Latest reviews from Middletown

“Visited a couple different times. Right off the interstate, so easy access. Street parking only, and at meters, but you only have to pay until 6 PM, so it’s not much of a commitment since the place doesn’t even open until 4 PM. Inside it’s pretty cool. Lots of beeriana on the walls. Definitely looks like it’s been around for awhile. They had a great draft selection, with maybe a quarter of it being CT brewed beer. They offer flights of whatever you want for a set $15. Since the beers I wanted weren’t anything crazy, I overpaid by a lot to do the flight, but didn’t know until I got the bill. Full pour prices are much more reasonable. For service, the first visit was pretty rough. Really long waits to order anything despite not being all that busy. The second time around it went much better. Different bartender, though, so that’s probably all it was. I averaged out the scores I would have given for service. All around, the place is pretty cool, but a place you should visit a few times so you don’t have to pay the fee for a the flights.“

JStax 2737 days ago

“Made the family detour all the way here so I could grab a kristalweizen tick on way to RI. Nice clean layout but didn’t have time to really browse but selection seemed nice. Mix six always good. Really friendly staff.“

Jow 3450 days ago

“This place has just as much character as it has beers. The food is great too.“

AaronDaniel 4084 days ago

“Decent food, fair prices, and a great selection of beers on tap (30ish). The beers on tap are usually not the most adventurous, but as long as you’re not looking for something uber rare or one-of-a-kind, their tap list will have something for everyone. “

rodisian 4453 days ago

“I giess if you lived in Middletown, this would do. I’d rather drink at home. So much fucking tchotchke. The draft beer list reads like the minor leagues of over-distribiuted craft beer. My Duvel was headless and obviously old. Draft rooms can.be done better.“

auerbrau 4499 days ago

“I visit Eli Cannon’s for a friend’s surprise birthday party and it’s really one of the better bars I’ve been to in CT. It’s a decently sized bar with different sitting areas filled with quirky beer-themed and randomly themed stuff. The wait service is very good and they even returned one of my friend’s beers because she didn’t like it, free of charge. Their draft list isn’t the the rarest around, but you’ll be bound to find something new each time you visit. I tried a jerk chicken quesadilla, which was delicious and my two pints (a Blue Point and a Rouge) came to 9.50. Not bad at all.“

joebudzjoe 4660 days ago

“another good beer guy in a terrible part of town. He stocks de dolle, 3 fontatein, etc, and can only sell favorties. Good to see people try. Check dates on bottles here.“

Ernesto987 4714 days ago

“Amazing on tap beer selection, excellent food. My favorite place to go to, hands down. Keep up the good work!“

Ernesto987 4798 days ago

“A nice selecion of beer, fair prices, the guys working were friendly. Main street in middletown is still a work in progress, a few drunks were in the store and some low lifes hang around right on the corner. Best selection in middletown though, worth dealing with the bums.“

Waterbury 4804 days ago

“Not only an excellent beer bar, but a top notch eatery and a great place to just relax with friends.“

JJAlexander 4878 days ago

“Definitely one of the top beer bars in CT, which isnt saying a whole lot, but it is a great place to go and get good beer. the choices are many, but nothing thats not too out of the ordinary. The food is typicial pub grub, not great, but the wings were ok, small but tasty. overall, eli’s is a great place to go for a few beers and chill out on the back beer garden.“

beerfest5 5058 days ago

“Looks small from the outside but goes pretty far back lots of taps at this place. They had three unique beers on tap and a couple local beers. Other than that just an average selection but great for connecticut. Didn’t have any food but I hear it was good from friends.“

rocbyter 5144 days ago

“They have many taps sure enough, but you have to catch them on a good day or the selection is just a bunch of so-so beers. The food is standerd pub fare, nothing to write home about. The atmosphere is cool, very welcoming to having a beer with friends.“

brewinandbbqin 5149 days ago

“It’s like buying a lottery ticket... on one side, they have 33 beers on tap. Could be an amazing selection... but you might catch it on an off day if they don’t have what you like. On one occasion, I didn’t know where to start... Avery Maharaja, Dogfish Burton Baton, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, Heavy Seas Loose Cannon... another time I think there best offering was a Dogfish 60 min. Still good, but if I’m going out for the night, I want to go around the world. Food is solid... always get the jalapeño poppers Russian Roulette style (one is injected with Dave’s Insanity Extra Hot sauce). Burgers are good too. Definitely worth a trip... but plan on a hefty bar tab.“

