Remember when people got all riled up at the prospect of a gastropub coming to Charleston? People on Twitter were not pleased when B&D Gastropub marketed itself as the only gastropub in Charleston, when many other places - like Pies & Pints - technically fit the definition of a gastropub, they just don't use the moniker in their name.

"Gastropub or gastrolounge refers to a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food"

So B&D is RIGHT off the bridge in Kanawha City. I passed most of it and caught the tail end of the parking lot when I realized it was right there.

I kind of had low expectations because I had heard not so great things. That usually works in a restaurant's favor for me, though.

It's modern and clean on the inside. Smooth lines, not too much clutter. Brick walls and dark colored woods and metals.

When we were seated, I asked the waiter what he liked. He recommended the burgers. They're advertised as six ounces of fresh beef on a grilled bakery bun with house made chips. I went with "THE MELT," which has applewood bacon and is stuffed with a choice of cheese. It says "We recommend feta :))" That's kind of cute. I love a smiley.

I also ordered mine with sweet potato fries because, well, they're amazing. You can't mess up sweet potato fries too badly.

While I waited for that to come out, I went ahead and ordered a Bridge Brew Works Pale Ale - "English style amber ale with moderate bitterness matching its malty profile. Scottish and English hops are featured."

I wish I could get paid to write beer descriptions because to my untrained palate, it's a bunch of BS. Hints of caramel and yada yada. I can tell you I've never had a beer taste like caramel, and I've had a lot of caramel. This beer, however, is pretty badass.


It's smooth, not too bitter and goes down easy. I also enjoy the fact that you can have local beer here. That's always a positive.

Before the main meal, I ordered an appetizer of the "southern mac & cheese."

The macaroni and cheese is average. The cheese wasn't creamy - it was more hard, block cheese melted over top some noodles. And because it's "southern," I was expecting to have a hint of sweetness there.

No such luck

It also had this kind of bizarre crunched up saltine crackers on the top. 

When I saw that it had a "crust," I was expecting it to more be a hardened crust over all the macaroni, not just bits of cracker mixed in. It tastes exactly what you think cracker mixed in with macaroni and cheese. Lame.

The burger was pretty dang good, though. I got mine stuffed with bleu cheese because that combo is fabulous. You can also choose your toppings, and I went with the lettuce, tomato and onion.

When you take a bite of the burger, cheese doesn't ooze out. However, I definitely got the kick of the bleu cheese just interspersed throughout the meat. That may even be better. The bun is a good bit bigger than the burger, which is unfortunate, because the bun:burger ratio favors the bun. When, really, the burger is adequate size, but within the context of the bun, not as impressive.

Good  taste and cooked well.  The fries were also pretty good and came with this tasty sauce.

So, better than I thought. Mind-blowing, no. But above average compared to most of the other restaurants in Charleston.

Grade: B