Bastone Brewery

We had a reservation last night for a group of 8 we made earlier in the week. When I arrived the restaurant was at most 30% full. The hostess refused to seat me, the first one arriving. I pointed out the restaurant was almost empty and making us wait until 4 people showed up was pointless. It wasn’t like they were going to fill up
In the next 30 minutes on a Thursday night. I asked to speak to the manager at which point she gave me a very rude look and eventually went and got him. He continued to refuse to seat us and had no good reason other than «it’s our policy». I can understand if this was Friday night and there was a line. We had a prior reservation and the place was never more than half full the entire time we were there. After 4 of us showed up and the hostess finally let us sit down. Had she seated us earlier we probably would have bought 3 – 4 drinks while waiting so money lost for Bastone’s. The hostess then tried to give us a side booth that in no way was setup for a group our size while there was plenty of normal tables available to push together. We asked for a different empty table which she grumbled about and then gave us. She had to ask to make sure it was available among the room full of empty tables. I’m not sure what good getting a reservation was considering they couldn’t seat us in a mostly empty place. The server we got was fairly slow with drinks and food was nothing special. We have been here before for group get together’s several times in the last year and always had a table at the start of our reservation. I’m not sure why this time suddenly they decided to forget all hospitality. We won’t be back.

This place sucks. Very bad service. They do not have any desire to work with you to accommodate your party’s size, nor did they take into account that we had a very elderly person with us who was tired. Hostess was very rude. Strongly do not recommend.

Went on a busy Saturday night, so service wasnt great at first, but another waiter stepped up and made sure we always had drinks.
The food was super tasty. My wife had fish tacos while I had the prime rib sandwich. Atmosphere was nice. Would definitely recommend.

Had heard of this brewery at beer fests, had never made the trip until I saw it featured on a show about Michigan breweries. The show made it seem like a great place so I checked it out. The beer was pretty good, nothing to go crazy about. The service was good but again nothing that stood out. All around odd vibe, not at all what I was expecting. Didn’t seem like I was at a Michigan brewery but more like a high end restaurant. Needless to say with so many other great breweries in the area, I wont be returning.

The service was a bit uneven, as was the food. The beer was very good, though, and the prices at lunchtime were very reasonable. Our waiter arrived promptly, but after we asked for a couple of minutes to decide on our drinks, he didn’t reappear until several minutes later. He was nice and apologized for the delay; he was fine after that. The pomme frites were not as crispy as I would have liked, but the flavored mayos were good. The potato and leek soup was very good, with fresh herbs and bacon. The corned beef sandwich on Texas toast was fine – nothing special. The potato chips were mostly crumbs, more oily than crispy. The Dubbel Vision beer was dark and tasty; the Royal IPA was very good – one of my favorite beers ever. I might give this place another shot, if only for the beer.

First, let me say this review is only for the food. Why? After an initial greeting, it took our wait person so long to get back to our table that I decided to just have water.
Hearing that the pomme frites were good here, my pal and I tried them. Not bad but they weren’t crispy as other people said they would be. They seemed to be saturated in oil actually (soggy) but still pretty tasty.
My lunch entrée was disappointing. The fish tacos themselves weren’t too bad but the rice that came with it tasted as if it had been cooked in dirty dish water.
Don’t think I’ll be back too soon.

Remember that time you ordered avocado on your burger and you got a small slice of an avocado that was cut open roughly 10 hours ago? Yeah, me too. Otherwise, the vibe is cool and they have some outdoor seating which is nice. If one of their cooks wasn’t lazy, the pricing would make sense, but a bit on the high side for lackluster presentation. Sorry, I like my avocados ripe… and green.
Then again, it’s a brewery. The beer is good. Priced about right for a brewery. Service is serviceable. Would come back again for the beer, not specifically the food. Although that rotten avocado is hard to forget…

I eat lunch in RO almost 5 days a week for the last 10 years. Been here twice about 7 years ago and never came back until this week. Not much has changed.
Service is ok. Not good, not terrible, but just ok.
Place has not updated since they opened. Sure, they opened a basement bar, a wine bar next four, and got rid of the attached Cuban restaurant, but this place is a time capsule in terms of décor and menu. Just old and tired.
If you like butter, grease, or oil, this is your place. Everything has excessive amounts of some form of these.
Not really good for lunch.

