Such a great neighborhood staple. Friendly bar also does a good job with takeout. Recommend the wings for sure and the nachos are excellent. Burgers and sandwiches solid too. Agree with some other reviewers that it could use some new decor / freshening inside, but who cares, adds to the charm. Go for tasty drinks and bar food. read more

To start off, this visit wasn't planned. We drove by and got intrigued said hell why not and tried for lunch Upon entry, no one was there to take our seat. Waited about 10mins for someone to come and seat us. During those 10mins, was able to look around and this place is just out dated! Old and dark. I get its a tavern, but it's not inviting what's so ever. Needs to be updated. Felt like I was in an old wooden coffin on the bottom of a pirate ship waiting to get my bucket of sludge Once we were seated, inspected the menu. Decent choices, typical tavern food. Now the burger creation was just odd. There really is no need for that. As a burger connoisseur, I would rather have a variety choice of special and bistro burgers. No need for a creation thing with way too many options. I decided to get a burger anyways and that was a mistake. Amateur at best. Was disappointed having to pay for it. Not to mention, didnt even get a beer refill till after I was eating. What's the point in that? I want to enjoy my beer with my burger. Not 5mins after I finished. Will say, the waitress was friendly but points off for the really late beer refill. All in all if you like old taverns with weird and mediocre food choices and outdated decor, I guess this would be your happy place. But, there are so many more better places to eat. This was my last time ever trying a place on the spot, especially a tavern! Terrible mistake! Do your research fellow yelpers! read more

Best baby back ribs I've had so far in my never-ending greater Boston search for the very best, not dried out, baby backs. Oink-fresh meat that falls off the bone, relatively mild barbecue sauce so the tender, succulent pork pops through -- fat, meat and all!!! read more

Good adult beverages and service. The BBQ special was below average. Next time I will probably get a burger

Dropped by for a quick grab after the gym. A few min drive from WOW Waltham. The restaurant was pretty empty. There's the tavern side (high chairs and bar) and dining side (booths and tables). I got a cup of clam chowder. It was alrite, not good not bad. I didn't find any clam but I didn't expect to anyway. It was probably really chopped up. Steak and cheese panini: comes with a choice of fries or cole slaw and a pickle. The were perfect and crunchy. I love the panini but the steak tasted like meat? I'm not sure how to explain it but similar to when chicken has the real chicken like taste? Maybe old? Aha lack of wording. Steak tips: comes with broccoli and sliced carrots and mash with skin. The steak marinade was good, blend of bourbon and honey. Not sure exactly what it was. Got a flight sampler beer - 4 for $8.95. Pretty good if you want to try different beer. I would go back to try some burgers next time! read more

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Took my son for early dinner yesterday. Wow has this place gone down hill. When I walked in the stale moldy type of smell permitted the place. The tap water tasted awful. My son got a chicken finger basket. The chicken was overcooked and dry. Was so dry it was hard to cut. My son never throws out food but he ended up wanting to throw out some of the chicken and the fries. read more

The waitstaff and especially the bartenders are absolutely amazing, go there and be amazed ............!!!!Boneless Wings are the best!!!Honey Buffalo!!! Clam Chowder is delicious and brings back memories of Newport RI! read more

Great food and drink last week. Came in a little early before the crowd and incredibly attentive staff. Beer was ice cold and food was great. Clam chowder on point and fish and chips were superb. Everything very hot and tasty. Incredible crunch on the fish. Will return! Thanks for a great dinner! read more

I'm a visitor to the Boston area & my husband suggested this place because he had a craving for clam chowder. There's ample parking here. I was a bit hesitant because he said it was a tavern & we had 2 little ones in tow along with our adult friends. Thankfully the venue is laid out as a family friendly restaurant in one half and a bar tavern on the other. It's a bit dim inside with a classic American type theme, but clean... also not overly busy. They even had high chairs, change table in the washroom & a kids menu complete with crayons! Our server was attentive, helpful, and polite. We got the yelp check-in deal of a beer flight plus burger for $12.95 plus we ordered a kids combo meal, Elaine's steak tip dinner, chicken salad, plus bowl of chowder. The portions were fair for the cost, I was satisfied with the meal salad & my little one had to pack her burger to go cuz she's not a big eater. Unlike a lot of reviews here, personally, I think the food tasted good for what they offered & not a bad start to our stay in Boston. read more

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Went there for dinner. It is a busy place for sure but the quality of the food was average at best. Probably will not return

