Went early on a Saturday for lunch. We were seated immediately. Casual atmosphere. I ordered my favorite the sandbar something beer (used to be named speckled trout and I can never remember the new name) but unfortunately I was told they were out. So that was sad. I did see it for purchase in cans in the cooler on the way out. I wish they would have offered me a can. However, our food was absolutely delicious and service was good. We got the fried green tomato appetizer with pimento cheese & bacon jam. The flavors were delicious. I had a cold crisp wedge salad with added blacked shrimp and it was simply delicious! Husband got the hot chicken sandwich and loved his. We will be back. We Always make it a point to stop here when near Madison. read more

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I stopped by the Old Black Bear in Madison, Alabama and it did not disappoint. The bartender hooked me up with a fantastic oatmeal stout and a killer sandwich with fries. Had some great conversations with both the staff and the other guests, everyone was super friendly. Great farm fresh ambiance. Definitely going back. Highly recommend! read more

Haven't had the food but as far as beer and cocktails this place is pretty fun. They have a nice backyard area great for families. Plenty of indoor seating as well. read more

Can you tell from the picture that I really enjoyed this meal! This was probably the best pork rinds that I have ever had! They were still cracking even 30 minutes after coming to the table. They fried green tomatoes were the showstopper for the sandwich. The bread was exceptional. My drink was perfect for a summer afternoon cocktail. The vibe was very casual and family friendly. We sat outside under the porch and it was perfect. Weather service was excellent. Would definitely go back and try other things. read more

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Best beer/food brewery in town! Quality beer options are brewed on site. Good choice of food options including many excellent burger choices as well as Monday steak night. Servers take great care of their customers - latest excellent servers included Leslie and Ana. read more

Went with an out of town friend on a weekend night to try Old Black Bear for the first time. We were told there would be a wait, but there was a comfy waiting area with couches as well as some outdoor space with an activity or two. There were also pinball machines at the front. When being sat I was surprised at the size of the place as it looks like they have had a few add-ons. I was also surprised there was live music out back. We could see the performers and occasionally could tell what song they were singing but it was not easy to hear from the closed-in dining porch. There were a good many families with younger children outside hanging out with the children running around playing and dancing to the music. The food was good with us both agreeing that the fried green tomato appetizer stole the show. We both said we would order one of those each if we came back. They offered impossible burgers on the menu and my friend ordered one. She let the server know that she has a reaction to beef and that's why she wanted it. Her burger came out wrong as a beef patty. The server did a great job handling the situation and talked to management about a resolution. We ended up packing up our food to go once the burger was corrected. read more

The Athens location gets 5 stars, but not this one. In Athens you feel welcome, but here they make you feel like you're bothering them. Food is the same, but the people here think they're more important than you. read more

This is one of the first places I ever visited when I moved here 8 years ago. It's still one of my favs even though I've moved across town. I always stop by when I'm nearby. The best brewery in town for sure. Amazing food all around never had a bad meal. They are a little flare to their dishes that sets them apart. Super nice staff and very helpful with choosing beer selections. You need to stop by the back patio area is perfect for spring and fall. read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

This looks like great little hole in the wall on the outside but the inside is enormous and the patio is magnificent. The burgers are great and the beer is sublime. read more

You know the saying: "if you can't say anything nice about someone, don't say anything at all". This about sums up our experience at Old Black Bear. The beer cheese was seized, the pretzel burned, the pub chips bizarre, the mixed drinks awful, the bathrooms filthy. Why the second star? The patio with the fire pits was pretty chill and the beer not bad. Enough said. read more

We went to Old Black Bear Brewing for the first time the other day. We were welcomed in and got a table in the back part of the tavern. We discussed the kinds of beer available with our very friendly and helpful waitress. She made some suggestions and we ordered the honey wheat beer while reviewing the menu. The burgers were very good sized so we decided to split the "Blue and Bacon Burger" with fries. Our food came quickly and was fresh, hot, and looked good. The burger and bacon were perfectly seasoned, cooked just right and tasted delicious. The fries were also freshly made and tasted crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We will definitely be back to try more items on the menu. read more

