Cowbell Burger & Whiskey Bar

Super good Mac n cheese & chicken tacos. they have a few outdoor seating — which is where we sat! My friend ordered a burger medium rare and it came back well. He reordered a burger rare and it still came back well. The manager had to come talk to us and apologize — they were very friendly and apologetic about the situation and compensated us. Really enjoyed my time here. Drinks are a little pricey, one of them wasn’t very good. Great service. Definitely want to go back.

Full disclosure, I’m not a huge whiskey fan so if you are, the whiskey flights looked like a really great deal for someone looking to try out a few different kinds of whiskey. So definitely try that out if it’s your thing.
The first time a friend and I tried to go, we were told we could have a seat within a few minutes, but it would be a 3 hour wait for food. We wound up leaving, but I have no idea what would have caused that kind of delay.
A couple days later we were able to get in. Lots of unique options for burgers, in addition to your standard fare. Was a little disappointed that when our food arrived, our appetizer, salads, and main course all arrived within two minutes of each other so by the time I actually got to the main course it wasn’t warm anymore. I ordered onion rings as my side and was a little bummed that there were only three average-​sized rings. Not exactly what I expected for something that required an upcharge.
The restaurant itself was pretty loud and the music is generally rock music — a nice mix of new music and some favorites from the 90s — so I don’t necessarily recommend it if you intend on having a nice conversation with a friend/​coworker/​significant other.
All in all a good experience. I may stop in next time I’m in town, but not necessarily at the top of the list.

Our son and his girl friend brought us here for brunch, before we headed over to the ball park to watch the Charlotte Knights play a Sunday game. Although it was Fathers’ Day and the place was crowded, we had only a short wait before being shown to our table. I loved the décor that had pop and rock and roll icons on the wall (Beatles, Bob Dylan, Sinatra) while the big screen tv played music videos. I could see how the people who work in the area would like coming here for lunch or for an after work drink.
Food was very good. Husband was pleased with his drink. Small drawbacks were: 1) my order was mixed up, but the server made sure it was corrected quickly and I got my food only a few minutes after everyone else. 2) The ladies restroom is in an odd location. It was a one-​person stall and a line formed outside by the kitchen door. We were in the staff’s way and they were in our way.
Still I would make a return visit next time in Charlotte.

The wife and I were in Charlotte for a concert and went on the hunt for a local, non-​chain place to grab lunch before we made the trek back to RVA. After a quick perusal of our trusty Unilocal app, we agreed on Cowbell and were off.
While downtown, parking for Cowbell is a breeze as there is a parking deck just around the block. We got there a little before noon and were seated right away. The menu is, literally, all over the place (in a good way). While they, obviously, have an incredibly diverse selection of burgers, they also have wings, tacos, salads and a respectable chicken sandwich section for those that may not be in the mood for a burger.
Based on the server’s recommendation, we started with «The Sinatra» (fried mozzarella with sliced prosciutto, fresh basil, and tomato sauce). While you wouldn’t think that a little bit of salty ham could profoundly impact fried cheese, but it was a very welcome change of pace that certainly changed the flavor profile and was a solid compliment to the mozzarella!
For entrees, the wife went with the «Dumpling Burger» (Asian pork burger, hoisin glaze, slaw, and Sriracha aioli), but admitted that it was better in concept than execution. She felt that the glaze was overly salty and overpowered what could have been a really tasty (and unique) pork burger. The sweet potato tots that she got as her side; however, were out of this world! A nice sugary sprinkle really took the crispy pockets of mashed sweet potato to new heights.
I opted for «Big Will’s Breakfast Burger» (beef burger served on a croissant roll with an over-​easy egg, praline smoked bacon, honey mustard, lettuce and onion) and was very, very pleased. The burger was nice and juicy, and once the yolk of the egg broke, it took the flavor up a notch. The praline bacon was awesome, smoky with a slight sweetness that wasn’t lost amongst everything else that was going on in my mouth. I selected the french fries, but again at the server’s suggestion, went with them «Dali Style» with Sriracha aioli. Awesome heat and a great step up in flavor profile for standard french fries.
All in all, a great burger joint that I can see being VERY popular for late night after the «Whiskey Bar» part of their namesake starts flowing. Will definitely stay on our list of recommendations for folks in Charlotte!

