Don’t Bite – The Fifth Amendment Alehouse

It was a Wednesday evening, and I was looking for a spot to have some bevies with a friend. We decided to check out a new venue in Santa Monica called The Fifth Amendment Alehouse.

A tin foil wrapped basket with pretzels arrived with our beverages. This was a less than appetizing presentation but it’s a beer joint so our expectations were not too high. When we asked the bartender what the turkey sandwich, “made how mama used to make” was like, we were told to stick to the burgers and the top half of the menu. He also said not to bother ordering the expensive Kobe burger but to stick to the regular beef burger as it tastes just as good, at half the price. The menu was very weird with its odd selection of gourmet sausages, ostrich burgers, and venison burgers. No fries were listed anywhere, and after trying to order them, we were informed that the deep fat fryer was not installed yet so a stand alone burger was the only option. 

In addition, the service was horrendously slow. We must’ve waited nearly an hour for our spinach artichoke dip with pita chips to arrive. It was tasty enough but nothing special. We waited another 30+ minutes for our burger and cheese plate. I honestly think the bartender ran to Ralph’s to get the supermarket cheese plate which was massive and loaded with cubed sharp cheddar and some other unknown cheese.

On the flip side, if you are a draft beer drinker then you are in luck. The bar has a few different unique types that are not always available elsewhere. Despite these downfalls, the bartender was as accommodating as possible and apologized on multiple occasions for the wait times and disastrous menu options. My final thoughts on this alehouse are that they opened far too soon, with inadequate equipment and service capabilities, and that they might be better off keeping food to the basics and focusing on what they are good at – beer!

 www.pleadfifth.com 

129 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA

 

-Jean