Independent Public Alehouse

Not bad. I tried the Little Red Rooster, a sliced chicken sandwich with pesto and mozzarella. I didn’t care for the Cuban roll, but all of the ingredients were fresh and the mozzarella sliced thick. My hub ordered the Texas Twister and, as shown on the menu, this is truly a «house smoked» brisket, tender and with a great smoky flavor, with quite a bite for those of you who like spice. Our food was delivered quickly by a very friendly guy from the kitchen, and our busy waitress/​bartender regularly made sure we had what we needed. I’m not a beer drinker so can’t speak to their selections, but saw quite a few written on the board at the bar.
This is not a fancy place, rather a neighborhood bar with very sparse décor. I believe the main draw besides their large menu is the music, which we didn’t care for this particular night, but look forward to returning for another artist later this month. It looks as if they regularly showcase many different types of music, which makes this a great place for all different tastes. Parking is tight in front, but just go around back and there are plenty of spaces.

IPA manages to have some pretty delicious food. We have been here twice to get dinner and the food was delicious. The Pigpen Wings are delicious little pork shanks coated in sauce (the Apple BBQ is seriously awesomesauce!!). Their regular hot sauce is surprisingly pretty spicy, so be prepared for it to be hotter than the usual buffalo wing sauces in this area. They mostly have appetizers and sandwiches on the menu, with a board of specials which changes daily. Their prices are a little on the high side for bar food, but the food is higher quality than most bar food.
They have a nice selection of microbrews on tap, more than just domestics. Beer prices are reasonable at $ 4 – 5 for microbrews and cheaper on domestics. They also have a full bar and frequent entertainment on the weekends. I’ve been here once to see a band play and it was pretty nice. They have a small stage and music area on the back side of the bar.
The biggest problem I have with this place is that every time we’ve come they’ve had some technical issues. Twice I have been here and they were out of more than half of their beers. Both times it was on a night when they were scheduled to have live music perform, and one night they only had PBR and Yuengling left on tap. They also ran out of several of their dinner specials listed on the board at 6:00 on a Saturday. This seems very bizarre to me. Service is also spotty at times. It not uncommon for one waitress to be running trying to serve people at the tables while the bartender and other staff just sit around and watch.
The food is definitely good and it’s a good place to catch interesting live music, but this place needs to iron out some of their technical issues.

The best, we strive to try to make it that way. My name is Allen and if you ever have a problem please feel free to call me and let me know. 864−640−0240. We appreciate your business. Thank you and have a great day!!!

Great spot for good food, booze and music.
Everyone is very friendly and happy to help you out.
The food really stands out as very good.
Top shelf chef
Beer is cold, too
They have Abita Purple Haze
The stage is in a great place
You can move around and dance if needed
The outdoor patio is really nice too
Bathroom was clean

With a name like I.P.A i was expecting a real craft brew driven bar or maybe a large assortment of IPA’s. When I asked what they had for IPA’s, I think it was two or three. It was probably an off night (being that it was a weeknight) but they had live music and the place was dead. The music was great and the setup is cool where you can be hanging out at the bar in front, the outside patio in back, or in what I would call the «band room». The band played to a mostly empty room while a few locals sat at the bar. Even the bartenders seemed bummed out about the whole thing. Hopefully it’s better on other nights because I’d like to come back.

Good menu, friendly staff, nice beer selection, half price happy hour with cool bands late-​night.

Long overdue review. We visited IPA back in March during the Greenville Small Plates Crawl event (a 3-​day event first year). The restaurant was a quaint place with good service and an interesting array of beers offered. I must say that I’m a little surprised to see the wide variance in review ratings.
However, back to our visit… two couples embarked on discovery of many of the dishes specially created for the SP Crawl event. We went on DAY TWO at noon. First off WHAT I HAD WANTED… Buffalo Sliders… sold out the first night!
I switched to a «fall back» choice of shrimp and grits… deliciously DIFFERENT at IPA. I love shrimp… so I really love shrimp and grits. It is a dish prepared universally throughout the south & southeast coastal areas up to Virginia at least. There might be a MILLION ways to prepare a dish called shrimp and grits… I have only scratched the surface exploring all the possibilities. Very common is the Tasso Ham gravy version which has many devotees.
At IPA I experienced a FIRST… never before had I been to a restaurant that served shrimp and grits with a «gravy» that incorporated bacon! I was not sure what to expect. but it was a delicious gravy that had a bacon component that did not take over, but complimented the other flavors. Add the creamy grits and the shrimp cooked just right for a DELIGHTFUL SURPRISE treat.
Another of my favorites is Key Lime Pie… and yes, IPA created a pie for the event… USING BACON! OH MY… reading about the offering «Bacon Key Lime Pie» boggled the imagination. I had no idea what to expect, BUT I WAS COMPELLED to try it. No way I could have gone there and NOT ORDERED the Bacon Key Lime Pie! That was true for others in our party as well. Turns out the crisp bacon crumbles were an ingredient added to the graham crust as it was being baked. AWESOME & I am surprised I’ve NEVER SEEN this delicious combination tried together anywhere else ever in my travels! (I hope it made it to their regular menu.)
I am looking forward to next year’s Greenville Small Plates Crawl (2^nd annual) so I can return to IPA for the Bacon Key Lime Pie! I hope to see both the event and the pie repeated again in March 2015.

