Crooked Hammock Brewery

Reviews

• NE

  Nicholas Everhart

  4 days ago
  2.0
  I really wanted to like this place, but overall I left pretty disappointed. I ordered the salmon salad and the banana pudding cheesecake dessert, and for nearly $40 after tax, I expected a much better experience. The grilled salmon itself was actually delicious - great flavor from the grill and cooked well but the portion was surprisingly small compared to the size of the salad. Unfortunately, the salad itself was very underwhelming, and the tiny container of dressing lacked flavor as well. Beyond the food, the experience felt chaotic and unorganized. It seemed like staff were struggling to take orders over the phone, and the online menu for the Raleigh location did not accurately reflect what was actually available at the restaurant. The salmon is honestly the only reason this review is getting 2 stars instead of 1. But at the end of the day, it’s hard to mess up grilled salmon. I don’t recommend this location, and I personally will not be returning.
• PS

  P Sh

  May 11, 2026
  1.0
  Unfortunately, our family had a very disappointing and embarrassing experience here. When we first arrived, the bartender politely informed us that our children could not sit at the bar because they were under 21. We immediately complied, and our children moved to the outside area. The bartender then explained that walk-up service required getting in line, and we followed those instructions as well. While waiting, my husband remained seated at the bar. We observed the bartender alternating between helping customers in the walk-up line and customers seated at the bar. After an older couple sat down next to my husband and were served almost immediately, my husband calmly pointed out that we had been skipped. At no point did we raise our voices, threaten anyone, or behave aggressively. However, shortly afterward, the bartender became visibly upset and walked away. We were then abruptly told that we would not be served and were escorted off the property in front of our children and other customers without being given any opportunity to explain ourselves. What was most concerning was that simply and respectfully pointing out that we had been skipped appeared to result in our removal. We still do not understand what policy we violated by calmly raising a service concern. In our opinion, the situation seemed to escalate unnecessarily and may have been influenced by stress, understaffing, or lack of training in handling customer concerns. We understand restaurants can be busy and stressful, but the way this situation was handled was humiliating and completely disproportionate to the interaction that occurred. We hope management reviews the incident carefully and improves how customer concerns are handled in the future.
• DH

  Delinda Harrelson

  May 9, 2026
  5.0
  If a brewery, a backyard cookout, a dog park, and a family reunion had a baby… it would probably be Crooked Hammock Brewery. 😄 I went recently with a couple of friends, and honestly, this place feels less like a restaurant and more like a giant adult-and-kid playground where everyone accidentally stays three hours longer than planned. The vibe is super laid back and family-friendly. There were kids running around, dogs everywhere living their best lives, people hanging out outside, laughing, playing games, and just genuinely enjoying themselves. It’s one of those places where you immediately feel like you’re on vacation… even though you’re still in Raleigh and probably have laundry waiting at home. The wings were DELICIOUS. Like “steal-one-off-your-friend’s-plate-and-pretend-you-thought-they-were-yours” delicious. 🍗 Now the key lime pie? Whew. Let’s just say it came with enough lime to exfoliate my entire personality. 😂 If you LOVE strong key lime flavor, you’ll probably love it. My taste buds, however, are still recovering. What makes this place cool is that it’s not just about the food — it’s the whole experience. They’ve got craft beer, cocktails, tons of outdoor space, games, and a fun atmosphere that feels built for groups, families, dog lovers, and people who just want to relax and hang out for awhile. It recently opened in Raleigh, and judging by the crowds, people are already loving it. Basically: ✔ Great wings ✔ Great atmosphere ✔ Great people watching ✔ Dogs everywhere ✔ Kids having the time of their lives ✔ Enough outdoor fun to make you forget you came “just for one drink” Will definitely be back… but next time I may need emotional support before ordering the key lime pie again. 😆
• JB