This place is awesome! My brother and I came here about 2 months back. I had the Big Bell burger and I must say it’s one of the best I’ve ever had. My brother had the Jimmy’s page and he said it was delicious. They also have an amazing beer selection. I had the Birdsong Higher Ground IPA and it went perfectly with the burger. We then hung out there for most of the night to watch the NBA game, and after having a few more drinks, we decided we were hungry and wanted some munchie food. We then had the Disco fries and Whistle Stop sliders, both of which were really good. I highly recommend this place if you happen to find yourself in Charlotte and are craving a good filling burger!

I dropped in to Cowbell on a Monday afternoon for lunch with a friend. We were seated immediately — the restaurant about half full. I loved the atmosphere — kind of artsy meets rock n roll meets a bit of glam.
The menu has a really large selection of burgers (of course), chicken sandwiches, tacos, wings and salads. You get your choice of a great selection sides — including onion rings, sweet potato tots, mac n’cheese, fries, pan-​fried corn and cucumber salad.
I ordered the Jimmy Page turkey burger — which was topped with candied bacon, granny smith apple, cheddar cheese and pineapple sriracha. Turkey burgers require a bit of finesse — they have a tendency to dry out very quickly and be somewhat bland. I was thrilled to receive a juicy and very flavorful burger. The pineapple sriracha provided a mildy sweet, mildly spicy flavor that paired well with the apple and bacon. For my side, I went with the onion rings. Wow. I received 3 giant onion rings — the outside was crispy and cooked perfectly while the inside was soft and soooooo tasty!
Overall, I had a great experience. The table next to me had the Carolina burger and sweet potato tots — that also looked amazing, I’m excited to go back again and further explore the menu.

If you’re looking for a lighter option, I suggest the Jett Blue Wrap. Crumbled black bean patty, spring mix, almonds, blueberries, goat cheese and blueberry vinaigrette wrapped in a spinach tortilla. To be honest, I thought the combination sounded «weird» but ordered it anyways to try and be healthy. Boy was I wrong. The black bean burger was super moist and flavorful and all of the different ingredients really worked well together.
Plus it justifies ordering the sweet potato tater tots. They are like mini doughnuts and and sprinkled with brown sugar (or something similar). Oh. My. Gosh. Good.
Atmosphere was a little loud. And while the spiked smores milkshake was awfully delicious, not sure it’s worth the $ 10 price tag. Didn’t seem very «spiked.»

Sodapop burger.
Let me just say, I’ve never had such a good burger.
It came to you table and looked a bit small. But then I bit in to it and received and wonderful mouthful of bbq’y deliciousness.
Onion straws? Bacon? Cheese? Bbq sauce? Kill me now. You’d think all these ‘standard’ burger additions would taste like just that — standard.
No.
This was off the charts yummy. The burger was a perfect medium rare. Juicy and flavorful. Everything you might ever dream of a burger to be.
I can’t describe it.
It was great.
Big thank you to my waitress, Sam (super cute! Super pleasant! You’re the best!) She made my last night in North Carolina great (flying back to San Fransisco tomorrow).
Thank you Cowbell.

Excellent service and one of the best burger in Charlotte!
Excelente servicio y una de las mejores hamburguesa de charlotte !

The décor in this bar is nice, and there are some good beers on tap. I found the prices to be a little high, and service was at times sluggish. I had an order of pretzel bites, and found them to border on inedible; they had been cooked past the point of chewiness and felt stale. The accompanying cheese sauce was also disappointing.
I wasn’t here for long, and I probably won’t be back. The bar didn’t have Tuaca or Chambord, which isn’t a huge deal but their presence would’ve made the experience a little more positive for me. Perhaps their burgers are good; I cannot recommend the pretzel bites.

