Front Street Brewery - Davenport

We always like to try local breweries when we're on the road, and this trip it was the Front Street Brewery in Davenport. Located along the Mississippi river front at 208 East River Drive, Front Street Brewery is serving up some great local brews and pub food. 

Exposed brick walls, high, open ceilings, and lots of wood make for an inviting space.

There are several tables and nice high-back booths, plus additional seating in a basement space. During the warmer months, Front Street Brewery has a big beer garden out back.

They have 6 craft beers available daily - Old Davenport Gold, Hefe Weizen, Cherry Ale, Raging River Ale, Bucktown Stout, and the Brewmaster Special, which changes with the season. Quite the variety - all are available in a pint or a 23 oz. pilsner and they have 1/2 gallon Growlers available to take home.

I went with the Old Davenport Gold, well, because I'm a weinie and like lighter beers. This was very light and refreshing, good barley flavor but not overpowering with hops. A tasty, easily drinkable beer.

Grant tried the Raging River Ale - a commemorative brew named after the great flood of '93. More hop forward, he enjoyed this 'English Ale.' Front Street Brewery was close to our hotel (we stayed at the Radisson downtown), so we stopped in here again the next day and Grant tried the Bucktown Stout. He really liked the stout, it was smooth with that distintive coffee flavor.

The food menu is quite extensive for a pub/brewery. Some very interesting appetizers, like 'Beer Mussels,' Pork Nachos, and Hot Pretzels, a great selection of soups and salads, lots of different sandwiches, burgers, and even some dinner entrees like salmon and pork tenderloin.

We were there for a sort of late lunch, so decided to just try some soup and appetizers. We started with the Cheddar Ale Soup - Front Street Brewery's signature soup, it comes topped with garlic croutons. Very creamy and delicious.

We also tried the Hawg Wild Wings - two 4 oz. pork shanks with a choice of sauce - we chose the stout BBQ sauce. Plenty of meat on these shanks and the sauce was thick and tangy.

We decided to add the Crispy Chicken Wings for our second appetizer and had the wings tossed in Honey Sesame sauce. This was my favorite - the wings were fried to crispy perfection and the sauce was sticky and just a little zesty.

Service was friendly and efficient. Our server was attentive and very knowledgable about the beer and food both. We sat close to the windows and the view of the river and Lock and Dam No. 15 is especially nice. Front Street Brewery is definitely worth a visit if you're in downtown Davenport - let us know if you stop in!

Front Street Brewery

208 East River Drive
Davenport, IA 52801

563.322.1569

Hours

Monday - Thursday 11am - 11pm
Friday - Saturday  11am - Midnight
Sunday  11am - 9pm

Menus and more information at www. frontstreetbrew.com