Four Fathers Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Cambridge

I just want to start by saying I am never this person. I am not one to leave a poor review ever, for anywhere or anyone… But what an incredibly AWFUL and embarrassing experience at Four Fathers. I’ve been coming here for years. Have always loved the vibe, the atmosphere, everything about it. Until yesterday. I will never go back.

We chose Four Fathers to kick off our annual “girls Christmas” celebration. 8 ladies, all ordered drinks, having a fantastic time. A miscommunication occurred and the server entered in the wrong meal for two of the ladies who happen to be vegan and dairy free.

The food arrived and the girls quickly noticed that it was not what they had ordered as what came out were meals that contained dairy and could not be consumed by them. The server was great, took the wrong meals away and brought back what was ordered within 10 minutes. Great!

Then it took a turn. The server returned to the table multiple times stating that he was sure they ordered the other food. That he clearly remembers them ordering the other meals (keep in mind what he is insisting they ordered…they couldn’t even eat due to dietary restrictions). He seemed to escalate a little so our table of girls asked to speak to his manager.

10 minutes later the manager “Amanda” came to the table and in an extremely unprofessional and defensive tone, asked, “Is there a problem here ladies?” She then proceeded to call us all liars. She yelled. Told us that what originally came out is what was ordered and it will need to be payed for. When our two friends who placed the order spoke up to explain the mix up, this manager says, “So you are telling me my server is lying to me and putting his job on the line?”. For 3 minutes she stood at our table telling us that if we don’t pay for this mix up, it is THEFT. And she would be calling the owners and police. She unnecessarily berated our table and was quite literally yelling at us over their mix up. We told her to please go ahead and call the owners or police and she stormed off.

What could have been easily solved with communication and professionalism was escalated to an embarrassing scene within the restaurant. Had the ladies been able to eat what they brought out, they would have… and happily paid for it. But they couldn’t eat it, and it was taken away from the table. Why would they pay for it?

As a group of women in our late 30s we felt as though we were being treated as children causing trouble. We were all in complete shock.

To end it all off we waited around at our table for the bills and to speak to “the owner” which never happened. We wanted to move on with our girls Christmas celebration so we lined up at the bar to pay our bills where we were met with a completely different tone from the server and manager.

It was a bizarre, unusual, shocking, and completely embarrassing experience and unfortunately none of us, our family or friends will ever attend this...

My fiancé and I visited back in early July to have a beer and to consider whether or not we wanted to get married there. It took 10 minutes just for someone to say hello or give any direction to getting a seat. Once we were seated, it took about 25 minutes to have a server take drink orders, and another 15 minutes to get beer. It was a Saturday afternoon, so we just let it go. I ended up emailing The Loft on July 4th to schedule a formal tour of the space. We did not hear back until mid-August after multiple follow ups on email and on social media. I know it is wedding season and everywhere is short staffed, so I also let it go and went for a tour a few days later on a Wednesday afternoon. Leah and Nicole were absolutely fantastic on the tour and restored my trust in Four Fathers being able to host our wedding and I was ready to sign the contract and give the deposit. After the tour, we headed to the brewery downstairs to have a complementary pint and lunch. Once again, it took almost 35 minutes this time to get a server to come over to us just to say hi (after going up to the bar to ask if a server was coming after 20 minutes) all while there was maybe 10 other folks in the entire place (again, it was a Wednesday afternoon). I am not sure if the server didn't come because the beers were going to be free, but we also wanted to order our own paid apps, lunch and dessert... It was in that moment that I decided we could no longer consider getting married here as the fear of providing a deposit and not getting support or service on the simplest of days made me question how I can trust I would get better on my wedding day? Extremely disappointed as my fiancé and I envisioned our wedding here and were prepared to have a 120 person event next summer. Funny enough, a few days later (and unknowingly), one of my friends had mentioned she had the EXACT same experience here and Four Fathers went from her first choice for her venue, to her last. I just have to say that every customer deserves a good experience, regardless if they are there to spend 7$ on a beer or 40k on a wedding - we didn't get treated well at either price point and I think that inevitably is your loss, not ours, as it took us a short drive to St. Jacob's to give our deposit to another venue...

If I could leave two 5-star reviews I would!

We were trying to find a restaurant that could seat 12 people (3x4 people families with 6 children under 10) and got the coldest shoulder from one of the big Italian chains (badbahboom bahbadbing) but I found Four Fathers Brewing on the map.

From the phone call to confirm that there was space for our group through to the end of our meal - I feel like I pulled a huge win for our group by finding this gem.

Things- We were a group with children. So my review heavily weighs on family friendly service, menu and atmosphere. If you're looking for a quiet date spot - still great. But sorry about my children 🫣

Our server took the order for children first (without being asked) like an old pro.

The children's menu on Sunday is $5 for kids under 12. F*$@#ing incredible. And the food was actually good

Our children were welcome to be out of their seats and playing at the ping pong table so we could converse like childless people. Thank you so much for this.

The food for adults was excellent. The side salad isn't sad - it's just a small version of their really good chevre and pecan salad with a nice vinaigrette. The burger was excellent, the chicken sandwich was excellent.

My dining partner had a flight of beer and is regailing me with all of the highlights. I chose a simple lime lager and was delighted that a 12oz pour was an easy standard.

Overall, I have so many good things to say. Will I come back? Yes, anytime we are nearby this will be a staple.

Thank you for having a wonderful space and a professional, friendly staff, clean washrooms and just an all around good hospitality experience.

What a relief we didn't end up at the...