Popular place with a wide variety of choices for dinner--friendly and attentive service (if you don't see your server, ask another--they clearly work well as a team) and interesting decor. Starter and food, drinks, etc., are brought promptly to the table. This is exceptional in a highly popular tourist area. The food is good but could use a little improvement--the grilled mahi-mahi was good, but a little on the dry sauce and definitely needed a sauce. A couple of the dishes did have sauces, but fish is why most Creole restaurants like Brennan's will serve a sauce on the side, or a topping with butter such as Trout Almandine. It doesn't have to be a fancy sauce--the option of good ol' tartar sauce works. The grilled vegetables also needed a little more butter and seasoning. Carrots are good on their own; broccoli and cauliflower need a little cheese or butter and some seasoning to be loved. The IPA (Long John) was excellent. The beer cheese dip and soft pretzels were to die for; the chardonnay was passable. A great choice for dining in a VERY heavily traveled tourist destination. Get there early--it starts filling up fast and all the restaurants around Mount Rushmore close at 9. read more

Stopped to enjoy a drink and appetizer at what appeared to be a cool brewery concept. We decided to sit indoors since it was a rather warm day. Mistake! They have their doors wide open and it was nearly as hot indoors. And the flies were annoying. I enjoyed the Long Tom IPA but not enough to order another. Apps were pretty limited, so we opted for a pretzel with beer cheese. The cheese was great, pretzel was large but it was also dry and not very enjoyable. When I first walked in I looked at their merch and was very disappointed with their hats. Plenty of shirts and a very cool metal sign of their logo. Service was fine. We intended to eat dinner at one of their restaurants but after reviewing the menu and reviews, decided to head somewhere else as this place was a bit of a disappointment. And didn't want to further amplify the experience. read more

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After a full day of exploring, Mount Rushmore Brewing Company is an easy spot to add to your evening in Custer. They brew their own beer and have a laid-back atmosphere that fits perfectly after a day spent hiking and sightseeing! It's also conveniently located right in Custer, which is another reason we liked staying in town -- you can spend your day exploring the Black Hills and still have plenty of local places to check out when you get back! read more

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Overall great, just stopped for beer. Service was quick and friendly. It has a huge outside patio which on nice weather days it would be great to sit outdoors. read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Beer flight - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

I would recommend this place for drinks as their beer was good. We ate in the front portion of the restaurant (closest to the main road). The food was adequate but not memorable. I would only return for beers. I heard there is another Restaurant in the rear of the building that is more formal dining. In hindsight, I think we should have dined there. read more

Beer is pretty good! I enjoyed a flight and we ordered the pretzels + beer cheese and mozzarella sticks and both were just what we were looking for. They brought our puppy a bowl of water and a bone to chew on which was very nice. The patio is spacious and the ambiance is fun. Good spot! read more

Reviewing Pounding Fathers upstairs dining. Outstanding. We enjoyed steaks, mussels, calamari and deserts as well. Nice knowledgeable server. Wonderful experience. read more

Just off the Main Street of downtown Custer, this hidden gem is not just the great brewery on the lower floor, but the dining room upstairs is amazing. Open only later in the day, the dining room offers a very sophisticated menu that's not readily available in the downstairs brewery. The dining room has a full bar, and of course all their wonderful beers, and a menu that will just blow your mind! An extensive selection of appetizers, entrées, and sides to satisfy any taste and diet. The salads are phenomenal and the staff will accommodate just about any request, including shared salads, substitutions, etc. This was such a hit that we tried it twice in one week. Entrées like bison, Oso Buco, Cornish Hen, Quail, an array of beef selection, as well as vegetarian options that includes pastas, etc. Yum! The service is just outstanding! Super friendly, eager to please, and really professional. Touting itself as the "pounding father's brewery", the names does not necessarily portray the sophistication of the dining room experience. This is a must stop! Check out the mount Rushmore brewing company, and in particular their dining room upstairs read more