My first stop in Charlotte while down here for business was Cowbell. It was around 10, and while most places had closed the kitchen, Cowbell was open and ready for some business!
Place was pretty empty… But it was a Wednesday night, so I expected there not to be noisy. However, there was a musician that was playing there that night. He was one of this one man bands. It was great!
I ordered a house whiskey with coke ($ 5. Not bad!) and then a house whiskey on the rocks. Both were good… Expected for a house drink. I order d the F’in Tacos, which featured beef, pulled pork, beer cheese, and friend jalapeños. Got it with a side of Mac n cheese, cause ya know… Southern comfort!
Food came out pretty average as far as time goes. Tacos looked great, and tasted quite good. Mac n cheese left much to be desired. But, the tacos were tasty and not too filling.
I would for sure return. It was overall a good experience!
Go in confidence

Had Cowbell today after hearing good things about it through coworkers and on Unilocal.We were a group of four with no reservations and were accommodated within 15 minutes of arrival, around 7:45pm on a weekday.
They have a vast menu full of burgers and tacos, along with a nice selection of appetizers, salads, spiked milkshakes, and desserts.
Service was quick and everyone was friendly, especially the hostess!
Sweet tea! Oh how long it’s been since I’ve had legitimate Southern sweet tea. So good.
For starts, our table got the fried pickles and the «Sinatra». The fried pickles came with ranch sauce and were delicious, though I feel like the pickles were a bit too thin. The batter was good — not too thick and very crispy. The «Sinatra» was a plate of glorified mozzarella sticks that were shaped like chicken fingers and graced with plenty of prosciutto and some red sauce. These were nowhere close to frozen mozz sticks — they got a collective «mmnm» from the table. I’m not a massive fan of cheese sticks, so I’ll take their word for it.
I chose to have the PM Burger medium, which came with pulled pork, fried jalapenos, onions, and beer cheese. It’s definitely a messy burger that I basically ate with a fork and knife and skipped the bun, which I wasn’t too much of a fan of. The beef patty was not as seasoned as I’d like, but the burger as a whole was decent. It had some flavor from the pulled pork and the beer cheese, but the kick was just not enough for me. I would have liked more jalapenos. The sweet potato tater tots were the star of the show tonight — a little sweet from the potato and from what seemed like a sweet cinnamon dust on the outside. The outer was crispy and the inside was the perfect texture. I hate when tater tots aren’t soft inside and this was not the case. I would definitely recommend getting the sweet potato tots.
Decent spot for burgers in the Uptown area with a nice casual ambiance and good service.

SOUR TURKEY. Got a turkey burger, with avocados, and sourdough bread. The patty was a little mushy. Almost undercooked. I’ve had turkey burgers that were more beef like and solid. This wasn’t. The overall burger was great and the sweet potato tots are seasoned with cinnamon and sugar, just like a sweet potato. If I were to change anything, cook the patty a little longer or hotter. Make it crispier.

My second trip wasn’t as fun as the first, although I was able to eat this time. The Pilgrim burger was very good; turkey, Brie and bacon? Shut my mouth. The mac & cheese was alright, but I couldn’t taste the love.
The place was packed when I arrived, but I found a spot at the bar. Service was OK; the bartenders use the terms «hon» and «love» a little too freely for my taste. I mean, it’s not Hooters. There must have been a reunion or after party coming up; all kinds of industry folks at the bar. I had to move down to make room for them.
The whiskey selection was decent, although not as good as last summer and still overpriced. Understood that it will always be a little different.

Picked up some carry out on a Saturday night when I wasn’t feeling very social and wanted to savagely inhale a burger in the privacy of my own home. My food was waiting for me right in the front when I arrived and I was on my way home in less than a minute.
I had been to Cowbell a bunch of times for drinks but this was my first taste of the food. I ordered Big Will’s Breakfast Burger mostly because of the fried egg, and holy shit was it good… I think I blacked out after the first bite. When I came to, there was nothing but crumbs in the box and egg yoke on my face.
I ordered onion rings as my side and they were on par with the burger. They were super crunchy and the spicy honey mustard sauce took them to another level. I guess if I had to gripe about something I could complain that there were only 4 rings, but I definitely still felt plenty full.
I don’t know if I’ve ever paid $ 14 for a burger before but this was totally worth it. When I win the lottery I’m gonna come back and get the $ 20 GFY Burger with foie gras.
UPDATE: I didn’t win the lottery but I got the GFY burger anyway. GFY probably stands for «good for you» but I prefer to think it stands for «go f*ck yourself.» Anyway, it was a damn good burger, but not really worth $ 20.
The amount of foie gras was about as expected. However, the copious amounts of prosciutto (normally a good thing) seemed to overpower the taste. I will say that I really appreciated the delicious apricot marmalade though.
I satisfied my curiosity, but my suspicion was ultimately confirmed that foie gras doesn’t really work best on a burger.

