted of: Appetizer: House made Pretzel sticks Entree: Fish & Chips / Pacific cod filets dipped in Gulden Draak (authentic Belgian dark triple) beer batter, hand cut fries, jalapeno slaw. Dessert: Belgian Liege Waffle / Yeast dough waffle with Belgian pearl sugar with Nutella and chocolate sauce toppings. A silver lining of this pandemic is that Ann Arbor Restaurant Week offered to-go options, so I got to try multiple restaurants this year. Previously, I only had time to sit down at one, maybe two restaurants. And after this year, I know which restaurants I'll want to try out in person once it's safe to! read more

I had not been back to Ashley's since undergrad, so probably since 2009 or so, and I went here with a friend yesterday to redeem my free birthday pizza (sign up online for their FOTO - Friend of the Owner - club!). The place was pretty much the same as I remembered it to be. Fun atmosphere although a bit loud since a few football games were on. We got the fries as an appetizer (comes with three different types of sauces/aiolis, yum) and a mushroom and sundried tomatoes pizza - you get a 2-topping pizza free during your birthday month. I also tried a frambois (raspberry beer) which I haven't had since the one time I went to Belgium - their beer/drinks list is INSANE at Ashley's, it's literally a 10+ page booklet. Tons of drinks on tap too. I felt a bit old going back (I'm 28 now, the majority of people dining there were 21+ year old students) but the food/drinks are still pretty good. I'd go back again when in town. read more

Ashley's is my favorite bar in Ann Arbor! It has an insanely huge selection of beers and a decent selection of ciders. The staff is friendly for the most part (only ever had one server here who seemed disinterested) and is knowledgeable and able to give suggestions. It's a great spot for going in alone to sit at the bar and watch a basketball game and have lunch/dinner and also with friends to have a few drinks and just hang out. It's a lively yet relaxed bar with music that is usually quiet enough that you can still talk to each other without having to yell across the table. The food here is underrated/under appreciated . Last time in my friends and I got the Ashley's Supreme Pizza (crispy buttery crust, good toppings, 5 stars) and the pesto fries which were decent, even though I'm not a big pesto fan. read more

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After being in town for several months, we finally stopped at Ashley's. Very glad we did. Our bartender was Amelia and she had some great beer recommendations. She was also super friendly. We ordered the soft pretzel sticks and the pesto fries. Both were amazing. We are looking to go back once the current crisis abates. read more

Came here to grab a quick drink and bite before a concert at hill auditorium. The place gave me rustic/wooden/classic/college town bar vibes. Absolutely perfect ambiance for a very casual drink and snacks with a friend! I ordered a Hefeweizen and the fish and chips and my friend ordered a rubaeus and the fish tacos. Beers were both as expected but I wasn't too hot on the fish and chips. They were just those cylindrical fried fish sticks that you'd expect to see in fish tacos (which actually was what were in my friend's fish tacos). I was hoping to get a fillet, not the obviously prepackaged fish sticks (see attached image). That being said, we did check in on yelp and redeemed our free fries which were delicious! Conclusion: a great place for affordable snacks and reliable beer that is wonderful for a quick stop in or friend gathering, but maybe not for a full meal. read more

Ashley's Restaurant - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Yikes. We were going to the Ann Arbor Folk Festival and decided to go to Ashley's for dinner beforehand. Gave ourselves an hour and a half for dinner. We arrived a couple minutes before our reservation, and were shown our table quickly. It was 20 minutes before the waitress came to the table. She was sweet and overwhelmed. Obviously had very little to no training and was struggling to keep up. We ordered drinks, and appetizer and our dinner all at once realizing it may be slow. 15 minutes later we got our drinks and the appetizer. After almost 30 minutes we went to the bar to try and get a second drink but were turned away by an unpleasant bartender because we were at a table. We eventually got our second drink through our poor waitress who was starting to look very upset. With 5 minutes until we had to leave, we still had no food and asked for our check. The waitress returned with it, in tears (to be clear, we were not rude to her in any way!). We let her know that we've all worked in food service and understood it wasn't her fault. Overall not even close to the experience we expected. And we feel horrible for the poor waitress! Word to the restaurant management - if you're understaffed, don't fill the restaurant! read more

