Located on The Commons in Ithaca, this restaurant is walking distance from many hotels. We had lunch here. I had the Prime Rib French Dip sandwich, which was disappointing. The beef was very overdone with not a hint of pink. The au jus was not au jus but a thick gravy with a layer of fat floating on the top. Fries were ice cold. The Falafel burger was good, sandwiched on a pita. Hummus platter was also well-presented with artfully arranged vegetables. As expected, they had a large selection of ales. Wait staff was very nice. Not bad but there are better choices nearby. read more

If I could give a zero star, I definitely would! It says that they close at 9pm, but we arrived at 8pm and the staff told us that they are actually closed. We thought that was weird and told us that they stop seating people after 8pm with an attitude like why aren't we leaving already! I am pretty sure we were not the only people who experienced something like this because many people left after us. All of us were just so confused with the management that they have. The business owner would be complaining that they are not doing well during this challenging time. Well, this is why they are not doing well, the other customers and us would have been eating there and helping them to get through it. Guess you have to arrive at least 2 hours earlier if you want to eat there. read more

Enjoyed dinner here while vacationing with a group of friends. The food and service was good, the restaurant was extremely clean. Outdoor seating is an option and there is a large selection of beers. read more

This place was great. The French onion soup was awesome. The pizza was pretty good. The lemongrass chicken was pretty good the noodles could have been better. The steak sandwich was awesome as well. They used to have a knife and fork steak sandwich with French onion soup... PLEASE BRING IT BACK! One of my favorite places in Ithaca. Don't forget to check out my profile! read more

See all

Wish I could've tried, has great reviews from Yelp plus locals and visitors, but hours aren't correct on website and apps. Came at 12pm on a Monday and they were closed. Disappointed we didn't get to try the food, but giving 3 stars for the rave reviews read more

We were seated outside and things were going well till it started raining. The server asked every table around us if they would like to move EXCEPT us. I don't want to draw inferences but what was common to the other tables was that they "fit in"while we did not. My wife asked the server if we could occupy an empty table and she rudely asked my wife to check inside and then proceeded to call her a bitch. The other ladies in the group were brushed off by the hostess. And while all of this was happening ; we were standing with our plates in our hands under some cover to prevent it from getting wet. Nobody helped us move the table inside. Once inside , we had to ask for water. It almost was like they didn't want us there for the way we looked. Fair enough , we aren't coming back. Yes , outlining the entire incident to our original server didn't help. She neither called her manager nor tried to make us feel comfortable knowing fully well that we were upset. Oh the food- pretty good. But I don't want to give my hard earned $ to a place that clearly employs staff who treat customers based on how they look. read more

If you are looking to wait around for a table (for 4), while seeing tons of open spots in restaurant....come to the Ithaca Ale House. Upon arriving the hostess seemed a bit confused just about life in general, had to ask her co-worker supervisor how and where to seat my group. Not sure how this person was in-charge of finding tables, after about 5 min wait, no one came back to the hostess and she ended up making an executive decision and seated my party in the back of restaurant, near another large party where so called supervisor was going on and on ....and on, about how awesome he was to the group seated behind us. I asked the hostess to tell our waiter/waitress to automatically bring over water, which she said very bubbly "okay", yet that never happened. Our waitress was great and attentive but the floor manager man child with all the hair is too full of himself, the way he was going on and on about "him" and failing to attend to putting a table together for a group of 4 is not good work ethic. I will not go back here. read more

My husband I ate here on a Friday evening outside. Fun atmosphere and great service. I had the Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna salad. Fabulous sesame ginger dressing with fresh ginger....the perfect size salad with red peppers, red onions, excellent seared ahi tuna, spring mix lettuce, wonton strips, and almonds. Decorated lovingly with little wasabi spots and a drizzle of a peppery dressing in lines around the edge of bowl. Would highly recommend and would return. My husband ordered the Chicken Caesar and was pleased as well. read more

Great food with a selection of beers although this not a brewpub. It has many local brews. Our fish and chips was the best I had since Ireland. I didn't expect the food to be so delicious. Great piece of haddock. Service was also very good. A real find at our first night in Ithaca read more

Service is seriously lacking. We waited a 1/2 hour to be seated, which was fine, however once we were seated nobody came to take our orders for either drinks or food. After another 1/2 hour of sitting there not being acknowledged, we left. When we told the hostess why we were leaving she gave us a look like it was normal and not even an apology. Do yourself a favor and find somewhere else read more

