Restaurant Review: McKenzie Brew House

Restaurant: McKenzie Brew House
Address: 324 West Swedesford Rd. Berwyn, Pa 19087
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Style: Pub & Brewery
Food: Global
Atmosphere: Modern / Industrial
Parking: Lot
Service: Friendly
Price Range: $5 - $20
Unique Feature: All beers are brewed in-house. The bar and dining room offer two very different experiences: both welcoming to any crowd.

Business casual was the attire of choice for the Tuesday-night crowds at McKenzie Brew House. The suburban brewery’s third iteration opened in Berwyn’s Valley Fair Shopping Center , but you wouldn’t know it by looking around.

Posted up around the massive rectangular bar and seated at the neighboring tables were a co-mingling mix of 30-somethings and baby-boomers that looked as if they’d been frequenting the locale for seasons. I even noticed a high-top table in the corner that accommodated a family with soft-drink sipping children who nibbled on dinner while creating placemat artwork.

A mix of Top-40 and 80s favorites pumped through the room’s sound system keeping the patrons lively.

A dozen flat screen TVs tuned to the night’s games lined the walls. Six of which created a double-sided focal point above the bar: braced to each other and the exposed metal beams of the building’s exposed upper workings.

But even with the music and sports, the feeling at McKenzie is a far cry from the sports bar / club crowd it could so easily draw.

In the bar area most of the sounds are distilled by the high ceilings, leaving remnants of the popular music coupled with an undertone of crowd chatter, creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere.

In the dining room, muffled noises of the neighboring bar are only faintly heard above the high banquettes. Visible through large glass windows are the kitchen staff, a private dining area, and the centerpiece of the McKenzie operation, the “brewery.”

Tall, shiny equipment stands at the ready; its brews in the works turning barley to beer. McKenzie’s employs not one, but two brew masters who not only create the six year-round selections and seasonal flavors, but are also there to talk house-brews to anyone who inquires.

The year-round brews were just $3 during happy hour, but I decided to give the sampler a try. For around $6, I was able to try each of McKenzie’s staple beers: Mckenzie Light, Saison, American Pale Ale, Mckenzie Wit Belgian Wheat, English Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout. Each had its own distinct qualities but the Saison was the most enjoyable.

While the beers are obviously in the spotlight, McKenzie also offers a variety of wines as well as an intriguing selection of cocktails.

The menu is expansive, offering starters, daily soups, tapas and shared plates, entrée salads, customizable Caesars, sandwiches, a variety of ethnically diverse comfort foods, grilled fish, steaks, pizzas, sliders, burgers, grilled chicken and snacks.

My friend and I did our best to make our way through McKenzie’s offerings. Pricing is relatively reasonable, and during happy hour, many of the starters are offered for just $5 each.

We began with some snacks, ordering the chips and salsa, the hummus and pita, and an order of the retro cheddar and bacon skins.

Within moments, our order arrived. A plate of crisp, tricolored tortilla chips accompanied a dish of bright salsa. The fresh flavors of diced tomato, red onion and cucumber were left to shine with just a hint of cilantro.

A basket of warm, triangular sliced pita accompanied a plate of accoutrements. A handful of pitted green olives sat sprawled about neighboring a scoop of tomato and cucumber, both left untreated in any way. The obvious focus here was the serving of creamy hummus, which suffered from a heavy hand of garlic.

Our third appetizer took us a moment to appreciate. Four little potato bowls were arranged next to a heaping dish of sour cream. Inside, a scoop of chopped bacon hid beneath a layer of melted cheese. Slicing the potato width-wise was such a small but inspired deviation from the norm, and it made for an appreciated variation.

My friend and I sat and talked, taking in the night’s crowds. A gentleman to the left of us began yelling at the bartender insisting on “American beer.” He was comically unhappy with the home-brewed selections offered.

Though we were satisfied with our first round of snacks, (the price was right and the portions were generous) we continued through the main menu ordering a few more selections including the wedge salad, an order of extra spicy wings and the braised short rib sliders.

The build your own theme of untreated additions continued from the pita plate to the wedge salad. A near whole head iceberg lettuce arrived slathered with a dump of creamy white dressing and surrounded by chopped bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, sliced cucumber and spaghetti-like curls. After the do-it-yourself decoration was complete, the salad looked delicious and to be honest, was very good. It was crisp and fresh, but a prepared dish would have been more appealing.

The wings were fresh and meaty. They were coated in a sweet / spicy sauce, sprinkled in crushed pepper flakes and served along with a side of blue cheese and a handful of carrot and celery sticks.

Three braised short rib sliders, each topped with coleslaw, arrived with a towering order of crisp, hot French fries. The thick slider roll was toothsome but did the job of absorbing the creaminess of the coleslaw. Though the shredded beef had a good flavor and spice it had been nearly braised to the point of no return and lacked the necessary moisture to balance out the slaw.   

McKenzie Brew House has brought a new energy to the area and has been well received by the community, for good reason. They offer an inviting environment, a creative menu of familiar favorites that were generally well executed, and competitively priced in-demand products like home-brewed beers.

McKenzie Brew House Website