Broken Drum Brewery & Wood Grill

owners of Flatiron bought this place and are re-​opening in November

nice to see this place is gone. maybe a good restaurant will take over the space

just drove by and noticed no activity. Closed for good?

Came here a few times over the years– had items ranging from a burger to a caesar salad. Nothing was that great– including the beer. Needless to say, this restaurant was a staple of downtown San Rafael. And like so many other places downtown San Rafael, the Broken Drum has closed it’s doors after 18 years. Not a victim of it’s food or beer, but of a city which doesn’t care about it’s downtown.

Not fancy, but try the spicy chicken quesadillas and a sampler. Generous portions and helpful staff. Love!

I usually have a business lunch every day. I typically like to meet people at 11:30 AM. Showed up today at 11:30 and the bar tender came to the door and looked at me like I was nuts. He announced that they aren’t open for breakfast and open at noon. I don’t know of a single restaurant that doesn’t open till noon. Most are open at 11… or at least 11:30…wake up folks. You’ve lost my business.

We are here now, and I’m waiting to leave. The garlic fries arrived covered in stinky cheese, without warning, but he waiter seems too apathetic to bother, so we’ll just let the non-​vegan eat them. The house wine tastes like syrup. Again, place seems too budget to care, so I’m just going to drink it and leave. Bloody Mary was acceptable apparently. We won’t be back. There doesn’t seem to be anything edible, drinkable or interesting here.

Beer is fine… but food could use some improvement. I ordered fish and chips. There was way too much batter fried… leaving a greasy fish with zero flavor. Need to improve frying technique and consider some fresh spices. Husband ordered fried chicken po’ boy. Looked good, but also lacked flavor and was overly fried. I think the frying method is the biggest problem… onion rings just we’re smothered with batter as well.

I can’t say this is a place to go with a date you’re trying to impress, but if you just want to sit around, watch tv, and drink suds or cocktails while munching on appetizers, then fine. It’s kind of refreshing not to see or be seen unless you’re into grunge. There definitely are some diamonds in the rough at this place. I hope to return again some time when I’m in the mood.

Unbelievably mediocre food. Had the most bland salad here. I couldn’t even eat a third of it – and I hate wasting food. Décor is boring. The whole place smells unpleasantly stale. Didn’t sample the beer (as much as I could have used one, but it was a weekday, lunch-​time stop) so can’t speak to that. The only thing keeping it from 1 star is that the waitress was alright.

We sat outside because it was a sunny day, but the people watching was depressing. Basically homeless disheveled people walking back and forth on Fourth Street. San Rafael needs to do something about this situation, but that’s a whole different story. My husband ordered a beer and nachos. He said the beer was ok. The nachos were not. They were cold. The refried beans were complete mush and the pico de gallo was really sour. The guacamole was runny. Inedible. I ordered the diablo chicken wings and when they finally came out, they were cold and had bbq sauce on them. I was so hungry, I didn’t care at that point, so I ate a couple of wings out of desperation. They were nasty also. Our waitress cared more about the loud drunkard who she obviously knew because she made sure he got his beers. Hope she got a fat tip from him because she didn’t get one from us. Will never go here again. It’s times like this that I should have gone on Unilocal to check the reviews first.

Nice and clean looking family place. IPA’s and other drafts were a bit dark, stout-​y and blah for my taste… guacamole needed more salt. Overall– not a bad experience, good service, but don’t think will be coming back.

The food is gross and way overpriced (over $ 13 for a burger and fries), the beer is gross (all micro brews, maybe you’re into that?), the service is lacking, the bartenders have their own agenda and cater to their regulars. Hello? I exist. I’m here. 1 star for the relatively clean bathrooms and numerous TVs highlighting current sport match-​ups.

I’ve been the the Broken Drum twice. It’s a fine place to toss down a drink and have a chat. But honestly, have dinner elsewhere. Mediocre at best.