LOVE LOVE LOVE the wings here. I don't usually eat wings outside of the home cause I hate the mess, I know I'm weird. I can't refuse it here though. They have the $.25 cent wings on Sun and Mon which is killer for they obviously know what their number one seller is on this menu. The only catch is that you have to eat in a certain area, and you get one drink. The "rules" of the cent wings are almost laughable, but whatever maybe that is standard as I have never usually gone to places with the .10 cent .25 cent whatever nights. The service is a crap shoot. You sometimes get friendly, you sometimes get the whatever dude service. The staff is mostly young, so you sometimes get the cell phone or chatty groups on the side. I don't care as long as the drinks are filled and the stuff is removed from the table. We usually go in big groups, so service is big when you have stuff building around the tables. The guys usually drink a lot too, so to quell the complaining, I like when they are attentive to the drinks. I myself go through just one, so its not me...its everyone I'm with that I have to listen to when the beer or soda is out for even 2 minutes! The rest of the menu is whatever. Same pub food, killer fries. Stick with the wings or boneless wings and you can't go wrong. Buffalo and the ermm...I think it's called asian zing or something is great. I wish they would serve bread. The end! read more

John Brewer's Tavern - Buffalo - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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I had a work function last night which went exceptionally well. Our waitress was excellent, very attentive and sweet. She worked hard and made everything seem effortless. Leading up to the event I worked with one of the manager Austin who was AMAZING. Thank you John Brewer staff for taking the stress out of planning and executing a small gathering. Many of us promise to return to enjoy the great food. read more

I've been coming here well before the pandemic. Every singly time ai get a burger its never cooked right. How hard is it to make a well done burger. We were using uber eqta to start with and they always forgot stuff, always cooked it wrong. I use to love coming here but we will stay away for a while. Oh and the waitress was very rude. read more

Good pub food and beer selection. Btw yelp offered me a real time coupon but restaurant wouldn't honor it. Seems kinda useless, yelp. read more

The servers were friendly and helpful. My half rack of baby back ribs was tender and the fries and coleslaw were good. The barbecue sauce was not very good, however. My wife's short ribs were less successful. The mashed potatoes were cold and the beans and carrots were undercooked. The short ribs came without ribs. They appeared to be chuck roast. read more

Wife and I like this place and are usually never disappointed. I do always feel like the final bill is just this shade of being too high by about 8 - $12. Always seems to be 3 bucks higher each time we go in. Oh well, the staff has always been extremely polite and friendly. It HAS become a running joke that after all these years of ordering the exact same thing and saying it VERY clearly, that every single time I order my BLT UNtoasted, it always, always comes out toasted. And I either send it back or just eat it with its balsa wood texture. No hard feelings. At this point, it's kind of funny and if they ever get it right, I'll feel sorry that the years long streak is broken! read more

Great spot, good food and drinks with friendly efficient staff. Been coming here since 2003 when we used to come after work for wing nights. Hands down, best wings around. I live in Cali now, but my husband and I make it a priority during our summer visits to come feast on buffalo wings washed down with large blueberry beers. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - Buffalo wings and Wachusett Blueberry Beer - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Mediocre at best. Went for some apps - chicken quesadilla, potato skins, and wings. Quesadillas and potato skins were bland and I probably could have made it better at home. I didn't try the wings but my fiance said they were good. Service was excellent just the food wasn't anything I'd be running back to. read more

Visited last night from out of town before a hockey game. Our waitress was awesome and paid a lot of attention to us but unfortunately the food was lacking. I had the ribs and turkey tender BBQ plate. Also, not wanting fries asked for rice. What arrived was a plate that had food thrown on it. The rice was all over the ribs and the ribs appeared to be boiled with bottled sauce thrown in the top. Scrape back the sauce and I saw grey ribs that were not roasted or smoked. The turkey tenders were under the ribs hence no sauce and definitely not smoked. They were rubbery and tough to chew. I suspect they were previously frozen and looked like they might have come from a commercial plastic bag. For the rest of my party one had a burger but took the burnt bun off, one had the Ruben which was decent and the other just had fries which were fine. I picked the location based upon the menu, professional website, reviews, and location to Bentley. Unfortunately the kitchen needs to put some thought to upgrading the food and how it is presented. read more

Cheers to any place that manages to seat my party of 4 within 10 minutes of arrival on a busy Saturday night. The burgers here are delish! Opt for the sweet potato fries- you won't be sorry. They're light and not terribly greasy, a nice break from the norm. The honey Buffalo boneless wing were more Buffalo, and a bit hotter than what we asked for. Plenty of drinks to choose form, even for those who aren't beer fans. Overall, a good experience. I can't wait to go back and devour another burger. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

We order/ dine from Brewer's pretty often. The last time we ordered we had a lot of trouble with Grubhub ordering through Yelp. The staff at Brewers was super helpful and did everything they could to make the situation right even though it wasnt their issue. Just wanted to show appreciation to the kind employees and Managers there. read more