Elvis burger was awesome! Sweet potato tots even better, but the s’mores milkshake is really where it’s at. I loved it. The place was busy and we had a large group but service was still friendly and fast. Our server was sweet even though our large group caused issues.

This place is phenomenal! I sat at the bar, ordered a bruiser burger with onion rings and was close to, if not, the best burger I have ever had!
Go there! Eat at the bar! Ask for Lyndsey! You will have an incredible experience, and to top it off, the guy next to me was drinking pappy!

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to Cowbell Burger & Whiskey Bar in Uptown Charlotte.
This modern designed gourmet burger restaurant/​bar offers a full array of starters, sandwiches, salads and tacos and a full brunch menu on the weekends.
Dora here. The interior was well-​lit, not gloomy like some restaurants where the bar takes center stage. Also, it was clean and lacked any musty odors from the night before, definitely a plus. And was it my imagination or did a hush come over the room when we walked in? So we might’ve had a good thirty years on most of the diners here, but service was friendly and efficient and they put us right at ease. :)
We started with Pretzels. These were no ordinary pretzels; they were small barrels packed with flavor, hard on the outside and soft on the inside. They complemented perfectly with the Guinness cheese sauce, which carried just the right amount of kick. These pretzels were great and something that we will be sure to try again on a return visit.
Dora here. I would’ve sworn the cheese dip was actually some type of Dijon mustard base. Light and mild to taste, but set my throat on fire. Yum!
For my meal, I chose the Dumpling, an Asian pork burger topped with hoisin glaze, slaw, and sriracha aioli on a Kaiser Roll and a side of Sweet Potato Tots.
This burger definitely had a unique taste with all the various flavors melding together. Makes me want to return soon to try another. If the burger was not great enough, the sweet potato tots took this dish over the top. Outstanding! Now I have never tried sweet potato tots but I can tell you they will be added to my plate whenever they are offered on a menu again.
Dora here. I really enjoyed the Boogan’s Bacon Burger. The patty was huge and meaty, and looked handcrafted, and the bacon marmalade and garlic aioli gave it an added pop. And fresh fruit? How could I resist? Check out that heaping bowl of berries and pineapple. Delish!
Looks yummy, right? It was! Even so, my fork kept wandering over to Ernie’s plate, and I snatched more than half of those Sweet Potato Tots. Yowza! Those tots sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon rocked! Heaven in my mouth!
We rate this restaurant five forks out of five for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. ~Ernie & Dora Hiers, Fiction Faith & Foodies Blog

I am having a hard time finding the words to accurately describe this place. I’ll start by saying the food was very good. I got the Danny California Burger which was described as spicy… I would describe it more as a mild heat that my grandma could handle with ease, but it tasted great. The staff were all very friendly.
The atmosphere is potentially the most hipster place I have ever been to this far East of Seattle. The music is a mix of 90s Alternative and modern pop/​hip-​hop. Think Drake followed up with Jimmy Eat World. The most «Cowboy» thing in here aside from the whiskey selection (which is pretty decent) is the bull horns hanging on the wall. All the rest is hipster art.
However, the food was good and the staff was nice. That’s all I truly care about.

This whiskey and burger bar is downtown and near several other bars. It has a good rock and roll vibe. We started with a couple of tasty drinks from the list of mules (variations on moscow mules). There is a large selection of bourbons and other whiskeys and several good local brews on tap. The burgers did not disappoint and were juicy and cooked the way we ordered them. Our servers were attentive.

This place has an interesting Rock n’ Roll vibe but I couldn’t really tell what they were going for. Eclectic decorations, rock star posters on the wall, big TVs showing 90’s music videos that are bumping over a high end sound system. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that good either, just kind of weird and loud. I definitely would not choose this type of place to come and drink whiskey though.
For food we got the Boogans Bacon burger. It’s one of those beef balls that isn’t flattened out into a pattie, not my preferred style but still very tasty. The bacon was pretty sparse and limp for a signature ‘bacon burger.’ The tater tots were pretty good although my wife thought they were too sweet. Had fried pickles to start which were also good.

Yummy but sooooo heavy! Our server/​hostess was awesome. I got the f’n tacos and they were delicious but like poo-​your-​brains out heavy. The sweet potato tots were yummy and reminded me of the Q Shack’s tots in Durham. The berry mule was very tasty. We loved the music videos playing and the décor. A great place to go if you have severe attention/​focusing problems and want lots to stare at. It was very slow in here on a Sunday evening– was nice.

