Fretboard Brewing & Public House was one of our favorite stops during our weekend in Hamilton! The atmosphere is lively and inviting, with a cool brewery vibe that makes it a great place to grab dinner, enjoy a few drinks, and spend an evening with friends. The food was excellent, but the Square Potatoes served with beer cheese were the standout for us--we're still talking about them! The menu has plenty of options, and of course, you can pair your meal with one of Fretboard's craft beers. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming, which made the experience even better. Be sure to check out the rooftop space, which adds another fun element to the restaurant. Great food, great beer, friendly service, and a fantastic atmosphere made Fretboard a memorable part of our Hamilton getaway. We would definitely return! read more

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Large slab of meatloaf with real lumpy mashed potatoes and green beans was to much for lunch. For me. Not complaining just saying. Friend that was with me only complaint was no bread and butter. Walked in seated immediately and the waitress brought us menus and made a couple suggestions. We both went for the meatloaf. I guess it Is Rossville, Main Street. Not a lot of parking. Old building that has been reused. Good food. Good service people. Will return read more

My favorite gluten free spot - dedicated GF fryers. Chicken breading recently changed and is VERY salty - it's almost unbearable. Everything else on the menu (I've tried almost everything by now) is great. Cool rooftop, takes reservations, excellent service. read more

Met my brother and sister in law for dinner. I got chicken strips and mac and cheese. I also got the Public House Cosmo. It was all very good. It was very busy. It was a little noisy but with that many people in there it is to be expected. Still was tolerable though and you could talk to people sitting across from you without having to raise your voice so that was good. We only had to wait for a table though for a few minutes. Waitress was very friendly and informative. She was attentive and kept our drinks filled. Will definitely come back. read more

Fretboard Brewing & Public House - Fried Chicken Tenders and Macaroni & Cheese and house made pickles - Brewpubs Near Me - Hamilton, Ohio

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Great food fast service and the price was reasonable. I am not a big fan of micro brews so i can't comment on them.

I met my daughter and grandson here for dinner when they had to be in the area for something else. What a great choice. Our server, Rebekah was wonderful! She let us taste a beer before we made our selection. She was so sweet to my grandson as he ordered his own dinner. He loved his grilled cheese and French fries. My daughter had the fish tacos. She said the fish wasn't very flavorful, but overall really liked them. I had a salad with blackened chicken and the sweet and sour dressing. It was excellent. I would go back again just to have that salad. We had a great experience and will go back when we're in the area. read more

I loved this place. I'm always looking for a good meal after bodybuilding shows and I never want to be disappointed. Well the place did not disappoint! They had so many great gluten free options. So many that I was having trouble deciding. I landed on the fish and chips. There aren't many restaurants than have GF fish and chips so I was so excited. We started with the hash brown bites and they were a great way to start. When you're gluten free they swap out the beet cheese for another. My fish and chips were perfectly breaded and perfectly cooked. I went with the sweet potato fries and they were great. I ended the night with GF pumpkin donut holes. That was a great ending to a great meal. I wish I lived closer so I could go back and try some more of their dishes. The staff were also awesome. This was truly an amazing experience. read more

Fretboard Brewing & Public House - Gluten Free Fish and Chips - Brewpubs Near Me - Hamilton, Ohio

I had the opportunity to visit Fretboard in downtown Hamilton for the first time and it will not be the last. I was not too hungry so I decided upon the buffalo chicken dip as my meal and though it was not exceptionally spicy, it had just the right amount of heat. At first you think, "Oh this is mild". Then the heat sneaks up at the back of the palate. All guests of my party raved about their choices and also spoke about returning to try other delicious options. read more

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I highly recommend this restaurant for its atmosphere, excellent food and friendly service. Their loaded hash brown squares are the best hash browns you'll ever have. Also I recommend the pimento burger ( sans egg) on pretzel bun with their fantastic sweet potato waffle fries. They also have a good selection of great tasting tap beers. read more

Took 1 hour to seat us. Then told us we couldn't order for 45 minutes. Never coming back

We stopped in for an early Friday dinner. The place has a very OTR vibe, being right across the river from downtown Hamilton in an area of restaurants and boutiques. We had three different beers, all of which were excellent - on par with Rheingeist and Sonder. I'm particularly fond of their Vlad pilsnser and Improv, my new favorite IPA. The beer cheese appetizer was delicious and generous, with six pretzels alongside carrots and celery. We split the pub burger, also delicious, with probably the best ever sweet potato waffle fries that were clearly cut in house, not food service. My daughter had the BBQ chicken flatbread, also very good. Service was all around excellent, personable and attentive. We'll be back. I've long thought Hamilton has such potential and it looks like that is coming to be. read more

