The town of Fairmount doesn’t even exceed 3,000 residents—but it can provide a mean pizza and brew.
Bad Dad Brewery Co. is located at 407 West Washington Street and was founded in 2017 by Barry Howard “Bad Dad” and his two sons Patrick and Derek Howard. A bold, red-lettered logo with a giant “B” hanging on a white sign greets all who are driving by, while letters spelling out “Grains and Grill” on a feed tank precede it.
These two restaurants are both located in the same building and owned by the Howard family, but the family recently decided to remodel Grains and Grill’s section of the building into additional space for the brewery, integrating the former’s smash burgers into Bad Dad’s menu selection, Jas Giselbach, a bartender, said.
The inside of Bad Dad has an industrial aesthetic with high ceilings, metal and black walls and a cement floor. The entrance provides direct access to a bar that wraps around the left side of the room and sidles up to the taproom’s large metal pipes and tanks.
Across from the door is an enclosed area with two windows that peak into the kitchen where Bad Dad’s extensive menu is assembled. It features starters, sandwiches, sides, red and white pies and Detroit deep-dish pies.
I visited Bad Dad with three friends, so we decided to get several menu items and split them to experience the totality of the food’s flavor spectrum. We selected margherita, pesto and Detroit-style pizzas as well as the OG cheesy bread.
We were seated in a secondary dining room attached to the bar area, complete with regular and additional longer tables to seat larger groups. Although it took a moment before we were able to order our food because the restaurant was packed with hungry guests, our wait time following that did not exceed 20 minutes. Our waitress brought out each item as it was ready, and we were able to sample every pizza without getting overwhelmed all at once.
The OG cheesy bread came with sides of garlic butter and marinara sauce. It had a deep and fluffy crust lined with cheese on the sides for a crispy finish. The inside was layered thickly and created a satisfying cheese pull when we divided it up. Overall, the bread was mild and light, and its pairing with the garlic butter set up our taste buds well for the pizza.
The pesto and Detroit deep-dish pizzas arrived at the same time as each other. The pesto pizza was served on a circular platter, with a puffed, white crust, a spreading of thick mozzarella and pesto and several dollops of ricotta as a garnish. The creamy mixture of herbs and ricotta combined to create a fresh and bright flavor, and we kept coming back to this one.
The Detroit deep dish was the heaviest pizza we tasted and was voted the favorite dish of the night. It had layers of cheese, crunchy pepperoni and green bell peppers. Each piece was slightly soaked in pepperoni oil and marinara sauce, while the edges were seared with crunchy cheese, yielding melt-in-your-mouth bites.
The Margherita came out last and was a thin and light pizza. The crust was a bit tougher, and there was a lighter spread of marinara sauce covered with mozzarella, basil leaves and olive oil. The flavors lacked some of the pizazz I was expecting due to its lighter toppings and drier taste.
The food did well on a cost versus quality ratio, with quality ingredients and gourmet flavors paired tastefully while being priced at approximately $15-23 per pizza. We were pleasantly surprised that each pizza could feed at least two people after originally hearing that each item might only be enough for one person.
The service was warm and welcoming, as our server took time to chat and help us decide which items to order on the menu.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Bad Dad’s food to anyone who is looking for savory flavors in an ambient, family-friendly atmosphere with singular meal costs between $15 and $30 and larger group dining options under $80.
Nathan Deal, a local who has frequented the brewery since it was founded, said he enjoys the relaxing atmosphere because he feels there is always a friend to chat with. On the first Thursday of the month, he’s always there for trivia night. When asked to describe Bad Dad Brewery in three words, he had to stop and think.
“I just put it down to two—it's great,” he said.
I would give Bad Dad an 8/10—omitting two points for the slightly less-satisfying margherita pizza and lack of dessert options. Which, according to Giselbach, will be fixed soon with a dessert menu on the way.
While it is formally known as a brewery, Bad Dad understands that good pizza means gourmet toppings, fresh dough and lots of marinara sauce—and that’s why they make a pretty feisty pizza.
While it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, Bad Dad Brewing Co. is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m., Fridays from 5 to 10 p.m., Saturdays from 4 to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 3 to 7:30 p.m.