Can’t believe I forgot to update this last year.
Am happy to report that we did indeed make it back here when we were feeling better and able to enjoy it fully. Met some friends here and the four of us were treated to great service, super food, and terrific drinks.
Husband was especially fond of his whiskey flight.
I loved my Danny California with Salad. Husband did the Bruiser again, only with big beautiful onion rings this time.
If you’re looking for a great casual place in the heart of Charlotte that’s not super expensive, this is it! Especially if you’re fond of burgers!

Post work snack with friends here on NYE. I had the Disco fries, which are a great compliment to coat your stomach prior to drinking. How I never noticed this place, I have no idea. Our bartender Lindsey was very lively and attentive. She sang at times and managed to chat it up with everyone while keeping the drinks flowing, food moving, and everyone happy. She spoke to everyone who came in the door and was simply really good at her job. I had a Peach something drink and stopped after that, as I had a slight buzz and this was my first stop for the evening. Their drinks are a little pricey at $ 12 average, but I suppose worth it. I’ll be returning to taste more of their food menu. Cowbell is a gem hidden in plain sight.

Pretty cool joint that has an 80’s theme, perfect to hit before going next door to the Roxbury. This place is ultra trendy. The place is very dark, making for reading the menu a total bitch… The music is loud, so just go there knowing this will help you survive if you want to actually have a conversation.
My only real issue was the Disco Fries. Claiming to be Montréal Putine style. Well I frequent enough Canada to disagree, I would say it is their version. The gravy was too rich, the cheese curds to few. They were okay to my wife and I.
I had the Boogmans + chedder and my wife had the Big Wills. Both were perfect! Tasty and fabulous. The patties are rather thick, not flat, so the juices retained does make for a messing — fun — interesting meal.
The mac&cheese was out of this world. Good stuff! And you can order it instead of fries with a burg. Also, the onion rings are tasty, served with a spicy sauce. But, really? Just three onion rings, errrrrr…
We sat at the bar and were defiantly taken care of. Great bartender! She helped me with my flight of Whiskey, Great recommendations…

I was pleasantly surprised by this place! I called ahead with a party of 9 on a Saturday (eek) and they kindly replied back, «We will get a table started for you.» I was shocked. We arrived 20 mins later with half our party, and they indeed had a table ready for us. The atmosphere was very nice.
It’s a whiskey bar so of course I had to try their Manhattan. It was lovely. I was impressed by their drink selections. Alcoholic milkshakes, beer cocktails, local draft options, whiskey galore, and a long list of mules and cocktails.
We ordered the bruiser with caramelized onions, gorgonzola, and a blackened seasoning. It was cooked a perfect medium rare! And those sweet potato tots… yum! My friends thoroughly enjoyed their wings and burgers as well and were very impressed. I’m so glad we gave it a chance!

By all stretch of seriousness… The wings here were the very best I’ve ever had! Ever!!! And I am a wings gal!!!
The fries, onion rings and wings… Well above expectations!
Try this place! You will not be disappointed!

We came here for dinner on our first night in Charlotte, NC. We got seated immediately at a table pretty close to the entrance. It was a bit cold outside, so it was a bit annoying to me whenever someone else came in. Still, there was a good amount of TV screens to watch the games going on for the weekend. The waitress started us off with our drink order. I got a traditional mule and the fiancé tried out a local beer.
For our meal, we both got burgers. I got the «The Melt» burger that was made on sourdough bread and had cheddar cheese and grilled onions. It was alright for me. I felt like it was something I could make myself. I also got the house fries which was seasoned well with parmesan and herbs. The fiancé got the Boogan’s Bacon burger with some sweet potato tots. He liked how it was put together and that it wasn’t sloppy, but the taste did not wow him. He did enjoy tater tots and liked how brown sugar was sprinkled on them to bring out more sweetness.
Service was great. Our waitress did a great job keeping up with our order and my preference of having mayo on the side for my french fries (yes, I’m a weirdo).
I think the food just did not wow us… Maybe another try when we make it back in town.