We stopped in for drinks on my husband's 21st birthday. For a Tuesday night with no major sports games going on, the bar was poppin. At about 10pm there were no open seats at the bar. The bartender was sharp and on top of things, very no nonsense and straight to the point. We liked it a lot, even with how busy it was he always noticed if we had an empty cup. Husband had a few beers, good selection on draught. I had a blueberry cocktail and it was great. Will definitely come back. We didn't get any food, but the drinks and service were great. read more

This place was pretty cool. I enjoyed the drinks and the food. The service was great, and our server was very personable. The only disappointment was that the server didn't seem to know what drinks they were out of, which made it so we had to keep finding things to drink. read more

It's heaven on Earth...a lovely spot for any occasion! Food, service and selection were amazing, but THOSE VIEWS!

Great lunch stop for us after hiking. We sat at the bar and the bartender was awesome. Had a delicious burger and cheesesteak. Beer selection was good. Great service and food! read more

We were looking for a good burgers and boy did we find it! Wow! Food here is delicious. Best burger I've had in a long time Very nice and friendly staff If you wanna eat.......come here! read more

Host kept coming by and saying: I'll be with you in a minute. 10 minutes later a table was available behind a post with lots of better tables open. Was going to leave but opted for the bar. Food and beer was good, bartenders excellent, host sucked. 20 places within 100 yards. read more

Bumped to a 3 since food was delicious. But...witnessed different strictness on wine pours. Some people get a generous pour while others get a strictly managed, small pour. I'm not an expert but the pour looked like about 3 ounces on a well cabernet. That makes customers feel less valued. One member of my party ordered a salad and added on grilled chicken breast. It was pounded so thin and not even the whole breast was added to the salad. I believe it was around $6 for the added chicken. The menu when scanning with phone at the table was not up to date with beer and special information so should have asked for a menu instead of scanning the code with phone. Service and food was great. read more

Best burgers in Ithaca IMO. Also the grilled chicken sandwich is awesome. Live music is great, fun atmosphere.

Ale House is probably my favorite place to go to on weekday nights in the general Commons area of Ithaca. We come here generally to sit at the bar and chat about our day. It's a great spot to post up and hang out for a little while. The atmosphere is lively and casual, but also somewhat quieter than many other bars. They have an EXCELLENT beer selection. I tried a spicy beer from Ballast Point, which the waitress warned me was truly hot but I didn't really listen. I have a relatively high tolerance for heat, but this beer required me to order another just to chase it with. It's not something I'd order again, but it's a somewhat interesting story to tell now. Obviously, this is in no way the Ale House's fault. I commend them for stocking the beer, as it's not something I see around at many places, even those that stock other Ballast Point brews. Many people have told me the food here is excellent, but I haven't gotten a chance to try it quite yet. Will update soon! read more

Ithaca Ale House - Ale house burger and a Brooklyn Defender Red IPA. - New American Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

Had burgers and wings. Wings w garbage sauce stole the show. Sat outside and the service was great

We arrived right at 11am and we're the first obese seated. The waitress seated us right next to the servers' station which was less than desirable. She then proceeded to talk very loudly to the other server right behind our heads as our food clearly sat getting cold in the kitchen. When it finally arrived (after two other parties seated after us had received theirs) it was room temperature at best. I think it may have tasted ok had the food been served fresh and hot as intended. We had to walk up to the servers' station where she and the manager continued to yak, never checking on our needs, to ask fro the check and a box. It's too bad because it could be a great place. They definitely were not understaffed which I can sympathize with. The staff were all there, just focused on their personal conversations. read more

Arrived with a friend, front door was locked at 11:55am but people were inside the bar. Side door was open so I let myself in. Waiter was at the podium and said they were closed but could wait at the bar until open. A bit confused we agreed to sit at the bar to wait the 5 mins. Ordered a drink, when it turned noon and all of our party arrived we asked to be seated at a table. Bartender insisted we paid for our drinks right away before being seated. Took 5 more minutes for us to pay for drinks, a pen wasn't working so had to wait longer. Then I stood there with two drinks (water and wine) in my hands while 6 of us waited in the lobby for one of us to flag down the waiter that had just left his podium to set a table. He didn't ask if we wanted a booth or table and sat us down at a booth which was way too small for me. Then the waitress that was serving us forgot my friends coffee order. Eventually served all our dishes but forgets to bring out my meal. I sit there while everyone is eating until we can flag her down to remind her about my pizza. It was already made and she quickly brought it out, almost forgot to offer me parm and peppers but she did quickly as she was walking away. I ordered the Margherita pizza. The pizza dough was like cement, hard as a rock. The tomato was so fresh it was barely cooked. The two combinations were not appealing and it barely had flavor, I would describe it like eating cardboard on tomato. I ate it because I was hungry and reluctantly tipped. Heard the burgers are good but am very reluctant to ever visit there again. read more

