The place gets 3* for food and service and 4* for atmosphere. This was standard bar food but nothing to write home about. The pizza looked very good but I didn't try it. I had the grilled chicken sandwich and fries. The portion size on the fries was below average. read more

By far the best place I have eaten during my stay here. Great food and the beer sampler is the best deal in town. Chicken wings are outstanding. read more

This is one of the best places in Jeff City. We always bring out of town friends here and go a few times per month. The menu has a large variety, the food is good and reasonably priced. Our service is always above and beyond. The beers are very unique and the ambiance is very fun with the prison theme. read more

Food was OK. They also brought a wrong entree (different sandwich than ordered, though we did not send it back, as we just wanted to finish and leave). Bigger issue: Immediately upon entering the restaurant I was confronted by an extremely drunk patron (who left his table to come to the front of the restaurant). He got in my face, bumped my chest, and asked my very loudly if I was "looking for trouble." I don't live in Jefferson City and I had never met this person before (or his 10-12 loud drunk friends watching closely). The bartender did intercede, thankfully, but then the hostess immediately set me right next to this guy and his drunk friends (who made a few remarks as she tried to seat me right by them). I demanded to sit elsewhere, which seemed to perturb the hostess. It was pretty obvious these guys were valued regular customers. That says a lot. I would have left immediately except that my friends were seated outside and had already ordered drinks. To his credit, the bartender did come by and apologize, but nothing was comped, and some wrong food was sent out (though we did not bother to raise the issue as we wanted to leave). He was also extremely defensive of the extremely poor judgment of the hostess (who was present during the entire confrontation with the drunk). My advice: Avoid this place. Unless, of course, drunken brawling on a Sunday night is your thing. read more

Delicious food! I come here all the time for their steak salad and Shirley temples. My partner likes their beer.

Definitely an interesting place to eat. The building is an old prison so they still have some of the cell walls in place. The burger was a bit dry but still delicious. I like the decor of the place & would recommend getting drinks here. read more

Cheesy decor. Greasy food. Lousy service. All in all, this was a real let-down. We tried Prison Brews because we were looking for something unique - different from the usual fare available in Jefferson City. It was amusing for the first 60 seconds or so, and then after that, not so much. We had the onion rings as an appetizer, which took approximately 30 minutes to arrive at our table. These had to be the greasiest onion rings I have ever eaten! I could only manage to get 2 small ones down before calling it quits. Our main courses were a cranberry/walnut salad (blah) and a chicken bacon ranch sandwich with fries. When asked what the soup of the day was (as advertised on the menu), we were told that there was no soup--because it was Sunday--and they don't serve soup on Sunday. This place is definitely NOT for the health-conscious. Before you eat here, please make sure your insurance is paid up in case you need a stent to open up your arteries. And as if that wasn't enough, the service we received was terrible--there were hardly any customers but our server just could not seem to be bothered. We had to ask for extra napkins twice, and had to wave our arms in the air to catch her attention just to get a soda refill. What was demanding so much of her intense concentration, you ask? Why, her cell phone, of course - we watched her sitting in a corner, engrossed in her texting conversation. Will I return to this establishment so they can have a second chance to make a first impression? Ummm--no. read more

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Slow service. Pizza had no flavor - basically flavorless sauce. It may have been improved with a good Parmesan cheese. Reuben sandwich was the saddest version I have ever witnessed. Hardly any beef, kraut, or dressing - and the bread was overly thick. The soft pretzels were good. read more

The last time I was there I wanted to try there Beer and the Beertender told me they ran out of Beer uh how does a Brewery run out of Beer LOL. I haven't been back since. read more