I love this place and it's food. But lately, the kitchen has been doing a poor job of planning and running out of specials. At 7:15p. They still have 3 hours to go for service but the special dessert for the season is already gone. They only make 12 of them according to my waiter. Seriously? On a Friday night? And there was a wait for tables so there will be a lot of disappointed customers. I think the kitchen planner needs to be spoken to by management since they are missing out on sales. read more

I thought my steak tips were very good. But at the end of the night I was very aggravated that my card was charged for my meal and for someone else's meal. Even though the transaction was canceled, I had close to $100 charge on my debit card until the void went through. I get mistakes happen but that is just careless especially since my card is put in a specific book with my receipt. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - Weirdest looking fork ever! Haha - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Ordered a steak and cheese panini with fries, delivery mind you. Took about an hour and 45 min to arrive, that being said the sandwich left a lot to be desired. Delivery fries are never great so I'll spare them from any criticism. The sandwich had very questionable steak on it, chewy and cheap feeling. The panini had the lightest grill marks possible as if the panini machine was set to warm and not to grill. Would not order this item again, but maybe give something else a shot. Their Malden location was decent the one time I ate at the restaurant. read more

Was quite surprised when my family ate at John Brewers recently. Figured the food would be average because I always would pass it on the corner. The steak tips and short rib panini we got was so amazing good, we found a new favorite steakhouse. Even compared to some other restaurants known for their steak, John Brewers will be our go-to spot moving forward. Service was also very friendly and polite. I highly recommend. read more

Been to the Tavern twice now. Once for takeout with some serious substitutions. Got everything right! The food was fresh, simple, and well cooked. Came back with family for an early dinner and had a wonderful server who was a nice as could be. Again the food was well cooked and such a great price. I highly recommend the veggie burger that is rice based. read more

Decent service, ample parking and flat screen TV's, but John Brewers' Waltham location leaves a lot to be desired. Tried them again on a Weds game night; ordered $5.99 Wednesdays hamburger special which comes with fries. While the burger came cooked to order and looking promising, it was awful. This is the same feeling I've had every time: their cook doesn't seem to know anything about seasoning hamburgers. How a sports bar can serve a juicy, medium rare burger that's bland as hell is beyond my understanding. Really wish John Brewers would just google "how to season hamburger," and get this bar-food staple right!! French fries similarly forgettable. Complimentary self-served peanuts a nice throw back... unless anyone in your party is allergic! Decent beer selection gets them two stars. read more

We love John Brewers. It's one of the best restaurants in Waltham. The food is always great. I don't think I've ever had an issue with a meal. The staff is great. Shannon and Ali behind the bar are awesome. I definitely recommend the French onion soup. It's the best around. The burgers are also great, and they have some really fun options. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - Turkey burger & John Daly - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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I first visited here a few years ago. I found it to be exceptionally mediocre. Fast forward a few years and we find ..... a vast improvement in service (Meghan was a true hospitality artisan) and food that is better than exceptionally mediocre. The nachos are nice and cheesey. The burgers were large and properly enjoyed. The blt was short on b and flavor. Go for the beer, the burgers and Meghan. read more

My first experience tonight was mediocre. I was not really greeted upon entering. There were 2 hostess and a server standing at the front. I wasn't disappointed when my veggie burger arrived on deep toasted bread rather than a bun. The flavor of the sandwich was good. The bartender was semi pleasant but could have interacted with me more by making beer suggestions since I was ordering a flight. The veggie burger should be apart of all their burger deals...the $12.95 brewers deal and the $5 burger Wed. I was not wished farewell upon leaving with 2 hostesses standing at the door. Being within walking distance of this venue, I probably won't return...customer sevice needs help! read more

John Brewer's Tavern - Veggie burger. - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Slow service, "diet coke" tastes like an old person candy has soaked in water and the saltiest buffalo wings on the planet. It was as disappointing as this review. read more

Be aware when you're buying a crock of chowder for take out.... I ordered two crocks and I thought I was being punked when I saw the size of the cup AND how much chowder they actually put inside. After trying to explain to the manager that it's unacceptable, she wasn't being pleasant to speak to at first but she did end up apologizing and offering a refund which is what made me rate the experience at least two stars. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

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Fruit flies are everywhere in this place. Gross. Food was trash... Ribs had tomato sauce on them(bbq sauce NOT) ..no flavor very bland. Steaktips arent the same as they used to be. The owners took potato skins off the menu????? Why????.. That was stupid and disappointing...its a dirty restaurant that needs help with their keeping clean especially when covid 19 is present..smfh. What a waste. Of my time and my dates money cause id never spend a dime on crappy food. The owners might as wrll tevamp this place adap or they are going to lose a lot of business..why? Cause no one likes to eat with fruit flies all in their face and all over their food!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