Skillet wings are the goddamn best wings out there, try with garbage sauce too. And to wash it down, a nice blueberry beer!

We went here during graduation weekend so the town was very busy. We were seated quickly and went with their famous burgers. We ordered one special (graduation burger) and Big Sexy. It took a while until the food arrived buy OMG, it was delicious! Definitely one of the greatest burgers I have had, grilled to perfection. The graduation burger had fried oyster mushrooms, fried leaks, and bbq sauce. It was pretty delicious. The bun was fresh and tasty and the meat was a generous size. The only drawback was that we ended up paying ~$18 for a burger! I guess that's pricy! read more

See all

They have craft beers. So do six million other bars in the United States that cater to any audience younger than age sixty three. The particular beer I ordered was a pumpkin beer that the waitress told me should be drunk from a stein with a cinnamon sugar dusting on the rim. It was like drinking beer and eating children's breakfast cereal at the same time. So what makes an otherwise run of the mill beer haus a five star Yelp review? ****** SKILLET WINGS SKILLET WINGS SKILLET WINGS SKILLET WINGS SKILLET WINGS !!!! Ladies and gentlemen - the next generation of buffalo wings has arrived on our planet! These are wings seared in a cast iron pan like a fajita with two kind of melted cheese, scallions and the house "garbage sauce". The garbage sauce carmelizes on the wings while they sit in the pan. Everything that makes fajitas good as they grill in the cast iron pan makes these wings good as they grill in the pan. And buffalo wings with melted cheese on top? Totally beats ranch dip and celery. * Eyeballing what other people were eating, the rest of the food here looks damm fine. Of particular note are any number of burgers stacked high with good stuff -- and served with a murderer's knife stuck in the bun and holding the whole thing together like the ultimate toothpick from Alfred Hitchcock, The cook has a perverse imagination. There is nothing but good about that. read more

Wonderful spot to grab a beer and sit outdoors. Super fast service and nice relaxed, casual atmosphere. Outdoor tables under an awning. Lots of families with their kids were there too which I found charming and refreshing- nice local scene- not just all college kids. Hot pretzel tastes amazing with your beer. read more

Pricey but 100% worth it! Make sure to call ahead and make a reservation or there will be a decent wait. We especially loved the raspberry cheesecake, and the Buffalo chicken spring rolls. read more

We were looking for a quick bite before we had to head back home after the long holiday weekend. After reading recommendations on a Gluten Free website, we decided to give it a try. We were quickly seated in a booth by the window. The gentleman who seated us gave us the specials and said gf entrees were noted on the menu. I was disappointed that it's a limited menu (we had lunch, not sure if it's the same menu for dinner) and even more limited for gf selections. My husband settled on the tuna tostada for an appetizer and the steak for an entree. He said both were delicious. I had a margherita pizza and a side salad. The pizza had a crisp crust and beautifully golden, melted cheese but was a little flavorless. However, I had leftover ranch dressing from my salad (which was scrumptious) and that was the needed touch. I had the olive oil cake for dessert, which was served with fruit on top and a side of lemon sorbet. The lemon was a nice balance to the cake which was a little dry. Our server Jake was pleasant and attentive. All in all a solid lunch choice. There were plenty of families with children so no worries there. read more

This place is definitely a must stop if you haven't been here before (like myself) Just to preface, I would have given them 5 stars but the temp of the tap beers were not super cold and it took a bit way from my beering experience. Also it was in the middle off August and the heat/humidity inside kinda sucked. I learned they are moving to a new location shortly so this may be resolved I got the wings and pub fries. AMAZING. The curry that came with the fries is so good. They are not traditional curly fries as I thought. They are thick cut fries w a twist. The dry rub was really tasty. Wings come breaded, so be prepared as it is not listed that way. They are still cooked to perfection and the sauce is exceptionally tasty. I got hot garlic w parmesan. They were crispy, well cooked, and spicy. My favorite. Wife got a veggie burger w salad. I had a bite and it was good. It's not a juicy burger since it's a veggie burger and not an impossible or traditional burger, but still has very good flavor. The bartender was busy but still made every effort to check in. Guy was flying all over. Wish I caught his name. Think he's been there a while. Had glasses. Either way he was awesome. Overall. Great experience. Will be back, and can't wait for the new location. I'd be happy to upgrade this rating to a 5. read more

