Howards Drive In — Restaurant in West Brookfield

New owners, went downhill! As someone who lives local, I've visited Howard's several times over the years & formally gave a well deserved 5 star review. Well, unfortunately times change & Howard's now has new owners & is certainly not the same great place you'll remember from years prior, if you've ever been lucky enough to visit before new ownership took lead. We decided to stop for dinner recently on Memorial Day. It was a group of 3 adults, 3 children. It was crowded, which wasn't surprising because of the weekend & holiday. We noticed the menu appeared almost the same. Many young people working behind the counter, but several seemed a bit overwhelmed & confused. Our meal came to over $70, which was for 7, because we also ordered a meal to go for someone else who wasn't dining with us. While waiting for our order to be called, we sat at a picnic table behind the restaurant, noticing that they had added oversized Jenga blocks, Cornhole & another game to keep younger diners entertained while waiting for their meals. This was a nice addition I might add. Our food was called within a reasonable amount of time, only to notice that they had messed up one of the meals. It was a 2 cheeseburger meal deal, requested with one of the burgers to have only cheese/lettuce, the other cheese/lettuce/sauteed onion/mushroom. Well, not what we received! One burger had only mushroom/cheese/lettuce & the other had sauteed onion/cheese/lettuce. My son & I were sharing the meal, and I was very clear that the two burgers be made differently, which they did, but not in the way we had asked them to be. I returned immediately to the counter to bring this mistake to their attention & was made to wait while the server answered a phone call, then proceeded to prepare another customer's order upon a tray. After the inconvenience of the mishap followed by a lengthy wait, I was then asked to repeat how I wanted the burgers made. After explaining, the employee walked away before asking for a name. I had to yell into the window to regain her attention, though was polite about the overall ordeal & she wrote down the correct way to make the burgers & the name I had given. She actually had the nerve to ask "Do you want us to remake them?" I thought seeing as I was back at the window, incorrectly made burgers in hand, that was pretty obvious, but I guess not! When the second burgers came out, they called the incorrect name & we noticed how pink they were throughout, like medium rare, which was not how we ordered them to be. They were also rubbery tasting & nothing like the delicious burgers they once had, before the new owners took over. Others in my party weren't at all impressed by the seafood & complained of a weird tasting "Cajun flavored seasoning" on the fish, that felt like it didn't belong on seafood. These diners preferred the way it used to be also. Portions of seafood were still plentiful, but the taste was pretty disappointing. Nothing like the terrific fish of before. My daughter wanted a watermelon slushy too, and I should add that they had this item listed, but it was unavailable per request. Just "we don't have that flavor" not we're temporarily out, or any other offered explanation. So she ended up getting bubble gum, which she did like, but wasn't too interested in her kid's cheeseburger meal. My other daughter picked at her chicken tender kid's meal. French fries were decent. Didn't order any ice cream. Not too happy overall. Won't be back anytime soon unfortunately. Miss the old days! Very disappointed to be...

Howard's is definitely a place to go in western Worcester County! Been here a few times already, and every visit only makes me want to come back more! This place has some of the best fast food you can find, and with some great prices in tow. There's a lot to choose from, from burgers, to seafood, to chicken, to ice cream, and all of it is very well-made. The people who work here are also awesome! They are always super friendly, even if it's busy (which, if you've ever worked in food service, is not an easy thing to do), but these folks do it. The girl who rang me up today, while I didn't get her name, was just so kind and welcoming. She along with everyone else are hard-workers and clearly love what they do, and each of them individually add to the pleasant nature of this place. Which brings me to the overall aesthetic. Howard's is a spot that offers a lot to any age. Older folks and old souls will love its nostalgic 50's vibes; others will simply love the atmosphere and the tasty food. The place is small, but that's the entire point--it boasts an incredible small-town vibe that reflects upon a bygone era from many years ago that frankly, we need more of nowadays. In short, five stars isn't quite enough to describe how good this place is. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling through the area, or even locals who are seeking a new restaurant to try out. Howard's...

*edit- 5/2025 first time going this year and somewhat disappointed. 80 dollars for two large clam strip platters and 4 shakes. Ok, prices are up everywhere but we also got way less food. Like way less. That cost for what we had on the plate is simply not going to cut it. **

Howards has been around for a long time. That alone tells you they know what they are doing. Still not sold? Well go check out the 50’s vibe and enjoy some fried seafood, burgers, and a host if yummy foods. I highly recommend their milkshakes, but they also have ice cream sodas, and malts. The outside got a nice little makeover this season too! More 50’s feel with signage, old records, era music, and space in the back for kids to play some games. Parking can be tight at the busiest times but if you sneak around back chances are you’ll sneak into a spot. Prices are about what you would expect, though I feel with portion sizes you are getting a deal. Pro tip: order off the kids menu which comes with a decent amount of food with a cheaper cost. My go to is the kids clam strips and a shake! Teens at the counter are all friendly and do a great job. Tip them a little something!! Great place to see some cool old cars if your lucky. Ice cream is fantastic too! A small is like other places medium/large fyi. Definitely go...