Food was great! Took a little bit longer than expected but tasted amazing. Took a while to be seated at first, though the first floor seemed to be pretty chill and not too busy. Had the Pub Burger with sweet potato fries and even though they forgot the fries when my burger came out, both were delicious. Service wasn't the best -- two waitresses were fighting over tables on the rooftop in front of me and other customers (we just wanted to be served). Waitress I had was very helpful once all the ruckus was resolved. A surge of people came in after me and had many problems: timeliness with food and drinks, missing silverware, no napkins, etc. I could tell other tables were annoyed with how long it was taking to be treated and waited on. Overall, food was great and would come back for that reason -- but would hope that there were more waiters/waitresses working the next time I came and that things were moving more smoothly. read more

Food was well executed pub fare. Service was excellent both times we went. TVs had sports on and the beers were tasty. Would highly recommend for a date or drinks and dinner with friends. Awesome! read more

Very cool place, but it felt more like a restaurant than a brewery. Great amber ale and amazing loaded tots. I went on a date here--not great but LOVED my waitress, she was amazing. read more

This is such a cool restaurant in Hamilton! The inside is really cool with large tanks and good seating. The staff is friendly and our server was exceptional! She brought us water and asked if we wanted something else to drink. She also asked if we wanted appetizers. They all looked like good options but we weren't hungry enough for that today. Next time! Our server gave us time to make a decision on what to order, but it wasn't so much time that we were left waiting. We both ordered their pub hamburger with fries. The food came out promptly and it was delicious. We decided on dessert and my husband got the brownie with ice cream and I got little round donuts with ice cream. We both enjoyed our desserts. We will definitely come back here to try other things on their menu. read more

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Honestly I think this place is a bit overrated as a restaurant, but the beers are fantastic. Rooftop view was really cool if it's a nice day. Food is quite a bit too pricey in my opinion, but the beer is a good bang for your buck flavor wise. Service was great when I went, waitresses for other tables asked if we needed anything and our waitress was very attentive. As for food, the pimento burger and chicken sandwich really weren't anything to write home about. Seemed like good quality ingredients, but not a lot of flavor or anything special going on. Fries were the same. The tater squares appetizer was good, but for a brewery I was expecting a cheese that was more beer-forward. This was a pretty standard cheese sauce, but you can't go wrong with cheese and bacon on fried potato. As for beer, I had a flight and everything was fantastic. There's a great selection and my personal favorite was the tropical beer (island style?). In conclusion I would go back to enjoy some beers, but probably would eat elsewhere if you are a foodie! read more

Fretboard Brewing & Public House - Rooftop view - Brewpubs Near Me - Hamilton, Ohio

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This is just a drink and visit review...I did not have any food. The place, in general, is great. First floor or rooftop has great ambiance. I wanted to go for a flight. Beers selected were great. I'm not an IPA or domestic beer guy so tend to get more fruit flavored beers (if I drink beer vs hard liquor). Server was attentive and checked on us several times but not suffocating. I would go back. I'd like to try the food next time. read more

Ok, we liked it. This was our first time here - we were hungry and close by. We started with the tomatoe basil pizza. It's a flatbread that is really put together correctly. The taste was great, so was the texture - Yummo! I had the Cajun chicken sandwich on a potato bun. Succulent juicy chicken with a great Cajun seasoning. It came with tomato, lettuce and a great remoulade sauce. Again Yummo! I asked for cole slaw instead of chips, very glad I did. Nice! Menu is somewhat limited but what we had was all great! As Arnold said, 'I'll be back!' read more

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We are here for a BB tournament in Spooky Nook and came to this restaurant around 1pm. There was a very large group of us but we waited patiently and ordered drinks (paid for them) and a couple apps. Probably about 30 of us. My hubby was told they needed to save some tables for the general public and some of us couldn't be seated by a rude waitress. I was thinking "aren't we paying customers?!" The downstairs cleared up and after an hour and we were seated. The manager then proceeded to tell us that there was a grad party on the top floor and it would be about an hour for our food. We had already waited so long so we said ok. Then a couple minutes later she came back over and said "I have more bad news. We can't take your order for at least 45 minutes" and we had had enough at that point. I asked what they do when the restaurant is full? Do you always send people away?? I said we are leaving! To lose all that money in food and alcohol purchases is ridiculous! What kind of restaurant are you running?? You lost at least $1k. Bye! Going somewhere else that will do their jobs. read more

Sit on the rooftop for a great view of Hamilton and order a Reba and the grilled chicken sandwich with pimento cheese on top; yummy.

