Churchill’s Food & Spirits

Stopped in this past Wednesday night for dinner and drinks with the wife.
One other patron was there.
The wait staff? In need of additional training. I asked if they did flights.
WaitStaff had no idea what that was.
I asked about signing up for the bourbon society program. Again, no idea what it took.
Decent tap list of local and national
Beers.
Would we return? Maybe in a few months, just don’t ask questions.

Amazing Bar! The staff is super nice and they know what they are doing! If you are in or around Flint definitely stop in here and grab a drink! Stephanie served me and treated me like with utmost respect while providing a comfortable atmosphere. Definitely will be coming back… and I’m from Florida!

Stopped in tonight with a group of ladies for a late dinner and drinks… I ordered a Miller high life with a glass of tomato juice on the side and an empty pint glass to mix them… after our server checked all over the restaurant for plain tomato juice she came back to tell me that all they had was Bloody Mary mix… I told her that would be fine… she brings my drink to the table and its premixed in a pint glass… no Bloody Mary mix on the side… no bottle of Miller high life… so I dealt with that… one of my friends ordered a double shot of greygoose on the rocks with a splash of water and a lime… hers came back in a pint glass with mostly water, no lime but was cloudy… the other two ladies were told they had no ginger beer but were able to make their Moscow mules… the owner came over at one point because he could see we were all unhappy and tried to get it right with one of my friends on her vodka drink… he came back and brought her the wrong drink… our server, who has been there a while and should know what her bar has to offer, wasn’t able to tell us what kinds of vodka they sell, wasn’t able to relay our drink orders to the bartender correctly… and we were seated at the table closest to the wait stand… at this point we decided to pay our bills and move on for the evening… my bill came and they charged me almost 4 dollars for «tomato juice» that was actually Bloody Mary mix and 6.00 for two pints of Miller high life… wtf?! At this point, and the fact I didn’t complain that they didn’t have my drinks right to begin with, I called our server over and complained about the charge for tomato juice… they took the charge off of my bill… I’m not sure what’s going on at churchills these days but I’ve worked downtown for 25 yrs and this, by far, has been the worst experience I’ve had in this establishment!

Nice place food was good. Busy on a Monday night. Played a little pool. Cool place can’t wait to go back

Getting better day to day!
It’s improved a bit since its purchase by the owners of the Red Baron a few months back. The food is better, more on a par with where it used to be back when I was in college. Indeed, the veggie wrap and french onion soup are highly recommendable, so perhaps Churchill’s will thrive once again as a great downtown lunch establishment.
The beer selection is improving slowly as well, which shouldn’t come as any big surprise since the Red Baron itself has along the lines of 40 taps. Keep the changes coming!
The atmosphere is still a little meh at night, but it’s getting there, albeit slowly. The emphasis on maintaining live music during the weekends is still there, but maybe they will start booking a few better bands now that new ownership is in charge. There’s lot more competition in the bar scene downtown now than than there used to be, but Churchill’s is starting to change again– for the better. There have been some minor cosmetic renovations and a few much-​needed refurbishments as of late, all of which can be considered a major improvement, just from external appearances. Churchill’s just looks better from the outside as you’re walking down Saginaw Street, quite a change from the semi-​eyesore it was sadly starting to become. Sometimes I would walk by and say, «Is this place even open?» If it wasn’t for the neon «Open» sign in the corner, I swear, no one would have been the wiser.
The service still is what it is– a full plate of snark served with a heaping side order of cockiness. Some people get served quickly and easily if they are regulars or friends of the staff and others don’t. It’s always been that way and might never change. I’ve usually had no problem with the service, but I know quite a few others who do, as well as a bunch of folks who have no quibble with it, either. I suppose it’s part of the charm.

I have never danced here at night, however, I did get to experience a meal here. I’m not a fan of the way the dining area is set up. A huge bar with a couple tables sprinkled in, like they were an afterthought. The menu is pretty big and I hear their burgers are the greatness. But… I got the fish and chips. I felt the fish wasn’t cooked enough. It wasn’t raw or anything but the batter on it was still a very light color. It was good but nothing that blew me away. It was just super awkward being there, the waitress was kind of creepy hovering, and it was cold. I kept my coat on the whole time. I won’t be back to dine but I’ll give the dancing a shot some time.

I am an old school Flint girl but I can not get behind this bar!!! Service is the biggest issue. I was hoping with the new owners that they would figure out how to service customers, but this still hasn’t happened. I waited over 20 minutes at the bar to get a drink, I mentioned that there was a huge line and that one persons should just run the walk up area… I was completely ignored. The only reason I ever come to this bar is to support old school flint. Service is the worst of any bar in Flint. Go to the Soggy Bottom or the Torch is you want to get a drink in somewhat of a timely manner.

Very poor service. Food is greasy and unappetizing. The restaurant itself is not very clean, and they have a big issue with fruit flies during the summer. Bathrooms are located upstairs which is rather odd considering that they serve a bunch of alcohol to the frats partying there. I’m sure people have tumbled demon them before. This place needs to close and let another restaurant in downtown.

Sucks. Rude bartender, tries to tell you a 12oz drink is a pint. No wait staff. Music scheduled to start at nine, come ten still no music. Scheduled a grunge band to open for a full singer. Learned all these lessons for a mere five dollar cover charge. Keep walking there are far better establishments in downtown Flint.