ToeNee11 5201 days ago

“I was rather impressed by this place, they had an excellent selection of Belgian beers, including many I’d never seen before in the states, such as: La Moneuse and Saison Voisin. Lots of lambics, including Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. Nice prices, generally. Quite a few singles. Lots of 750s, not so many smaller bottles. The American and non-Belgian imports were definitely much thinner. Will be back...“

auerbrau 5263 days ago

“This place must be hoppin’ at night because there are comfy sofas right when you walk in (and when we walked out-full and tipsy- there were a bunch of people waiting for tables). Speaking of tables, there’s only a few... but that’s cool. The bar was packed the whole time. It’s a family joint, so if parents are bring their kids to a beer bar, you know the food has to be good, which it was. I had the nachos (a must have) and the lobster mac & cheese (served in a trough). Staff was efficient and got us what we wanted almost right away. I ended up getting Lagunita’s Olde Gnarly Wine and Blue Point Fresh Hops on cask (which isn’t on RateBeer, WTF?) The only thing is that my barleywine was served in a typical bar glass (think mixed drinks) instead of a snifter. So proper stemware, not so much. Overall: Decent selection of beers of tap, good. Return: Yes. It’s so far my favorite place to go for beers in CT. #31 on 21112009, DG.“

DeadGirl 5269 days ago

“Funky and cavernous and covered with beery kitch, a very welcoming ambiance for a beer lover. The table staff is friendly but our server knew absolutely nothing about beer. They wouldn’t tell me what brewery made their anniversary ale either, which kinda sucked (both their not telling and the beer...). They really need to get on the ball with the glassware, too...everything just came in a standard pint sleeve, even the wheat beers. Other than that I really liked this place, It has a great outdoor patio/beer garden area. Decent pub grub, festive, fun atmosphere.“

Beershine 5459 days ago

“This is a little gem right in my backyard in Middletown, CT. Tucked discretely in the North End business district, it is definitely not the first place that somebody new to the area would gravitate to for good beer. However, the owner John is an intelligent, down-to-earth kind of guy who has a knack for getting some really nice beers from the distributors. Yet, I had written this place of as a wanna-be before a few days ago. Yes, they had a decent selection of belgians (Rochefort, Dupont, Chimay, Westmalle, Delirium, Unibroue, etc.), but it was all kind of stale, like no one had touched one of the bottles in years. I had seen that Ratebeer did not have an official listing of this place, and I was OK with that. But not anymore. This place just refuses to fly under the radar, and a lot of credit has to be given to its owner, John. He has recently re-vamped Forest City’s beer selection to be truly top caliber. I was SHOCKED to find Struise, Mikkeller, and 3 Fonteine as imports, and a huge selection of Southern Tier, Great Divide, and Rogues for domestic crafts. In the span of two weeks, this place has moved into the upper echelon of beer retailers in the area. Huge props, Forest City. Keep up the good work!“

for3929XMR 5661 days ago

“How cool it was to stumble across this excellent, quirky beer bar while passing thru town! A nice selection of taps that seems to change regularly. The beer was fresh and tasty too, no water added, thank you very much. The atmosphere is fun and offbeat, as the bar is cluttered with antique store goodies like barber’s chairs, old beer taps on the wall, etc. There are a few secluded little booths against one wall. The exterior is interesting as well. I hope to come back here again sometime - worth a trip here for those who enjoy cool, odd little beer joints.“