I should have trusted Unilocal.I always tell myself this when I decide to try a place anyway. Here’s my two cents:
Beer: decent. I’d give it 3.5 stars.
Food: had the nachos. Big. The chicken had a citrusy tang to it though, which I didn’t like. Good value for price, but I wouldn’t order again based on my tastes.
Service: I sat at the bar. The bartender was disinterested in the customers. I may have overheard he was covering a shift, so he probably didn’t want to be there… Staff seemed chatty with each other but not with the guests. When I finally got the bartenders attention after I had stopped picking at my plate for a while and had an empty glass, I asked for a box and the bill (while holding my credit card). Got the box, but not the bill. Had to flag him down again. Should have been charged happy hour prices ($ 8), as we discussed, but was not ($ 12). I gave up because I just wanted to leave.
Happy Hour: good deal. $ 4 beers and appetizers. Goes until 6:30pm. Too bad I was charged full price.
Atmosphere: boring. Boring servers. Boring décor. Nothing good about it really. I’d give it a 1. Maybe a 2 because at least it seemed clean.
Overall: disappointed. Went to Iron Springs Brewery in Fairfax after and wished I had just gone straight there. They were a 4.5.

Great place to go for both a meal and a drink. I head to the Broken Drum regularly to watch the baseball games, and the bar staff is top notch. While I’m more a cider gal and they don’t exactly have much cider, you can’t go wrong with the House White or the Pinot Noir, both worth the extra money. Great beer selection, too.
Tonight, I took my fiancée over for a meal and loved it. The Fried Chicken Po’boy was great, and the sweet potato fries were cooked to near perfection. Nothing but good service from our waitress as well. Yes, the place can get busy and noisy, and consequently, service gets slower. However, I’d rather see the Broken Drum busy and thriving than quiet and in danger of closing. Whether or not you want just a drink or a full-​blown lunch/​dinner, try out the Drum. I highly recommend it.

This review is for the Happy Hour only, as my happy hour group met up here last night. Super! I got a giant bowl of really delicious nachos for only four bucks. Can’t beat it! Others got the $ 2.50 tacos, which they said were really good and big. The drinks were $ 4, and margarita $ 5. Everyone had a nice time, good food, good drink, excellent service, so not one complaint.
Love Happy Hours that are 7 days per week, as this one. 3:30 — 6:30 pm. I’m going back, and so should you!

One of the worst experience in recent years!!!
Has no clue about what customer service is
Had a living social voucher that I purchased for $ 29 for «A Prix-​Fixe Meal for Two People with Beer or Sangria». $ 29 PAID VALUE $ 30 PROMOTIONAL VALUE Totalling $ 59 worth of food and drink.
Server had no idea what Prix-​Fixe meal means.
She was not only rude, ignorant and worse than Trash…
Noah need to get rid of Trash.
We need to pray for this place
Concur with other sub star reviews. Maybe a quarter star will do.
Oh Lord, have a mercy on me.

The food is ok. The bar service is great. Matt is on top of it… the beer is ok to better at best. It’s too bad they never reallly got the place going. It’s kinda a bad design for the bar area… the food needs work really bad… sometimes it ok and others is terrrible… great location right downtown… it’s ok at best.
Oh yeah the bathroom is freaking wierd… you pee behind a shower curtin

With time to spare before a family dinner, we decided to waste some time sampling some beer. We decided to go to the Broken Drum because it was nearby my cousin’s house.
Easy pop over and a beautiful day on 4^th street. We sat on the patio outside, me sunning my legs and people watching. My guy ordering up a beer sampler to split. Since we didn’t want to ruin our appetite, we only ordered the Guacamole and chips.
The beer was great and I personally loved the Terrifico. Maybe that’s because I love Mexican beer with lime. Where’s the salt? jus’ kidding.
The chips were plentiful and colorful, the guacamole was less plentiful yet good. I added salt, lime and hot sauce, making it perfect. We didn’t really want to fill up anyway, had dinner to attend later.