Buckwater Brew Works and Whiskey House

A Glass of beer up $1.50 and some flavors weren't even available. Nothing Special Here!

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

I ordered the wing special and chicken tenders with fries to go. My wings came up almost 20 minutes before my tenders. I got excuses like waiting on fries, the tenders take a while, to go orders don't take priority, and the orders came in separate. Lots of shoulder shrugs and nobody caring about the food service.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

Subject: Disappointing Experience at Buckwater Brewery

Dear Buckwater Brewery Team,

I’m writing as a customer who visits your establishment nearly every time I’m in Carbondale usually twice a month and because I’ve always enjoyed the karaoke nights and the overall vibe of the space.

Unfortunately, during my most recent visit, I had a disappointing and frustrating experience that I feel compelled to bring to your attention.

My guest and I were seated at the bar and waited patiently for service while watching other guests being helped. Despite being in full view of two bartenders and someone cutting limes, we were not acknowledged or served. One bartender, a red-haired young man, appeared more focused on socializing with someone (possibly a friend), and the other bartender who identified herself as the manager later seemed preoccupied preparing drinks for someone she stated was the owner.

After a while, I became visibly frustrated due to the lack of service and recognition. At that point, instead of addressing the service issue professionally, the manager stepped in and accused me of cussing at the bartender which is something I absolutely did not do. She was not even present when I initially tried to get the bartender’s attention, so her accusation felt unjustified and escalated the situation unnecessarily. Rather than addressing the real issue — the poor service — I was made to feel like I was the problem and was ultimately asked to leave. And the manager’s only explanation was that the young man was new.

This entire situation could have been a moment for management to coach staff on awareness and customer service. Instead, I was made to feel unwelcome and disrespected — not something I ever expected at a place I support.

I’m sharing this not just to vent, but because I truly hope this feedback leads to improvement. Your karaoke nights are a big draw for me and my friend.

Thank you for your time and understanding

Such a fun place! They have their own beer as well as others and any other liquor you could want. Lots and lots of games to play! You must check it out!

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Went for trivia. Not a great selection of beer on tap and they just stopped taking orders for the kitchen during peak dinner time. The trivia was also not ran great. Overall extremely disappointed since I've heard such great things about this place.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Excellent selection and service. Chill vibe with appropriate music at a reasonable volume. Very nice.

Atmosphere: 5

Service: 5

Just walked into a very nice place in Carbondale a cozy bar with great atmosphere . The food and drinks are really good, everyone is friendly and fun.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A great little cozy bar with great owners and staff. The food and drinks are amazing. Socially everyone is friendly and fun. I had the lemon drop raspberry martini delicious 😋.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Wings

Bartender who I had been tipping 25 - 30% was extremely rude. The owner sits around never cracks a smile when you walk by him.They crank up the music at 4:30 and it very difficult to have a conversation

Good food and beer selection. Tuesday night is trivia night. Nice crowd. Not too loud.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Pretzel, Craft Beer

Kim and James are lovely and attentive!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Wings

One rude bartender, the rest were great.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Wings, Mac and Cheese, Burnt Ends Cheesesteak, Swedish Meatballs Bucky Burger Shrimp and Grits

Such a great place to hang out with friends. The food is always fantastic and the atmosphere is relaxed.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I got the pickle spears and a drink. I stayed about an hour with a group of ten. Everyone received their orders within about 10-15 minutes of placing the order. This was my first visit. Service was great and the staff were friendly.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had a bachelor and Bachelorette party come through today just after opening. We was denied a pitcher of water to take out to the patio or even to a table inside for those of us that were drinking and the DDs. We were told we could have an empty pitcher which idk why because what are we going to do with an empty pitcher? We had to continuesily order drinks inside at the bar which was another complete inconvenience so there was always 2 of us away from everyone else. For a Friday afternoon I would say you were under staffed. To wait 5 mins to order another round was a little ridiculous. But I will say the staff was absolutely great at what they do and very knowledgeable on the drinks. The last thing I will mention is the last time we was at the establishment there was a way better menu. The menu was pages long of all the different drinks, bourbons, beers, cocktails, etc. This time the menu only had beers and cocktails. We was told that we had to look at the wall of bottles to figure out what bourbon or whiskey we wanted. That again is absolutely ridiculous. Bring back your menu of all of your drinks or change your name. Fix your menu. We won't be back again until this is corrected nor will we promote this business like we did. Very disappointed after bragging about how great this place was last time we was there.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Craft Beer