Friday night looking for a place with no wait, Bastone has tables, so why not. Well no wait isn’t always a good sign, and Bastone just isn’t that good, the food was ok, service it was ok. Went with a party of 5 everyone thought their food was just ok, we were lookin for a bright spot with the beer, but no one was really that impressed, and mine tasted soapy and it really wasn’t very good, then the bill for 5 comes and it was $ 135 yea we all got a beer, sandwiches, pizza nothing special, but $ 135, it just wasn’t worth it.

Food was great!!!
But the BEER!!!
Yuck!
I went there to try it only to find their Draft System totally inadequate for a micro brewery!
You could smell the slinky beer indicating the lines are not being cleaned properly!
Then I noticed the chrome plated brass faucets. Pouring fine crafted beer thru these is like pulling your beer thru a swear on the way to your glass!
Finally the bartender was actually putting the faucet into the beer in the glass… yuck!
Who knows the last time they cleaned that faucet?
Go for the food which is great
Stay away from the beer until they learn how to serve it!!!

This place will always have a special place in my heart. My fiancé took me here for dinner before he proposed. My opinion might be a little biased.
They have the best French fries. They’re crisp and flavorful and come with dipping sauces. I definitely recommend them for an appetizer. I got a flat bread pizza that was yummy. My fiancé ordered mac and cheese that was super yummy. I don’t remember what type of beer he ordered, but it was fantastic. We really enjoyed our dinner here. I can’t wait to go back.

I have to be completely honest… I have been here several times over the past few years and each time I am reluctant to go but other people I’m with suggest it and I follow. Each time I think, «Maybe it will be better.» Then it’s not. It’s like I relive foodie regrets Groundhogs Day style. Reliving subpar foodie (and bad service) experiences over and over again. I’m shocked the reviews are so high…
I’ll first start with the food and then some annoyances. The food is decent. But decent doesn’t seem to cut it anymore when there are so many fantastic places popping up in Royal Oak and Ferndale. To me, it seems like this restaurant is relying on a past reputation and still attracts those dedicated die-​hard patrons. They have this, «We’re Bastones and I don’t have to be excellent because you’re coming back attitude anyway.» Ennt. Think again.
The potato soup is good. Is it as good as Seldon Standards? No. But they can’t be compared. It’s definitely nice to get a cup of potato leek on a cold night. It’s probably the only place around that has that soup so they have a leg up on other places that offer soup.
The farmhouse turkey Reuben is nothing special. Turkey Reuben’s are one of those sandwiches you just crave. I love them. In general they are nothing amazing but they taste amazing and that’s all that matters. Bastones is the standard turkey, coleslaw, cheese, and honey mustard on rye.
The steak sandwich is a different story. It’s not standard at all. They put their own twist on this one. A grilled steak, white cheddar, crisp bacon, field greens, mustard crème fraiche between two potato pancakes for 13 bucks is pretty decent AND it’s good! Anything between two fried potato pancakes has to be good.
I have sampled many of their dishes and they are all A-​OK.
Let’s get real here… Bastones shines with the pomme frites and the dips that come with them. The fries mostly always come out crispy and the artichoke aioli is on point. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure. Now, I love fries. They are my favorite thing to eat. I crave them, need them, love them. I’m just not sure their fries are good enough to make me ‘want’ to come here on the regular. Well, I am sure because I don’t come on the regular.: /​
I’m not sure if their burger selection is similar to that of Beer Monk Abbey but I was not a fan of that establishment either. I tried a sampling of all the burgers and they just didn’t do it for me. They sounded awesome but in the taste department they were just lacking and overcooked.
Now some small annoyances. These are only two, but just multiply these small annoyances by 50 and this is Bastones.
One thing I dislike is when restaurants have strange rules that don’t make sense. Example, one time when I stopped in I missed the lunch menu by approximately 15 minutes. However a sandwich I wanted wasn’t on the dinner menu. I asked if they could make the sandwich and I would pay extra but the answer was no. They can’t make anything not on the dinner menu during that time. I asked if they had all the ingredients to make the sandwich. They said yes. The waiter refused to ask if the chef/​cooks would do it. That’s not a deal breaker, but just annoying because it was something they could easily do. Ok. Nbd.
The other time my friends (3 of us total) and I wanted to sit in the empty area between beer monk and Bastones. It’s a quiet space, and no one was in it. It’s difficult to hear in the large main area at Bastones. I’m probably getting old but I like to hear my friends when we have conversations. Crazy I know. My friend asked if we could sit in the empty area since no one was there. They said no with no explanation. I asked what the area was used for and was ignored by the waiter… Even though I was standing right in front of him. He just stared above my head and pretended I wasn’t there. I even said «hello?» Awwwwkward. The hostess then showed us to a booth in the main area. I asked her if the other area was used for special events or just closed for the evening and she said sometimes it is for events or overflow. But people do sit there. Then the waiter came back and said the area was specifically for special events. So I guess he did hear me but just didn’t want to answer during the moment I was standing in front of him asking him a question. Again. Annoying.
I know these are not huge disaster stories, but this is just generally how service is. Not accommodating, not friendly, and rarely on point. Maybe I’m just going on off days. Maybe the waiters/​waitresses I get are just having a bad day/​night. But for a place that has decent food and ok drinks. I don’t think it’s worth wasting my time. I can pay less, get better food and service down the street.
I’m hoping they realize that they may need to step it up a bit because there are lots of new kids on the block rolling in and they may be a has-​been soon enough. Sounds harsh but honest. It’s not always about the food. It’s about the service too.