Visited Churchill’s for our first time. It was the lunch hour on a Tuesday. Not very busy but most tables in the bar area were full. We tried the turkey bacon wrap and the bourbon burger (don’t remember exact name) with pepper jack cheese. The wrap was tasty and warm. The burger was cooked as we requested but lacked a bourbon flavor. Not sure if maybe the seasoning was left out. Overall I’d say our meal was average, hence only three stars.
The atmosphere we would describe as «dive bar» like. Appears that the architecture is original and there are various «Winston Churchill» quotes stenciled around the room. The place looks like it could stand an update in appearance to freshen its look.
Sorry, we did not try and cocktails so no feedback on these.
Note that the restrooms are upstairs and it’s a steep climb… they may have an elevator to get up there but it looked old and not used very often. The hallway to the bathrooms and the bathrooms themselves definitely needs to be updated.
Definitely dive bar-​ish. this place could be great for main street Flint, MI with some investment in the appearance.

There aren’t very many places in downtown Flint that work for the college crowd, but Churchills is one of them. My friends and I go once a week.
The food is good. Not anything to write home about, but warm and satisfying. Their fries are crispy and delicious. They have a student burger special for $ 5.99 that includes the burger of the month, fries, and a PBR or soft drink. It’s a pretty good deal for the amount of food that you get, and some of the burgers of the month are really good! The jalepeno burger is to die for!
The service is the best part of the restaurant experience. There usually aren’t many customers during the lunch hour, so customers get the full attention of the staff. The waitress Jill is amazing. She’s friendly and personable, and even remembers people’s preferences when they come back multiple times.
One thing that’s great about Churchills is that you can call in your order and have it ready by the time you arrive. This is great for people in a time crunch who still want to get a good meal.
Atmosphere is okay. It’s not as classy as some of the other downtown restaurants, but this is reflected in the better prices. It gets the job done, and that’s what’s important.
Overall, Churchills is my top Flint restaurant choice for a person on a budget. If it wasn’t great, I wouldn’t keep going back!

So, As an avid supporter of all things Flint, I’ve tried to go to Churchill’s as an adult and spend some of my disposable income to support someplace that (somehow) has been around Downtown Flint for quite some time.
Somewhere along the lines the Management of Churchill’s found it appropriate to extort a cover charge from ignorant suburbanites and gullible out-​of-​towners.
So, when I attempted to enter to spend money generously, the door man stopped me and asked me for money. Honestly, I would’ve assumed he was a homeless guy asking for money, but he asked for my ID too. I asked what he needed money for, and he replied ‘cover charge, always a cover charge guy.‘
Not sure if the products sold inside are so low quality that people don’t want to buy anything there, or that they attract a clientele that they feel the need to extort cover changes from to remain (questionably) profitable?
In any case, the only thing Flint has too many of — is bars. So, do yourself a favor and patronize one of the many, many other (nicer) bars the city has to offer.
Downtown Flint is a great place, and it’s places like Churchill’s that need to be passed over to find the good stuff.

Cheap cocktails, beer and food, great college hangout. Try their pizza.

This bar is kryptonite to a good time. Arguably the worst bar in all of downtown flint. Terrible service, disgustingly dirty, and almost always dead inside except for the occasional music act that comes through. Then the cups shrink and they want 5 bucks just to come in the door. I keep waiting to see it on bar rescue.

This was the worst service I’ve ever experienced in my life from a bartender. He never asked what we wanted to drink, never offered a refill, was very rude when I asked for another drink, then gave me my tab well before I was finished drinking, and refused me service after asking for a drink, for no apparent reason. While I prefer to give my patronage to local establishments, never again will I visit this place.

Ive been to Churchills about 4 times because it’s local to my work and they deliver. 3 of those times I’ve had to call up and complain.
First my boneless wings were super dark, crunchy and gross. Whoever picked up said «oh boneless wings are just like that» ummm no. It tasted like someone didnt change the frier oil.
Second time I ordered wings and was given almost no sauce.
Last time (and I do mean LAST) I ordered 2 pizzas, a large and a personal. When it arrived the bottom of the large was burnt almost 100% black and stank something awful and the small pizza was delivered in a styrofoam box ie steam collects and made the pizza wet. When I called it in they told me to bring it back (opposite way I go home and again, it was ordered as delivery) so I went after work and was given a new pizza. The waitress told me they put the burnt pizza on the wrong rack when they cooked it but sent it to me anyway, nice. didnt replace the small pizza but told me to call next week for a 10% discount. Wow a whole 10%. $ 1 off a $ 10 order. I left angry and insulted and will NEVER go back. I dont suggest you do either, try sportlite or Blackstones or 501.

Some of the best bar ladies around! They hold local shows for bands every weekend and participate in the monthly art walk. Prices are extremely reasonable for the wonderful service they do!

Lunch/​dinner options are pretty wonderful and worthwhile. Nightlife can be just okay. College night on thursday nights can get busy and as under 21’s are allowed into the bar (after paying a hefty price) there are a lot of young kids which some drama can happen. Drinks are cheap on college night… but so is the alcohol. If you are okay with that, then you’ll have a fun night.

Interesting. This place was empty when I walked in and to call a one television bar — «A Sports Bar» — is a little misleading. My burger and fries were burnt. I have heard great things from others, but my experience sucked.

After the Metropolis closed down and The Machine Shop was still the Razmatazz, Churchills was one of the only places supporting good local bands. And for that, ill always show loyalty.
Used to see Trunk there a lot before I joined the band briefly. I havent been there in awhile and sometimes it is dead but they still have a decent beer selection and its just a short walk from The Torch