Lawsons do have some fine liquids!…read more Attended a wedding welcome party at Lawsons, in their main dining area. The venue itself was very nice, open and airy, the food was great and from what I can tell standard menu items, set up to be catered. The beer, cold and delicious and staff friendly. One cool thing that I learned is their gratuity system is set up to help local non profits and charities, with a new charity receiving all (possibly a portion) of the tips. A very thoughtful way to help the local communities!

my wife and I drove out to lawsons when we in Vermont a while back. The brewery is beautiful, and…read morethere is a lot of seating indoors. The bartenders were friendly, and the beers were great, obviously. It will definitely be in my rotation when we go back to Vermont.

Was it the 20+ mph winds and 10° F temperatures? The hours of mogul runs, cliff jumps and uphill…read morehikes? Or does Stark's Pub at Mad River Glen serve some of the best ski mountain food around? Hunger is the best spice they say! So those who eat here regularly may be more impartial -- but boy were we happy with our repast. There were the delicious VT beers drawn from clean taps; the buttery grilled cheese ($13; on Red Hen Bakery bread); the juicy, flavorful Local Burger ($18; Kenyon Farm beef burger with lettuce, tomato and onion on a brioche bun, topped with cheddar for +$1); the crisp, non-greasy fries; and the nicely composed Stark's Salad ($13; mixed greens with craisins, fried onions, carrots, candied pecans and crumbled feta in maple balsamic vinaigrette; +$8 for grilled chicken). I did not love the watery, bland beef chili ($8.50), but the snow-covered, somewhat child-shaped lumps of ice that followed us in to lunch told us they enjoyed it. Wait staff don't smile much (at least not on extremely busy holiday weekends when they are swamped), but they are kind and very good at their jobs -- my kind of people. When they do smile, you know they mean it. We've been shareholders at MRG for many years and have spent a good amount of time at this mountain. Really awesome ski conditions are hard for us to come by given global warming, the fact that we don't live in the area full time, and that MRG is about natural skiing (e.g. little if any snowmaking, no grooming on the big girl trails) -- so I guess we always feel some pressure to make the most of a great ski day when we are lucky enough to get one. To maximize time on the slopes, we almost always bring our own snacks and/or stick to the fast and friendly cafeteria. (Their veggie soup is awesome, btw -- probably scratch made.) If you're going for speed, it's hard to beat the MRG cafeteria. But on those occasions when you want to sit a bit longer to defrost your face and make sure that your more important appendages remain attached and functional, Stark's Pub sure hits the spot.

Food was pretty good. My son had the fish fry and it looked great! I had the grilled chicken…read moresandwich and it was tasty. My only real knock on this place is the service. They seem a little scattered. We waited a solid 15 minutes for anyone to even come to our table.

Fun local dive bar, a great place to talk skiing with friendly folks at the bar, right in the heart…read moreof the village. Very unusual movie choices. Good beers on tap and in cans. Decor wise, not much, and only 2 tables to sit at. It was chilly inside and we kept our jackets on Food - the good- the sandwiches are large and inexpensive. The bad- they were verging on inedible. The chicken was hot and the bread was ice cold, like the meat was microwaved.

Great local establishment. Dino and his family have it going on! Their NY style sandwiches are…read morenamed after family members. Huge subs!

Just returned from a weekend wedding here and we had a great time! EVERYTHING was…read moreterrific...Especially the staff. Everyone was friendly, accommodating, professional, etc. The rooms are mediocre but we knew coming in this isn't the Ritz Carleton. Overall very solid experience.

