Hops at the Paddock

These guys sucked. Kicked us out for having a birthday party. Wouldn’t let us drink the birthday gifts even though we spent a lot of money on the bar anyways.

After some pretty bad service/​food experiences as of late (inattentive waitstaff, stone cold potatoes with no substitution for other food unless we paid extra), I decided to give them another chance. I wanted to do a «baby gender reveal» with 10 of our closest family members. They have a very nice and private back room, so I called to make a reservation.
Called one day, was told it was possible and someone would call me back. No return call. Next day I called again and was told that they don’t take reservations on Friday or Saturday because they get too busy. After speaking with a manager, I was basically told I could try to come in, if it was available I could use the back room, but if it was too busy they could accommodate me. He said, «we can’t tie up a table for only 10 people. If a table of 25 walks in, we would have no place to seat them.»
How many times do 25 people walk into a restaurant without a reservation it advance notice? So, instead of a guarantee of 10 people, they would rather turn us away in hopes they get a bigger party.
Very unhelpful. Won’t be returning anytime soon.

Good food and I was there three times BUT it’s freezing and breezy inside from the air conditioning vents. I didn’t like that.
Couldn’t eat outside because it was a smoke fest… stank so bad with cigarettes even outdoors!

We came in on a Sunday afternoon, a time when the restaurant and bar were dead. Our waitress was very unpleasant and treated us as though we were a nuisance. The food took over an hour to be prepared, and no one seemed to care. Needless to say I am not happy about the service here. When the food finally arrived, my burger was well done after ordering rare. The honey mustard tasted expired. Clearly agitated at this point we expressed our concern the the server and asked to speak to the manager. After another 20 min the waitress told us some of the food would be taken of the bill. Clearly this place is poorly managed. Any good manager would have come out and spoken to us herself. After reading some of the other reviews you notice a pattern of poor service and shit food. We will never go back there.

The bartenders here are horrible. Not once, not twice, THREE TIMES, the bartenders tried charging me for more food and drinks than I had. I find it absolutely absurd that I had to tell the bar tender what I drank and how many drinks I had every time I’ve been here. The beer selection is decent, but doesn’t cater to everyone. I definitely will not be coming back here, the service is subpar. I don’t even understand how bars like this exist.

Worst service I’ve seen in a long time. You can not blatantly ignore customers just because you’d like to close a section. I’ve worked in restaurants all you had to do was ask and I would happily have placed my order with the bartender. Black haired waitress you suck.
You’re clearly more interested in flirting with the bouncer than taking care of your customers.

Bad experience won’t be back. 20 minutes for first drink one hour passed and ordered second drink as food did not come out. Took waitress 10 minutes to determine that beer on list was out of stock. Gave up on second drink. Stromboli was soggy/​greasy and wife did not like crab cake sandwich.

So I’ve found my new spot close to my house and great place food is nothing but amazing service is spot on lunch or dinner drinks are good too. The turkey club was my favorite can’t wait to go again!

Lotsa beers to choose from.
Good staff.
They say the pizza is good, it’s average. Not much flavor but the lack of a big thick east coast crust is appealing. Good start but get a better or more sauce.
Nachos were good.
Club was good.
Pirogies were excellent.
Average place, average food, average price…

We came here for a private party over the weekend. There is a separate room which we used that holds approximately 40 – 50 people comfortably. It was also free to use the room, assuming that you ordered food in advance. Is it the fanciest place you will ever be? Probably not. But, it worked out very well and fit our needs. The staff was very helpful and made sure everything was running smoothly. The food — sandwiches — was tasty. We also had macaroni salad and pasta salad. I didn’t have any of the macaroni, but the pasta salad was off the charts delicious. They didn’t have any desserts to choose from, but you could bring your own and drop them off in advance, provided they were store bought and not homemade. I would definitely use this room again if I had a need in the future.