The burger was alright. Not bad at all, just nothing to jump and down about. The french fries were a little disappointing. They are advertised as though they are these special fries, but really they seem quite regular. They a just fine and the dip they give you is good, just nothing special. It is a fine restaurant, just nothing amazing in my opinion when you order the burger and fries.

All I can say is wow… I’ve been fortunate to have traveled to many places in the world and eat at spectacular restrauraunts. With that being said, I didn’t expect that I’d have the best steak of my life at Bastrone Brewery, but that’s what happened. I had the steak frites and it was out of this world spectacular, and I’m a steak snob… I had it med-​rare with mushrooms… Delectable.
In addition, there was a good beer selection, the ambiance was very warm, and the service was perfect.
We made a reservation and even though it was a very busy night, we had our table right on time… Just as we reserved.
I cannot wait to go back there, I’m definitely going to spread the word.

This review is overdue but I can’t forget to write it. I threw a private, surprise birthday party at Bastone, and the experience from start to finish was wonderful. I can’t speak more highly of Scott, the events coordinator there. (And I should point out that I did my homework in Detroit, Royal Oak and Ferndale, reached out to multiple places, and if people didn’t ignore me, they definitely didn’t seem as enthusiastic about what I wanted to do than Scott did.)
I was most impressed with the communication. I didn’t exactly know what I wanted, and all my options were laid out for me, including an estimate. That helped me plan and budget. The party was held in the lower level, and we were able to get there early to decorate and set it up the way we wanted. Scott was our bartender for the night so it was nice that he was there throughout the whole party, rather than seeing us in the beginning and then showing up again when it was time to pay. He was wonderful, and my other friends even mentioned how cool he was.
The menu has plenty of options for cold and hot appetizers, and different levels of plated dinners depending on what you want and the cost (that’s all decided in advance). The level that I chose had the option of steak, salmon, chicken pasta, mushroom risotto and a roasted veggie pasta, and they all came with a salad. While you can get dessert bites from the kitchen, we were able to bring our own cake, which was amazing.
The space itself is great. We had about 20 of us and we had ample room for mingling and moving about and even dancing. There was even an area off to the side with a U-​shaped couch that was more private. There’s also a bluetooth speaker to play the tunes you want. Seriously, everything I wanted was available.
The only minor downside is that at around 9 or 10 p.m. the space downstairs next to where we were turns into a nightclub, which meant that we had strangers wondering what we were doing because the only set of stairs led to our area. To get to the nightclub you had to go through another door. That’s also where the restrooms were.

