Hops N Scotch — Restaurant in Brookline

Went here for the soft opening on Tuesday August 7th and was very happy.

Service: It was a bit slow, but that is to be expected when a place is just getting its sea legs. The server was attentive and seemed nice.

Food: We had some delicious chicken livers and fried green tomatoes to start. Two simple, but delicious, apps that really showed the southern comfort food style I was looking for. The dipping sauces were great and I was left wanting more livers to scoop up the rest of the delicious dipping sauce with bacon.

For the entree, I had the fried chicken with collard greens and cheesy grits. The buttermilk battered chicken went great with the sides and couple well with the slightly spicy and sweet sauce that was served on the side. The grits were amazing, I had to keep fighting off my girlfriend so I could have more to myself.

My girlfriend had the BBQ shrimp. She loved the shrimp and the cucumber salad, but left the large mound of rice alone. We both thought that it was a pretty dry plate, save the cucumber salad. Jambalaya or red beans and rice would be a welcome substitute .

Drinks: I started with the namesake drink, the "Hops n' Scotch". It was a very interesting concoction, but I think they might need to tinker with the recipe in order to make you order another.

I then moved on to one of my favorite cocktails, the "Blood and Sand". It unfortunately came out very sweet with a little too much Heering and a scotch that lacked any smoke (Dewar's White label). I bet the same drink would be much better if the Dewar's were replaced with a peatier blend, like one of the Johnnie Walkers.

After much deliberation, I finished up with a dram of Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Can't go wrong with that!

My date enjoyed her drinks, which were both on the fruity side. I had a sip and enjoyed them as well.

Overall: For a soft opening this was great. I look forward to going back and trying out the rest of the menu and some more...

My date and I went the other night, 9/16, and were having a good time. The main server, a young gal, made us feel very welcome and was very friendly/set a good tone. However at 11:30pm ish, half an hour before their posted closing time, a server, or at least I assume he was one of the servers, came up to us to have us close our tabs, saying “yeah we’re waiting on you” in a not friendly tone, so we paid our tabs and continued our pleasant conversation while finishing our drinks. He then came back and said “we need you to vacate the premises.” I asked why their hours were posted as closing at midnight and he said since we were the last ones they were closing up. This server had longer hair but I did not catch his name. I know it’s not reflective of the staff as a whole since the young gal and the host who seated us at the beginning of the night were both super friendly. But that last guy really killed our happy vibes and honestly made us feel like trash that was being disposed of despite the fact we had paid our tabs and were quietly sitting outside at our table finishing our beer. I really wanted to recommend this place to friends but sadly cannot until this...

My husband and I had our 1-year anniversary party at Hops and Scotch with about 120 people and we can't recommend this amazing place enough to other couples or folks looking to host a large gathering. Every part of the process was such a joy and so easy thanks to the team's incredible attention to detail and willingness to make all sorts of dietary adjustments to cater to my gluten free self and some vegan friends and family. SERIOUSLY if you have food allergies - this place is the BEST for finding insanely delicious alternatives for all diets and lifestyles, especially for a big event. When the event night happened, everything looked amazing and tasted even better! Our friends and family have been raving about the ambiance, food and drink every since, and there is truly nothing we would re-do because everything came out as perfect as possible for a large, live party. I work in events professionally, and I can't get over how smooth, calm and joyous the whole thing felt. We've been patrons for years and recommend that you 1. Get there ASAP for delicious food and drinks and 2. Seriously consider hosting your...