This review is for the inn only. The restaurant at this point in July 2022 wasn't open on Tuesday…read morenights (the only night we stayed). Also, just FYI, most of the restaurants in town are closed Mondays, Tuesdays and some on Wednesdays as well. Or the deli is open till 7pm but you can't order sandwiches past 2pm. ‍ We were only in the area for a day but weird closing times or days were highly prevalent. But I digress, Mad River Inn has lush gardens and thoughtful landscaping throughout the expansive property. It seems like a wonderful place to hold a rustic themed wedding as they have an outdoor chapel with seating and a dedicated indoor hall. The inn, tap room and restaurant are all very tastefully decorated in modern farmhouse style, with a lot of greige (gray-beige) paint that was very popular a while ago. Thoughtful touches are every where. Our check in person was very nice and helpful. We loved our room for our family of three where we could spread out and not be all in the same room all the time. The twin beds were wonderfully soft (my personal favorite) but the queen bed was definitely not as lush. I slept in one of the four twin beds as my husband snores. The bedding was soft and inviting. AC was great as it was a very hot humid day/night. The complimentary breakfast the next morning was next level good served by a very friendly, very accommodating chef. Homemade granola, breads, bagels, pastries etc but also a cooked to order breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and home fries. Juice coffee etc of course as well. So I would actually give this place 5 stars but took off some for not having a dining room open for guests every day and the fact that our whole family mentioned the constant low level banging noise we heard below us as we were all trying to sleep. As there were no guest rooms below us we surmised that it was probably a washer and dryer making the noises. Husband said an easy fix to this is an arrester on the dryer that can be added to lessen the banging. Or skip doing laundry past 10pm. Still would highly recommend. Wish we could have tried the restaurant for dinner.

Spent less than 24 hours here. It seems like it has been slow because I was surprised I was…read moreinitially the only one there for the night. Coming from 2 hostels on this side of the US with more influx of guests, I was confused by why there were no signs on how to enter for check-in or a reminder of lobby hours. There was nothing in front saying guests should go to the back to enter but yet there are steps leading to a front door that I later found out is always locked. No instructions on how to locate the lobby in the email either. I stayed in a 8-bed dorm room above the restaurant and check-in office. The room faces the road so you'll hear road noise since the one window is left open for the portable air conditioner. There was another dorm room right behind. Light sleepers will need an earplug. The bathroom was very clean, colorful, and had modern, cute features. Other things to note: - Not sure there is a shuttle (common with other hostels in the region) - Not sure there are lockers - There are bedside lights by every bed and power outlets are on the bottom bunks only. - The dorm room had a ceiling fan and portable air conditioner - There was Body wash in the shower but no shampoo or conditioner. - There are 2 or 3 toilets and 1 shower upstairs in that building. - The kitchen fridge is cute but small in size for the number of beds. - There are 2 living/sitting rooms - There are some board games available - There is a restaurant on-site. - A brew of coffee is made every morning. - There was no stove to cook

i got takeout so bear in mind this review only has to do w/ food rather than the other parts of the…read moredining experience. i got the chicken and waffles. the chicken was well seasoned but pretty dry and the waffle was savory, so the maple syrup balanced it out well. as a born and raised vermonter, i definitely needed more maple syrup than they gave me (i'm sure if you were dining in you could definitely get extra though). good quality syrup. i needed about double the amount of syrup and the chicken was still dry. it tasted pretty good though. i have been here previously and got the grilled chicken sandwich (takeout as well) which i thought was VERY good, so i think it really varies by menu item.

The best beer on earth. Necterome is amazing. Chef and food was unbelievable spectacular. We drove…read more2hrs to get there and it was well worth it!

Quaint brewery in VT that we just happened to stumble upon during a trip a few weeks ago. The…read morebrewery specializes in farmhouse ale and IPAs. The food menu is decently sized and has a lot of great lunch options. We had the mushroom burger and the grilled cheese and both were fantastic. The fries were very crispy and well-seasoned. I'm glad we stumbled upon the brewery and will definitely be back again in the summer!

Don't listen to the folks on here saying this place is "a hole on the wall." It's a funky spot with…read morelocal character and good food! From the skateboard wheel doorknobs to the ski masks behind the register to the chalkboard menus, Mad Taco has strong alternative vibes. The punk rock/ classic hip-hop soundtrack playing made this Xennial's little 90's heart happy. Other reviews are accurate when they say the tacos are absolutely packed with meat! My partner had the carnitas and I had the Colorado tacos with house mole sauce. SO good, I think this might be my fave mole sauce ever. He has food allergies; the staff were very knowledgeable and helpful in helping us know what was safe for him to order. We got the queso special as an appetizer... delicious and well-balanced. Def could've used more tortilla chips, as others noted, but that would've left less room for tacos. Finally, we got the tortilla soup. It had quite a smoky flavor and contained jalapeño slices, somewhat heavy on the spice. It had lots of chicken as compared to commercial soups. Smoky soups are not our thing. But for folks who are into that sort of thing, don't skip it! We liked the farm-to-table sourcing they advertised. The quality ingredients show through in everything they make. Also, the patio is dog-friendly; they even have dog bowls available outside. Glad our friends in the area recommended Mad Taco-- this place is the real deal!

