Cold Harbor Brewing LLC — Restaurant in Westborough

A long read but worth it if you plan on hosting an event and you utilizing the function room.

First off, this review would have been a 5/5 based off my initial time - no questions! At that point in time, I came here the beginning of September with a few people for a couple of late night drinks on a weeknight. The food and drinks were amazing; service was excellent and I was very impressed with the new and improved location! In fact, I was so amazed by my first impression that I wanted to have my birthday party there at the beginning of November.

A few weeks later I called to plan my event for Saturday at 3 PM in the function room for a party of 20 (6 weeks in advance). They said if the party is under 20 people there is no rental fee, however if it was greater than 20 they would require a deposit. I said no problem I don’t think my party is going to be over 20 so I had put my full name, and phone number down for the reservation and that it was for my birthday.

The day before the event, I called a few hours prior to closing (I understand Friday nights are probably slammed) and left a voicemail for someone to return my call and no one called me back. The next morning I called again right when they opened at 11 o’clock as well as 11:15am and again no one answered. I had my husband arrive an hour early with balloons and to set up and make sure everything was squared away.., come to find out there was a paid private event already taking place in the function room that I was told was reserved for my party.

I understand paid events take priority but no one ever informed me and I tried to confirm on more than one occasion prior to the event. So by the time I arrived I came to terms with sitting at an elongated sectioned off area that was similar to a farmers table (so it was hard to talk to all my guests unless they were sitting directly next to me or in front of me). I was really looking forward to utilizing that function room for the shuffleboard and the fire pit outside right next to it.

As some of my guests were arriving, the staff at the entrance desk were directing my guests to the other birthday party in the function room without even asking the name of the party (So they did not take into consideration that two parties were going on at the same time for the same event “birthday”)

At this point in time I asked to speak to the manager when I explained everything above he looks at me and says “how would you like me to rectify this?” I had to let my husband take over to discuss all the issues and took a moment to step away.

As a solution they said they would give us a free round of drinks which ended up being 8 mini samples of the same type of beer for a party of 20!!

I can honestly say our waitress was amazing and made sure we always had food and drinks! Towards the end of the event, the chef created a food item that was not even on their menu which was s’mores tray with a dessert dipping mousse and it was incredible!

All in all: In my opinion - weekends seem to be disorganized chaos and the parking situation is atrocious. They were offering valet parking and double parking cars on the grass and it did not seem like the staff was in good communication when it came to the few issues mentioned. I hope this review is helpful in learning what they can improve on, and how to coordinate larger parties because the food and drinks are delicious and the service is good. Needless to say, I will never book a large event...

UPDATE 3: Returned for a 3rd visit in Dec 2024. Arrived just after they opened for a weekday lunch. The waitress pointed us to the QR code for the specials, which included 2 apps and a lunch wrap. I ordered the wrap, but was told they sold out. I questioned why they would have something listed as a special upon opening, and how they could sell out when we were the 2nd table seated. They said they sold out yesterday. So instead, I ordered the Turkey Panini, which the waitress recommended. It was tasty, but ice cold. It was as if it was pre-made and pressed in the panini machine, but they didn't warm it up enough to warm the contents of the sandwich. The waitress returned to ask me if I thought it was as good as she thought. I mentioned it was very cold. She replied "I got you" and walked away seemingly to rectify the situation. Instead she returned with the check. We only went because someone gave us a gift card, but I would never go here and spend my own money.

UPDATE 2: After reading how the owner responds to others who provide feedback, I’ve changed my rating to 1 star. This is a business that simply doesn’t listen to its customers.

UPDATE: Went back for a 2nd visit during their seat yourself Monday. More of a brewery feel. Food was better (pretzel bites!). Some of our wings weren’t very warm and the servers never came back after we got our food so we only got to have 1 beer. Upping my review from 2 to 3 stars. Btw… taking the high road on the owner’s reply to this post.

OLDER: I’m bummed about the new place. While there are kinks to work out (servers were very slow and not very present, food was a bit tasteless and below average, and the new payment process is clunky where you blindly hand your credit card to be charged), it’s just not your tried and true brewery tap room that everyone loves. I’m sure this place will find its way, and it probably fits well with a route 9 audience, but it lacks a local appeal or brewery feel. If you were expecting a Treehouse vibe that’s dog/little kid friendly with food trucks and a brewery/tap room smell and feel, you’ll need to adjust your expectations. It’s more like a cross between Beer Works and a gastro pub and only resembles a brewery from the outside. I live less than a mile away and was looking forward to an after work go-to for the family for good beer and casual atmosphere, but this place misses mark. I’ll continue to be a loyal juice freak customer and will try them again in a month or so to see how things...

Wedding Reception - October 2024

We just hosted our wedding reception at Cold Harbor this past weekend. It was in their private tank room. To say it was AMAZING would be an understatement. From start to finish it was perfect and that is all thanks to the Cold Harbor staff. I could write 10 pages just about Taylor, the events coordinator. She was absolutely fantastic, I trusted her with everything and she more than delivered. Every time we went to the restaurant for a walk through or meeting she made it so fun. She was so responsive to all of my emails and questions. On the day of when I dropped off my decor I knew everything would be exactly how I wanted it ... and that was all before the actual event.

Immediately upon arrival for our reception we were treated like VIP guests. When we walked into the room, it was EXACTLY how I wanted it. There was a mix of cocktail tables, long dinner tables and a leather couch lounge area. The tables looked beautiful and the view into the brewing area made it feel very cool and different. We were able to put a photo slide show on the two TVs and we used our custom playlist. It was the perfect mix of elegant and fun. Throughout the night Taylor and the Cold Harbor staff checked on me and my husband constantly. We never had an empty glass or empty plate. Someone even checked on me to make sure I was happy with the room temperature (seriously...VIP treatment). Our bartender was a huge hit. Not only did he make sure anytime I was in the vicinity of the bar to ask if I needed a drink. He remembered everyone's names and drink order. All our guests were raving about him. He even made sure to bring my mom a tissue when he saw her crying during speeches.

I will wrap up this very wordy review, with the food. I have received several texts from guests the following day saying it was "the best wedding food they have ever had" and "OMG I have to go back there for dinner". I am gluten free and there were a lot of options for me and Taylor made sure to bring me my food separately and make sure I had everything I needed. It was absolutely delicious from start to finish, and the s'mores cookies were apparently the best thing my friends have ever eaten.

If your thinking about hosting an event here, the answer is...