A summer fave with my family and Brookfield friends. Eating by the water on a gorgeous summer day is wonderful. Lively bar crowd most nights. If you don't get there early, parking can be tough. read more

worst bartender ive ever seen in my goddamn life. This woman did not acknowledge me and my friend for 10 minutes and was rather eating fries behind the bar and talking to her friends sitting. She lost my friends debit card, make my drink wrong and didnt even apologize. she proceeded to charge me incorrectly and did not even offer to fix it. not ok. not coming back. read more

Great spot for summer. I put the nephews in the boat and we hit this spot up on hot summer days.nice atmosphere good beach food and nice boater community. Always hot girls and good music every weekend read more

If we could give this place zero stars we would. We have been coming for years and just came again today for my mother's birthday. Most of our family arrived by boat and parked at the dock. My brother and his girlfriend were unable to come on the boat and met us at the restaurant for a bite to eat. I had asked my brothers girlfriend to bring an extra towel when she came to meet us along with a bikini top (my cousin wore a strapless one and wanted to go tubing so we needed one with straps). THEY HAD NO INTENTION OF LEAVING THEIR CAR AT THE RESTAURANT OR JOINING US ON THE BOAT. While we were waiting for our food she went to grab the requested items and got stopped on the way back to the table and was YELLED at and BERATED by the manager Paul who threatened to tow her car. His behavior was atrocious and we will never be back. Publicly verbally attacking a 20 year old girl and embarrassing her in front of a room full of people is entirely unprofessional. If he had an issue with anything he could have pulled her aside. When we confronted Paul he continued to scream about how there is a sign at the top of the walk way which says you can't bring these things into the restaurant. The sign specifically says "no pets, no coolers, no backpacks, no beverages, no parking for boat pick ups" she didn't bring any of those things and had no intention of leaving her car. Clearly working in the service industry is not the correct career choice for Paul and maybe he should rethink this. We will never be back. read more

Down The Hatch - American Near Me - Brookfield, Connecticut

This place is a pitiful excuse for a restaurant. It's a fun bar with a great atmosphere, but to say they mail it in on the food front is an understatement. Only other problem is, they don't care because they're the only gig in town. So it won't ever get better. read more

The bouncer was very nice and welcoming tonight 5/9/15 at 9:30pm . Not packed or busy but still people at bar. We sat there for 8 -10 min at the bar right in front of bartenders register and not once did she (bartender with yellow zip jacket ) acknowledge us,or ask if we wanted a drink. She was took several orders from other people who were in the center of the bar. If it had been busy and packed we absolutely would've understood but it wasn't And because of her we Left!!! read more

Definitely agreed that the food is not what this place should be prided on, but instead its uniqueness and fun atmosphere. Parking is a pain and half the lot can sometimes be taken over my motorcycles that for some reason think they are parking a 18 wheeler, but its a nice place to sit outside in the summer read more

Unfortunate. Owners are incredibly nasty and psycho. Drove and met my family here for lunch (who were coming by boat)... Freaked out about us meeting someone by boat and parking here. We are PAYING CUSTOMERS TRYING TO EAT LUNCH. Such a cute place but def won't be back next season. read more

I was expecting a great view, marginal bar food and an overall nice night out. I got the great view. When our party of 4 arrived, we were pointed in the direction of several open tables. We sat, and sat and sat. After about 15 minutes, we flagged down the woman who pointed out the tables and ask for a waiter. After another 5 minutes, he arrived at our table with a "hello ladies" even though my son was sitting at the table. He was in the corner, so I was willing to give it a pass...perhaps the waiter didn't see him when he walked up. We ordered drinks and appetizers, fried calamari (bland and chewy) and a salad (simple, but fresh). My son was not carded, though newly 21 and in possession of a serious baby face. The waiter came back....eventually....and took our dinner order with a "what can I get you ladies?" We ordered a steak, a burger, 2 mahi sandwiches w/ mango salsa and an order of onion rings. Everything was bland and the bread was awful. The mango salsa was superfluous as it had zero flavor and only managed to make the dry, flavorless bread soggy. They even managed to make onion rings boring and tasteless. We had to ask for our check twice. This may be the only "restaurant" on the lake, but it is not the only one in town. They really need to up their game. I cant imagine a situation in which we would go back voluntarily. read more

