Situated far from the trendier downtown restaurant scene, the Wetlands Brew Pub and Sports Bar offers a varied selection of food and drink that belies its no-frills ambiance.
Located at 922 Garfield St., the bar absorb the dull glow from the plethora of televisions and neon signs scattered about. Tables, booths and pool tables section off the bar into three separate areas. Combined with low ceilings and dim lighting, the main room appears deceivingly small.
Though no beer is brewed on-site, the bar boasts a selection of 50 tap beers along with an extensive two-page specialty drink menu and a surprisingly diverse food selection.
The menu offers a full range of appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, burgers, entrees and breakfast offerings. Sandwiches are priced between $4.75 and $7.50, while entrees are modestly priced between $7.50 and $9.
Traditional pub fare like burgers and fries are rounded out with Thai satay chicken skewers and steak kabobs. The menu proclaims the Ocho Rios sandwich to be the best jerk chicken sandwich in town. It comes with onions, lettuce, tomato, pineapple, red bell peppers and salsa on a French roll.
Bartender Josh Tuckman said the diverse selection makes for one of the best bar menus in town because it goes well beyond traditional pub food.
An outdoor smoking area was recently transformed into a spacious patio complete with big screen televisions, heat lamps and pool tables.
Tuckman said that as summer approaches, the bar plans to open up the patio covering to let patrons get a tan while they shoot pool.
A full bar with an additional 10 to 12 taps and more televisions are expected to be added to the outdoor section by summer or early fall, Tuckman said.
Along with the outdoor TVs, a combination of regular-sized screens and big-screens dot the interior. The bar shows a plethora of sporting events year-round, including all NFL games each Sunday during football season.
Several pool tables stand at each end of the establishment. They also
offer pinball machines, keno and other video gambling games.
Each Saturday the bar features live music that includes everything but blues and country, Tuckman said.
Saturday the lineup included five bands for a cover charge of $3.
Tuckman said that the bar’s crowd typically pulls from a very diverse range of people and includes a fair amount of students.
The bar offers two happy hours on weekdays. The first begins at 7 a.m. and lasts until 11 a.m., and the second goes from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. During happy hour, well drinks are $2, domestic beers are $1.75, imports are $3.25, microbrews are $2.75 and domestic pitchers are $6.
They also offer daily food and drink specials, including $2 well drinks every Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and south-of-the-border Mondays, which feature $3 Coronas and $2 margaritas all day along with 50 cent tacos from
5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

[email protected]