Castles Kettle and Pub

Again with the slow service and wait for a table.
Beer is good but expensive, even for Blacksburg. Carrots undercooked but too long in dry, hot conditions leaving them quite caramelized in a very sweet and spiced sauce. So, aside from the slightly tough texture I liked them though were too tough, sweet and a bit over spiced for some I suspect. I had the stuffed chicken this second time and it was good but not great. Like the carrots, a bit overcooked I suspect with respect to the meat.
My wife loved the food. I preferred the shepherd’s pie I had last time. Last time I liked the soda bread but this time it was not as sweet and rather bland. The beer was good but expensive. I can get just as good in the Cellar if not better, with a better selection overall by far. If you really want better draught, go to the London Underground.
Gotta say, I was disappointed this time. Even with a lack of crowds, parking was difficult (not their fault), service was slow and the food just okay. However, I feel the management cares and IS trying to improve things (it’s their shirts after all) for the better. I hope they can get better food. To do what they want they need to get a cook the quality of Mickey G’s in Floyd only with Irish food.
WRT parking, they are in a bind. Local businesses are dead set against this restaurant. You can park across the street at Blacksburg Auto Parts or the old Exxon after their stores close so that helps. Perhaps Blacksburg should consider making it a responsibility of all businesses to allow free parking after they close in this area of town?
Price is too high, in my estimation, with too long a wait to have such rather slightly above average (at best) food.
The wait is too long and yet I know they have an upstairs room that wasn’t being used this day. I think they should open that upstair room rumored to hold 15 people when there are no scheduled users. For the reason of the crowd and noise and wait, I can’t recommend this place for large groups unless there’s something magical about that upper room.

Service slow and sort of clueless. 10 minutes between order and arrival of beer. Burger was extremely, disconcertingly rare. Potato wedges masquerading as chips were undercooked. Two requests for additional napkins cheerfully ignored. Also, the first three beer choices at the table were out of stock. I was under the impression that pubs were supposed to have beer on tap…

My wife and I were in Blacksburg on our way to our favorite Chinese Restaurant when I notice that Castle’s Kettle and Pub had opened. My wife and I own The Oaks Victorian Inn bed and breakfast in Christiansburg, VA and are always looking for new places to eat so that we can recommend them to our guests. We walked in and immediately loved the ambiance. We were greeted by one of the servers and were seated immediately. The menu while not extensive did have some very nice choices. I always opt for the burger. Finding a great burger in the area has been tough since I come from NYC home of great burgers. My wife ordered the fish and chips. After taking one bite of our food, we called for the owner to tell him that the food was amazing. The best burger I’ve had since moving to Christiansburg. The fish was in a beer batter and was very light and not greasy. The chips (fries) were in a class by themselves. Crispy and hot and probably some of the largest fries I’ve ever seen. While talking to the owner he told us that he created all the recipes. We decided to try the bread pudding for dessert even though we were full and I’m glad we did. It was incredible. They have also gone high tech. The bill comes to you on and Iphone where you add the tip and sign. You then have the option of no receipt or sending it via email. We asked the owner if we could take a menu which we added to our basket of menus. We will definitely return as well as recommend it to our guests.

We went after the student’s were gone for the year and we found the service excellent, the food (Murphy’s stew, soda bread and apple cobbler) to be equally good. We managed to have a short chat with one of the co-​owners and he appears to be dedicated to providing residents of this area with good Irish food, beer and surroundings. In our opinion he is off to an excellent start and we’ll definitely be revisiting — soon.

I thought their fish and chips were tasty, and my friends and I had awesome service! :) Plus, I love that they have the iPhone app that lets you pay your bill. it is really fast and convenient, and environmentally friendly because you can e-​mail yourself the receipt!