I used to frequent the Fogelsville location often. Food was very good as was the service. I was excited to see Hops coming to my end of town and restoring what was a local landmark eatery. However, we have been there twice and received slow service. The second time, our waitress would just lean over to check on us they were so understaffed. The food was decent the first time but disappointing the second time. We ordered the homemade perogies They were delicious. But there was only 3 of them as an app. 5 would have been perfect. For an entrée, my ‘hot ham and cheese’ wasn’t even toasted and my date’s Rachel was bland despite being covered in cheese. The drinks were cheap, and that’s nice but my rocks drink came out watery, which means either it sat for too long waiting to be served or their ice is not being kept at the right temp. I really wanted to like this place but I can’t say that we’d go back. There are too many other options out there to settle for ‘meh’. Hope things change soon. One other thing – the remodel looks amazing and is a real upgrade to the area. Just extend that to the ladies room, the food and the service.

So far it’s been great. Very attentive waitress, doesn’t hover, but doesn’t forget about me either. Pierogies were very fresh and tasty. The chili was delicious. I thought about asking for hot sauce as I like my chili spicy hot but decided the flavor was enough. Extra for cheese and onions but worth it. The steak sandwich was soggy. Tasty, but soggy. And I didn’t get the cheese I requested. All in all-​good service, nothing exceptional about the food, but it was good and cold beer. All at a reasonable price. I’ll be back.

Good place to go for food, but be prepared for violence. I went outside to have a smoke & Elliot, who is an employee, smashed my beer glass nearly missing my head had I not ducked. High as a kite, went totally awol. Greg gave me a free beer as the goons moved in. I called 911. DO NOT patronize this place after dark. South Whitehall police responded quickly but not quick enough. Elliot tried to sell me drugs. I conversed him & got him to the patio where he almost killed me. I’m an uc. I went there to celebrate a friends birthday. Now I stay up to protect my home. Checking my bank account now. STAY AWAY if you love life. I was unarmed & the South Whitehall police could care less. REPEAT STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE. Food is good but not if you die. Pressing charges tomorrow, well today, as it’s 1:35 am EST.

This was my first stop at the Paddock. I have passed it for 25 years and was curious. I noticed that there had been a major upgrade to the outside of the building and decided today was the day!
As you drive into the «parking lot» you think of Fallujah… really in bad disrepair. Holes, ruts, no lines, etc. But hey, so what. On entering you immediately notice «the smell». It is not overpowering or anything but makes one wonder what the heck is causing it. Not a clean fresh smell but once you look around you can kind of tell why.
The carpet is old and torn in many places. The booths are dated (60’s?) and have tape on them to cover the rips. Many of the walls have panel which I will assume came from a change in the early 70’s. Classic.
The men’s room was not particularly clean but did the job so lets leave that one alone.
Plenty of TV’s. I counted 22 though I may be off a few. Nice new back room on the dining room for private parties and it looks super. You can see that there is work being done because there is new exposed drywall that is not yet painted. In general the interior is dated.
Having watched way too much Restaurant Rescue ShowI fear what the kitchen was like if the dining room was that dirty and dated.
The Quesada’s were SUPER. Really top notch and the price for them excellent. The Popeye chicken sandwich was just crazy salty and over seasoned, however, the server was a great guy.
I am willing to bet they can turn out good bar food there but doubt I will take the opportunity to find out. Though it appears they are making efforts to modernize and clean up the place it is simply not even in the done yet zip code.
With all the great places to eat in the valley they need to pump up their game. They seem like nice folks there and I did enjoy the 80’s music the whole time. Restaurant’s need to be consistent in their food and service and clean at all times. If not, they will not pull in the target regulars that they need to keep going.
Good Luck Paddock.

Service, no smile
The pizza IS pretty decent here. Tonight, service was meh. When asked to bring garlic powder, she brought garlic salt.
Pizza was like it usually is (very good, not orgasmic though), but the server needed an attitude adjustment. If I could give 2 ½ stars, the half star for security, I would.