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Visiting from California and always love finding a craft brewery. My sister and I ordered a flight of their beers and my favorite was "Buffalo Snot". We ordered Rattlesnake Brats and a Buffalo pizza. FANTASTIC! The mashed potatoes with the brats was so good! Service was friendly and we loved sitting outside on the patio. I highly recommend! read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - My flight--ALL were good!! - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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We've tried three places in Custer, and Mount Rushmore Brewing was absolutely the best. The food was terrific (burgers, salads and pizza), better than many places we've tried around the country. The dirty martini was perfect, and the beers were exceptional. Great indoor and outdoor ambiance too. read more

Traveling from San Antonio this is our first visit to this establishment. We were greeted with several smiling faces went to the bar and met Jim. Quite the character made us feel like family, a true asset. We went upstairs to pounding fathers and was greeted by Eric. He gave us the best service we had the ceviche, the walleye, and the arrabiata with short rib. Everything was delicious. The ambience, the food, the service was outstanding if we lived in Custer, South Dakota, we would be here quite often. Thank you Mount Rushmore brewing for a great time. read more

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Service was good, they had outdoor seating there no view or anything but it's nice to eat outside in the summer. The food was good, had a decent children's menu. Beer was decent, they do growlers but didn't have any cans to go. read more

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We really enjoyed this brewery and the back patio. Our server was very nice and their food and beer menu's were vast. We ate and I had one of the best burgers I have ever had; Roosevelt BBQ burger w/bison The beers: Smoked Pumpkel Dunkel dark lager (very good) Caribbean Dragon Jamaican stout (great) Buffalo Snot Irish stout (cask)(excellent) Rooster Red (great) Thee Lactoral College barrel-aged farmhouse IPA 10IBU (good) Mon Dew Witbier (excellent) Altbier (great) The Mang-Orange Doctrine (great) Vienna Lager (very good) American Fabius blonde (great) They are missing the boat by not having their logo on a t shirt. read more

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We received recommendations from locals to go to the local brewery. They have 3 different areas to go to. On the bottom was the brewery where they served tap beer and local IPA's and burgers, appetizers. On the second level they had more tables inside and a patio outside. The third level had fine dining with a more extensive menu. We ordered Walleye with wild rice and asparagus. It was cooked in the oven on parchment paper and placed on wild rice. The flavors were excellent and the fish practically melted in your mouth! It was the best Walleye we had eaten from the last 4 restaurants we had visited. The service was excellent, very friendly and we felt appreciated by Mario for coming to the restaurant. I highly recommend going to this brewery the next time you are in Custer, SD! read more

Got there just before they were due to close and they let us in with our dog. Even gave our pup some treats. Gilberto was our server but everyone there was extremely nice and the food was excellent. We ordered the shrimp stuffed chicken and it was delicious! Thank you Gilberto and staff! read more

We had been here before 4 yrs prior when we were in the area and loved it so we decided to return on our 20th Anniversary. It was so different... the food was bland, the staff seemed to be all Hispanic (speaking to each other in Spanish), which was odd considering the restaurant theme (like finding all white staff at a Mexican restaurant maybe?). There previously was a merch area in their main area that was no longer there. Honestly don't think we'll go back. Sad to see these changes. read more

Great beer and amazing service. We loved enjoying a couple beers on the patio. Large beer menu with all types of options. Food menu looked pretty good too. read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Hummus plate - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

4.5 stars Twas a good choice. Our hotel even had a coupon for 10% off for each person. Service was friendly. We got the Ernie's buffalo burgers, which came with bacon, egg, and cheese on top. I requested my egg be cooked over hard and burger medium well and the only minor thing was that the burgers were switched on the plates (I got the side of chips, which were good but had I known they had the seasoned wedgie fries, I would've gone with that). 2024 #58 read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Ernie's buffalo burger - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

Ambiance is really cool, love the outdoor area. Food is ehh for downstairs restaurant haven't tried the fancy place upstairs. beer is decent wish there was a bit more variety, I like sours. read more

Great ambiance! Waitstaff was amazing! Here's the rest - I was a bit disappointed in the beer selection - and the fact that the few beers we really wanted they were out of. Also, the good just wasn't great - it was very bland and didn't match the pictures or description on the menu. It was a one and done because I'm here visiting, but I won't go back even for the time I'm here. Side note - with some adjustments in the kitchen, this place could be amazing! read more

Paid to add chicken to my salad and got like 1-2 ounces. Too much dressing on salad Ordered a side of fries - came out cold. Calamari app was super small for the price. Could hardly communicate with the servers because English was limited. Terrible meal. Worst meal we've had. read more

