Lennie's Brewpub — Restaurant in Bloomington

Updated-Updated Review (Dec 2024): Our friends wanted to try Bloomington Pub Quiz Trivia at Lennie’s on Wednesdays so we decided to go back. We quickly became regulars at trivia and while it is upstairs (there is a ramp around back for accessibility if you can’t do stairs), service is fantastic during trivia. Eliot is an exceedingly kind and capable server, remembering our drink orders and always being prompt with refills. My current favorite menu item is the bacon turkey melt with cucumber slaw, though I do wish they rotated the menu at least a few times a year since we’ve gone almost every week for the past 6 months I think I’ve tried everything that sounds good to me.

Updated review (June 2022): We decided to give Lennie’s another shot since we had enjoyed it last August and figured it would be less busy now that the semester is over. We were seated upstairs and were only given one menu for the two of us to share. We ordered the house root beer and lemonade as well as 2 traditional crust pizzas: the California and the Santa Fe Chicken. The Santa Fe Chicken pizza had very little flavor with extremely dry chicken and raw onions on it. The only flavor came from the BBQ sauce. The crust on both pizzas felt pre-made and was almost more of a bread-like texture than a pizza crust texture. The California pizza was decent aside from the crust. The upstairs was very empty with only 3 or so other parties besides us but it was very difficult to get the waitress’s attention to get refills of drinks and the check. Since our last 2 experiences have been so subpar we will not be returning.

Original review (Oct 2021): Had a reservation for 7pm and ordered shortly after being seated. We were told that they were out of both the house root beer and the traditional pizza crust which both were things we wanted. Food didn’t end up coming until almost 8pm and my pasta was only lukewarm upon arrival. The chicken on my pasta was dry and there were very few mushrooms. My wife’s quesadilla also had dry chicken. The waiter never came by for drink refills either. Overall we were very disappointed since we had come previously...

After a day of hiking my wife and I ordered food here. It was $50 for two spaghetti and meatball plates and some fries. Okay, that's crazy expensive, so this should be good, and we were hungry enough that just about anything would have been. We placed the order online and it said it would be 45 minutes. I'm glad that we didn't wait that long because my wife went in to get the food (she was less muddy than I was from our hike, so you're welcome) at the 30 minute mark and the fries were already cold. Not to mention that they seemed a bit undercooked, and I think it was like $8 for the fries. But the biggest issue occurred when trying to eat our spaghetti and meatballs in the car. I put a towel on my lap because the S&M (that's what I'm calling now) was super hot, as opposed to the fries. No complaints there, until I suddenly noticed that I was getting super hot to the point where I told my wife that I could no longer tolerate the aluminum packaging on my lap.

The problem was that there were holes now in the bottom of the cheap packaging that they use, and scalding spaghetti water was leaking through the towel and all over my shorts. Freaking awesome. Now, to be fair, I can't blame their plasticware for making a hole in their cheap packaging because they didn't bother to give us any napkins or plasticware with our expensive meal, but thankfully we always keep some in the car because we trust no one. So maybe we just had particularly sharp plasticware, maybe the aluminum bucket is cheap trash, maybe there was a hole in it from the beginning, I don't know. But I had to make a funnel out of the paper bag to drain the hot S&M water out onto the parking lot where we sat. In the end the S&M was fine and a fairly large portion of noodles at least, about what you'd expect for such a simple meal, the fries were limp and undercooked but didn't taste bad (the chipotle mayo that we got with them was good), but $50 for that is an abomination (was it just 2 meatballs per dish of noodles), even without the scalding S&M water experience and wet shorts that I had to drive 2...

This is a Btown institution. If you are a fan of delicious food in an establishment with great service and even better energy this is the place. Highlights include their amazing sandwiches, The Bacon Turkey Melt, the Lennies Original, their Rueben??? Chefs kiss. They have the best salads in the world. The Turkey Tortilla is on the mount rushmore of salads. Pro tip is to order it with a side of ranch and jalapenos, go for the ranch dressing and of course tell your server YES to freshly grated parm and some fresh cracked pep. Even their house salad slays with fresh crunchy veg, marinated red onions, ask for the house dressing with blue cheese crumbles and thank me later. Fantastic wood fired pizza, plenty of classics and create your own, same with their legendary calzones/strombolis, flat breads and amazing apps. Don't sleep on their Buffalo wings. I can confidently say that if you enjoy a classic Buffalo flavor, their gigantic wings will leave you satisfied. Do you like french fries????? Then you NEED to order a basket of fries. Get the Chipotle mayo and ketchup/nacho cheese. Delicious pasta dishes too. I mean, everything at this restaurant is AMAZING. I haven't even gotten into the fantastic beer and wine selection. Lennies has BBC in charge of the beers, so if you like pale ales, Quarrymen is the bees knees, if you want an unbelievable IPA, Rooftop is your choice. In the colder months, Java Porter is world class. Pair that with their super delicious French Onion soup with the meltiest cheese you've ever seen and you may have to go back at least once per week just for that combo. The vibes are immaculate too. With super cozy seating downstairs and a great bar and additional seating upstairs and a 2nd bar, this is a spot for not just a quick lunch but a great family dinner or an event for family, friends, or maybe a function for your company (the upstairs is perfect for a holiday party, birthday party, any event where you want good food, great service, and awesome beer and wine). You won't ever regret going to Lennies, but you may regret not being able to...