Honestly I didn't expect to find a hip sort of micro-brew joint that I might actually frequent--if it were closer to home--in Jefferson City, MO. They took a portion of a closed-down jail and converted it into a nice little place serving pizza and bar food with a fairly complete set of local brews. The atmosphere is kitschy and fun, with enough of the caging left in and thematic artwork hung to get the point across without feeling claustrophobic. The service was semi-friendly and reasonably quick during a recent visit with my wife, brother and sister-in-law. We came in close to the end of the lunch rush and ordered a salad for the sister-in-law, a pulled pork pizza for my brother and I to split and a burger for my wife. By the time we finished our leisurely meal the place had pretty much emptied but I didn't notice a significant lack of service quality from the start to the end of the meal which is to the waitress' credit. The pizza was very tasty, east coast style with a thin cornmeal crust, brick oven blackened and they even heeded my request to go light on the cilantro (something many places can't seem to manage, regardless of cuisine style). My wife's burger was pretty disappointing, but I guess that just shows you should stick to the strengths of an establishment. I had a Prison Town Brown and I also tried a few sips of my wife's I Ain't Your Honey Wheat. I found the brown to be a bit more stout than I expected (I was looking for something a bit more in the Newcastle vein) but still tasty and the Wheat was capable although unremarkable, bearing in mind that wheat beers are probably at or near the bottom of my list for types of beer I prefer. A few minor nitpicks kept the experience from really rising above, one being that the location and parking situation were kind of awkward and, obviously, being an unused jail the exterior wasn't intended to be very inviting, it still seemed not much had been done to improve the outside aesthetic now that it ought to be attracting customers. Secondly is really picky but I can't help but be annoyed when establishments use cutesy names for dishes or drinks and yet the staff appear to be embarrassed by them. When I ordered the beers the server read them back as "The Brown" and "The Honey Wheat." If employees can't even have enough fun in their jobs and confidence in the products they offer to lose some self-consciousness and repeat a silly product name, maybe find some less uptight workers or lose the silly conventions altogether. read more

Yummy yummy pretzel and cheese! Great atmosphere and very friendly staff! Love the prison bar decor!

Giving a four star rating and that's a good rating! Told us upfront that they were short staffed which in these times is very understandable. We decided the wait was not a problem for us. As we were seated our drink order was taken and returned quickly. The young man waiting on us was great. Our order came out much quicker than promised. Food was above average. Drinks were cold and never ran dry. read more

Definitely the best beer, I'm guessing, in Jefferson City, MO. Found this place based on Yelp reviews and recommendations. We decided to stop in before the prison tour. Cliche maybe, but still a good stop in. The atmosphere is fun and jail themed throughout. Any place that calls the bathroom a "Gas Chamber" is A-OK in my book. There are also historical photos on the walls, which I am guessing are from and around the MO State Pen, just a quarter mile away. The food was OK, but Susie's pizza was awesome ... brick fired. The beer was also pretty good. Nowadays too many people think their home-brew qualifies for microbrew and should be produced on a larger scales ... this crew has something good and is certainly worth a stop in to drink what they are making. Staff was the only thing keeping this from a 4 star. The beer is certainly 4****, but the staff brought it down. Not engaging, friendly, and ordering felt rushed. Hard to get over feeling like you are imposing when asking about a place, their food, and looking for suggestions. read more

Great food! The pub pickles and Buffalo Chicken Wrap were amazing! A cool atmosphere and great patio.

Prison Brews has good Bar Food. The pizzas are good to eat and the appetizers are fun to eat. The theme is great. The service could be better. read more

Great beer, great atmosphere. If you like the beers on tap you can get a 32oz Crowler to go. Awesome idea!

The beer is great here and I love coming here just for that. The food is also very good. It's solid bar and grill food to go with beer. The atmosphere is fun and is definitely unique. It's a good place to grab a bite and try all the beers on tap. They have an outside patio for dining and bocce ball courts. I've never seen that before and thought it was cool. The night we went, there was a bocce tournament outside with the bocce ball leagues. Their website says they also have live bands play there on some nights. Will definitely be back. read more

Prison Brews has a wonderful atmosphere for everyone except maybe criminals. Great little brewery with good draws and great food. They always talk to you when you get here. No strangers ever come thru the door. Enjoy! read more

