Sunday 16th of September 2012 12:05:08 AM

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Sweetwater Taverns are a small franchise of Tex-Mex inspired brewpubs, which are part of a larger "Great American Restaurants" conglomerate. Their food is southwest-inspired, diverse American cuisine, including salads, sandwiches, seafood and other hearty entrees. They also offer a variety of in-house small batch craft beers. The Centreville Sweetwater is located in Central Ridge Marketplace, which has various shopping and dining options. The exterior is stone masonry and wood and there is a small corrugated steel grain silo out front. Enter through a wooden revolving door and the small brew house is on the left, which showcases their two copper brewing vessels. Their 30 stool wooden island bar bisects the restaurant. The decor consists of earth tone colors and orange and yellow lights, which create a warm southwestern ambience. They have an open and spacious dining area, covered by an impressive roof of thick wooden beams. This location does not have a patio. Two of their house beers are brewed year round - their delicious flagship Great American Restaurants Pale Ale and their crisp Naked River Light. Plus there are usually three seasonals on tap, which rotate through a list of about three dozen recipes. When I visited they were offering Yellow Devil Pilsner, zesty Wit's End Belgian Style White Ale, and rich and hoppy Midnight Rider Black IPA. My only regret is that they don't have a larger number of their beers on tap. In conclusion, Sweetwater Tavern has delicious food, a warm atmosphere, and great service. It's a great place for casual dining and a sampler flight of their house brews.

Sunday 2nd of September 2007 02:45:44 PM

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I've been to the one in Sterling before, but I decided to go to this one because it's a little closer to where I live. The surroundings of the one in Sterling is much prettier (lakes rather than stores) but the inside is pretty much the same. It's a western style theme with a lot of wood architecture. There is a lot of space for eating, as well as a lengthy bar in the middle of the restaurant. There are two large LCD HDTVs that play sports, which are situated over the back of the bar. The brewing equipment is visible in the front left corner of the building, with booths placed right next to them.

They have a lengthy beer selection list on their menus, but there are only five available at a time. The Pale Ale is the regular, along with the light, but the rest are seasonals (and a "Snakebite Black & Tan" which is a mix of a light and dark seasonal). All the beer is delicious, and you can't go wrong with a beer if it's your favorite style. The prices are fair as well, usually $5 for a pint, which is pretty much the standard.

The food is on the better end, with a wide variety of everything from hamburgers to seafood and pasta. Their burgers aren't really pub burgers, it's a little above that. I had the chicken tenders, which rather than having the regular breading, it had a very smooth and light textured batter.

This is probably one of the better brewpubs in the southwest Northern VA area. It's a place you can take your family for a nice meal or to just go for a few beers after work.