Surfridge Brewing Co — Restaurant in Essex

Average beer with poor experiences! Went once. Won't be going back despite being walking distance.

Outside two-top tables were "reserved" and the manager chased down the host who was sitting us at one to tell us we couldn't sit there. Whatever, the host sat us inside at a table with settings (I assume there would be a server assigned if there are place setting with silverware and I saw servers going to tables outside). We waited 10 minutes, no server ever asked to take our drink order or if we wanted food. We could see three of them milling around by the host stand with the indoor seating being mostly ignored. I go to order two beers from the bar since there is no server coming to our table. I stand at the bar to get two beers, where the bartender brusquely tells me that she will help me at the other end of the bar that. There is no sign to indicate this and it appears to be setup as a service station for the servers. How was I supposed to know that I couldn't just order behind someone else to get drinks at a bar? The beer was average. The kolsch was drinkable, but the throwback IPA was bland. A server does finally come by once they notice our drinks are nearly empty after 45 minutes. In the hour we were at Surfridge indoors the outdoor reservation never showed up.

I don't blame the staff for the downfalls. This seems like bad management and design all the way through. The bartender although curt was clearly getting overwhelmed by being the only person behind the bar actually doing anything. The fact that outdoor seating can be reserved goes against convention, but if we'd known, maybe we'd have just called ahead. This place is being operated as though they have only been open for a week despite the fact they have been open for months.

Bonus: Less than half the indoor tables were occupied, but the table next to us was asked to move to a separate table from the one they had been sitting at for the past 45 minutes. And we saw food delivered to the wrong table despite less than 5 tables being occupied (two of which never even had a server...

I was not expecting the level of service or food that I received. This place was a little bit more bougie than the places I like to eat at. I've had many experiences where the better the place looked, the worse the food tasted. Surprisingly, even with such a beautiful atmosphere, my group was served delicious food. It was a simplistic fare but it was done really well. They make a lot of their sauces In-House. For example, my son had a Caesar salad and he was raving about the dressing they created. I had meatballs with toasted bread and it was definitely the most delicious thing I've had in a while. I've been to many places where they do not season their food, but this restaurant seasoned everything to perfection. Our group was so happy with our food that we were sharing with each other so everyone could experience how good our dish tasted! I never had a mocktail before, but their mango fizz was the real deal. Other people in my group had their alcoholic beverages and they were very happy with them as well. The cherry on top was the service we received. Our waitress was very nice and she stopped by at appropriate times to check in. I live an hour and a half away from this place, we were visiting the Essex Steam Train when we decided to eat here. We didn't have the best day due to traffic, missing our train and the hot weather but this restaurant made our day. I will be coming back because I was thoroughly impressed. That's hard for people to do so please excuse my long review! I'm sorry about the lack of pictures but I was enjoying my food too much to take...

Hidden landscape in the Essex, CT area behind the old “Witch Hazel Works” warehouse and next to the Essex Steam Train…. YES!!! You can MISS the entrance if you don't know where you're going as there is no big sign to speak of. Enter by the large water tower as you drive over the rail-road tracks coming off of Route 9. Love the vast, festive space—big bar, adult tables, upfront counter top tables for the kids to watch the pizza’s be made. Surfridge Brewing is a real Craft brewery and full-service restaurant. Looking forward to this spring to sitting outside and enjoy their outdoor patio. Word of mouth brought us here and it was fun-- the beers are all worth sampling. I particularly like the flavorful wheat Belgian, but the stout was complex and smooth. You can try a sampler of 5 interesting beers. There's a couple of big screens to watch sports. And here's something you don't see every day: a play area for the kiddies! I also hear that they're dog friendly. Our hostess was all smiles and helpful. What's not to like? Well worth a visit for beer, pizza & food lovers. Nice family...