They had an amazing Ribeye special and a really good stout as well. I'd come back again for sure! read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - Ribeye Steak - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

Always delicious! Ordered the salmon BLT (as a wrap) for myself. & the hubby ordered The Taproom burger with the beautiful sunny egg to top it off. In-laws we're in town for the holidays. Pretty busy Saturday night. Waited 45 minutes before getting seated. Grab a brew and take a seat on their couches, chairs area. I ordered a smoked old fashioned - not super strong bourbon but I enjoyed it. I don't like the burn from the alcohol anyways. Great cherry on top. Another yummy night at old black bear Madison location read more

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As always, this was fantastic! The service was especially top-notch tonight, thanks to our gal, Kinsley, and the bar staff. The burgers are always a must, and the Fat Tuesday special was fantastic! read more

Food was good beer was cold and the service was excellent, alway enjoying going to the place in Madison but Important planning on trying Athens soon. read more

Old Black Bear..: where your hamburger patties are bear sized. I had the burger that came with a massive meat patty, medium rare decently flavored... on a potato bread with some cold potato sticks they called Fries. They may have been fried, a few hours ago.. definitely a sad turn. On the other hand their beers are tasty and the staff is friendly... cures my woes from a long day of flying to the rocket city. yogi bear out! read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - Tap Room - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

Food and Service was wonderful! Stopped in for a birthday lunch after picking up our son from Space Camp. Finley was an excellent server, ever in the area again we will stop by. We have friends that live near by. read more

This is my watering hole - a literal 10/10 every single time. They take care of you, have the best atmosphere, the best food, and the best drinks. Anna as the GM is absolutely the right and BEST choice to run the place. Favorite foods include Steak on Mondays (great deal for some great food), lemon dill salmon on the cedar plank, wings - anyway you can get them, Brussels, onion straws, the shrimp app and the steak tacos. You really can't go wrong. New drink menu is FIRE and I LOVE the creativity - but the smoked old fashioned is always a good fallback. It really doesn't get better than here. Check it out and prove me wrong! read more

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In town to help my daughter find an apartment and decided to check out Old Madison for a place to eat. Stumbled into the Old Black Bear and immediately loved the casual vibe. Had to wait a little bit, which is is usually a good sign. Once seated we were quickly greeted by Cammy (sp?) who was very sweet and attentive. My wife ordered the ShineRita which was good, but a little strong for her liking so her second Rita was with tequila, If you order nothing else, order the giant pretzel with beer sauce. It was excellent. We all ordered burgers for our main course, and they were prepared exactly as ordered and were delicious. Cammy was awesome throughout our visit and we will be back. Highly recommend read more

Food is excellent but pricy, beer is good but not great and we sampled quite a selection. The one thing to remember about this location is you don't want to be anywhere near the place around the 5 pm traffic hour. Madison is a nightmare anyway and it's tough to get around this location during high traffic times. read more

Had a chance to dine here for brunch. The brunch menu looked really good. As a wing lover, I had heard the wings were delicious and that is what I had. They did not disappoint. They were crispy and the buffalo sauce was on point. I had a side of sweet potato fries and the portion was large. We sat at the bar but there is dining room seating as well. They currently had 8 custom beers on tap. Out service was great from the bartenders. The restaurant is located in the downtown part of Madison across from the railroad tracks. I highly recommend stopping by if in the area. read more

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Disappointing on our only visit. The food was mediocre, at best. Greasy, cold, and unappetizing. We were there with our son and grandchildren. They had difficulty with the long wait time. Not worth a second chance. read more