I want more Cowbell!
Last time I was in Charlotte, this little burger joint was right around the corner from where I was staying and I debated going in a couple times but never made it. This time (while in route to Ohio) I stopped in Charlotte for lunch and the Cowbell was my destination of choice. Being that it was after the main lunch hours, the restaurant wasn’t very busy and I was able to saddle right up to the bar and grab a stool.
After perusing the long list of burgers & getting some beer recommendations from Lindsay behind the bar, I settled on the Bruiser Burger with sweet potato tots for this dining adventure. My blackened beef patty came on the softest onion Kaiser roll with horseradish cream, gorgonzola and caramelized onions. The burger also comes with shitake mushrooms, but I opted to go without. The cooked to medium burger was juicy and overflowing out of the bun. I don’t know when it will be, but I’m looking forward to trying more of what they have to offer in the burger dept. The tots were so good, I could have eaten a bucketful. They had the slightest sprinkling of — I’m assuming — cinnamon on them that perked the flavor up a bit without making them too sweet.
I didn’t partake in any of the whiskeys offered at the Cowbell, but I’ll save that for next time.

We came here on a Saturday night to get some food and watch some college football. We got here around 10PM and it was still pretty packed but we luckily got the last available table. They have a main dining area right next to the bar that has about 5 – 10 TVs displaying different sporting events as well as music videos. Service seemed to be pretty slow as it was pretty crowded but also it looked like they were light on staff.
The menu is a little diverse for mainly being a burger joint as they also have tacos, salads, chicken sandwiches, and appetizers. We opted for the burgers of course which they have quite a selection. I chose the Boogan’s Bacon which came with bacon, bacon marmalade, and a roasted garlic aioli spread. All the burgers also come with a side that can be onion rings, french fries, mac n cheese, and others. Our food came out relatively quickly given how slow the service had been.
As for the burger, it was really good but I think it was the garlic aioli that made it stand out. It was nicely sized and definitely juicy but came with a small side of fries. Overall, it was a nice casual spot to watch some football and eat some good food!

Do you like whiskey? moscow mules? burgers? Cowbell is your one stop shop for all of these and more!
I LOVED the interior of this restaurant/​bar. It was classy and welcoming, yet not too bougie. There are several tables, but also a good sized bar area if that’s what you’re looking for.
At first we came here for the alcoholic milkshakes, but after seeing the extensive moscow mule menu, we quickly changed our minds.
Mules are my jam, so you could imagine how hard it was to choose one!
–Cucumber mule: refreshing twist on your standard! The cucumber was subtle, but enough to give the drink a good twist. My favorite out of the ones I tried!
–Melon mule: a little too sweet for me. They use the melon grey goose, and the taste was a little overpowering
–Irish mule: whiskey instead of vodka! Better version of a whiskey ginger ale
They have whiskeys from ALL OVER, and while I’m no whiskey connoisseur, I learned quite a bit just from reading the menu lol
They also have a huge food menu. Too many choices, and again we had a hard time deciding.
–Pretzel bites: fried pretzel dough was good while hot, but got a little too hard when it cooled down. Cheese sauce is REALLY good though! Best shared with more than 2 people
–Ronstandt wrap: you sold me at avocado! also comes with chicken, black beans, corn. And… SWEET POTATO TATER TOTS!
Pro tip: DIP IN CHEESE SAUCE! mmmm so so good
–Disco fries: omg droooool poutine. Everything mixed well– fries, gravy, mushrooms, cheese curds. Mushrooms added a really nice layer to the dish and it didn’t get too soggy! Or maybe that was just us stuffing our faces in an efficient manner…
One of our best decisions while visiting Charlotte!

The food was good. It was totally an experience. Our server was hilarious. He would dance/​chat/​sit next to us and we honestly had a blast. We brought plenty of their flyyyyyyy whisky and had a great great time. I was impressed with their Chili. I’ve never had a chili as delicious as that one. I was amazed with the total (considering we were three couples and we drank so much) the total was super cheap (but again) I live in Miami.
Definitely recommended.