Cute place downtown where there are a lot of restaurants - Seneca Streatery they call it. Parking is an issue and there are no signs directing you. We ended up parking on the street and walking a bit. There are pay stations sprinkled around that are used to pay for street parking. There are apparently some parking garages but we never saw them. Our waitress did a great job. We tasted some beer first and then ordered glasses. Two of us received the wrong ones, and the waitress quickly corrected it. We had IPAs and Stouts and enjoyed both. Dirty plates were cleared fairly promptly even by other servers. The Reuben with fried onion rings was a hit. It was a huge sandwich, and my husband could only eat half. The pulled pork sandwich - again huge - with fries and Ancho Chicken salad were also delicious. The homemade bean and corn burger was just ok. It was very crumbly to the point you were better using a spoon. It could definitely have used some extra spices. The Caesar salad had very fresh lettuce but way too much dressing for me. Definitely recommend though! read more

Enjoyed our food. Best burger I have had in a long time! Service was great. Will be back for sure!

Amazing amazing amazing !! I got the grilled cheese it was so yummy and it came with tomato soup :) bonus point for the crust being off. Ooo and the beer!! Blueberry ipa, you won't regret it. read more

Enjoyed our time at the Ithaca Ale House last Saturday evening. Came here for the first time and left satisfied enough. Showed up around 5 and the bar was pretty full and tables occupied inside however they had seating outside and although it was still about 85 degrees outside, we decided to take a table out there. Their menu is very large, they have options for everyone for the most part and finding menu items that suit my dietary needs is always a struggle for us so my boyfriend was able to sigh in relief when I said, "Oh I can get this!" There was a drink menu on the table with a list of their beers and cocktails but no wine list. On their food menu they had appetizers, a couple of salads, wraps, burgers and entrees. My boyfriend got the perfect burger and while I thought it was overcooked, he said it was great. The presentation was cool and it came with his choice of side, fries, which he also liked. Tons of burger options including vegetarian choices AND gluten free buns! I went with the Ancho Chicken Salad, which consisted of greens, avocado, tomato, cucumbers, roasted corn, ancho seasoned chicken and homemade chipotle vinaigrette. Now what the menu didn't say was that there was going to be some sort of mayonnaise aioli all over the sides of the bowl. Mayo is probably my least favorite food/condiment/thing that exists ever. So it was annoying to have to wipe away all the mayo on the sides of the plate and a lot of the lettuce was already in it. Unfortunately did not like the dressing and when I asked our server to bring their homemade lemon vinaigrette, that one was even worse. It was so thick and creamy, really wanted a healthy option but it didn't seem like there was one. The salad was fresh, tomatoes, cucumbers and greens tasted great but unfortunately the chicken was too salty for me. It was blackened and yes blackening seasoning contains salt but I'm sensitive to salt so probably shouldn't have gotten this dish, my own fault. Again, my boyfriend thought it was great and not too salty, so who knows. Next time I'd get the salad with plain grilled chicken. Our server was great, she kept refilling my water, checked to see how we were doing, wasn't overbearing at all but was there when we needed her. I'd recommend this place to people who enjoy burgers and appetizers and beers. It's a nice place to sit outside and people watching because it's right in the heart of Ithaca. Prices were reasonable as well. read more

Ithaca Ale House - New American Near Me - Ithaca, New York

See all

Like an Applebee's disguised as a local eatery. First time in the new location. Has definitely been changed as far food quality and menu. Things looked great on the surface, but seems like shortcuts are being taken and confusing flavors. Last ate there a few years ago in original location and was blown away with service, food, and flavors. had a very different experience last night. Ordered the same burger I last did 4 years ago and as much as it looked nice, it lacked. Burger was bland and didn't balance flavors. Indian flavored spiced baked apples with fried onions and barely any nys cheddar to taste. Ordered calamari. Was fried properly-ish but I was left confused about the bottled thai chili sauce combined with feta and banana peppers. lazy cooking in my mind. My friend ordered "crispy spring rolls" and got this massive plate of cut buffalo chicken egg rolls with some dried up celery and carrot sticks. Just call it an eggroll. waited 20 mins for drinks sitting at the bar. I don't want to complain, but the flavors were off and it's clear it's become more commercial- artificial. I don't think the employees are the issue, most likely owners trying to keep costs down. That new space has changed the dynamic. Too much low-quality/premade ingredients. Pay your staff more money and try the flavors more often. read more