If there were negative stars, this place would for sure get it. Yuck!!!! If you want to pay $10 for a frozen burger that was heated and placed on your plate with lays potato chips in a bag this is your place. The food order was placed and it was out within 5 minutes. Impressed? Yea, it kind of tells you about the food quality. The server even proudly stated that their food was always out that quick. Yea you get to look at the lake while you eat, woo who! Never would I go to this place again. read more

As others have said, the only redeeming value of this place is the location, everything else was terrible. It started with the aggressive, bouncers that were so concerned about what pathway we took off our boat, that 4 of them needed to attack the smallest, gentlest person in our party, escort him back down the dock and insult him with homophobic slurs. I felt like we stepped back 50 years into some steroid fueled house party. The bathrooms smelled and the service was slow, and it was empty. I've lived in this area for 15 years, and been here 3 times....now I know why....never again. read more

Nice view, not spectacular, but about as good as it gets for lake front dining here. Staff is busy, but pleasant enough. We stick to simple order, salads and light grill items, so not much to mess up on the food. Soft drinks come in small 8oz cups, so they don't go far if you're a bit dry from being in the sun all day. Lots of shade, a bit of breeze, makes the crowded dining area acceptable. The mob of smokers at the entrance gate helps quench your appetite. Visitor slips are constantly turning over, so be patient if you don't see one right away. It is what it is and it's not that bad. Inexpensive average food at a waterfront location that isn't stuffy or bankruptive. Worth a try. read more

Okay so the food is normally good, but that's about it. I went on one of the last Sunday's of summer at at 6 pm and they asked us to leave because they ran out of food! What restaurant runs out of food!! With that being said I would recommend it normally for the awesome spot and good food! But today was just not one of those days! I hope it doesn't happen to often. read more

Nice lakeside restaurant/bar, Only open during the summer because much of the seating is under tents on the decks that the boats dock at. Great view and lots of different people to watch. Great breeze coming off the lake. Good nachos, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and fish sandwiches. Fries are good as well. Reasonable prices, OK service. Kids are welcome and with the noisy atmosphere, go unnoticed. read more

Good, fun place for a dinner off of the boat on a summer night. Busy, but service is still good. Fried food is comforting and goes well with the atmosphere! Will be back next summer! read more

After reading all the negative reviews, we were very reluctant to try this place. However, we ended up being pleasantly surprised. Down the Hatch is a casual eatery situated right on the water with beautiful views of the lake. They played great music, the place is clean and has an extensive menu. I had the mediterranean wrap and my husband had a burger and we shared the Thai calamari. The wrap was delicious and fresh, he enjoyed his burger and we both enjoyed the calamari. But, the best part of the evening was our server, Matthew. He was great! He's an experienced server who made great suggestions. He has positive energy and a great personality. He made the evening that much better! We would definitely go back. read more

Upon arrival my friend and i asked a blonde server if we could sit at a six top table that was available. (We felt wrong just taking it being there was only two of us.) She replied with "what do you mean? You can sit here. However if you want drinks you need to order them there along with your food at the bar." So we did! As soon as we sat down back at the table, a small, oompaloomla old woman with no uniform abruptly stops and tells us we are not aloud to sit there. After explaining that we had already had permission by a server, she chuckled and replied no, especially if they're busy you can't sit there". Her attitude and dismissal of the permission we were previously given was quite embarrassing The foods over priced, it's crowded and loud, managers and servers are drunk, enjoying shots behind the bar in front of guests and allow old men to pray on the young ladies at the bar. Won't ever be coming back. It's an unsafe enviorment and they abuse the fact that they are family owned, and have no higher up to hold the staff accountable. I'll never go back here, all they have is a pretty location. read more

I have only been to the hatch while visiting friends who live on Candlewood lake. After the last experience I had, I would be quite hesitant to return. As you can read from the other reviews on here, this place is not customer friendly. They're about high price and low quality, and seem to forego customer service. The 'owner' or so he claims is rude and downright nasty. Customer suggestions, questions or even complaints should not be treated with backtalk and retaliation. It should be listened to respectfully, even if not agreed with. It is absolute truth that the only reason this place still exists is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. Pack a cooler. cheaper, and much less stressful. STRONGLY SUGGEST AVOIDING. Wait for new management/ownership. Can't be long now... read more

Been going for many years and the food was always delicious. This time the food was terrible. Mahi mahi sandwiches had a TINY piece of fish on a giant bun with a couple of chopped onions. (No mango salsa as described in the menu). There was no lettuce or dressing. Just awful! Fries were soggy. Wait staff was indifferent and slow, even though it was a slow night due to the weather. We were very disappointed. What happened?? read more