Twains Billiards & Tap

11/06/2008 Posted by eatingoutpc

Love a good burger? Then try one from Twain's. Twain's has the best burger I've had in a long time. And I LOVE a good burger!! Made to order and cooked perfectly, it comes served with the usual lettuce, tomatoe, onion, with additional toppings available (mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, etc.). The sweet potato fries are also fantastic -- served by the basket, they are crisp and served piping hot. Also really, really good are: The beer, of course!! They brew their own. The French Dip - LOADED with meat and cheese; the Cuban Sandwich - grilled to perfection; the Wings (their medium is pretty hot!); the Hummus (spicy); and the Greek Salad - generous on the feta and real kalamata olives. The restaurant itself is a huge bar and billiards room, with additional arcade and darts areas. The long bar probably seats 20 people, and there are 2 TV's usually set on sports. Go on a Saturday afternoon and sit with Bartender Sarah. Sarah REALLY knows her beers, and is an interesting character, with her long black braids and big black rimmed glasses. A total hoot!! Service is always great. The prices are very reasonable for the amount of food served, and the atmosphere is very pleasant (non-smoking).

07/06/2008 Posted by bt08

I was shocked after reading some of the reviews on this site about my favorite bar. I tend to sit at the bar, and I've never had bad service there--sometimes the tables get a little lackadaisical service, though. I don't care about kids being there as long as they're being monitored by THEIR OWN PARENTS, not the bar staff (it's not their job). I honestly think Twain's has the best bar food and the best crafted beer in Decatur--the cask and Belgian selections are always great in particular, and the stout is substantial. I have always had good experiences with Twain's staff too, they're friendly and unpretentious but like all bar industry professionals they prefer when you treat them like people instead of servants. Plus they have pool tables and they show hockey if it's on.

06/26/2008 Posted by britinaredstate

So, take a look at the reviews of this abomination of a bar and you'll find that if you go there for the pool you'll probably quite like it. There's a good reason for that - if you like pool, you only really need a flat table. The table doesn't need to be heated, it doesn't need to be re-filled, it doesn't need to respond to the demands of customers and it sure as heck doesn't need to smile at you. It can just sit there. Unfortunately for Twains, the same cannot be said for food. It is not good enough to put something on a menu and then hope that the fact that it is there is where your responsibility ends. From the time I sat down at my booth (too big for two people, too small for four) and put my hands down, I KNEW it was going to be a rough night. My hands stuck fast. Thinking that I had inadvertently found a Diet Coke spill, I moved to another seat. Same story. We moved to another (larger) table and whaddya know - Twains must have commissioned table tops from the ACME glue company. Then the beer came. Twains prides itself on the fact that they brew their own beer. My pale ale affirmed my belief that there are some things better left to the pros. It was not REALLY bad, it was just not good. The hoppy start to the beer was finished with a slightly bitter ammonia aftertaste that could've been cleaner in the lines , but I suspect was actually the beer. Not an auspicious start. Next came food. The meatloaf sandwich was served cold (intentionally?) and the other sandwiches tasted like they had been freshly unwrapped from the WalMart deli. The wait staff responded to our concerns with no enthusiasm and a tinge of resentment (although they comped the meatloaf sandwich - the savings will go towards a fresh supply of Purell for my wife's purse). I doubt that I will go to Twains again - Suzie Q's is a better for pool - but I'm guessing that if I do, I will find the waitress trying to peel off the credit card receipt we pressed on to the top of the ACME table.

Pros: lots of pool tables

Cons: poor food, poor beer and less than courteous service

06/24/2008 Posted by atlfoodiejan

I had only been to Twain's before to play pool. Which was fine. But I had gone with friends to play trivia on a Monday night. I knew they brewed their own beer so I hoped it would be good - PLUS their web site says they have $2.50 beer specials on house brews on Mondays. I was AWED by how incredibly BAD this place was. 1. Food - My "Cuban" tasted like it was made with off the shelf sandwich meat. Just boring really. No flavor. You couldn't even taste the pickles. Someone else had the nachos and couldn't finish them. Just not very good. But worst of all was the meatloaf sandwich which came out cold . . . twice. Managing to be both gross AND possibly dangerous to eat. Nice. To the Manager's credit she took it off the bill but only after asking to see her. And I'm not willing to give them a pass for bad food because they are a bar. There are plenty of bars with great food . . . or at the very least ok food. 2. Beer - Everything I tried tasted watered down. It was like a caricature of bad American beer. Just not good at all. They should stop making their own and use the brewing space for more tables. We have such good local brews and brew pubs in Atlanta and Decatur is such a great drinking town that I'm amazed people have reviewed this place so highly because they truly do not deserve it. AND their web site is wrong . . . no beer specials on Monday night. So update your site then folks. 3. Service - If citysearch gave out awards for worst service then this place would win. Not a smile. Not a nod. Barely a word. Tables covered in the leftovers of the previous meal. Elbows sticking to the table top. All contribute to a general feeling of not caring you are actually there. Is it too much to ask for a LITTLE niceness from your server? We are paying for this after all. To sum up don't go here if you want decent food, good beer and ok service. Maybe for the pool? Because there is nothing else redeemable about the place.

