Restaurant Review: Brick Store Pub in Decatur, Georgia

The Brick Store Pub in Decatur, Georgia is a loud place. Even the large wooden door with antlers for handles creaks magnificently. Once you get the door open, the chatter spills out onto the sidewalk like a living thing, pulling you into the party inside. Brick Store isn't the place you go for a nice quiet dinner, it's the place you go to have a pint and bite with your friends.

Brick Store is in the heart of downtown Decatur, located in the square next to the old courthouse. The time you spend parking your car won't be the easiest twenty minutes you've ever spent, but it may be easier to handle if you drop your dining partner off at the restaurant to put your name on the waiting list before you go looking for a spot.

If you're the type who likes chatting with passersby, there are a few tables on the sidewalk, and they do offer full service there. But the majority of the tables are inside, mostly situated on the main floor with a few on the second floor loft. The décor is about what you'd expect from a place with Pub in the name: lots of heavy wood to match the aforementioned antlers on the door. There was a lot of exposed brick on the walls, and in some places it was in two layers, with knick knacks covering the ledges made by the front layer. The end result is a room with a lot of character.

Many of the diners appeared to be regulars, calling the wait staff by name and introducing them to the people they brought along. The waiters and waitresses were friendly and a little edgier than I expected from this type of restaurant - most of them were covered in tattoos. But when you consider that the place was opened by a few college friends barely ten years ago, the youth and the vitality of the place is less surprising.

The menu was smaller than I expected, about a half dozen items each of appetizers, burgers and entrees, with a couple of salad options. They also had an extensive beer menu. We choose the Volcano, their Brunswick stew in a bread bowl, and the fish and chips. The stew was quite good, a little spicy and very hearty. It's the kind of food that sticks to your ribs - it's easy to imagine farmers plowing all day with this stuff in their bellies. I was less impressed with the bread bowl - the bread was very doughy and sticky, although it was difficult to know whether that was its natural state or whether contact with the stew had done it. At any rate, it was heavy in my stomach and I regretted eating the little of it that I did.

The fish and chips were pretty standard. The fish came in four large squares, accompanied by a very good sauce that was in the tartar family but had something else in it, too. The fish wasn't as crispy as we would have liked. The chips - more like potato wedges than is typical - were a good size and nicely salted.

The Brick Store Pub in Decatur is a good restaurant to visit. It has a great atmosphere and tasty food. If you're ever in the area, check it out!

Details: 125 E. Court House Sq., Decatur, GA 30030. Phone 404-687-0990. http://www.brickstorepub.com/