The Publick House Brookline

August 20, 2009
I only visited the bottle shop, as I visited during the afternoon. Nice place, great wood trim, gives it a barnhouse/general store feel. Many coolers stocked with some great finds. Many from De Regenboog, some nice Swiss and Italian selections. Decent micro selection, as well; Founders, DFH, etc. There’s a wall full of classic glassware, although the pricing for these seems to be a bit steep. Beer pricing was average; all of my Belgian 330’s were under $8 and 750’s were $10-$15 (not including Cantillon). I’d love to return to stop at the pub.

July 24, 2009
Originally posted on BA (sorry). I was extremely excited to try out this place and wow, was I quickly let down. We walked inside and to the seating stand. The host asked if we wanted a table for two, and I asked it a seat at the bar would be OK. He snidely replied "which bar" and then pointed and grunted in the general area. We found a seat at the Monk’s Cell and after about 2 minutes (the bartender was having a in depth conversation with the guy 3 seats down) came and asked us what we wanted. I asked for a beer list. Without saying anything he grabbed two lists put them down and went back to his conversation. 3 minutes or so later, he asked if we "Finally" knew what we wanted. I ordered a Ommegang Rouge, but my wife who isn’t into beer that much said in a playful and joking manner "Its all a bit overwhelming, I don’t really know, there’s a lot here, I guess you don’t have a Bud Light?" This is kind of her standard beer bar joke to get some recommendations form the staff, and everywhere else we went she got plenty of help. This ass literally looked at her and turned and walked away. A couple minutes later he returned with my beer and went back and talked to his friend without even asking my wife if she wanted a beer. The final straw was another gentlemen came in and sat next the guy that the beertender was talking to. He asked him if he knew what he wanted, the guy said no and asked for a beer list. The bartender walked over to us, and took the list that was right in front of my wife, while she was looking at it, and gave it to the guy. That was the last straw. My beer was like 8 bucks. I threw down $9 to cover taxes and walked out. I’ve never been treated like that. Oh yeah, my wife never got a beer. This place has a good selection of hard to find beer. Regardless of how much good beer they have, I’ll never return for how we were treated. Edit 7/24: Since I put this review up the owner of the bar has sent me 2 scathing BM’s calling me a liar and fuckhead for negatively reviewing his bar. If you would like to see a copy of the bm, just contact me. I have it saved.

July 17, 2009
Visité pour la première fois le 11 juillet 2009, pour soupé. très bonne sélection en fut, donc des sortes que le Québec a, mais en bouteille seulement. La sélection de bouteille est débille, bref à quoi vous rendre fou. La nouriture est mi pub, mi éclectique.

July 13, 2009
Awesome place. I wish it was near home. Great bar ambiance. Service was pretty good. No kids menu. Selection was great compared to what i am used to though some of the selections were a little pricey. The food was awesome. I had a marinated steak and my wife had duck. I will go back.

March 29, 2009
Just a great solid restaurant/bar for beer. Ambiance is low-key, with dim lighting, wood interiors, and a twenty-thirties aged crowd. When I went at 9pm things were pretty lively. The taps were all quality, though not perhaps the most rare beers you’ll ever find. What impressed me most about this place were two things: proper glassware, and the special "Belgian bar," which served a stellar mixture of Belgian Ales and Lambics. A very quality stop if you are in the Boston area.

March 16, 2009
The Public House is a nice, cozy pub that gets very loud in the evening. The food was ok, but the service was very slow. The saving grace is the large tap and bottle menu, there’s a lot of quality beer to be had there.

December 10, 2008
Best selection of any of the Boston pubs I’ve visited. Very knowledgeable and friendly waitstaff, took time to chat about beer despite being very busy. Heavy emphasis on food, which was very tasty. Nice rotating stock. I will definitely go out of my way to get to this place whenever I’m in Boston.

October 26, 2008
Best place on the East Coast to drink beers. Knowledgeable staff, amazing selection, and just a fun atmosphere to be in while you’re drinking amazing beers. The food is better than pub grub - it’s tasty and designed to complement the beers. A must-visit for any serious fan of great beers, especially if you love Belgians.

March 14, 2008 [ Updated August 14, 2008 ]
Just absolutely one of the blue ribbon beer destinations in this country on either coast. Almost everything on the food menu is made with beer, and the food feels monastic and Belgian. A WC resident will get what they came for: Southampton, 6Points, Southern Tier, Dogfish, and whichever top-shelf Belgian is in bottles that month. Man. Worth a plane ticket.

March 10, 2008
After 3 visits, this is a composite rating. The feel is half cheers/half monastery. If this seems odd - it works. Everyone isn’t overly friendly and comfortable to the point of making you feel as an outsider, but getting to know the staff and patrons is accomplished over time. Public Service Announcement *PLEASE ORDER THE FRITES*. Jim really takes the process and the outcome seriously in the kitchen. Larry is a one-man band, singing the glorious hymns from behind the wooden bar. All things work together in harmony for those that seek this as an experience. If you are trying to rush in and out of here - you have missed the entire point. The people here know they have come to a sacred place, and are willing to ask for suggestions to put them on the right side of the gates. Oh yeah - the beer selection....a solid lineup of US and Belgians that changes regularly enough to reward frequent visitors. Come early, as even the bar stools are gone by 7pm on a Monday.