Pros: Pool . . . maybe

Cons: Food - Beer - Service

06/08/2008 Posted by nowhammies

Twains is a nice bar. There are a lot of games to play, and it is a very wide open space. I like the fact that they brew their own beer. The beer is not that great. The Mad Happy Pale Ale was a bit watered down, and the hops flavors were off. Seemed like a large crappy homebrewing operation. The food is mediocre, and does not fascinate me. The waitress was the worst part. She plopped the menus down on our table and didn't say hello or anything. I actually thought she was an upset hostess, but I was definitely wrong. She seemed like she was have a little PMS problem. Take your Midol and ACT happy if you must, that is what being a good server is all about. I am sick and tired of waiters and waitresses getting away with having bad attitudes and still expecting gratuity. Twains needs to have their servers leave their sour attitudes at the door. I am saying NO to Twains. My first visit was pretty good, but actually spending some time there drinking changed my opinion.

Pros: Open space, and lots of games to play.

Cons: Waitress was rude, beer is bad and too expensive to cost $13.00 a pitcher

04/26/2008 Posted by ohfairatlanta

Went by Twain's one day last week. I'd been before but hadn't stopped in for a while. My server (bearded with a straw hat) recommended some of the draft beers. I went with the house pale ale which was fairly hoppy but not objectionable. The whole place has a lax, comfortable atmosphere. I ordered the beer mussels which were flavorful and delicious. I wasn't troubled by any little children (there weren't any at 10 o'clock at night) and the staff was attentive enough for bar staff. If I wanted to be waited upon hand and foot, I'd go to a lounge. I'd recommend giving Twain's a try. There is a nicer patio area in the back, great news with summer around the corner.

03/08/2008 Posted by BigBeefyCritic

I've been going to brewpubs for quite some time and let me just say that Twains Billiards&Tap is by far the worst one I've ever encountered. First off you've got kids running rampart throughout the establishment by parents who wish the establishment was a day care. My appetizer of sweet potato fries arrived to the table before my beer did, and this place wasn't even busy by restaurant standards. I suppose the three people behind the bar preferred talking to girls at the bar rather than do their jobs of pouring a couple of beers. Now about the beer. It lacks body in all the pints I tried. The ESB tastes nothing like an ESB and their brown ale is more of a porter. The food was bland and boring, I've had better meals at a waffle house. The service was alright although it seemed as if the place lacked actual managers or owners. In short, Twain's Billiards&Tap filled with screaming toddlers, bartenders trying to get lucky instead of doing their jobs along with sub par beer and food shall never receive patronage from my family.

Pros: When my family left this establishment.

Cons: Stepping foot in this establishment with my family.

02/28/2008 Posted by adecaturite

This place is great when it isn't overrun with overentitled Decatur parents who let children just barely older than toddlers run amok in a brew pub. I mean, really, who brings their kids to a bar?! ? But apparently no one pays for a babysitter here in Decatur, since I find the local progeny screaming at the top of their lungs, regardless if I'm trying to enjoy a fine-dining meal or have a drink with adults. Key words here being DRINKING and ADULTS. Beyond that, I have to give a hearty cheers to Chefaubrey's comments, (citysearch won't let me include the link) and basically reiterate everything that poster said!

02/06/2008 Posted by Hunnybee1975

I must say that I was very dissapointed when Twains finally re-opened from being renovated only to find that they removed more than half of the pool tables. Then turned the old smoking room to the pool hall. It doesn't seem to have been any changes made to that room either. I feel as though they didnt focus on the billiards part of the business as they did the bar. And you are right . The service is terrible and so is the food.

Pros: a very diverse group of people

Cons: parking, service and food

01/13/2008 Posted by atrampolinelove

After a horrific experince that I posted about previously I spoke with the owners of the bar and the satisfied my complaints to a highly satisfactory level. I will give Twain's another shot, I never did get to play shuffleboard when I was there the first time.

Pros: Gumbo was decent.

Cons: a lot of kids, go after 9pm when the bar is 21+