Service was fantastic. We are outside at the tap room. They immediately seated us and took our orders quickly. The food was pretty quick as well. The outdoor area is beautiful with decent views, fresh air, and an area for kids to get their energy out right down the stairs. The wings were lightly breaded and fried. We got honey mustard and there wasn't a ton of honey mustard on them. I would have liked more sauce but they were okay. The fries were absolutely delicious. They were crispy and thin while having a nice amount of potato inside. They have a lot of burger options which was slightly overwhelming. You can get beef, bison, or elk. We opted for elk and it was delicious. I think it was the Ernie's burger and we opted to not have the egg. We split the burger and they even offered to send it out cut on 2 plates! They had a nice beer selection as well. You're not coming here for a gourmet experience and it was exactly what we were looking for! read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Elk burger - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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I am so sad to have to rate this place a 2. I love craft beer and the 3 we sampled were awesome! That is your 1 STAR. I am an IPA fan and the Rutherfruit B. Haze was spectacular! The barrel aged Rail Splitter was exceptional as well! I'd stick to those 2 and be content! The wings and the prime rib sliders were the only 2 things that give the additional STAR. I ordered the trash can nachos with chicken and basically all I got was a can of nacho cheese on chips with a few chunks of chicken. Basically chips and nacho cheese sauce. Very disappointing and not very tasty. What a waste of $16. Complained to the staff yet the response was "oh thank you." Was going to buy some swag but that dish was so off putting we decided to high tail it outta there. read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Chicken trash can nachos...DO NOT ORDER unless you basically want chips and nacho cheese - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

We started to eat upstairs last night but it seemed pretty frantic . People were standing around the bar and talking very loud. We decided we wanted a more relaxing environment for dinner so we left. We decided to go back today and watch the FIFA game downstairs. When we arrived they were busy but not near being full. The waiters were moving like the place was on fire. When our waiter came to our table he didn't greet or welcome us; he said, "Do you know what you want to drink?" We wanted to start with drinks and an appetizer and order more later because we were going to be there for a while to watch the game. He was obviously put out with us for not ordering more. When he brought the appetizer it was obvious again as he rudely put things on the table. We decided to go after one drink. When we asked him for the check, again he showed his displeasure. We all have bad days, and maybe he was having one for some reason unknown to me, but the whole atmosphere was not welcoming or friendly. We don't care to go back. read more

After seeing some sights around Custer SD we were thirsty imagine that. We stopped at Mt Rushmore Brewing and have not been disappointed. My spouse got the Red Rooster a 4.5 % Red Ale. My flight is easier to read in the photos. I started with Aqua Chile 5 % Mexican Lager, Mal De Ojo , Mexican Amber 5% both were a thirst quencher. When our Buffalo burgers arrived the Extra Special Bitter 4.2 %,a British Amber carried it through to dessert of Buffalo Snot 4.3% Oatmeal Stout and the Rail Splitter Porter 5.7%. Mario was our server and he made the outside patio a great experience The weather shined on us and his attentiveness made it so easy to enjoy the day. read more

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It has different menu and servers every year. It's a spacious restaurant with taproom and bar. Our waiter Fernando was friendly, efficient, and professional. It has many interesting offerings. We had vegetarian Indonesian fried rice and Peruvian beef stew. read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Peruvian beef stew - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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We stopped by the first day they reopened after being closed for the winter.. Trash can nachos - tasty but had some heat Pizza was quite tasty Menu was ok- would have liked some fresher options 4/5 Beer- lots of choices, tasty and delicious No cider or meads (sad) Service was good , we sat at the bar 4/5 Bathrooms - just ok 4/5 Decor 4/5 read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - We really enjoyed this - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

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Excellent beer and burger today! Bartender was awesome. Thirst Buster brew was delicious and that Ernie Elk Birger hit the spot. Love a fried egg on a burger! Will be back of in the area again! read more

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Ordered a twice baked potato. Received a potato cut in slices which was still hard. It was not cooked. The potato was only cooked enough to melt the cheese. They added a little cheese and bacon bits on top and that's what I got for a twice baked potato. My family member ordered the same thing and it was the same as mine. read more

