I cannot praise this restaurant enough. I have lived in this area for five years now I went here…read morefor the first time two years ago every single thing I've ordered here has not only been delicious, but beautiful! Whenever we go out to eat I always suggest coming here because I look forward to trying new things but also love sticking to some of my favorites like the g Vegas nachos and southwest bowl. They also have the best fried pickles around. Even when the restaurant is busy, the servers are attentive and friendly. I love the ambience and that they have local artists Work posted all the time. I am huge in supporting small sellers and small businesses and I love that they do that too. It's also great that they let you pick from their own flights or you can choose your own!

Gardner Ale House at Moon Hill Brewing gave us a nice evening of good music, cold brews, good food,…read moredollar oysters! (Apr 2026). We came here to try out their Monday Blues, and happened on their Monday Buck-a-Shuck oysters! We found a long room with over 70 seats set up at tables for four that looked combine-able, about 20 seats at the bar and at 2-seat hightops, both rooms with a wall of windows. The band set up in the bar window, but sit where you like, we found that we could hear the band everywhere! There's also a small enclosed outdoor patio with about 30 more seats at umbrellaed tables. The Jim Atkinson band is a foursome of Boston-area musicians that has been cranking out great blues, rock, & roots since 2017. We loved them, especially enjoying the creative keyboard and a real live sax! Their music selection was amazing, more their favorite solid blues than old-standbys, so we didn't recognize every song. But that's real music :-) The $1 New England oysters were big and juicy! They started at 4pm before we got there, and they still had plenty for us after 7pm! They say the variety changes with availability. These were not overly salty. This was dinner for us, and we started with their hot-skillet "Mexican Corn Dip" with zingy pico de gallo salsa and fresh crisp corn tortilla chips. We got a "warm energy" bowl of quinoa, fresh tart cranberries, baby spinach, roasted sweet potato, and goat cheese, flavored with some scallions and garlic-butter. Huge, delicious, and very satisfying! The Fish 'n Chips was a full-foot-long full of their own Moon-Hill-beer beer-battered haddock, piping-hot fries, fresh crunchy coleslaw, with tartar sauce. Yep, Huge, delicious, and satisfying! We tried their parmesan-garlic wings, but that wasn't our favorite. They were ok, but not crispy which we expected. Came with crunchy celery and creamy bleu cheese. Of course we leaned on their in-house Moon Hill brewery for several dry IPAs, their luscious Candy Mountain blueberry sour, (which could have been colder), and a very tasty non-alcohol Blueberry (Not)-tini, a bubbly beverage crafted with "Reàl Blueberry Purée", fresh lemon juice and lemonade. This is a nice community bar, brewery, restaurant, and patio. We are already looking forward to their big Octoberfest!

Update after a few more visits has them down to a 4 based on inconsistency…read more -- Roast Chicken: Hearty fall/winter dish with crisp skin, herbs aplenty, and gravy underneath, with roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. A little dry in the interior. No longer on the menu as of last week. -- Grilled Shrimp: Plump shrimp whose paprika-heavy rub and grill flavor balanced the butteriness, with a pepper aioli joining as well. On top, pickled fennel. Underneath, grilled sourdough that soaked in the grill, butter, and seafood flavors. Fantastic but no longer on the menu as of last week. -- Forge & Vine Cheeseburger: All the same ingredients as on a Big Mac, only of much higher quality, on a thick burger of high quality. I've been hoping to relive the glory of my first burger here (see previous review), but it's been rocky. Good grill flavor and outer crusting, but medium to medium well when I ordered medium rare. (Yes, I mentioned it to the server and manager.) Still a pretty good burger, and the bacon I added this time was thick and walking the tightrope between crispy and bendy. But a big miss on hitting greatness again. So I gave it another chance the next visit, and it was again overdone. But this time I sent it back, and the one they sent out was very good. The most recent visit only required one try: excellent, with the right crust outside and proper pink and juicy inside, along with a solid assortment of vegetables and condiments. An exemplary burger-- when they cook it right. -- Calamari: An eye-catching appetizer with the mostly thin rings pretty much treated like chicken wings, with a spicy tangy glaze, an aïoli underneath, and some kimchi on top for presentation. Very good crunch and flavor, but thicker pieces would have allowed a better tasting of the seafood itself. Still very enjoyable and I'd get it again. -- Shrimp Cocktail: Solid job, good size, presented in ice with lemon wedges and a cocktail sauce a little light on the horseradish. -- Grilled Swordfish Meunière: A thick slab, lightly grilled, fairly. A thin brown butter sauce, capers, and sautéed mustard greens added some much needed moisture and oomph. No longer on the menu as of last week. -- Jimmy Nardello Peppers: Long, bright red, no heat, slightly sour, and somewhat fruity like peppadew, dressed up with garlic aioli, chimichurri, and coriander seed. Outstanding. Great beer pairing. Beautiful space. Good to outstanding service. Cody pours his heart and soul into the experience, exuding enthusiasm from the greeting through the check. Some might find it a little overdramatic, but after enduring too many AWOL and near-comatose servers elsewhere, I can't get enough of it. I like this place, and consider it good to very good, but it seems like the proteins (especially the grilled items) turn up a little too dry a little too often to consider them great. Their pricing is high but well worth it when the execution is there. When it's not, it's a too-expensive just-okay. Despite the inconsistency, going with a 4 based on the most recent visit being problem-free.

