I have heard a lot of good things about Cityside – great beers, great bar food, great place to watch a game. After finally visiting I can tell you they have good beers, mediocre food, and it really isn’t that great a place to watch the game.
Cityside is deceptively small, with booths and seats packed into nooks and crannies, and poles jutting through different sections of the restaurant. The downstairs bar is super small, and sight lines and space are in short supply. The management has obviously tried to make up for this by wallpapering the dining rooms with TVs, but I did not find it to be a particularly comfortable place to eat – blasted with light from TV’s and still straining your neck to watch the game you’re actually interested in.
Beer selection was better – Cityside carries Sam Red, which is a very underrated beer. A few of my other favorites were there too. This is not a Sunset-caliber collection of beers, but its very good.
Food was another story – the food is not that good. I ordered buffalo tenders and the California burger. The tenders were juicy bordering on soggy – not the best I’ve ever had but good…but the burger was a disaster. Served with old, small, generally low quality slices of avodaco with bacon and cheddar – the burger was dry as a bone and avocado tasteless. I couldn’t believe how lousy that burger was. The turkey burger my gf ordered was dry also. Again, disappointing.
Insult to injury was the bill – 1 order of buffalo wings, 2 burgers, 2 beers = $41!!!!!! Not including tip! Really?! For food of this quality we should have just gone to Sunset and it would have been $5-$10 cheaper.
For the record there weren't many BC students there when I visited, but I'd hate to be there when you have no room to move. Definitely won't be back.
Pros: Beer selection, TV's everywhere, decent wings
Cons: crowded, expensive, so-so food, uncomfortable
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