Worst dining experience ever. Made reservations for lobster fest a week in advance, I knew it was also Father's Day. Started with server telling us ANYTHING with lobster was unavailable, except for the lobster dinner. We were very excited for the lobster rolls and jars. Then we all tried to get the QR code to load, so we could order beers, since they don't have a paper menu backup. We tried everyone's phone for 20 minutes or so. Two of us were frustrated, so we just ordered A beer we knew they had. After a good 10 min I asked the server to get the manager because QR was still not loading and no beers. After a while she showed up and we told her out complaints. She really didn't have any apologies or much to say, except she was the manager only on Sundays. I then told her that we had been waiting on 2 beers and she then informed us, she was the only person who could pour beers and make drinks. Seriously. The other 2 people just ordered any kind of beer, out of frustration. After a while, three of us ordered fish and chips. That, was a huge mistake, considering they showed up looking like overcooked fish sticks, week old coleslaw and fries that had been sitting under the warmer for a long time. Food was horrible. When we got the check, we saw that there was a 3$ surcharge for using a card, and also an 18% tip added for four people dining. We would of tipped the server 25%, since none of this was her fault. But decided not too, since the Ashley's decided for us. We had additional reservations aweek later, but cancelled, never again! read more

Rome the manager was completely condescending and just not nice. We went in to have a drink and dinner and he blatantly said he had a bad experience with our people before and was going to be watching us. We had just order drinks and were getting food next. We had to cash out and leave after that. read more

Ashley's is my favorite Downtown Ann Arbor spot for great food and good company. Fridays are my usual days to grab a seat at the bar and enjoy the company of our favorite bartender, Kayla. After a long week, her face, paired with her beer and whiskey knowledge, are just what I need. All the staff is terrific and very friendly! Thanks to all of the Ashley's staff! read more

The Smashburger was delicious! The fries were like homemade they were so fresh. But it took one hour to get the food out because they were so busy. But I love the food! read more

Ashley's Restaurant - Smash burger - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Love the variety of beer and whisky. Food is also very tasty. I enjoy their burgers and apps. Best value for the whisky is to do a flight. You get more value for the cost compared to ordering neat by the glass. read more

Ashley's, an Ann Arbor staple and home to one of the most varied beers on tap in the area, is perhaps the best example of the neighborhood bar in washtenaw county. And while the burgers, beer and the architecture are top notch, it's the people that work there that are the real stars. Kayla, the bartender of all bartenders, resides over her kingdom and slangs drinks and laughs with magnanimous intent. She is the best reason to stop in for a beer, and while a lot of bars have great choices of beer on tap, they don't have a Kayla. read more

Walked into Ashley's, which is a typical US Irish pub. All great! All good! However, the bartender (blond female with tattoo's) was not very welcoming AT ALL! My husband has not been at Ashley's for over 20 years and wanted to show me where he spent his exciting college years. We had a beer and couldn't wait to get out. I completely understand the responsibilities of a bartender but making your guests feel uncomfortable is not the style of a typical Irish Pub! read more

Ashley's Restaurant - The bar you see when you walk in!!! - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

This place is the diviest of dive bars. Would recommend if you like beer. Otherwise, stay away. The older waitress is incredibly snappy and surly. She scolded me for bringing in a coffee, rushed my party to order (even though she only had 2 other tables) and it took her over 15 minutes to close our tab out which was odd because we only used one card to pay. Definitely not returning. read more

This review is for the annual Lobster dinner. Let's get the BS out of the way first. Parking is bad. Ann Arbor Summer Festival is going on, along with the Mayor's Green Art Fair down on Main. Not to mention that 25% of the roads in the area a closed for construction. Parking sucks. 18% gratuity is automatically added to the bill, therefore, the servers have no incentive to provide good service. This wasn't specified anywhere that I saw when making the reservation with my credit card on Opentable, nor on their Facebook posts. Maybe it was but I didn't see it. Included gratuity just means the servers can ignore you and get away with it because their tip is guaranteed anyway. Our server was ALLERGIC TO SHELL FISH so couldn't clear anything from our tiny two-top, and was clearly too busy servicing the four-tops. I finished with my first lobster, and was waiting for him to return, watched him take the next table's reorder, and they FINISHED theirs and put in a reorder before I could flag him down to get in my second order. I sat there with nothing in front of me for 10 mins, finished for 15. The guy with the clean-up bucket was on top of turning over tables but our waiter sucked. Time is important since you only have 90 mins for a two person reservation, which should have been plenty of time since I was only getting two. I completely understand the time constraint since people will sit and eat all night if they can. We weren't in a hurry and I was happy to drink my beer and be patient, but when other tables are being serviced and he was clearly ignoring ours, that was too much. The icing on shit-cupcake was when he came to our table as we are taking the first bites of dessert and started in about the next reservation for our table was due....We were sharing a dessert...meaning we were almost finished. What kind of BS is that!? and after ignoring us for almost 30 mins. The booth next to us sat empty for an hour and he's pushing us out the door. We were billed for the double lobster dinner and my husband's meal (he doesn't eat lobster but thankfully the regular menu was available) dessert, 3 beers and left. Total with grat was ~$105. The lobster was fantastic. Super hot and cooked perfectly. Kudos to the kitchen! The kitchen staff was fast! They'd put in an order and food runners would have it at your table in minutes. The beer list is impressive and I was looking forward to a couple of them, but settled on the recommended Gose and stuck to it. The coleslaw I skipped. Couple of red skins on the side was a nice touch. They had place mats that gave instructions on how to eat lobsters, for newbies. Bibs, wet naps and all the essential tools were supplied. My husband ordered the fish and chips. He also ended up getting poutine with bacon, but was hesitant to get it at first because the fish came with fries. Or so he thought. But when the bill came, we were charged an extra $3 for fries, plus the poutine. So the fries were extra. Whatever. Again, the service sucked. We order the toll-house cookie sundae for dessert. It took awhile to come out because they baked the cookies fresh. They didn't bake this one long enough. It was still raw in the middle but neatly concealed with a dollop of ice cream. Not a scoop or two, just a soup spoon dollop with whipped cream dotted around. Oy The Lobster was great, and too the beer the selection. The service was awful. I don't know that we would try it again next year. We weren't in a hurry, the house was and made for a very poor experience, except for the lobster. read more