(More like 3.5 stars)
«I got a fever… and the only prescription is more cowbell!» (Am I the first to reference the SNL cowbell skit in a review for Cowbell?)
‘A friend and I tried this place out last night (a Saturday) and it was a good time! Granted, the place is very tight on space. Forget having much conversational privacy here — it ain’t gon’ happen, my friend. There is a large-​ish L-​shaped bar for your multiple TV screen viewing pleasure. Also, there’s a small outside eating area in front of the restaurant
We showed up around 6:00 and it was beginning to get busy. We both decided to have bottles of angry ale cider (cold and crisp!) and I went the chicken sandwich route. I ordered Vince’s cowbell with a side of house fries. My food arrived and I was surprised that the sandwich (and my friend’s burger) was on the smaller side. With Cowbell being known as burger bar, I was expecting heftier portions but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.
The chicken sandwich was very good. Slightly spicy and the chicken was juicy. Big plus with it being served on a wheat bun. My friend was also very pleased with her burger. Not exactly which one she ordered since she asked the waitress to bring a burger with a list of her favorite toppings! The fries were good just not anything memorable. They could stand to be a little crispier.
I decided to try one of their desserts — the velvet revolver — and was SORELY mistaken in doing so. It’s a dessert that’s described on their website as «fried ice cream with red velvet cake mix, chocolate sauce, and house buttercream.» Truly, this was the worst dessert I’ve ever had in a restaurant. There wasn’t an ounce of red velvet nor chocolate flavor to be found. The ice cream was coated in this beady, crumbly dark coating that had NO FLAVOR. Well, actually it had a weird greasy taste to it. We let the waitress know and the manager, Aaron, came over and profusely apologized and kindly took the dessert off of our bill. As a nice gesture, he sent over red velvet flavored shots for us.
Overall, the service was extremely friendly, pleasant, and accommodating. The food, there are some improvements to be made but the restaurant has a fun ambiance and makes for a nice place to grab a drink.

Okay — so you’re probably tired of all the bell references… so instead I will give warnings.
1^st Warning: there will be a song/​video playing that you will inevitably sing to, tap your foot to or dance to, no matter how little or how much you’ve had to drink.
2^nd Warning: the smell of these burgers cooking alone will make you want to eat large quantities of meat. Vegans included.
3^rd: the waitresses and bar mistresses are super fly beautimous — if you are a guy, please don’t stare as your girlfriend or spouse will likely hit you. You wouldn’t stare at the sun, would you?
4^th: this place gets hopping on the weekends — so if you like eating and sitting at the same time — make a reservation!
5^th: you will be back for more, but this time dressed as Bret Michaels, leather chaps, cowboy hat and mascara.
This place is super awesome! Give me a Kitchen Sink, the Sinatra and a Boogan’s Bacon any day of the week!!! You have been warned! Carry on!

Watch out, there’s a new Brunch spot in town and Cowbell is a sharp shooter.
We moseyed into Cowbell as a last resort on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. We had 13 people and had already been completely turned down by 5Church (snobs!) and then told by Dandelion it would most likely be an hour wait, but they couldn’t make any promises. We were walking by Cowbell and popped our head in just to see if they had any seating and lo and behold, they could sit all 13 of us at once, AND recently started serving brunch. Also, I think it’s important to note that they didn’t make us wait until our entire party arrived to actually sit down, which was awesome.
The first thing the waitress told us is that they had been doing brunch for a little less than three weeks and they would appreciate constructive criticism, which I thought was very honorable. Kudos for welcoming feedback!
The mimosas and Bloody Mary’s were poured with a heavy hand — again, a spectacular bonus. The coffee was on point and they never let our drinks hit the bottom of the glass.
The music (as always) was upbeat and really started the day off right. Who doesn’t want to listen to 90’s jams?! This is AMERICA.
Okay, the food — what you’ve all been waiting for…
The food was extraordinary — which was surprising to me most of all since they have only been serving brunch for THREE WEEKS?!$. Unheard of. There were lots of options and everything we got was fantastic. Started with the Apple and Cinnamon Croquettes (for all intense and purposes these are savory donut holes) served with hot maple cinnamon butter to slow dance with your taste buds.
Favorite brunch items of the group were the Breakfast Casserole (a little bit of everything all rolled into one), Lenny’s Sleepover (chicken tenders and fluffy waffles), the Benny, and the Sandy. But I got the casserole and you should definitely just put that in your mouth as fast as possible. Outrageous.
Overall Cowbell was in the stars for us. The wait staff was so sweet and accommodating (especially considering that we were already in our NASCAR outfits and deserved to be judged), the atmosphere was upbeat and fun, the food was mouth watering food porn, the drinks were heavy, and service was quick and we had a BLAST!
Overall rating? HELL YEA! MERICA!