First things first. The female waitstaff at Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery wear very skimpy uniforms: low-cut, midriff-baring blouses paired with teeny-tiny skirts. For some people, this means they'll enjoy the restaurant whether or not the food is good. For others, it means they'll avoid the restaurant whether or not the food is good. This review is for everyone in the middle. If you are neither enticed nor offended by the restaurant's "less is more philosophy," you probably just want to know if the food and service are any good.
So is it? Here's the problem: I've been there twice, and I'm still not sure. Two separate visits led me to two very different conclusions.
I met my husband and another couple for a midweek lunch. I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. From the outside, the building is rather grim -- windowless, colorless and almost hard to spot. The dining room inside, however, is well lit and clean feeling, with an eclectically vague "Celtic" décor scheme (suits of armor! Bagpipes! Beer pong!). It's cheerful, as is the effusive greeting you get when you walk in the door. A well-run hostess station always gets high marks from me, and it's often overlooked.
Our server was prompt, friendly and attentive, but there were problems. The large and inviting bar on the other side of the room boasts a formidable array of beer taps. However, the beer listing on the menu was woefully incomplete. This led one of my table's diners into a frustrating back-and-forth between our server and the bar. Advertised beers were out of stock and beers were offered up that we couldn't have known were available. Our poor server was given the thankless job of repeatedly having to deliver bad news. She did this graciously and jokingly but she must have been as frustrated as we were.
The menu offers an array of pretty basic bar fare -- wings, burgers, sandwiches and pizzas -- with a few "Gaelic" options tying into the restaurant's theme: Scotch eggs, Irish stew, shepherd's pie and something called "Gaelic chicken."
We started with a shared plate of wings ($15.50) and an order of soft pretzels ($7). The wings were fine but not memorable and the pretzels were strangely greasy (though I dearly loved the Guinness-cheese dipping sauce).
One of my friends ordered the ($14) pub fried-egg burger (under the category "Big Arse Burgers" on the menu, which … sigh). It's a nice-looking dish and he dispatched of it with pleasure, though I think the egg could have been cooked softer; the yolk didn't add any sauciness to the sandwich. My other friend ordered fish and (sweet potato) chips ($17). The fish was fine -- nice and crispy -- though a bit bland. The sweet potato fries, however, were a standout, with a uniquely deep crinkle cut that created a lot of surface area on each fry, making them extra crispy. They were delicious, especially when dipped into the side cup of tartar sauce.
My husband's pastrami sandwich ($14) was tasty, though we disagreed about the liberal use of whole grain mustard. He found it a bit overwhelming while I enjoyed the vinegary sharpness against the salty meat.
The disappointment of the meal was the "Olde Dublin Irish stew" ($13 under "Our Favorites" on the menu). Visually, it was very unappetizing. Meager, weirdly uniform cubes of "pot roast" arrived in a shallow bowl with some peas, carrots, potatoes and a too-thin gravy. I'm not trying to sound dramatic but it looked an awful lot like the photograph on a can of very high-end dog food -- the kind where a white Yorkie eats something out of a crystal chalice. The beef had a strange, spongy texture. Despite being horrible-looking, it wasn't horrible-tasting. It was just ... meh. Not a well I'll dip into twice.
My first visit was a B-: Mostly decent, if unexciting fare, an upbeat atmosphere and friendly service left me with an overall good impression.
My second trip brought down Tilted Kilt's GPA considerably. I went with two friends for a late weeknight dinner. Once again, the hostess station impressed but things went downhill from there. The room was bustling and it was some time before we had our server's attention. Once again, my diners went through the "Who's on First" discussion about available beers on tap. One friend ordered a draft Fat Tire but was brought the beer in a bottle.
My other friend tried to order something unique but, after several back-and-forths, settled on a Leggy Lass IPA ($7.50). Later, when she ordered a second one, she received a completely different brew altogether -- garnished with an orange wedge. I'm not a connoisseur, but even I could tell the difference in the beer's color. The server erroneously assured her that it was the same beer but that she sometimes puts an orange wedge on the mug "because the ladies like it." My "lady" friend did not like it but drank it anyway because life is short. Later, when I checked the receipt, the second beer proved to be a Hefeweizen ($8.50)-- a fact that my friend could have sworn to by taste alone.
The missteps didn't end with the beers. We decided to share an order of Irish nachos ($10.50), but instead received an order of chicken nachos. On discovering this, we couldn't find our waitress and it was getting late so we decided to dig in. They were dry, uninspired and appeared to have been under the kitchen heat lamp for too long. At some point, our waitress realized her mistake and brought us our order of Irish nachos. The mix-up was a shame because the Irish nachos are pretty great -- freshly fried potato chips topped with that addictive Guinness cheese sauce and sautéed ground beef and tomatoes. Sinful, decadent and delicious. Perfect bar food.
The night's other successful dish was my friend's pulled-pork sandwich ($12), which was admirably smoky, with lots of crispy bits from the exterior of the pork roast. This sandwich was nicely balanced with a barbecue sauce that wasn't, as I often find, too sweet.
The night's other disappointment was the Butcher Block flatbread pizza. It was certainly flat (in taste as well as shape). The very thin crust somehow managed to be undercooked and drooped flabbily under the weight of the salty toppings. It was a miss and seemed overpriced at $13.50.
This visit earned a C-, saved from a solid D only by the yummy potato chips, decent pulled pork and our server's energetic apologies.
My hope is that the Tilted Kilt is a work in progress. Hiring waitstaff only from a pool of young, pretty and petite female candidates is limiting and the team they've formed seems inexperienced. That said, it's on management to provide this high-energy and friendly staff with the training they need. It's also on management to provide better information directly to diners -- I'm talking to you, nonexistent beer list. And addressing some execution problems in the kitchen could elevate the admittedly corporate offerings on the menu.
If the Tilted Kilt wanted to rise above its gimmick, it could. The question is, does it want to?
Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight, Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday
Location: 8001 Old Seward Highway
Contact: 907-770-5458, tiltedkilt.com
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**1/2