Hands down excited to get back here for a steak night. I had the Salmon and So did she. Rustic and slightly romantic. My Date definitely enjoyed the evening. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the atmosphere was great, with live music and people having a good time. Our server was also generous and hilarious. Rarely, do I come across a place excelling in each and every aspect to a restaurant/bar. The food was great, our fries being freshly made and the burgers I would certainly recommend! Will be coming back soon as I'm positive this is now one of my go-to spots for a pleasant meal and thrill full night. Bring your friends and family immediately! read more

We always get the giant pretzel, which is really yummy. Brussel sprouts are awesome too. Many yummy things on the menu. I wish they had their draft root beer again. read more

Excellent burger and beer selection. The patties are juicy, I had a pork belly burger on a delicious pretzel bun. My only feedback is to crisp up the pork belly a bit more to give the burger some good contrast with texture. Otherwise, it is just a fat topped with fat and overpowering. read more

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Food is good, service is so so. Takes a long time for them to fry a burger. Prices can be $20+ for a burger. I like the outdoor atmosphere. read more

Sat out on the patio for dinner, great laid-back ambience. Had the 256 burger with fries. Fabulous burger with excellent toppings; only thing holding it back from a five star was that I asked it be cooked medium and it came out very much medium well, same story with my wife's burger. She enjoyed the Mule cocktails, and I may have found one of my new favorite beers - the Ursa Major IPA! Service was good and staff was friendly. read more

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Brunch day is the best day! The service was great. We love this spot & always have a good meal. The potatoes were dry and felt like that had been left out for a long time. BUT everything else was delicious!! My husband was enthralled with the delicacy of a simple yet elegant dish. It was abundantly flavorful; the chef assuredly has both skill and panache in the kitchen. read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - OBB Hott Chicken Biscuits - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

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Restaurant is surprisingly large. Husband had been wanting to go so we finally checked it out. Food was really amazing. Fries were phenomenal. Service was friendly and fast. Overall I'd give this five stars and, considering we have no interest in alcohol, that's really saying a lot about the food. Delicious. Will be back. read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

Since my previous review, I've been here twice: once for lunch, once for dinner. Neither time had an issue getting a seat (score!), though I know they do get super busy during prime time. (We had no issue tonight at 5pm on a Friday, however.) Now, I'm a burger fanatic. I've had their regular, no frills burger twice now and both times it's been great--juicy meat, cooked properly to temp, nice char, excellent seasoning. The accompanying fries are also good (mine came out a little room temperature this evening, but I'll forgive it). We also got a starter tonight--fried green tomatoes. Holy mother are these delicious. The pimiento cheese--which I'm not usually a huge fan of--was a lovely accent, along with the sauce. Better half got the yard bird tacos and inhaled them. Service was good--drinks were promptly refilled, she was very knowledgeable and friendly. The bathroom situation is still abysmal, but I'll deal. read more

Atmosphere was fantastic, food was even better. Our server was also great! We will be back again for another delicious burger!

I'm feeling pampered. They have a very cool kind of trippy waiting area with leather couches and lots of reading material. When we got seated it was out on the big open back porch with lights and a slight breeze. It is a great atmosphere. Very comfortable, and welcoming. We went through the menu which is a little bit, I hate to say it but it's a little bit of the best of what California used to be about 10 years ago. They have a good variety of meats and fishes and chickens and mac & cheese. Some great dishes. And then the waitress says "did you know we have steak". They had me at stake. They have a variety of beers and while they don't have my favored imperial stouts which are kind of not incredibly popular, they have some delicious other beers. I really enjoyed some thing called a "sandbar Sunday's". They hooked all four of my kiddos up with strawberry lemonade or pomegranate lemonade. My wife says this meal is fantastic. The steak is cooked perfectly, she asked for medium well and got it. It's seasoned well enough that it does not need any sauce. The mashed potatoes are perfect. I did not want brussels sprouts and they mistakenly brought them but they've turned out I love the way they've cooked them. Our server was extremely friendly and attentive. My oldest kiddo, 16, says this. All the food is absolutely amazing. I love the steak. I love the mashed potatoes. You can never go wrong with asparagus. The pomegranate lemonade is excellent as well. Second kiddo says this: I really like the steak and the mashed potatoes because they tasted good. my third daughter, 6 years old, says this. I very very really love it. The mashed potatoes in the steak I liked. My youngest says they were very very good. The mashed potatoes were very good. She also liked the asparagus she says. She's young enough so she still has some of the little kid words and when she says very very it sounds like berry berry. It's late and we've done a fair bit of driving so they're not amazingly articulate right now. They all seem to have enjoyed what they had and put very large downs in the food in front of them. Like I said above, they had me at steak. read more

