Buchanan’s Sports Bar & Grill

Pleasantly surprised with this joint!
We went a little wary with the underwhelming reviews, but it was close, I was hungry, and it was happy hour (3-6).
The Happy Hour specials are pretty neat - $2 off drafts (and they have a huge selection), half off appetizers, and $5 well spirits.
Oh, and cuz it was a Wednesday, half off all whiskeys!

Being 5pm on a Wednesday, the place was pretty empty and the sign up front said bar seating only. Which was empty too, so it was fine.
Our server was not all smiles, but a bit more shy-ish, but not curt or rude, just shy-like. She was quite nice and service was prompt and efficient.
Interior was on the darker side (it’s a bar), but tastefully done and clean. TVs were great and sitting in the bar afforded some awesome views of the soccer game going on at the time.
Oh, the place is located inside the Bayshore Mall, on the second floor, next to the movie theater. Park in the Lydell garage, second floor, and you can come right into the building.

Cheese curds
These were great! Not hands down the best I’ve had, but very well done, quite tasty and came with a neat honey mustard sauce that felt very different from other honey mustards I’ve had.

Crab and Goat Cheese Balls
Five balls of deep fried cheese balls atop honey (says honey orange sauce, but it tasted like good honey), garnished with green onions.
Not my cup of tea, but I knew going in cuz I’m not a fan of goat cheese. Hubby wanted to try, but didn’t seem really wowed either.

Wings
Very well done, moist on the inside and crispy on the outside, just like I like it!
Didn’t try any naked ones and they don’t have dry rub, so we just had the tossed in 2 sauces. For 18 wings, we can choose 3, but we just went with 2. They came in rectangular bowls, and were tossed in sauce, and also swimming in sauce (which we could dunk our cheese curds in… yum)

Scotch glaze - very honey-ey with a tang of scotch as an aftertaste. On the sweet side.
Sweet Garlic Teriyaki - very sweet. Too sweet to taste the garlic. I’ll pass on this next time.

Next time, try the Buffalo (two guys who came in after us got 18 of them just Buffalo, and they looked good).
Perhaps try the bourbon BBQ. Maybe naked with sauce on side?

Onion rings
very crispy and delicious. If I had to chose, I'd go for the cheese curds, but these are a very close second.

Loaded Fries
So the fries here aren't terribly exciting. The "loaded" part of this is great though. The loaded part including the brisket ($5 uncharge, no discount for happy hour) is even better and worth the uncharge. Being on keto, I asked for the toppings to be on a separate plate, and that was delicious. But I wish they changed their potatoes or something... The fries themselves are just meh.

IPA
Boulevard Wheat - nah. Pass
Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA - quite hoppy, melikes.
Terrapin High and Hazy IPA - Hany Likes. Really good.

Overall an awesome happy hour dinner! The wings were so good and at such a great price point being half off that we didn’t try the burgers, but we will definitely be back, so we’ll try them next time.

Parking: Lydell garage floor 2 would be closest

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Beer Battered Wisconsin Cheese Curds

They have music Saturday evenings 2 to 4 times a month from 7 to 10pm. Great venue. Keep a lookout on the website

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

We had a chance to finally go to Buchanan’s on a Saturday afternoon. It was a very very light crowd of people which made our experience very personal. Our waitress was very nice, attentive and very patient. We had fish, fries and coleslaw. Everything was so tasty. I would definitely go again as they have a very tantalizing menu!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

First time dining at Buchanan's, and it'll be our last time.

Restaurant was practically empty prior to 6pm on a Tuesday, and we sat ourselves. It took several minutes for someone to bring us water, and even more for the same hostess to return to take our order.

Baked mac and cheese looked like it was from a box (with no breadcrumb topping as advertised in their menu). Taste was decent.

We also took advantage of their happy hour 1/2 price apps, which we had to ask to have adjusted as they were not reduced on the final bill.

They were apparently quite understaffed as both ladies who seemed to be working for the restaurant barely had knowledge of its operation (Our hostess said "I don't normally wait tables" and the other lady said "I don't know, I work at the restaurant next door" when asked about the rewards program). The rewards is a joke, as they couldn't figure out how to link my account to the purchase, so they eventually took the $10 off manually instead of using the points from the rewards signup.