I ordered delivery for the curry chicken fries, mac and cheese, Korean tacos and grilled cheese sandwich. All the food containers had a terrible stench to it.The fries smelled of rotten oil and everything was cold and disgusting. None of the food was edible and I trashed it within 10 minutes of arrival. Waste of money and definitely do not recommend this place. read more

The food was good however the preparation took much longer than anticipated. I believe we waited an upwards of close to 40 mins to receive our food and that ruined the experience a bit. I would highly recommend the bay chowder if you are big into clam chowders. There were nice pieces of clams in there and even bay leaves for you to pick out of the soup! The salad was crispy and well dressed, chicken was fresh and well seasoned. read more

Ashley's Restaurant - Chicken Caesar Salad and Bay Chowder - American Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Most amazing beer list around. Tons of great brews on tap. This is known - what I didn't know was that the food here is actually quite tasty. I had excellent Korean short ribs taco it was a little spicy But It truly just made me want to eat more of it. My friends had hamburgers that are very tasty and the fries were perfect. We also had the flash fried brussels sprouts that were pretty good but needed maybe a little salt. Great bar atmosphere. read more

We had a group of 10 at Ashley's last Saturday afternoon. While I agree with the other reviewers they have a great beer selection, it was the worst service I have experienced in a long time. Our server was so rude. Fortunately, for him the gratuity was added to our bill because of our group size. I rarely ding a server on the tip, but this would have been one of those times. The place was empty. He would not even share what the beers were on the board. Basically, " You can get up and look" was the best he could offer. We would have had a couple more rounds, but he never came back to check on us. The food was ok, but nothing special. I would give 5 stars based on the beer selection and the location. I arrive at the 2 star average because of our server. They would be smart to hire someone happier than the guy who served us. We walked to the Blue Tractor and had a round at the bar. The bartender was friendly, the beer selection was decent and the HH specials were great. read more

Cruised by this spot on my first night in Ann Arbor! I like it! Lot of beers to choose from on tap, lots of TVs, and a relatively younger crowded mainly catering to the local Michigan students. I dig it. Go blue! I tried the Pineapple Sculpin by Ballast Point on my visit here. Not bad not bad! Basically a solid IPA with a hint of pineapple. I may be biased though being originally from Southern California. Either way, come for the beer selection and the mellow laid back crowd. Would definitely come by again! 'Til next time, cheers!!! read more

Not much in the way of outdoor seating. The staff rarely come to check on you. Food options are not that great but drink options are.

The beer selection and flight options are awesome. I love that after a while of living somewhere that doesn't have much in the way of beer selection I can get 8 different beers w/o getting wasted. The service works - I wouldn't say that the guy was too terribly friendly, but not a jerk either. He wasn't terribly attentive, and when asked for things seemed to disappear for a while. But such is life in a bar, I suppose. The food was also pretty average. The burger was good, but the steak sandwich had some sort of fake velveeta-like cheese (maybe it WAS velveeta). Yuck. But if you are going to use velveeta, please just let me know so that I can order something else. Don't tell me it's cheese and then bring me velveeta. read more

Ordered to go and they couldn't even remember to make my sandwich plain. People have allergies and the food is expensive, now I have an entire $15 fried chicken sandwich I can't eat. read more

Great food, lots of beer options, plenty of specials. In a college town, this is a place to go. My roommates and I stopped here and enjoyed dinner one night. Each of us had multiple drinks and food and spent less than $20. The food was really tasty and had plenty of flavors. The mixed drinks are strong too. This place also has plenty of TVs and tables, so it's a good place to go if you want to watch some football. read more