Selections of beer and the menu were exceptional. I had a hard time deciding but settled on the 256 burger and the triple bogey. It was everything that Dr ordered. The burger was thick juicy seasoned whale and you could tell it was real meat. Not some fake stuff. I have never had a pretzel bun like that. This was a real pretzel bread nice and soft. I loved it and will definitely be back! I was visiting from Nashville and happened to find this place on yelp by searching near my hotel. Directions took me through the back door so I wasn't sure I was in the right place. Glad to know I was!! read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - 256 burger - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

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Came in on a Sunday afternoon. Told that it would be a 30-40 minute wait to get a table. The actual wait time was a bit over 25 minutes. I ordered the southern biscuits and gravy while my wife ordered the chicken and waffles. My wife loved the waffles but part of her chicken was overcooked (the properly cooked area was very good). I had the same issue with the chicken that came with biscuits and gravy. About a third of the chicken was overcooked. As both dishes had large proportions, we didn't eat the overcooked sections but still let stuffed. The restaurant was packed so maybe the cooks got a bit overwhelmed. The restaurant was clean and the staff were very nice. Definitely worth a visit. read more

Our party of 7 arrived at 5 p.m. and didn't begin receiving meals until 7:30 p.m. After being asked by three different people at the hostess stand how many were in our party (and none of them making note or helping us), we were handed utensils, menus, and a table number and told to seat ourselves outside. We waited for a sever for ages before going to the outdoor bar to get ourselves drinks. The bartenders informed us we were on a waitlist for a server, which ended up being one of the bartenders over an hour later. We all got our food at different times, ate quickly (because we were starving) and left at 8 p.m. It was 3 hours of absolute chaos and we regret bringing our out of town guests to OBB. At least there was live music. read more

I've been here a couple of times, and every time it is amazing! This is the perfect place to catch up with people and get a delicious meal. Their burgers are absolutely incredible, and the fries are perfectly crispy. I love a house made ranch, and theirs is incredible. Their blue cheese burger is one of my absolute favorite burgers packed with flavor and plenty of bacon and blue cheese. The service was good, and our food came out pretty quickly. I will definitely be back! read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - Blue cheese burger - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

I ordered the Uptown Tacos, which our server said was one of her favorites. I don't eat beef or pork typically, so I was the only one in my party to not get a burger. Comparing our plates, it was clear that despite paying the same amount, my food was a much smaller portion. The Ahi tuna was fresh and the fries were crispy, but the size to me was just laughable. $15 and it was done in 2 bites. The serving of fries was particularly disappointing. You could tell the taco was sparsely filled because most of it just tasted like straight tortilla. OBBBC is a favorite of my family's, so maybe next time I'm back I'll try something else. But this was a disappointing experience. read more

Old Black Bear Brewing Company - The Uptown Tacos - Breweries Near Me - Madison, Alabama

One of our go to places, never fails. Great food, service, atmosphere. Love the live music they have there too.

This place was awesome - we had a wait (it was a Friday night at 7 o'clock, so that makes sense) but it was easily overcome by grabbing a couple of cocktails at the bar. Service was amazingly friendly, and the ambience is a mixture between a brewery and a place to grab dinner .. a great combination. The biggest thing that stood out was the food was quality at a decent price. So many places like this have upped their pricing especially for drinks and I was pleased to see that they have remained affordable read more