Saturday 11th of February 2012 09:10:54 PM

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Formerly the Frisco Grill & Cantina, this fantastic craft beer bar relocated a short distance in early 2011 and was renamed Frisco Taphouse & Brewery. After visiting the nearby Pub Dog Drafthouse, I chanced upon Frisco's new location and stopped in for a beer. Wow what a selection! Apart from Max's Taphouse in Baltimore's crowded Fell's Pont, I believe Frisco Taphouse has the best craft beer selection in Maryland. Located in a suburban shopping complex, Frisco is easily accessible, though the parking lot may be crowded. The atmosphere is inviting, spacious with warm colors, and behind the bar is a wall of widescreens. The bar features 50 craft beers on tap, and many more in bottles. As reflected on the flat screen menu, the selection is constantly rotated, and you will find many new seasonal, specialty, and import beers. It's too bad they don't serve sampler flights, because there were so many that I wanted to try! The beer selection is superb, the service is friendly, and the only tradeoff is that the prices are rather high. They are considering brewing their own beer later in 2012, so I will definitely make a point to visit again.

Sunday 26th of June 2011 01:21:37 AM

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This was on my list since I found them while deployed to Iraq(dec. 2010 to june 2011). My first night back from there, me and my wife went here.

1) The food might be tex mex but it is amazing. Some of the dishes have beer incorporated in the recipe so, if paired right, will knock your socks off. Don't let the older reviews discourage you from the food. I feel they must have changed their recipes or something because I loved it and so did my family.

2) We, again, went back the next evening, this time with my entire family. Again, they did not disappoint. The service was just great. Jaime, our server, was incredibly patient with us. 2 kids, and 2 fickle grandparents, so you can understand what she had on her plate.

The beer is nothing short of spectacular. They have a LCD up above and behind the bar that has what is on tap and as they run out, it refreshes itself showing what is new. They also have a hand mobile website that has what is on tap. They put this little notice on the tables that point you to the site if you can't see the screen of what's on tap. That, too, gets updated when the list itself gets updated. Pretty cool seeing as most have smartphones of some sort. Almost every week they have a featured brewery and at least 5 taps get dedicated to that said brewery. When I went, it was Flying Dog. Which being from MD, now living in NM, it was such a delight to be able to come back from Iraq, and get a great local brewery.

They have 2 casks with engines and you HAVE to try at least 1 of them, regardless of the style. If you haven't had cask conditioned beer, you must have it. I had Flying Dog's Single Hop Centennial and was just amazed how much different the beer was just by being cask conditioned.

It might be located next to a "battery store" but this place has it going on. A must go to place if you haven't been or if you are just in MD/Balt/DC area for a night and don't wan't the busyness of a major city like Baltimore or DC.

Tuesday 28th of September 2010 09:52:30 AM

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I started going to Frisco for the food before the re-model when it was just a walk-up counter with tables. Once they remodeled and made beer a priority, a weekly visit was required as they have all sorts of interesting and unique brews on tap. They are now also serving cask conditioned beer.

All the items I ever tried from the menu were very good, although I generally ordered burritos.

They have several flat-panels and are pretty accommodating about consensus-based channel selection. They also have "Pint Night" on Wednesday's where you can get beer swag. The staff was always friendly and the service was good.

I have moved from the area and miss getting my weekly fix.

They are moving soon to 6695 Dobbin Rd, Columbia, MD 21045 (about a 1.5 miles from their current location). Their site indicates to look for them in their new location around Thanksgiving 2010.

Thursday 23rd of September 2010 06:13:53 PM

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This is a hidden gem in a bland strip mall near Columbia. The food is tex-mex and pretty good, but the beer selection is exceptional. Stone, Moylans, Green Flash, Southern Tier, Dogfish, Brewer's Art...all on tap! When I was there they even had Stone Ruination 12PA. They had some very recently released beers, and everything seemed fresh. They had an impressive selection of tap handles around the perimeter, suggesting I've been missing thisi place for far too long. Wish I lived closer than an hour away, or I'd visit more. I will go back for sure.

Saturday 1st of December 2007 12:38:53 PM

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Don't let its location in a soulless roadside strip mall in soulless Columbia fool you - this is arguably the best beer bar in the entire Baltimore-Washington area. Frisco's makes exceptionally efficient use of its two dozen taps, constantly rotating through a dazzling range of domestic and imported kegs and casks. While the Gaithersburg Dogfish Head long ago gave up on trying to maintain their hop Randall, Frisco's has figured a way to keep their Randall running reliably every Monday night. Wednesday pint nights often have free beeraphernalia if you get there early in the evening.

Frisco's food is cheap, but can be a bit uneven. The tapas side of the menu (chicken emapanada, tequila shrimp), the buffalo burger and the breakfast burrito offer reliably tasty ways to block alcohol absorption.