Just stopped in for a couple brews so I can’t speak to the food. Beer was OK nothing special here, I had the ipa which supposedly won second place at the great American beer fest, it had good hoppiness and not to bitter but nothing unique, the witbier I was not impressed with, the description on the menu made it sound great but lacked flavor. Service was good but we were here at 3:00pm it was their slow time.

I went here for lunch a few weeks ago and it was really quite delicious. The space is also quite beautiful. It’s a great place for a business lunch or a drink at happy hour. I had a sandwich, which was excellent. The fries were really good too.

Bastone Brewery is a restaurant with a cool vibe and good beer, but the food was just okay. The steak in the sandwich I ordered was bland and unseasoned. The waffles we ordered for dessert were limp and heavy. The French fries were good and so was the lemon tart, but overall the food needs to be elevated in order to be a place I would come back to.

Let me start out by saying the service here was 5*. We were a party of 10 and Crystal W did a phenomenal job getting all the food right and on time and the checks were all perfect — -amazing. A friendly, great server makes a meal that much more enjoyable!
The food too was very good I started with the potato & leek soup de jour. It was a smooth potato soup with excellent seasoning of leeks. I then had the appetizer serving of quiche. My wife had the Chicken Pasta and loved it. We ended with baby scones and profiterole for desserts —a perfect ending.

We had a large group but the waitress had unnecessary sass and I swear brought me the wrong drink purposely. She was rude and took her time with everything– she didn’t check back with us regularly and she was so distraught she tried to hand us to someone else… After half of our group got their food. The food is pretty good and every other time my service was okay. This server ruined it.

mussels were great and everything went down hill from there. the drinks were weak and the bartender slow and disinterested in her costumers. I guess the powerful pull of our cell phones even at work is more important than doing our jobs… the restaurant has a good menu just noting that was wow to me?

Good dinner with good friends. Upon coming in, they were able to find our reservation and the host led me back to our table. It seems that as I sat down, immediately the waiter was over asking for my drink order. Because I had never been here, I wasn’t sure yet which seemed to annoy him. Nonetheless, I ended up with the IPA that was delicious and very hoppy, but just what I was looking for.
There was a large group of us, good friends who hadn’t gotten together in a while so we spent some time catching up versus looking at the menu. Which alas, seemed to annoy our waiter that we weren’t ready. I finally decided on the steak salad, medium steak as it sounded like it would be some sliced steak atop a hearty portion of warm greens with sliced potatoes and tomatoes. It seemed far from a salad, more of a large portion of steak with a very side small salad that was overdressed. There were so many fingerling potatoes (at least 8 – 10 that were sliced into halves) that I couldn’t finish them all. While it was a delicious steak cooked perfectly, I was a little misled.

Had one of the Belgian blue beef burgers (great alliteration), with truffle wild mushrooms and smoked Gouda. The beef was tasty (medium-​rare), and bakery roll was surprisingly good.
But the fries were the star for me. Not too thick, not too thin, crispy outside and perfectly cooked inside, accompanied with a roasted garlic mayo. Not too garlic-​y, which I liked.
I had the Three Legged IPA, which is seasonal. A summery IPA, not too hoppy, a little citrus, and not fruity, which I prefer out of a summer beer.
I went for lunch on a slow Saturday so I cannot speak to the service on a busy night. But a solid burger, really good fries, and well-​brewed Michigan craft beer. What else do you want out of a brewpub?