I grew up frequenting the «Old Paddock.»
What the Old Paddock lacked in customer service, rodent control, and clean bathrooms, it made up for in character. It was the sort of place where your grizzled waitress would smack-​talk you right back should you decide to give her any sass. Order a Manhattan and they’d make it with double the booze AND give you a sidecar on ice – all for something like $ 2.50. Hell, the place had liver and onions on the menu. My grandmother ordered it once. And loved it. If you were to sit at the bar, the local drunks who planted their butts on the beat-​up stools would eventually tell you about something crazy like their prostate problems (true story, ask Jason C.). That’s if they weren’t there just to grab a 40-​ouncer of Mickey’s to go. Along with all the horse murals, the Old Paddock featured framed baby portraits on the walls. Ask a waitress who they were and, you’d guessed it, they’d give you The Sass.
At the New Paddock, few horse murals remain. (The new owners scrapped the largest painting on the far wall, along with the «ENTER HERE FOR BUFFET» sign.) They’ve cleaned the place up nice. The service is better. The beer selections go far beyond Bud. The fish tank isn’t murky. The bar is incorporated into the rest of the restaurant. Loud music plays and there are TVs everywhere. There’s a fancy new porch for smokers to flick their cigarette butts onto. And the menu is devoid of all those dishes your grandmother would have loved, replaced by less-​adventurous chicken sandwiches, so-​so salads, and an appetizer section that’s largely deep fried. In other words, it’s like bar food you’d find anywhere else.
Except for the pizza.
Though New Paddock has done away with the bathroom condom machines, stained ceiling panels, and vintage Ms. Pac Man machine (I mean, come on, REALLY?), they have retained the single best part of the Old Paddock.
Paddock pizza doesn’t taste like pizza you can order anywhere else. You could call it Old Forge-​style pizza, but that would short-​sell its balance of gooey cheese and tangy sauce. Each pie emerges (slowly) from the kitchen on a scratched stainless steel pan, blistered with what my family has long adoringly referred to as «pizza scabs» around the edges. These blacked bits of charred cheese infuse the thin crust with a flavor that begs you to have another slice, and another, and another… With a lager, it’s the best pizza-​eating experience you’ll have in all of Allentown.
If the New Paddock ever replaces the Old Paddock’s pizza, I’ll drop two stars from this review.
Bring back the Ms. Pac Man machine and I’ll add one.

All the bartenders (Craig, Derek, Ray, Jamie, Nina) have always been really nice and down to earth every time I have been there. They are fun and talk to their customers but still get drinks for everyone in a timely manner.
Their pizza is pretty yummy too.

Great find this restaurant was recommended by hotel. Great server Lauren. Swiss mushroom burger was homemade and delicious as well as the homemade large chunk of chicken salad club that was excellent. went back for dinner, home made pizza was almost as good as mine

They have 2 locations… this review is for the Fogelsville location…
They offer Red Bridge gluten free beer!!! A group of us came in on a Friday night, they have a cool outdoor seating area and a nice bar and what looked to be a nice dining room. We got a table in the bar area and even though the bartenders were not the fastest based on the amount of people in there we still had a good time.
They did the Savory burger with no bun for me with no problem and it was delicious and their fries had a great seasoning as well. It’s a nice cool laid back place that was nice to sit and chill.
Apparently they have 2 locations so just make sure you get to the right one. This location that we went to is the one attached to the hotel in Foglesville.

Came here while visting the lady’s family in Whitehall last week, hoping to grab a couple beers with her brother and his fiancée, do a bit of catching up, and watch a bit of the Flyers/​Penguins game, so I could heckle both teams. (Sorry guys, go Bruins.) Basically, looking for an average night out, but wow, Hops at the Paddock elevated the night from «average» to «actually pretty excellent»!
Many, many well-​placed TVs on which to watch either the hockey game or one of several bowl games. Extremely helpful wait staff, who accommodated us by aiding our move from our table after they mentioned that the live entertainment for the evening would be setting up where we were sitting. (Speaking of the live entertainment, big ups to whoever booked Adam Motto for the night — brilliant sing-​along classic rock covers, took requests, played everything from Bowie to The Cranberries to Skynnyrd. Awesomeness ensued — pretty sure we tried to book him for the lady’s brother’s wedding at the end of the night.)
But the best part, especially coming from the big, overpriced city? FOUR DOLLAR DOGFISH HEAD 60-​MINUTE IPA PINTS. We had an overall great time for right around $ 20 a head, not counting bills destined for the band’s request tip jar.
So, next time you feel like having one of those nights that start out relaxed and end up with you singing along to Bad Moon Rising with the entirety of the rest of the bar, go here.