  James Blydenburgh

  May 2, 2026
  5.0
  I’m giving 5 stars because the issues we had will probably be worked out. The bad- Table of 6 and one ordered pizza. The pizza came out 20 mins before the rest of the table. The server told us that and we asked to have them hold it so it came out with the rest of the food. That didn’t work. THEY NEED TO FIX THIS! Especially since pizza is a big part of their menu. I hope they read this and fix it. Put the pizza in later or something. There has gotta be a system. Nobody wants to eat while the entire table is still waiting on their food. The server and service itself wasn’t great. Some mistakes were made by the server and food runners. I am chalking this up to the restaurant being new, but they need to train better. The good- All food was DELICIOUS. The pizza was great. The burgers were raved about. The boneless chicken wings were prob the best chicken I’ve ever had. The beers were also very good. It’s a bit pricey for what it is, but you’ll find that just about anywhere these days. The outdoor area looked really cool, but it was chilly so we never even went out there. PLEASE fix the pizza issue! I can’t even imagine why a pizza takes way less time than a burger except for the fact that that side of the kitchen was busier. Either way, it needs to be fixed. Servers need more training, not only on how to be a server, but on the menu specifically. If you have a question about something on the menu, the answer should never be “I don’t know”.
• DL

  David Levine

  Apr 27, 2026
  2.0
  5/2/26 Update: Kevin Decker reached out to me and we communicated via email. Kevin acknowledged the shortcomings and valued the feedback. He even refunded the entire meal to make things right. I appreciate Kevin reaching out and taking the time to email back and forth. I’ll definitely give the Crooked Hammock another try in the future. ——— I went to the new Crooked Hammock location in Raleigh with my wife and her daughter. This was our first time to any of their locations and we were looking forward to having a nice meal out. The first issue that arose was the parking. Rather, the lack of parking. For as big as the place is, there is very little parking. It has to be the smallest parking lot for a restaurant that size that isn't located in a downtown area. However, we were able to park in a nearby parking deck, even though it appeared to be visitor parking for somewhere else. Other people seemed to have the same idea. We were happily greeted when we entered. Though the wait for outdoor seating was 2 hours (it was a nice day out), indoor seating was immediately available, which is what we chose. After being seating, we were greeted by our server, Kevin within a couple of minutes. Kevin was nice and helpfully explained the layout of the menus after he learned it was our first time at the Crooked Hammock. Kevin was also helpful in selecting between different beers and entrees. Our drink orders were placed and came out pretty quickly. They ran out of the drink my wife wanted, but she ordered something else and everything was fine. We placed our food orders. It was about 20 minutes later where things started to go downhill. I ordered a pizza. My wife ordered a portobello mushroom burger. Her daughter ordered a kids mac and cheese. The pizza came out within 20 minutes, if not sooner. Kevin came by to say the timing was off and the rest of the food would be coming out in a few minutes. Spoiler: it did not. It would be a little over an hour later until the rest of the food would arrive. While I acknowledge this wasn't Kevin's fault, I have thoughts on how it could've been handled differently. The restaurant was busy and servers were busily going around to tend to their tables. However, we should've been tended to as well. Some time after about 30 minutes, Kevin made eye contact with me and I saw him walking somewhere, presumably to find out what's going on with our food. He then came out and mouthed to me that it would be 2 more minutes. Spoiler #2: it wasn't. It would be at least another 30 minutes until the rest of the food came out. During our wait, we saw other pizza orders coming out left and right. It seemed as if the pizzas were being made quickly, but the rest of the food was far behind. Another server told the table next to us that the kitchen was severely backed up, for which he apologized. That same server came over to also tell us the situation with the kitchen. Kevin also apologized when he eventually brought us our food. I understand that when a business first opens its doors, there can be some growing pains. However, it's not so much the issues that arise, it's how you handle those issues to ensure customer satisfaction. A manager or wait staff can handle things in such a way that makes you as a customer feel good, even when things go wrong. This is the difference between your first visit having some hiccups, but you walk away happy or never coming back. I would've liked for Kevin to provide more frequent updates about the food. I would've also liked to have seen a manager go around to each table to apologize for the inconvenience. The real icing on the cake would've been to have some money taken off the bill or provide a complimentary dessert, but I don't always expect something for free. I won't be in a rush to return to the Crooked Hammock. On top of the experience, the food was just alright, and the prices were quite high. The beer was very good, so if I do return, it might be just for that. I'd give the restaurant a little while to work out the kinks before recommending anyone visit for the food.