The Publyk House — Restaurant in Bennington

We go to the Publyk House whenever we can for dinner. That, unfortunately, ended last evening. Two in our party ordered the fish and chips. It was burnt, dry, fishmeal. I felt as if I were eating old fish sticks from elementary school - a fillet-o-fish from McDonalds has more taste. What they served was completely inedible. Our server, who did an excellent job throughout our visit, was very gracious and apologetic for the poor meal. She came back to our table and told us our meals had been comped. This was unexpected surprise as we hadn’t made that big of a deal about the poor quality of the food and hadn’t asked for any credit. We simply mentioned that it wasn’t good and proceeded to order desserts. Well… our surprise wasn’t over, when we got our bill we noticed that the $48 charge for the fish and chips dinners had been removed and replaced with a charge for two “Never Ending Salad Buffet” ($36) - a completely separate menu item that no one ordered. When I questioned the manager about this additional charge her only response was: , “WELL YOU ATE THE SALAD - DIDN’T YOU?” I was speechless. So shocked and stunned by her flippant, crass and condescending attitude!! I felt as if I had done something wrong!! Then I thought, we didn’t make and serve the dreadful dinner - your restaurant did… We didn’t ask for our meals to be comped - YOU OFFERED!! When you comp or take a dinner off of a bill - you don’t charge someone for something they didn’t order or take advantage of… the small salad we had was as part of the fish and chips dinner. The treatment we received after mentioning that the food wasn’t very good left a worst taste in our mouth than the food itself. Such a shame - for if the manager had acted in a professional manner and not been so utterly ill-mannered, defensive and insolent we could’ve possibly overlooked a bad fish and chips dinner and returned to try again another day!!. Unfortunately, due her dreadful behavior, we will not return. P.S. We did tip our server based on the full price of the meal “before the so-called comp” as she did a very nice job and it was not her fault that the food was subpar and the management...

June 15, 2025 - Took hubby out for Father's day. The Publyk House was very busy, as usual. we had excellent service by Jake. Food was good, although the prime rib was a bit tough. The ribs were dry, too. But we will still give 5 🌟. The service and atmosphere do matter.

March 2025 - We have been back to dine at the Public House a few times this year so far and it remains one of our favorites.

8/3/24 - New review. This is usually one of our favorite restaurants. But this evening was a disappointment all around. We did have reservations, but the table reserved for us wasn't available. Not a problem since they seated us at a different one. From the get-go service was sketchy. We waited a good 20, 30 mins for everything we ordered. The drinks were just awful, bitter and no alcohol! Hubby wanted ribs, ordered the BBQ, which was new on the menu. But, we were told he had to order 2 meats! What? So, he ordered 2 orders of ribs! They were so dry, so burnt and over cooked he couldn't eat them! Had to send the whole dish back. (Manager did remove this entree from our bill). Lost his appetite at that point. Thankfully, we got the wings for appetizers. My blackened salmon entree was good, though. Salads were good, and dessert was good - except hubby ordered cheesecake with strawberries and got cheesecake with coconut instead! Because it was so busy, we could see that all the wait staff was very busy, so we did leave a generous tip. But, this was truly a disappointment for us. We don't get out that often, so when we do, we expect it to be special all around.

Fall 2023

We went here to celebrate birthdays. There were 4 in our party. We had Hunter as our server... and he is one of a kind! So, friendly, courteous, attentive and a great sense of humor! The food never disappoints regardless of who is in the kitchen. It's the high standards that are expected at this great American restaurant that keep us...

My girlfriend and I were coming back home to NY from a day of skiing at Okemo and were craving some good food. We found The Publyk House while searching for locations on our route home. It looked good, the menu options looked great, and decided to stop. We weren't exactly dressed for dinner out, but no one commented and everyone was extremely friendly and cordial. The atmosphere and volume of the dining area we sat in (just past the hostess' podium) was perfect. There was a rustle and bustle, but not so loud that we couldn't still talk quietly between ourselves and still be heard.

She ordered a Pomegranate and Lemon Drop cocktail, I ordered the Rumchata Iced Latte. Both were quite enjoyable. For an appetizer, we opted for the Baked Brie (with Gluten Free option Crostini) which considering the chill of the day, hit the spot so perfectly. For our main meals, she ordered the surf-and-turf style sirloin tips, medium rare, with baked potato. I ordered the Hawaiian Chicken; both came with a fresh baked mini loaf of bread and the Publyk House's own maple butter, as well as a salad bar which we absolutely loved. The salad bar had just enough offerings to let us make it our own, while not having so many options to be overwhelming.

Our waitress, Alyssa, was positively great at her job. She seemed just between boisterous and happily familiar with us, just excited to serve us and make us feel welcomed, she was also attentive to us, but not overbearing.

While eating, the employee responsible for the kitchen was on the floor to answer a question about an item and if it was Gluten Free. Later on, I saw that same employee in the back smiling and laughing with the other staff. It's a sign of a great workplace and environment when things run well, and the staff get along. Overall this was a fantastic experience, and we plan to make this place a...