Northampton Brewery — Restaurant in Northampton

Dear Northhamtpon Brewery (NHB),

Let me briefly explain to you why I will NEVER eat, drink , or lounge at your establishment again.

Last night my partner and I decided to eat dinner there to celebrate our first Christmas as well as me obtaining my licensure. At the high table next to us were seated three white middle-aged folk. One individual (he was seated on the outside) beginning speaking loudly about Trump as well as loudly imitating people from different countries , he identified this act as “speaking Chinese or Indian” . We decided to ignore it, as Queer Women of Color we never really felt that vibe before in Northhampton and we were not going to let that change our spirits. My parter has lived in NoHo for over a year and we enjoy walking into town or eating at local establishments.

The food wasn’t that great nor the drinks but we were hungry and decided to just try and enjoy our evening. All of this to say is at NO fault of NHB.Let me calmly explain what happened next.

The Trump group is comprised or one man and 2 women. I do not like to gender people but I have to for this story. The woman seated on the inside pushes past our table and forgets there is a LARGE step there. She grabs our table for leverage and everything on our table goes sliding down our legs and shoes and shirts. It was a loud commotion. Not only did everyone ignore us ( not NHB’s fault). But your staff at the bar ignored us which seemed so difficult as our bodies were faced towards the bar area (your fault). No one offers us water or club soda initially( your fault). I had to get up and walk over to the bar and ask for additional napkins( your fault). Prior me begging for napkins, the woman doesn’t apologize, she instead slams $20 on the table. My partner, says, I am glad you are okay. I do not say anything because our clothing is ruined and the conversation that I heard them having wasn’t my cup of tea. Her friend asks “did anything fall?” Which was completely asinine because we were wiping our clothing with the 3 napkins on the table. I say yes, “our clothing has ketchup, ranch, margarita, water, honey mustard sauce and our fries and plates are all on the floor. “ Once again half of the table was on the floor-no one has walked over) ( your fault).

They slam $20 on the table and say here’s for your trouble. Once again no one has walked over.

Now here I am at the bar, begging for napkins. I guess that hostess calls Brianna- our hostess- over. We tell her what happened and she proceeds to tell us how bizarre that is. She repeatedly says its bizarre as if we were lying. She probably refers to this incident as bizarre about 4 times. Not sure why we would make that up as our clothes were soiled.

Then she says “Do you want more fries?” No, Brianna we don’t want fries. I say “can you at least grab us hot water, more napkins and club soda.” Once again still using the three napkins left on the table. She does that then comes back and says “you both look sad.” No Brianna, we aren’t sad. Our clothes are ruined and you haven’t said sorry nor has management come by. Now, my partner has been to your restaurant with a friend ( who is white) and after being served the SAME SOGGY calamari plate we selected that night - your management team gave her a gift card . We didn’t need money- we wouldn’t even think of it. But its about decency during this holiday season. Your job is create an ambiance that is respectful, clean and polite to your patrons. You did NOT do that.

Brianna then says her manager took 20 dollars off the bill which in fact she didn’t. She just took the $20 left on the table and put it in her pocket. We saw her do it.

We aren’t fools. We are both Licensed Masters level social workers. I only say that to say this, you don’t treat customers fairly and will never and will encourage others to never go to a place where people can not be treated with respect. I am upset that I paid for that and like I said NEVER again.

Love always , Tiffany and...

We were in town picking up an order of furniture and saw the Brewery listed on Google maps. I was so impressed from the moment we walked towards the building. There was a sign outside advertising for workers that detailed an offer of good salary and health benefits. Upon entering the feel of a brewery pub is immediate but while feeling traditional the touches of modernity are also obvious. we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather and eat at the raised patio area. It is accessed by a set of wide stairs that take the patrons up to this elevated patio through a series of stairs and landings. The table was spacious and the seats comfortable. We had an excellent professional and cheery server. Even though she was the only waitress serving a growing lunch-crowd managed to attend to our orders and needs very well. We were able to process our bill with our server at the table. The food was delicious. My catfish bites and garden salad, delicious. My only suggestion for improvement would be to serve the salad on a slightly large plate or on a plate with slightly curved edges. It can be a bit frustrating to tackle eating a salad that fills the entire plate giving no leeway for movement as you cut larger pieces resulting in spillage on the table. I don't like making a mess. 🙂 As we left I saw the selection of bar logo tee-shirts that are the same as those worn by the servers with fun graphics. And, hooray, they even offered a variety of neck styles, round and v necks specifically that are usually lacking as most tshirts sold in restaurants offer exclusively crewneck designs, which I can't wear. Finally, the size of the restaurant is impressive with a variety of seating options and areas that I imagine would make it a great place to host a larger gathering, like in the upstairs patio with multiple levels, lots of seating, and a dedicated bar. I highly recommend the Northampton Brewery for its atmosphere, service, facilities, and of course its excellent food and...

I've been coming here several times a year since 1997. I always made at least one pilgrimage from northern Connecticut every fall to enjoy a couple of pints of Pumpkin Ale. I was not disappointed by the beer. It was as good as expected. I had the Pumpkin Ale and the double IPA "Vast".

My complaint was that the food was a disappointment. We ordered off the specialty menu. First up was the Joe's Spinach dip. This had absolutely no taste. Tasted like blanched vegetables. A tasteless melted cheese covered the dish which made it difficult to use the corn chips to pierce through. We sent it back to the kitchen and asked that it be removed from our bill. I had the sausage sandwich. It was smothered in more tasteless cheese and very few vegetables (peppers). The sweet sausage used was mediocre. My wife had a Basil Rathbone sandwich,again a plethora of melted cheese, one and a half slices of tomato and a two slices of red peppers. Very plain and unexciting. My adult daughter had the Chicken Parmesan, the chicken was to be stuffed with cheese and herbs, It wasn't or wasn't noticeable. again tasteless.

The staff was open to our comments. The waitress that attended us was attentive and friendly. The manager on duty listened to our comments on the food and apologized for our experience and treated us to a desert on the house.

We did not order our usual Ruben and Patty Melt sandwiches maybe they would have been better. But we walked away very disappointed in the food this trip. Tried to purchase a growler but was told growlers would not be available until January. There were posters advertising the sale of growlers and...