Photo Gallery | Restaurant review: Hops Supply Co.
WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – The first thing I noticed about Hops Supply Co. was that, well…it was hoppin’.
As soon as I opened the doors to the building that once housed Eddie Romanelli’s, the packed gastropub, filled with overwhelmingly-loud table chatter and glass clinking, signaled that Hops may very well be the new place in town to be, come dinnertime.
I soon learned why.
The grub
As both a breakfast food junkie and a lapsed vegetarian for about a month now, the Farm Egg BLT sandwich sounded pretty appealing (though I replaced the bacon with turkey instead.)
Some restaurants tend to skimp on dishing out big portions, but Hops is not one of them. Giant heaps of both turkey and egg fattened my sandwich in the middle of each slice of thick wheat bread, making the $8.29 price of the sandwich well worth it.
The sandwich, combined with white cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato, was nothing short of delectable.
After downing that and a small cup of fruit, I was stuffed. And I still would have been, even if I hadn’t tried a few delicious specialty beers with my meal that I’d never heard of before.
The drinks
Good food and really good drinks for dinner make for a great combination. And, after all, that’s what good gastropubs are all about.
Truthfully, I’m not big on beer. But Lonerider Brewing Company’s Shotgun Betty, with hints of bubble gum, clove and banana, sounded too promising not to try. It was light and subtle, and made the perfect companion with my sandwich.
Watermelon and beer aren’t two words often thought of as going hand-in-hand, but after sampling my boyfriend’s watermelon wheat beer, you might think otherwise. It was smooth and actually tasted a lot like an actual watermelon – minus all of the sugar.
The not-so-great
I don’t have too many gripes with Hops, but I’ve got to say, the wait for our food was a little lengthy, though the waitress did apologize.
Yeah, it was crowded, and I get that. But there are plenty of other restaurants in town that are packed and manage to get your food in front of you in a reasonable amount of time.
The menu offered a decent selection of burgers, seafood, salad and more. But, since I can relate to being a vegetarian, I was surprised to see a lack of vegetarian-friendly entrée items, other than a salad or two.
Most chain restaurants and locally-owned ones with similar types of food tend to offer veggie or black bean burgers instead of the real deal.
If Hops offers vegetarian alternatives to its burgers, it wasn’t clearly stated on the menu.
The verdict
Definitely check out Hops. The prices are fair, the food (from what I had) was great, and it’s not always easy to find many places in town with as many specialty beers as Hops.
The atmosphere is casual, fun and friendly.
Hops is located at 5400 Oleander Drive.
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