Clearly this place feels like it's on its way out. Would definitely recommend Culver's for better food and service, and they're not even a table service kind of restaurant.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Good food but the theme seemed to have changed. The menu has been completely redone and its nothing compared to the menu they had before. No scotch eggs and the fish and chips are not the same! Its become general American bar food.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 5

Stopped in on a Saturday afternoon. Great appetizers and an excellent beer selection. A broad menu and excellent preparation and service. Highly recomnend

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I came here because I saw the fish online. My husband ordered the fish and I ordered the chicken strips. The bartender service was great but she kept trying to convince me to get the kids strips but I end up getting the regular strips and they were great. The fish on the other hand was horrible. It was dry and overcooked. It was so rubbery it was unedible. We were the last patrons of the restaurant of the night. The next day I called about 18 times and could not get an answer to speak to a manager. I am so disappointed that fish was $19.
I tried calling from Sunday to Thursday. Several times a day. No answer. I went in and was told there was no manager and no fish. I highly do not recommend.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 4

Vegetarian options: great mashed peas

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fish Fry

Great time at Wednesday night trivia hosted by Geeks Who Drink! Everyone loved their food, including the leek soup, house salad, double smashed burger, and chicken tenders. Fries were perfectly crispy. Loved sitting at a high top next to the open window and nice whiskey and on tap beer options. Looking forward to going back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Happy hour everyday from 3-6p 1/2 off apps. $2 off draft beers, $5 well spirits

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Such a fun spot - great food and drinks, nice staff, clean, and when we went the music they were playing was amazing. Will definitely come back :)

I Never had anything to remember let alone to want to go back to a restaurant so bad after just being there I was held in awe from the customer service the food and hospitality was superb I would and have already gave word to my friends and family amazing place pure

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Scotch Egg, 414 Fries

Worst dining experience in years. We arrived on time for our reservations and waited at the hostess stand for around 5 minutes and no one showed up to check us in. A bartender yelled over that we could sit anywhere. This was St. Patrick's day and there was only 2 other parties at tables. It took 15 more minutes before a waitress came. She asked us what our order was but no one even gave us a menu yet. We ordered drinks. 10 minutes later she brings my husband's beer and told me my "hot toddy" would be a few more minutes. Well, I did not order a "hot toddy" so I reminded her I ordered a whiskey and coke. Finally my drink came and we placed our food order. Bangers and Mash for me and the smash burger for my husband. She did not write down our order. Food finally came and I got a brat sandwich with fries. I told her that is not what I ordered and she took the plate back and told us it would be another 5 minutes. In the mean time she brought us a "free" appetizer of their loaded fries. Well, they were cold and cheese was congealed. Totally inedible. Finally my dinner came out and it was truly awful. The bangers were luke warm and just awful. We did not see her again until she brought the check. My meal was at least taken off. Husband though the burger was ok but not worth the $16 price tag. Yikes - that was rough. Otherwise - it's supposed to be an English Pub sort of vibe. Well, the music was BLASTING loud house music and they were playing BET music videos on the TV. Wow. I expect that this place will be closed within the year. Terrible food, service and vibe. We won't be back.

As much as I would like to give this place a raving review, I cannot do so, unfortunately. Let me start with the positives.My friend and I came in for his birthday on a Tuesday evening, 02/27/24. Our server lady was outstanding. She was polite, pleasant and easy to interact with. Their kitchen and bar also worked quite fast.Furthermore, the décor of this place is quite authentic and unique. It has a great Irish/Scottish feel to it. Everything also appears to be well-maintained and clean.Now, to some not-so-good aspects. Regrettably, the food was extremely subpar in quality. My curry chicken was very dry and barely edible. Potatoes and rice that I received with it tasted bland and dry too. My friend's Rueben sandwich was quite mediocre too, at best. I have to say that the food was quite trashy overall.In light of these facts, I think I am being generous by giving this place 3 stars. Considering their pricing, they must do better.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 5

We went here on a Friday night, and it was not very busy. We arrived at 6:30pm and were able to get seated immediately. They had a sign that said we should seat ourselves, but a hostess gave us a little playful slack about seating ourselves. I am assuming it was a miscommunication, but it was an odd way to start the night. The drinks were a reasonable price. The food appeared to be expensive, but when we received it, the portion sizes on the entrees were great. We ordered beers, a gin and tonic, and appetizers (Pretzel Sticks and Crab & Goat Cheese Croquettes). The gin and tonic was mixed well, and the appetizers came out shortly after the drinks. Both appetizers were very good, and I would get them again. We ordered the Curry Chicken and the Fish & Chips. Both portions were big enough to take a portion home with us. At the end of the night I noticed a sign for all you can eat fish & chips, but this was never mentioned to us or shown on the menu. All in all, I would come back to try this again. I am hoping to come back soon for a soccer match or to experience the restaurant with the rolling windows open in the summer.

Parking: This is located inside the Bayshore mall on the second floor by the move theater/bowling alley. I would recommend parking in the parking structure by the Target.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Mushy Peas, Beer Battered Fish and Chips, Pretzel Sticks