Linwood Grill (OUT OF BUSINESS)

February 11, 2007
I though this place was pretty lame - looks like a dingy, blue collar bar, both outside and inside - one pool table - lots of cold, open space - the most "impressive" thing on tap was Arrogant Bastard - all the beer tasted off, like they hadn’t been cleaning their lines properly - I was very disappointed, especially since I went out of my way to make time to come here, seeing that it is still the current, highest-rated beer bar in Boston proper - stay far away - you’ve been warned.

November 17, 2006
I really like this spot, they have great steak tips and lots of beer from Stone Brewing. The pool table is a nice touch, as is the outdoor patio.

February 28, 2006
we watched the yankee/bosox game here...drank several beers, they let us sample anything we liked. and the food was delicious. highly recommend. i think this place at night kinda turns into a typical bar with bands.

February 22, 2006 [ Updated September 14, 2007 ]
I love the Linwood. Home of so many good events, an awesome restaurant next door to the bar (same name) and while the ambiance is a bit bland inside, the friendly service makes up for it and more. Not to mention the tap list and bottle list. Cantillon, most trappists, lots of stone, DFH, tons of local beers. Awesome prices could be one of the best attractions ($14 for a 750mL of Cantillon Gueuze!!!). Fair amount of bar space, with the original, restored bar counter. Nothing rare will you find here, but just solid East coast stuff. Great location as well.

Changed ownership, no longer a beer bar

December 25, 2005
This seems to be one of Boston’s best bars and has good proximity to both Fenway Park and the Museum of the Fine Art, which is great when you want to get drunk before looking at paintings. I found the food to be delicious and the tap selection and bottle selection was great at phenomenal prices. The service was friendly as well. Would definately recommend this place.

November 3, 2005
The menu was very nice and had plenty of local and national micros, as well as great stuff from abroad. Any establishment serving Cantillon (although they ran out of vigneronne) deserves an automatic 13 in my book. And prices were quite decent for them (about 15 bucks for a 750, I’ve seen stores sell them for that amount). Nice taps as well, I got to try a pint of Harpoon impy stout, and it was pretty good. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and it was fantastic, however I’m no expert and easy to please in all things BBQ. It’s hard to sum up the atmosphere of the place, because my friends and I basically took the place over and made our own atmosphere. I guess it was a case of “Nul n’est prophète en son pays” (you can’t be a prophet in your own country), and the fact that we were 6 hours away from home turned us into social butterflies, we chatted with just about everyone in the house. We found the people there very friendly and we had a great time. And for those who judge a place by its toilets, the ones there weren’t the prettiest, but they were immaculate.

October 30, 2005
Driving back to NJ from a weekend in Maine, I convinced my wife and mother-in-law to stop off in Boston for lunch. “C’mon, its right off the highway”. Okay, I admit, I had the Linwood Grill planned out as a stop the whole time. I heard a lot about it and I couldn’t wait to check it out. No crowd at all. Just a softball team hanging out at the bar drinking. Looking up at the chalk board at the list of beers, I was not impressed. “What’s the big deal about this place ?” I think to myself. We order our food and I order an Arrogant Bastard – about the most impressive beer on the list. We eat our food (which sucked) and the ladies want to leave and head back for home. “There’s got to be more to this place!” I take a look around, and notice what may be a back room. I ask a waitress who is walking by what’s back there and her reply is, “Oh, that’s the main bar. It usually doesn’t open until 5, but the Rolling Stones are playing at Fenway so we opened it early.” Oh, yeah! “Wait ladies, we’re going back there for a quick one” Pretty nice selection. I had an Anchor Old Foghorn, since I haven’t had one before and it was in a small bottle. The young male bartenders liked to talk about good beer and were enthusiastic about what they were doing. Unfortunately, the ladies were getting restless and I had to bid a farewell to what seemed like a damn fine beer bar. Until next time Linwood Grill.

June 17, 2005 [ Updated March 13, 2007 ]
Nice place, still putting final touches on renovation. so my current ambiance rating is nuetral for now. Good prices , 20 drafts, roughly 80 bottle offering, Drafts were all 4.00, bottles ranged from 4.00 to 12.00 (at least the night I was there) Bartender was good guy, talked beer for a while and GM stopped by and introduced himself. Took some time to chat with us even though he was on one of his days off. Had some scallops with horseradish suace that were great. Met Brian from Great Divide while I was there. Live music will start happening soon, Jazz, Blues, and local Rock. This was a great experience, a welcome new comer to the Boston scene. A short walk from Kenmore station that takes you right by Fenway Park. The restaurant is seperate from bar. Call as the bar might not open until 5pm WARNING: An ownership change has taken place and I’ve been told it is no longer a viable beer bar by Rate Beer standards.