At South Park Brewery in Colorado Springs, the food is no laughing matter | Dining review

By Robin Intemann December 18, 2025 | updated 8 months ago

The Cheesesteak Sandwich with grilled sliced sirloin steak with butter grilled onions, American cheese on a grilled hoagie roll served with our Smash sauce and shoestring fries. (The Gazette: Cody Van Hooser)

It’s probably a good thing there aren’t any references to “South Park,” the cartoon satire that’s been on television for almost three decades, at the brewery of the same name; instead, it’s all about well-prepared fare and exceptional service in an animated (bad pun intended) pub atmosphere.

South Park Brewery is a two-story structure with the dining area on the second floor. There’s access from the 21^st Street door and the parking lot on the building’s east side, but involves walking upstairs to the well-lit multi-level dining room, bar and access to the southwest-facing covered deck.

Sargento brand fried cheese curds served with ranch dressing. (The Gazette: Cody Van Hooser)

Wings, pretzels, fries and cheese curds are the appetizer options. We opted for the fried curds ($10.50) served with ranch dressing. They were chewy, but nothing special.

Fried chicken sandwiches and a variety of burgers are the focus here, with the exception of the cheesesteak ($16.50). Thinly shaved sirloin steak, topped with grilled onions and melted American cheese, was packed into a hoagie bun. The meat was well-seasoned and tender, but the caramelized onions almost took center stage.

The chicken is brined for 24 hours in buttermilk, then hand-breaded and fried to order. Chicken breasts pounded to odd shapes about the thickness of a cellphone are in the chicken tenders basket, consisting of three sandwiches and one salad.

The golden brown coating was crunchy and, in the case of our Classic ($14.75) and Southern ($15.75) sandwiches, the meat extended outside the brioche buns. Sliced dill pickles were a tangy surprise. “Smash sauce,” a mayo-based accoutrement, was served on the side.

The chicken was tender and the thick brittle shell splintered with each bite, but maintained its crispiness. The bottom of the bun held up longer than expected, but eventually disintegrated so it was necessary to eat the chicken with a knife and fork.

The Classic differed from the Southern more than expected. Yes, it overhung the bun and was crunchy, but the latter included a layer of coleslaw atop the chicken, which was made with a blend of hot spices incorporated into the coating. Consequently, there was a lot of slow-to-smack-the palate heat, which was tempered a little by the creamy slaw.

The German Smash Burger is a smash style burger with a mix of seasoned ground bratwurst and angus ground beef served with sauerkraut, melted cheddar cheese and stone-ground mustard on a brioche bun. Served with shoestring fries. (The Gazette: Cody Van Hooser)

All of the hamburgers are made fresh daily with Angus beef. These are grilled smash burgers, so they’re thin and spread out from between the buns. Our German smash burger ($14.25) was a creative mashup of meats: ground beef and bratwurst. This was shaped into a patty, then topped with sauerkraut and melted cheddar. Ground mustard added authenticity to the theme. Best of all was how well everything worked together.

Sandwiches come with french fries. These were disappointing; they were bland, lacked variety in texture and were dull in color. Thankfully, the sandwiches were better than expected. Better that way than the other way around.

The selection of craft beers has something to appeal to most tastes. Cocktails, wine and soft drinks are also available.

Our server was friendly, knowledgeable and their attention never wavered despite it being a busy evening. It was fun being in a place where families, couples, groups and people of various, but appropriate, drinking ages, were all enjoying themselves and the food.