For a brewhouse, ambiance is more upscale, modern decor, more high-end than a typical sports bar. Multiple screens displaying various sporting events, music playing - a bit too loud to have decent conversation, would be perfect if volume turned down to half what it was. Service was swift. Dined Friday evening and seated immediately. Server took our orders right away, food came quickly, checked on several times by waitress and by whom I assume was the manager. I ordered "shareable" pork carnitas tostadas as my main. Pork was very tender, sweet and spicy aioli was well-balanced by scallions and fresh lime wedges atop two crispy tostadas. BF had Clyborne greens salad with a tenderloin beef skewer, he said it was delicious. I also had the pineapple upside down cake cocktail, very good! Although it was a brewhouse, neither of us had beer! I am looking forward to return to try their other menu items, they looked really good! Also didn't realize they had a rooftop dining area, would like to sit there. This is a great place for date night! read more

Food was perfect! The staff was super friendly. The downstairs bar was cool to sit at.

Great place on west main st in Hamilton . Their beers are pretty darn good. Love the Island Style red ale. They have tavern style food. Pretty good. Service was very good! Ask for Jen.... She was so thoughtful and thorough. read more

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I love Fretboard but had never been to the Hamilton location until tonight and it's even better than the Blue Ash location! I love that it has three floors (one is rooftop seating, one is nicer restaurant style seating, one is the bar and open seating). We sat on the second floor for our monthly book club tonight and it was very quiet and a relaxing space to hang. I had a flight with Reba, Mango Song, Peach Pickling Time and Flute Loop. I thought the peach would be my favorite but honestly I thought it had a weird aftertaste. I loved the other three! Flute Loop was a fruit IPA, and I usually don't like IPAs but this was very fruity and only mild hops. It was excellent! I also got the brownie which was disappointing. It was very cakey and had kind of a weird flavor. Overall though I love Fretboard beers and they have excellent flavors. read more

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When we entered I was a bit disappointed until they showed us to our table on the second floor, which was a very nice dining area. Our waitress was great explaining the menue and giving us a few facts about the restraunt. we ordered the beer cheese appetizer which was very good, For our dinner we had the COD (fish and chips) with a side of green beans. The cod was excellent minimal bredding, flakey and paired with the tarter sauce it was super. The green beans were delicious and I am not a big fan however these were cooked to perfection, not mushy . We were too full for dessert... Definately would go again. We ate early and by the time we departed the place was full... read more

The kitchen is on the 2cnd floor, and they have an elevator so no worries. The menu i would classify as comfort food a little healthier. They have gluten free options galore (the gf fish coating is a revelation). All things we had were amazing read more

This place gets it. Serious beer selections paired with smoked meats, live music, and a unique floor plan of a former bank completed by an alley style patio that is completely in shadow during summer months. The entertainment alone should be a destination venue, but the food is incredible. Kudos to Harrison for bringing them to the Westside. read more

This place was great. After a long travel day, this was one of the places that was still open when we got into town. Patrick was awesome! Even though we showed up close to closing time, he was still super fun and kind. Food was amazing!! Especially the pasta caprese. The actual space is adorable. It's so cute, decorated for Xmas. Definitely a small town vibe. Loved it!! I strongly recommend this place. Beer was delish too! (Just saying) Back again night 2! Legit best restaurant in Hamilton. And Aqua-Thor (Patrick) is fantastic. Thanks for being so hospitable! Best food in town! Great establishment. Your peeps make the experience! read more

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You just need to come here yourself to understand how wonderful this place really is. I'm excited to help you understand why! Since my husband and I have moved to Hamilton, Fretboard has been a treat for us, whether it's been a date night, stop in for lunch while exploring Main St. or bringing family and friends here for dinner, It's always a relaxing experience. It's a beautiful space with plenty of seating from high top tables that are almost booth like, long table for larger groups, bar seating and a few intimate seats by the windows. There's also event space on the second floor and roof top seating that is a delight during warmer weather especially at night! Beautiful views of the downtown area. From the host, servers to food runners and bartenders, you just get this warm vibe like "welcome to my home!" They are all so nice and engaging and seem to be proud of their establishment and it also shows in their food and beer. Gosh we've had so much food and beer it's hard to just pick one thing to highlight as it all has been very good, but what really sticks out recently, were their Fish & Chips! They are made with haddock fish with the perfect textured non greasy crust that is GF. Fish was the perfect flakiness, and their tartar sauce and coleslaw are the perfect complement, not too sweet or too tart. I know what your thinking... no beer battered crust? Gluten free? Just get in here and you'll see what I mean. My go to's off the menu have been the tomato basil pizza (shareables) but in my opinion it is too good to share! Also, the sweet chili shrimp and southern fried chicken are a must! Beers are tasty and even better on a tasting flight of 4. They also do crowlers. They always have a good range from IPA's, Pilsner, Porters and more. Hope you get to discover this gem! read more