We went here with some friends and kids and enjoyed a nice meal inside. The outdoor seating area is…read morealso cool and we enjoyed our food here. It also came pretty quickly. Food wise I like that they have a few choices for kids, although it's too bad they don't have a non-spicy ground beef option for kids. We split a special and the Ahi Tuna Tostada, which was tasty, although I wish the tuna portion was less meager. Smoked wings were decent and were spiced differently than others that I've had. Portion size was fair. Overall pretty positive experience and I'd come back to this location and/or explore the others.

Five of us recently stayed at the Slide Brook Lodge and had a great time. We rented the 5 bed…read moreprivate apt upstairs (the efficiency) for about $200 with tax. At $40/person/night, this was an unbeatable deal. The private apt can house five or even six (if two people share a full bed). The apartment was perfect for us. The beds were really comfortable, and the kitchen was great for breakfast in the morning before hitting the slopes, and the washer/dryer helped to dry wet gloves. There was a large flatscreen tv and comfortable living room (shared with the other hotel guests, but we never saw anyone using it) and also a really great outdoor hottub that we used everyday. Sugarbush is a mile away (and there's a bus stop across the street from the lodge). On the ground floor of the lodge is crowded tavern with great live music, and a foosball table. Sometimes the music would be audible from the room, but it was never a huge problem. Alex took good care of us and made great suggestions on things to do/eat in the area. He was also nice enough to let us checkout in the late afternoon (which meant we could shower before our long drive home on our last day of skiing). Besides our private apt upstairs, the other rooms of the lodge are small and bare and hostel-like. Check the website for pictures of those. You wouldn't call this place luxurious per se, but for a group of young people it's perfect -- really comfortable and affordable and got the job done. Highly recommended.

I just love this ridiculous place…read more My family has a vacation home in the valley, and whenever possible on Saturdays we try to take the drunk bus (free shuttle service on saturday nights) over to Slidebrook or Tevere. Things to know about Slidebrook: 1) Crowd is mixed at the bar, but often includes rowdy young 20-somethings staying at the hotel. Shenanigans often ensue, but there are always folks of all ages here. 2) The space itself is pretty freaking small, but I love this about it. Super intimate, great skibar layout. They cram the band in the corner and make it work. Awesome acoustics is a bonus. 3) The bartenders (little Jenny and big Jenny) are the shit. They are the PERFECT bartenders - a mix of super fun and inappropriate with a hint of "will smack a brotha down if he gets out of hand". Really great and hilarious people. 4) The bands are always sick. Dancing ensues. 5) There is a hottub upstairs that you can just go use. It is infamous and often full of drunk kids from New Jersey. But hey, you only live once. Highly recommend this place, just ignore whatever the 21 year olds are doing and go with a group of friends. We always end up staying way later than intended.

There was no doubt that we would stop at Blackback Pub for lunch when passing through Waterbury. We…read morewere fortunate enough to snag two seats at the bar on a very busy Memorial Day afternoon. Since it was a national holiday, the Waterbury Patriot Burger called out to me. Great choice- nicely spiced, cooked perfectly on a fresh brioche bun. The accompanying kettle chips were yummy. I chose to have a mug of Hill Farmstead Symposia-a delicious Rauchbier poured from a LUKR tap (side-pull). What a treat. Jane chose sliders that quickly disappeared. Her beer choice was Common People from Bluejacket-a micro brewery in Washington, DC. You can always count on the best beer selection anywhere at Blackback Pub. I only wish we were staying in town longer so we could enjoy more of their deliciousness. The bartender was very friendly and attentive despite being slammed. Looking forward to stopping by again when in the area.

Charming, welcoming pup experience with really creative dishes like delicious Japanese potato salad…read moreand date Brussels sprouts. Appetizers are better than entrees, which are burger-heavy and a little charred, but a rustic spot that's a great hang, especially if you're a beer drinker. So many great beers.

Karaoke happens here every Thursday and some Saturdays. It's always a great time with the KJ host…read moreTenacious T!

I navigated the alley back to this place and was not disappointed! Great bar with very friendly…read morestaff and well made drinks. It will be a stop when I return to Rutland.