I like Bastone for their beer. They have several wonderful beers that they brew. For the beer, I’d totally say this is a 4 star rating. We can always get seated. It’s nice that Monk and Craft are all right there.
The food is where I’m just not sure how to feel. I’ve enjoyed meals in the past. The pizza and sandwiches are pretty good. The pretzels are delicious. You get quite a few in the basket. Unfortunately, on this trip they had run out of them. We ordered the Charcuterie plate. That was a joke. It came with some ham (or turkey?) deli meat, canned salmon, 1 kind of cheese, olives, roasted garlic, a sprinkle of dried cranberries and walnuts with arugula served with flat bread. Um. I’ve had several Charcuterie plates and this was terrible. The meat choices were terrible, no spread of any kind. Deli meat and canned salmon? Really?
We both ordered the filet mignonettes. I ordered a caesar salad with mine and my husband ordered the french onion soup. My salad was not very good. It had an overbearing flavor of anchovy. I couldn’t eat it. My husband liked his soup though. The main dish was OK. It reminded me of beef stew. The meat wasn’t very tender but it was ok. I think they ran out of mashed potatoes because my husband had cauliflower mixed in. I think they were trying to hide the fact that they didn’t have enough. I had plenty mashed potatoes and no cauliflower on my plate.
I will probably stick with what I know is good here. The beer, pizza, pretzel sticks, and sandwiches.

I had high hopes for this place. It’s in a great location with a good vibe. I ordered the steak on a waffle and fries. I wanted to try their fries. They sounded really different. The waffle was excellent but the steak was not tender. The food there is pretty expensive. I expected tender steak when paying for a meal that cost over $ 30 for one person.
The service was average. A little bit slow but the place was crowded for a Thursday night.
Would I go back? Probably not. I’m not a beer drinker so I ended up having wine which was good.

I adore Royal Oak so I like to come up with excuses to visit. This time, it was to check out a brew pub called Monk Beer Abbey. We actually didn’t realize that we were seated in Bastone until I got up to use the bathroom and passed by a doorway that lead into Monk Beer Abbey. I think both places share the same kitchen and serve the same beer so I was not upset.
It was a quiet Wednesday evening and when we enquired about sitting on the patio, we were told it was already closed for the day, even though it was only 8pm.
We ordered 2 servings of mussels — beer & onion and wine & blue cheese flavours ($ 10.95) and the frites ($ 5.95) with 2 dipping sauces — fresh tarragon and roasted garlic. Of course libations were necessary. I tried the Dubble Vision and the Royal IPA (both $ 6.95).
The mussels were pretty good and I really enjoyed the beer & onion ones. I was impressed the the wine & blue cheese flavour actually had hunks of blue cheese in the broth. Frites were done perfect and we really should have just ordered 2 of the roasted garlic dipping sauces.
I wasn’t sure that I was going to like the Dubble Vision. I was afraid that it would be too hoppy but it was very close to a stout and extremely light to drink for a dark beer. Went perfect with the mussels.
Happy to visit Royal Oak again to check out a few of the other brew pubs but will gladly recommend Bastone to any beer lover.

I recently have had the pleasure of dining here twice within a week so I have two reviews; one for lunch and the other for dinner.
Visit #1 — Lunch review: I’m not one to go over the deep end about a salad and you can also see from most of my reviews that I’m not just a salad girl but the Grilled Chicken Salad at Bastone is definitely noteworthy. I haven’t often seen a salad that comes with strawberry and cantaloupe and such a delicious yogurt dressing. The portion of chicken is pretty small but it’s just enough. Our waiter was a bit bizarre and couldn’t really recommend the beer from his experience but we all selected different types (the wheat saison for me) and they were OK.
Visit #2 — Dinner review: Went simple and had burger (no bun) & fries. The meat was really lean and tasty. Their fries and dipping sauce were a great side to accompany the burger. My dinner guest had the veggie pizza. At first we thought that the dough was undercooked but there was just a thick layer of cheese that made the first cut pretty gooey. It ended up being really good and well paired with the house Chardonnay. Our waiter was very nice and attentive during this visit.
I’ve been here before for some munchies while hitting up other spots in Royal Oak. Their pretzel sticks and cheese sauce are also really good, especially if you’ve had a few adult bevs!

