Liberty Tap Room & Grill

The hops are haute at Mount Pleasant restaurant

The Queensborough Shopping Center does not feel like a neighborhood. But when you step into Liberty Tap Room & Grill (on the site of the former TBonz Gill and Grill) you feel like your neighbors are in "the house."

The bars, one at the altars of flat screen televisions and the other an icy runway for oysters and shellfish, are filled with laughter, animated conversations and a constant tide of guests.

The gastropub effect is alive and well at Liberty Tap Room & Grill.

Lady Liberty has been selected for the design motif. Our Founding Fathers would be proud. These are men who preferred beer and ale and the cider was always hard! What better symbol to use to grace a restaurant and bar than that of France to America: the Statue of Liberty, symbol of friendship and amity.

The dark woods, gold colored stars wearing a patina of age, and a navy blue color palette create a polished but casual air. The words of Emma Lazarus, "The New Colossus," seems as appropriate in their script on the walls of Liberty Tap as they do on the base of the Statue of Liberty:

"give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses." To that we add your hungry and your thirsty.

With 30 beers on tap and the Myrtle Beach brewed Liberty Brews, thirst will be quenched. And at $2.50 a pint, your wallet will not be parched.

The bar is an animated space and the "keg room" gently buffers both its energy and sound from the dining room.

The menu plays it safe. Look for chicken wings both wood-fire grilled ($8.95) to Buffalo-style ($8.95) along with roasted chicken nachos ($7.95) and a trio of dips with chips ($6.95).

Try a tart Liberty Wheat beer with oysters on the half-shell. The oysters are served on rounds of crushed ice, a yin and yang of horseradish and ketchup along with France's classic mignonette sauce of vinegar, shallots and peppercorns. Those saltines, though, are a weak substitute for oyster crackers.

The assortment changes daily and since these are the same people who own Pearlz Oyster Bar, you benefit from the shellfish synergy. Expect to see Prince Edward Island, local oysters, Chesapeake Bay blue points along with Gulf and Pacific Coast varieties.

The Old Bay and beer steamed shrimp ($9.95) are worth your messy fingers and the perfect match for an IPA.

Salad lovers will find an assortment that will please. From a standard leafy greens house salad ($3.95) to classic Caesar ($3.95) or Crab Louis ($10.95) or an original take on the chopped salad ($9.95), Liberty delivers. The salad of the "day" was the iceberg wedge ($4.95) with apple wood-smoked bacon, creamy blue cheese dressing and "croutons" of blue cheese clumps making it the salad "most likely to come out of the kitchen" at the time of our visit.

Kudos for the ground in-house, all Angus-beef chuck burgers ($6.95-$8.95). The brioche buns provide a yeasty flavor, perfect with a hoppy beer. And the hand-cut fries and kosher dill make for burger Nirvana. Entrees are well-balanced in their assortment. From Lowcountry fish and chips ($11.95) to spaghetti and meatball ($10.95); steaks, sandwiches and pizza, they've got your back when it comes to diverse appetites.

Chicken and ribs ($16.95) are offered as a combo. The Mojo chicken was a little over-cooked; the ribs were tender with a sticky-sweet sauce. The Mojo sauce tasted a lot like the pineapple relish at Pearlz.

A simply grilled salmon filet ($16.95) was perfectly cooked. Its sides of Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus, both available as a la carte sides, were fresh tasting and well-seasoned.

There is a lot to like about Liberty Tap Room & Grill. It is a cordial place with friendly servers.

The TBonz Restaurant Group has wisely tapped into some of its veteran employees who go the distance to make your experience a pleasant one.

The bar works; the raw bar works. The simple and eclectic menu provides both value and assortment.

Ben Franklin would approve. This Founding Father believed "There cannot be good living where there is not good drinking."

Liberty Tap Room & Grill adds good eating into the equation. Do all responsibly.

Restaurant Review

Cuisine: American.

Category: Neighborhood Favorite.

Phone: 971-7777.

Location: 1028 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Mount Pleasant.

Food: • • •

Service: • • • 1/2

Atmosphere: • • •

Price: $-$$

Costs: Appetizers $3.95-$9.95; raw bar $3.50-$19.95; salads $3.95-$10.95; entrees $10.95-$17.95; steaks $17.95-$18.95; burgers $6.95-$8.95; pizza $9.95-$10.95; sandwiches $7.95-$13.95; sides $3-$5; desserts $5.95; Saturday-Sunday brunch favorites $6.95, omelet and quiche specials; daily specials.

Vegetarian Options: Limited unless one eats seafood.

Bar: Full-service bar; specialty drinks; micro-brew beers. Liberty Brews $2.50.

Hours: Monday-Friday 4 p.m.-until; Saturday and Sunday noon-until.

Decibel Level: Bar, animated; dining room, moderate; second floor area, varies.

Parking: Lot on property; complimentary valet.

Wheelchair Access: Yes.

Other: On Facebook and Twitter, www.tbonz.com. Live music on Thursdays; 30 beers on tap. Happy Hour specials 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday $5.95 appetizers; drink specials $2.50-$5 in bar only.