Slipstream 5687 days ago

“This place is a lot of fun. They have a decent beer selection, but focused too heavily on NE local breweries. They but usually feature some special stuff as well. Last time I went in they had Oak Age Yeti, Allagash Curieux and North Coast Old Stock Ale on tap. Food is pretty good, good pub fare with a fun twist. Ambiance is quirky, perhaps even a little distracting, but hey, we are here to focus on the beer . . .“

for3929XMR 5713 days ago

“I love this place. Great beer - more good taps than I can enjoy in one night. Great food - the ribs and the sweet potato fries especially. Great eclectic atmosphere and seating - you need to see it for yourself. Usually packed with a fun and beer-loving crowd. Phil and his staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and do a pretty good job keeping the orders moving. Big patio out back. Tuesday night tastings are very well done, often with reps and swag. My favorite craft beer bar anywhere.“

SanfordBrewer 5884 days ago

“Great place. Good ambience and good food. It’s disappointing that the flight o’ fries has disappeared, it was delicious. Beer selection is by far the best in Middletown.“

nramsburg 6241 days ago

“Great tap list. I’ve never even considered getting a bottle; there’s too much good stuff on tap to even think about bottle. Tuesday night tastings with free swag are also a big plus. Never gotten any food, but the menu is typical bar stuff. The ambiance is definitely busy. It’s a cool enough place that I’d still like to go there even if they didn’t have the great beer selection.“

mkgrenwel 6349 days ago

“It’s a tough call as to whether this, Delaneys or Willimantic are the best beer bars in CT. This place had an impressive tap list, but overall I didn’t find it to stand out that much over the other two mentioned. Still, I had no problem fiinding impressive beers on draught that I hadn’t sampled on draught before. Definitely worth a visit if in the local area.“

Cletus 6529 days ago

“It’s different, it’s interesting, it’s fun and it has all kinds of beers on tap. My best bar in CT. Food is excellent (for bar food-love the fries)Go here for tastings all the time.(usally Thur. nites) Great!! Worth the drive from anywhere“

Tomluvsbeer 6717 days ago

“Although this was a tap fest, I thought that the beers were poor. Rogue Saison, Thomas Hooker Blonde were not the best. Hoegaarden which I have many times before just didn’t taste right. The waitress was robotic and just couldn’t muster a smile. Considering that Eli’s is a beer bar filled just over the drinking age people, the food was fairly good. Especially enjoyed the Caribbean Jerk Chicken Pasta. Would not go out of my way to go there again, but if it were next door I’d stop in for a beer.“

Thaichile 6754 days ago

“I may have a slight bias, since I just graduated from Wesleyan and I’ve spent more than a couple tipsy evenings in the booths there. So I love it. The PBR that has been mentioned is a little gesture for the hipsters of Wes, who can’t seem to get enough of the crap. Nonetheless, they have a great selection. The food is pretty good for a random central CT bar, but it’s still just bar food. I’m kind of a food snob, too. The nachos are pretty solid though. Always ask for the hot sauce, of which they have an AMAZING selection. They’ll bring you a mild, medium, and hot. The hot is usually insane, so use caution. This coming from a guy who can eat two servings of vindaloo with nothing to cool down.“

WesBeerGuy 6904 days ago

“Often has some fantastic beers. However, one of their slots always is taken by Pabst Blue Ribbon which could be occupied by a much better beer. I’ve been introduced to some fantastic beers on tap here. Wish they brought more Belgian beers in, though.“

riordan93 7056 days ago

“This is rumored to be one of the best beer bars in all of CT. This place has 36 taps, with an eclectic variety of beers. They have belgians to PBR on tap! I didn’t have a problem findind new beers to drink on tap here. The food here is pretty good too. I had a caribbean burger. The ambiance is NUTS! It looks like a junkyard in this place with random little TVs all around. Very interesting place to enjoy a beer at. Recommended.“

DYCSoccer17 7112 days ago