I wish I could give this place a higher score, but from what I’ve experienced so far two stars is an accurate ranking.
The staff here sucks with a few exceptions. All five times I’ve been here my girlfriend and I were greeted by a snotty hostess who came off as pretentious, entitled and unhappy to be working. I get it, you don’t like your job. That’s not our problem if we are paying you for hospitality. A few of their waiters and bartenders are cool, notably the tall gay guy that waited on us for brunch who had excellent recommendations and always had our drinks filled. Also there’s a girl behind the bar with dyed hair, she has a bit of a tough cookie demeanor but was very attentive, knew the home products front and back and was witty in a palatable and humorous way.
The food. All in all the food here is not bad. Their savory waffles are delish as was the beer braised pork belly (minus the currants) and the chicken and waffle dish on the brunch menu. However I would say that despite my hollow leg the portions here are too small for the price you pay. The plating is extremely basic, void of thought or creativity. Come on guys, if you’re going to over charge me for a dinner at least make it look cool, or try to at least.
The reason I keep coming back? The beer. The beer here is fucking fantastic. I’ll drink 2×22oz Dubbel visions which is their darker brew and exit walking on sunshine. Also they have a new Summer Saison Amber that is like no other saison I’ve tried so far. Hints of mango and spice make this beer an absolute winner.
In summation, give it a go if you’re a local beer enthusiast and you don’t mind filling the cracks with craft beer.

You Michiganders are quite lucky. With over 170 in-​state breweries, the abundance of places to score some great craft beer is mind boggling. Every time we come to Michigan to visit my daughter, we try to avail ourselves of at least a few new ones and perhaps a repeat of some of our favorites. Just to keep things in perspective mind you. And we’ve been to tons all over the state. This past freezing cold Saturday we tried Bastone in Royal Oak.
This is a beer, atmosphere, and bar food review so don’t look for input on dinner or brunch. Beer is what we are talking about. And it is great beer. Ok, so there aren’t a lot of beers on tap — five or six when we visited — but the quality was first rate. The Royal IPA had a very hop forward taste that I especially loved. The Pilsner was distinctly European which I consider a bonus. Loved everything I tried.
We sat at the bar and absolutely loved the atmosphere. I could see spending considerable time planted right there if I lived locally. We sampled some appetizers including the crispy artichoke fritters and the fried calamari. The calamari was just average but the artichoke fritters? Killer!!! Highly recommended. Try them with the IPA. Youll be glad you did.
I’ll be back. So should you.

A group of us girls went here for lunch Wednesday and it was amazing!
I had the steak sandwich cooked med-​rare and instead off buns it was sandwiched between two hash brown patties
Absolutely amazing!!!
Deserts are great too! Mini cannolis and chocolate covered strawberries. Yumm!

A group of 12 of us sleepily staggered into here for brunch the morning after a wedding. It wasn’t packed and we easily got a nice big table in the back and ordered a few pitchers of beer. I wish I got the waiters name, but he was awesome and liked us so much, he gave us a free pitcher! He was happy that we all ordered our meals without asking for any weird substitutions or giving him problems. I also liked that he brought out about 10 different bottles of hot sauce when I asked for some! My salmon omelette was good, but after tasting the chicken and waffles I wanted to go back in time to order that! I honestly don’t remember which beers we had since I didn’t order them, but I liked the blonde ale.
This is a really nice place and the rest of the menu sounded really good. I will definitely be back the next time I’m in the area!

Bastone is blessed with having the perfect location, design and menu for downtown Royal Oak. The key to success for dining here is to keep your order as simplistic as possible. I roll with the Pomme Fries, Margherita Thin Crust Pizza, a few beers and I’m good. That’s it. No questions about the menu, no special requests and certainly no four course meal. Why? Because outside of a decent bartender or two, the hostess and servers are usually too cool for school to give their customers even the bare minimum of basic customer service.
I flipped on a manager one Saturday night for not being greeted or even noticed by a server after 10 minutes (eternity) of being seated. Another time, I walked in on a weekday happy hour and was the only person there. Not the only customer mind you, no I mean the only SINGULAR PERSON in the Bastone Brewery. No employees, no customers but yet they were open. Eventually, I was served a beer and then left alone again. I waited 15 minutes for a refill that never came. I just walked out.
But they get four stars because the environment is utterly fantastic and I find that I really enjoy what I order from them. Outstanding, award winning beers too and the lunch menu is admittedly a much better deal than dinner. I like it better on a chill Saturday or Sunday afternoon when I have the time for slow service because it’s definitely not worth any type of wait or the hustle and bustle on a busy night.