I am not one to write reviews about places, and I didn't even have a yelp account, but I wanted to make sure my first experience here was heard! I came in for lunch one day with a friend recently, to catch up before I move back to Wisconsin with my family. The atmosphere was very nice, and I admired how the bar was a separate room from the family dining area. My friend and I each ordered a soda that was brought back moments later by our server, Annie. She proceeded to answer our numerous questions with a smile and seemed very knowledgeable about the menu and had great suggestions on what to order. We each ordered our meals, and they came out to perfection. Everything tasted so delicious! Whenever I visit the area, I will most certainly be making a stop in, and hopefully will get the same server. She truly was great and made us feel so welcomed and taken care of. From the atmosphere, to the staff, to the quality of the food, I fully recommend this establishment to any passerby. read more

The service here is exemplary, and the drinks are even better. Always have a blast when I visit, especially from the man they call Matty bawls. read more

staff is always nice and helpful, i have went here often recently and the food is always so good amazing portions and it's always perfect.

Nice food, greate atmosphere, so polite servers, quiet serving, delicious wings, and also we had free nachos, because we moved to other table. Just nice time spent, come here without doubts. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts

Nice and authentic local spot. Great beer list and better than expected food. Affordable for certain drinks and food, pricier for other items. However, the quality is really good. read more

Sorry in advance for a long review-- but we did NOT have a good experience at John Brewers. I went there last night with a group of 7 people. It was around 9pm, and we were coming from losing in the playoffs for our dodgeball league...so we were in the mood for some drinks and apps to help lift our spirits. We quickly found out that Tuesdays are Trivia night, and John Brewers draws a pretty big crowd for Trivia and their half priced apps. We walked in, asked for a table for 7 and were given a wait time of between 10 minutes and 30 minutes for our party by the manager. Right away I thought that was weird, considering it was a Tuesday night...but we decided to wait it out. After about 15 minutes we noticed that the dinning room was almost completely empty. One of the guys in our party went to ask the hostess what was up with the wait if the dinning room was empty. Her response was "Its my first day". Another 5 minutes goes by, and the manager was back at the host stand so I went up to talk to him. Here is our conversation: Me: "how much longer?" Manager: "not sure...there is still another group in front of you" Me: "I hate to be a pain, but why is there a wait when the dinning room completely empty?" Manager: "Oh, you wanted to sit and get food?" Me: BLANK STARE Manager: "I thought you wanted to go to trivia...you always come here for trivia." Me: "I've never been here before in my life...and are you telling me we just waiting for 20 minutes for no reason???" Manager: "I'm really sorry-- I thought you wanted to go for trivia. By the way-- there are no 1/2 priced apps in the dinning room. Let me get you a table..." Seriously??? Dont most places ask if you want dinning room or bar? I was shocked that he let us sit there for that long because he assumed we wanted to go to the bar to play trivia. Now, I'm not one who goes to restaurants and complains about service just for the hell of it or to get free stuff. But I will speak up when needs be. The manager KNEW we were a little ticked off at his mistake, but didnt even offer a free app or dessert or whatever. POOR customer service. The apps (we got Nachos and the app platter) were not that good. PLUS-- they were out of a lot of their draft beer. FAIL. read more

Not bad, but I won't go back. Here's why: We went for the 50 Cent wing deal. I ordered a dozen, but I guess you can only order 10 or 20. I got 20. They brought the wings out with our apps so by the time we got to the wings they were cold. Whatever, that's not so bad. HOWEVER, when I asked politely to wrap up the rest (half) of my wings, our bartender told us THERE IS A $2.00 TAKE HOME FEE! I audibly laughed loud enough to make a scene and re-iterated the unbelievable line that I was just told about paying to take my food home. It's not our bartender's fault, so I didn't say anything negative to her, but I did slash $2.00 off of her tip. Sorry I'm not sorry. I thought it was a bit strange when we ordered because the bartender asked, "Blue Cheese and Veggies?" So I said, "Uh... yea...?" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT COMES WITH BUFFALO WINGS. I was charged an extra $1.75 that the bartender did not explain upfront. This was my first experience with John Brewer's Tavern and I'm not going back to this restaurant. I should have just walked out and not paid the entire bill. We also wanted a pitcher of summer shandy and our bartender said we couldn't - that John Brewer's Tavern only sells Coors by the pitcher. To me, that means they have essentially ZERO beer selection. Yea... I'm not going back to this place again, sorry. I would suggest to anyone I meet to avoid this place. read more

John Brewer's Tavern - American Near Me - Waltham, Massachusetts