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We grabbed drinks at the bar while waiting for our table. It was busy so it took some time to get the drinks, but the staff were super nice! Rachael the bartender gave great recommendations. Definitely order the strawberry blonde ale or the blueberry one. We started with the buffalo chicken dip and really enjoyed it. The burgers were even better! I love the atmosphere of the place and would go again. read more

Fretboard Brewing & Public House - Burger - Brewpubs Near Me - Hamilton, Ohio

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It's a challenge to impress, especially nowadays, but Fretboard Public House is an excellent reason to visit Hamilton! Needing to run a couple errands in the area, ended up here on an early Friday eve. I have to say, I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting this! They did a good job mixing classic and mid-century plus modern styles, making it a place you want to spend some time. Ok, the real reason to go here - the food was fantastic, and a gluten free person's dream! So many options on the menu...and they were all delicious! We started with the 3 little pigs pizza appetizer...probably one of the best pizzas I've had since moving to SW Ohio! Rivaling Two Cities Pizza in Mason. I usually am not a banana pepper fan, but with the rest of the flavor profile, it fit rather well. I had the fish & chips, and it was mind-blowing! Not greasy at all, and the "breading" (also GF) had the best texture and flavor. Probably the best fish & chips I've had anywhere! The sweet potato fries were good, but could have used a horseradish sauce or honey drizzle...more flavor needed there. We indulged in the Donut Hole Sunday, which is GF without the caramel sauce, and you will not miss it! It tasted like autumn and nostalgia, as if you were transported to a cider mill, picked a freshly baked cinnamon sugar donut, and put homemade vanilla ice cream on top, to delectably melt into the donut, creating even more deliciousness. If you're going to get dessert, this is the one to get! The beer was neither great nor bad. I appreciated it being light, perfect for a warm evening. We tried the Reba, Island Style, and a cream ale. The only downside of this place is how quickly you rack up your bill, even with dining during Happy Hour! Overall, I'd eat here again in a heartbeat, but I just don't go to Hamilton much...but it might be good enough to be the reason to visit! read more

Fretboard Brewing & Public House - View from 1st floor dining. - Brewpubs Near Me - Hamilton, Ohio

The food is so good! Service is prompt and friendly. The gluten free options are awesome. A must try!

Cool place downtown, service was good and food was solid. Their seating is outstanding, best ive sat in at a restaurant Meatloaf dinner was pretty good. Fish and Chips had an issue there. The server did great and rectified the issue. Dessert was light and the caramel was good. Solid place definitely will come back to try something else. read more

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I took my Mom and friends to Fretboard for lunch yesterday. We had a wonderful meal! - definitely recommend the veggie burger as well as the fish and chips - they were both excellent! The service was great and I appreciate that Chris came out to check on our meal and how we were doing. Highly recommend! read more

Rooftop venue was nice. Service was quick and friendly. Food was as ordered and tasty. We are going to plan a trip back to revisit. read more

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We were returning home from a trip to Lake Erie and came across Fretboard. Having had their beers before, we decided to give their food a try. So happy we did. My wife had the veggie burger and I had the pulled pork. Both were excellent. Had a Vlad and Reba to finish off a great trip. Sat on the roof and enjoyed the view of downtown Hamilton. Highly recommend stopping by. read more

Fretboard Brewing & Public House - Couple cold ones to celebrate Tuesday - Brewpubs Near Me - Hamilton, Ohio

The food was well prepared and tasted good, We will go back. We had burgers and they were very good and cooked just right. They service was also very good. The interior was very nicely decorated. read more

Great atmosphere, great food and beer! Waitress was awesome and ensured we were taken care of...would go back anytime

Great food and beer! Right by the bike trail which is great if you need a break! Service was good as well. They have a rooftop but we did not make it upstairs. read more

Our server, Carly, was amazing!!! She was super friendly and she was always checking on us to make sure everything was good. We have a couple very good meals and a couple were just ok but the hash brown appetizer was phenomenal! read more