Prison Brews - Get behind bars. Have a drink! - American Near Me - Jefferson City, Missouri

Really cool atmosphere and decor. A fun place to hang out and chill with friends. And they have bocce so get out and play

Wife and i eat here on occasion, & are never disappointed. We have never been disappointed with anything we've ordered off the menu. The wait staff is equally as good. Lots of selections to accommodate to the entire family. Along with some stuff you'd only find here, such as Jailhouse Fries, Beer battered onion rings, etc... Most importantly, if you leave this place without ordering a Meat Lovers Pizza, you have wasted your time entirely! Sometimes the wait can be long, but what good place to eat doesn't have that problem? The ambience is mainly overweight loud people but name a place in Jefferson City that doesn't have that same issue. read more

We tried out Prison Brews for breakfast. We enjoy PB for lunch and dinner occasionally and enjoy. The food was really good, especially the hashbrowns;golden, crispy and generous!However, the server we had really seemed to struggle with customer service. Slow to bring drinks in first place (coffee), served in styrofoam. When I asked if we could have a real cup she said they had run out; totally understandable but when she eventually brought it she placed it on the table empty with no offer of a refill. Same when we asked for "an extra" napkin. Luckily there was another server working table next to ours who kindly stopped by and offered coffee fill ups and napkins. Good food and would definitely try again but definitely a different server that is a little more into the job. Food a 5 but service a 3. read more

The prison decor and the names of the beers are a bit gimmicky, but the place feels nice and relaxed. Food is fine and suits the microbrewery atmosphere. I had a Reuben - pretty good. I did note that they have a special pizza oven. read more

Great food and wonderful service! We went for lunch and enjoyed the wings, burger, sweet potato fries, and spinach and artichoke dip. The food came fast and was fresh. Can't wait to go back and try some of their beers! read more

Definitely a must after touring the prison. The restaurant is decorated like a prison. They are a micro brewery and have a micro sampler you can try. Their beer is petty good but their sweet potato fries are the BEST! read more

Cool concept. Recommend this place right before or after the prison tour. The pretzels and beer cheese are amazing. Pizza and beer were pretty top notch too. Great service. read more

Enjoyed lunch here today. I thought the food was good. We had the club sandwich and the fish sandwich with fries. Their fries were 5 stars, as was the ranch dressing!! My issue was the staff. They were young and so unfriendly and slightly confused. It was like they didn't have any personalities. They had a really hard time seating the two top before us and had no idea where to seat us. The place was empty. Our waitress never greeted us, just asked what we wanted to drink. The atmosphere of this place could be really cool but I think that starts with the staff. Our waitress was attentive and provided good service. We were passing through and try to avoid chain restaurants. We like to support local but I wouldn't drive out of the way again to eat here. read more

My family and I ordered the nachos for an appetizer those were pretty good. When it came to our entree we had the prison burger. This burger was probably the most flavorless burger we have ever tasted. The texture was nice the flavor just wasn't there. As far as our service provided it was like a waiting game with very few guest. Our waitress wasn't really around for the simple things we needed or just to simply check in and when she did she seemed to be in a rush and we could barely say anything. read more

This place is really neat and has a great concept! I love how they took something that is so historical and played such a big role in Jefferson City's history and applied it to beer. It's a really old building itself. Not sure what it used to be but a great spot to turn into a fake prison/brewery. Yes, as others have said, it's kind of hokey and cheesy, but it's supposed to be! They have a good selection of different beers. Nothing too crazy or unique though. They're all named something related to prison or jail or whatever. I had the applewood smoked bacon cheeseburger for my meal. Bartender was great and she was very friendly. My burger was pretty good, the bacon was awesome. Overall pretty average food for a brewpub. What really makes this place is the cool atmosphere and the feel of it. Definitely worth a visit if you're in town or passing through. read more

Love this place. I eat here every time I have a chance when in Jefferson City. It's off the beaten path but worth the travel. The bread pudding is very good and their salads are wonderful. I would order just a salad and bread pudding if I didn't like Reubens so much. Good joint. It's pub food for sure. read more