Went there last night to eat. Sat at the bar with 2 other people, no one else at the bar. Was asked one time during the whole night what i wanted to drink. Never offered a refill. Food was awful. Texas chili could be really good, if it was moderately warm. Mine was cold. Same with chicken in buffalo soldier wrap. Must have forgot to microwave the chicken long enough.
Overall a gross experience. Food was bad. Service was worse. Atmosphere was not good either.

I.P.A is such a cute place!
My fiancé and I stopped in one afternoon while in town and I am so glad we did!
The décor inside was different but eclectic. They have some booths, a big bar and also a stage where bands come and play. There was a lady working there by herself and she was so nice! She recommended items on the menu and was just so cheerful it was refreshing!
We ordered pickle chips and man they were so yummy!!! FO lunch I ordered the Steak Gyro and it was so big I had a hard time finishing it! The steak was cooked to perfection and the seasoning was a tad spicy but soo yummy!
Can’t wait to go back and try more!

AWESOME PLACE!
Stopped in for lunch and sure glad I did. This place is an amazing place. I really like the décor and what they put out. I plan on coming back to see a band play on night.
I ordered the brisket sandwich which was priced extremely well for the quality of food you get. I got their fries with the smilie dipping sauce. Sadly I do not remember the name of the sandwich and online they haven’t updated much of the menu. We also ordered pickle chips were standard pickle chips, but that smilie sauce was really good.
Definitely need to come back and try a burger. I have been told by many that they have the best burger. It’ll be a few months but when we move up, we will be back!!!

Yummy food! Craft Beers! Great music! Great people! This is one of my favorite places in Greenville :)

The Chicken Philly with the goat cheese sauce special needs to be on the menu all the time! It’s out. Of. Control. Throw in the mac bites and the local beer selection — heaven! Love this local joint!!!

I went here this weekend after several decent visits in the past. We went with friends and each had a living social coupon. When it was time to pay, someone (who hadn’t been our server) told us that «even though the app says they aren’t expired they expired last weekend.» WTF?! She said the printout had a different date, but who prints them out these days?! It was so bizarre, the app clearly said expires 7÷28÷14 and this went down 7÷5÷14. Maybe they are having probs with living social, I don’t know, but it seems like they should post that they won’t accept the coupon somewhere in the restaurant and accept it anyway as customer service since they get paid by living social either way. The whole thing was weird and when we said we wanted to talk with the owner they suddenly accepted it. Really sketchy. Super disappointed by a new place I have been really excited about.

Terrible customer service, and horribly overpriced. Had to ask our bartenders repeatedly for drinks and silverware. The first 2 things we ordered off the menu (spicy pimiento cheese dip and then queso dip) were both out (on a sat afternoon before 6 pm), and I ordered chili cheese fries, but got fries with only cheese (no chili) and was charged $ 10 for them! Outrageous price for an incredibly small portion. Tried to email both managers listed on website, but they were returned as undeliverable. Similarly, tried to call several times to no avail. Definitely DO NOT RECOMMEND. For the $ 50 my husband and I spent here and left still hungry, we could have had steaks and beers at Texas Roadhouse or Outback. Lots of great local places in the Greenville area; skip this one!

Great food, poor service. Sit at the bar if you want decent service. Went to eat dinner around 6pm. Not crowded but Seemed to be forgotten at the tables.

They have some great bands, but hardly enough space for some of the show’s fan bases. Always seems to be full of drunk frat boys and coke heads. Once waited on the bathroom for 25 minutes, when out poured a large man and 3 very messed up women, all with residue smeared across their faces.
I would recommended an extra bartender on the weekend, so people like myself could get better service, but I don’t think the general public has any issues getting tanked here.
I would consider visiting during the day for lunch, I’ve heard the food is good. Décor is barren, waitstaff drunks.
Of course I will return so I can enjoy my favorite bands. Please clean the bathrooms.

5 stars for what is is. I’ve been there three times and and will go back again for the food and atmosphere. The menu is a mix and mach format so next time I’ll have the brisket and and pepper jack grits. IPA is affordable ($ 6 duck fat fries are a whole meal) and when I was there at dinner time cool blues music was playing from the killer sound system they use for live music. The place is chill with a cool crowd and a nice selection of cold craft beers on tap. My wife loves that, because it’s outside downtown, parking is no problem.

Stopped while running errands on Saturday. Had the pulled pork on grits with mustard based sauce; BEST lunch I’ve eaten in 4 or 5 years. Last thing that came close was jerk salmon (coconut milk and fried banana side) in Kitty Hawk this past fall.
Get you some… and grits on the menu. Choices are pork, brisket, chicken, catfish and veggies. Marconi & Cheese another house specialty. Also, heard they do fries in rendered duck fat.
Food to die for at a great price and great location.