Ordered 4 burgers for my family for take out. My burger was the Perfect Burger with fries which I requested be cooked medium. The burger was perfectly cooked. My one critique on the food is that too much oil/ butter was used on the exterior of the bun - the burger makes the sandwich no need for the extra fat. The fries were very tasty. On the restaurant itself a better job needs to be done cleaning the floor underneath the mats going toward the restroom. Kind of slippery. Over all I would go back since the burger itself was good. It's hard to find a good burger. read more

I watched Games 6 and 7 of the 2016 NBA Championships here and tried a lot of food. If you want to see a major sporting event, I strongly suggest showing up early. If you are by yourself, the bar is the best bet; otherwise, they won't seat you unless the whole party shows up. Outdoor seating is at a premium, especially during these busy and nice Ithaca summer evenings. As far as food goes, the skillet wings are much better than the normal wings, though the former comes out on a skillet bubbling with cheese, and the scent is a bit overpowering. I opted for the upstate-classic "garbage" sauce, which is basically all the sauces combined. It was good, but the sauce was basically sweet at that point. The four cheeses used on the skillet were the best part really. The Ale House's fries are also fantastic, and they give quite a heaping portion. If you want some heat, ask for the house hot sauce as a side for the fries. I also had a killer sloppy joe one night, and it was better than anything I remember eating as a kid. Finally, I loved the milk and cookies option for dessert, though in a cruel twist of fate, the milk glasses narrowed at the bottom and actually didn't fit a whole cookie. I know, I know ... first world problems. read more

If you're into trying new things the Ithaca Ale House has 2 different flight samples. We ordered "What's New"! 4ozs. of 5 distinctly flavored draughts. Delish..... Well, an acquired taste for one of the samplers (for us amateurs)!! The pizza is gourmet style, crispy flatbreads and a fresh variety of toppings to choose from. My daughter gobbled her personal pizza iin minutes while I enjoyed every mouth~watering slice of mine. I had the Veggie Pizza which include pesto sauce, asparagus, red bells, green bells and many daps of riccotta. I've include several photo shots as proof of delishesness....(not really a word in the real world) The service was just fine, not overwhelming, left us alone to savour the beer and pizza but was on top of filling our water glasses. So, go there, experience, see for urself and yelp on. read more

See all

The portions are minuscule, the service perfunctory. My wife and I stopped in (I had been there once before in the old location), and we were fairly hungry. I was tempted to order the "Perfect Burger", but was dissuaded by the price-tag ($17) and the ton of glop listed on the menu that I would have had to ask them to hold back. Instead, we decided to order the pork belly sliders and two salads. The sliders arrived ($16)--three tiny, stingy slices of pork on buns that were maybe 1 1/2 inches in diameter (okay, they're sliders), with basically nothing else on them. For sixteen bucks, though, it's an extraordinarily ungenerous portion. The salads were just okay, and also very, very small. My caesar's romaine was rusty in places. We also ordered to pints of IPA ($6, reasonable), which were poured to about 14 ounces (a pint is 16); I don't expect the bartender to spend twenty minutes topping off the glasses, but come on! So all told, with tip, we spent almost $70 on a lunch that left us hungrier than we were when we arrived. Not sure what Ithaca Alehouse's business model is, or if it has changed significantly, but I won't be going back. Oh, and we sent an e-mail with our concerns to the management, but of course there was no response. YMMV read more

Draft selections are good. Several selections from local breweries. Did not get any food but they looked pretty good. Many locals and also tourists mixed vibe. read more

Amazing burgers and good beers. Occasionally they even have some from Oregon on tap :) Try the crab cake burger for the most delicious coronary trauma you can buy on the commons. It can be hard to get a good seat sometimes but if you are looking for a burger and beer you can't go wrong. read more

Ithaca Ale House - Friday night. - New American Near Me - Ithaca, New York