Had a fantastic "pub salad" and two wheat beers there today after going on the MO State Penitentiary tour. My daughter had a kid's meal (chicken nuggets, fries, applesauce) which was a good amount of food. The beers were quite good -- they are brewed on site. I think there were 6-7 on the menu. In addition there was a full bar and wines as well. The building itself was decorated really nicely inside with prison memorabilia. Lots of exposed brick and the beer-making cisterns are visible through glass at the back of the restaurant. Large outdoor area to eat, but it was too hot today. read more

Great atmosphere and fun location! One of the most fun places in Jeff City to eat, especially when relatives from out of town visit! Love it! read more

Good food and great beer--What else can I say. Outdoor seating available. Also a downstairs party room (reservations required--maximum 50 people). Will definitely be back!! read more

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Fun, unique place! Flatbread pizza was awesome! Flight of beer was good too! The bartender took great care of us! Definitely recommend! read more

Prison Brews - American Near Me - Jefferson City, Missouri

Great atmosphere... service was friendly. The beer is very tasty. I had a side order of loaded fries and the Greek Pizza both were really good. Seems ok for kids as well, several families dining during my time there. read more

Prison Brews - Maibock Beer and Greek Pizza - American Near Me - Jefferson City, Missouri

Good little microbrewery in Jeff City. The food is pretty good bar food, nothing special. The sweet potato fries are pretty good. Appetizers are a little greasy/ salty (like what you expect at a bar). I have enjoyed the steak sandwich here as well as some of their pizzas. The beer is pretty good. I like the Go to Jail Ale, not too bitter. read more

The space is pretty awesome. Beautiful brick walls and a giant skylight in the center. The "prison bars" are a bit hokey, but I understand the concept. I'd kind of prefer they weren't there - the story of how you got the name is great! We don't need you to be a theme restaurant. The owner was also my bartender for the day. A very friendly guy, more than happy to talk to me about the history of the place. I was also very pleased with the price of my flight - seven 7oz. tasters for about $10 allowed me try every beer on the cheap. The woodfire pizza oven is impressive as you walk in so naturally I had to try a pie. My sausage and mushroom pizza was delicious - nice crunch to the crust and a good spice to the sausage. There are bocce ball courts out back and I imagine this is a great place to come with a group of people! Unfortunately, my beers were mostly just OK. They tasted like a brewery who has been in business 6 months, not 6 years. Only the Pretty Boy Peach really delivered on flavor. That they sell beer in clear growlers shows a but of a lack of respect for their product (in my opinion). If you're a serious beer drinker, you may be underwhelmed at Prison Brews. However, this is a great spot to upgrade from the basic domestic beer and enjoy some good food. read more

Been a regular customer at prison brews for a long time. came in today and ordered the pretzels I always order, when they can out I noticed right away that it wasn't the same so I said something to the sever he then informed me that they ran out of the regular pretzels and went To sams To get more. I asked the server "Micah" if he could give us a small discount he said no So I paid 10$ for a pretzel that I could have got a whole box at sams for 10 bucks. The pretzels are one thing but the servers lack of effort will keep me from eating here again. read more

My husband and I found this restaurant by accident when we were traveling locally to visit family. We ordered the spinach and artichoke dip and the tomato, feta, and bacon pizza. Both were excellent. The service was quick, and the wait staff were attentive. We will definitely consider a return visit the next time we're in Jefferson City. read more

Generic brew-pub with like $3 beers. The brown ale is good, but the hefeweizen is my favorite by far. Burgers are good. The steak is hella expensive. The fries are nothing to write home about. But the best part is... They have two Bocce ball courts. Gettin all spry on hefeweizen while pretending to be an old italian man (or a hipster) is a simple pleasure you should treat yourself to. read more

This restaurant is decent. The service is a little slow but not too bad. The biggest complaint I have is that parking in this place Is horrible. read more