We had exceptionally good beers in the Tap Room. The bartender, who is from Brazil, was great. Friendly and helpful. We ate dinner at the barrel room. The food was good. Service was quick and efficient. The beer was excellent. read more

A let down, but I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Our first beers were served at room temperature in warm pint glasses and it was such an odd thing, as you would expect the beer would be ice cold... it was just not a good first impression. This is after all a brewery! This was for the hazy IPA and a lager - neither should be lukewarm... nor should any style unless it's a cask. Service was excellent to start, but as the place got busier, our server went completely away for like 30 minutes. Odd and frustrating. Food was just okay. I feel like this place has so much potential, but honestly, I would be surprised if they were able to make it another year if they continue the way they are. read more

This place has a very unique menu but also has your traditional brewery food. The food was delicious and the service was quick and friendly. The beer selection was good and I enjoyed all the beers I tried. A lot of seating on two different levels and a lively atmosphere. read more

The food was so good. I had the Trash Can Nachos. They came piled high with meat ,chips nacho cheese ,olives , tomatoes, lettuce plus jalapeños. They would have served at least three people. The only problem was, because all of the large doors were open, we had flies. read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - The Garbage Can Nachos - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

It was.... Ok. Waitress need more training. I ordered a salad with Blue cheese & never got my blue cheese. Also got some calamari and had to ask to receive marinara sauce. Out of our group, we the last to get our food and had to ask to get it! About 20 minutes after ordering. Fish and chips and a salad took waaayyyyy too long. I could be a lot better.... read more

This review is for the restaurant upstairs, The Pounding Fathers (which has the greatest restaurant logo of any restaurant I've ever seen and really should be the name/logo for the whole brewery). The brewery downstairs has its own separate food menu (which focuses more on typical bar/pub grub). The upstairs restaurant has a full food and drink menu, plus what appears to be more or less thesame beer list as downstairs. The restaurant upstairs should probably have its own Yelp listing; don't let the apparently low score of the food downstairs dissuade you from checking out the upstairs restaurant. My family picked this place just to grab lunch and a beer on the way between sights and were rather blown away by our food (elk tenderloin medallions, Cornish game hen, and linguine). When I came back through Custer a couple days later, it was after 8 PM and everything else was closed (things close early in this town) and so I came back here and settled on a bison tenderloin, which was incredible (served with some kind of a berry compote type sauce). My third meal, again, was after 8 PM, so this is where I picked, and the buffalo burger was the most flavorful and moist of the several I have tried on this trip. It's clear from the menu that they focus on a lot of local suppliers and a bit of a gourmet flare in preparation. Every meal has been fantastic. I only wish I had the stomach to eat the entire bison tomahawk steak... The beers are excellent - the brewmaster clearly knows what they're doing and consistently delivers excellence true to the listed style. They have several beers that are quite interesting - several very good barrel aged sours and an "agua chile" Mexican lager brewed with actual chili peppers - yes, the beer is actually spicy. Service is excellent - the guys have recognized me each time I've come in and have treated me wonderfully, attending to me quickly and always ensuring my drinks are replenished. Food prep time is very good. Everything is very reasonably priced as well. Absolutely five stars. read more

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This was probably one of the worst experiences of food for us in Custer. The food was meh- nothing fantastic and nothing to make us immediately come back. The burger was not good. The pizza sauce was sweet. The beer was ok but honestly it was so hot inside that it made it unbearable to eat or enjoy the food. I wish they had fans or a way to circulate the air. Overall we experienced it and was not our favorite place. read more

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Slow service and not knowledgeable about their own menu. Seems like a new operation that still needs working out.

I haven't found anything in South Dakota yet that I liked so much that I would return to in a second visit, and this restaurant is no different. Server was good, beer was good, food was good, atmosphere was good - nothing to rave about though. I can see the attraction for tourists, but I need a little more substance. read more

Mt Rushmore Brewing - Brewpubs Near Me - Custer, South Dakota

The beer was decent, but not amazing. The service was good. The ambiance is clean and was fun inside! Our chicken wings were really good! read more

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Loved the beer & the wings!! The service was good. Only complaint they were serving food out on the back deck with not much shade and the most uncomfortable chairs ever! read more