Forge & Vine is a solid spot with a great vibe, but it's a little hit-or-miss for me. The space is…read morebeautiful, though I'm not a huge fan of how close the tables are to each other--even if I understand why they do it to maximize seating. My biggest wish is that the menu changed up a bit more. Every time I go, it feels very similar, and I often find myself struggling to find something that truly stands out or excites me. The food is good, just not particularly memorable. That said, the service is consistently good and it's still a nice place to meet up or go for a casual night out. I'd love to see some fresher or more creative menu rotations in the future because the setting definitely deserves it.

I've dined at Benito's several times and the food and service are always excellent, but this time…read morewe hosted a ladies luncheon celebrating a friends birthday. From planning out the event with the help of Virginia, to the food and beverage service we were all impressed!! We had plenty of space in our room and it looked so nice. The staff was very attentive and they had multiple events and lunch service going on at the same time. And as always the food was fantastic. Thank you Benito's!!!!

Had drinks downstairs and it was delicious. The pizza wasn't bad a the vibes were really good. On a…read morenice day outdoor seating was busy but overall would Come back

The food is excellent here, it's setup in what was once a grade school I believe, service was fast…read more(I'm not sure of the waitress name but she added to the comfortable feel Highly recommended

Kind staff, big big portions, decent price. I've only ever gotten takeout but never had any issues…read more A standard diner

We had a phenomenal night of drinks, food, and legendary musicians at The Bull Run, Shirley, MA…read more(Apr 2026)! Their huge 275-seat event space was packed at tables for 4 to 8, for the two 1-hour sets of Live Dead & Brothers Band, an Allman Brothers - Grateful Dead group of legacy musicians from those bands and families!!! An authentic rockin' performance! They opened hot, with Feelin' Alright and Truckin', and ended hot with Midnight Rider, Ramblin' Man, and Jessica, with around 14 more between. The acoustics were excellent at our table, and we also took up our share of the crowded dance area :-) Their tour continues at least through Dec 2026. Our tickets were about $50 each. Service was fast and friendly, and they let us pull up one more chair for our group of nine. You can get crafted beers and cocktails. We settled in with ice cold regional beers, which honestly are just as distinctive as fancy craft beers. We got some food to share off their "concert menu", too. An entrée-size dish of rich creamy homemade Mac & Cheese, made with tasty aged Grafton Cheddar, soft slightly-al-dente curly Cavatappi pasta tubes, not-overcooked green beans, as i recall, crisply crusted with lightly-maple breadcrumbs. Very flavorful and satisfying. A sweet fresh bright Autumn Salad of greens, pecans, and bright beets, in tart vinaigrette. And juicy "Bull Run Classic" burgers with crisp lettuce, tasty firm tomato, mildly-sharp red onion, and, for one of them, an add-on of rich cheddar, all on a cloud-like brioche bun. They do ask for $20 per person food/beverage minimum for all shows, essentially an entree or a couple beverages each. That's about what we had planned to order anyway :-) This place knocked us out with their dedication to farm-to-table ingredients, sourced from more than 25 regional farms named on the dinner menu. We've never seem such an extensive list of the actual sources. Very cool! The Bull Run has been a tavern since 1741, named after the Battle of Bull Run in 1861, (or in another version, named for a brawl in the tavern at the same time :-), and has been run by the Guercios extended-family since 1946. It was a stop on the stagecoach route and a gathering place for the Revolutionary war. We loved the original wood, structure, and décor. The fireplaces were lovely. It's a huge venue. Bull Run has live music every week, and they're open Wed-Sun, but watch their schedule because dates vary, sometimes one day that week, sometimes all four! This show was in their 275-seat room. There's at least one larger room for around 400. Theres a little parking along Rt 2A, and much more out back across the covered bridge. Dont be put off by the rustic exterior. We loved this legendary performance at a legendary restaurant!

ALWAYS amazing food. I always get their prime rib because they do it well but I see a lot of people…read moregetting the fish and chips.

Wonderful food! Excellent staff! Love the atmosphere. My husband and I stopped by this evening…read more It's been a few months. The quality is very consistent. We started with cocktails, arugula salad and bread service. Everything was fresh and bread was yummy, drizzled with honey butter. For our mains, I had the tuna poke bowl and my husband had the pork Milanese. The tuna was fresh, over a bed of perfectly cooke rice, avocado, edamame and lots of healthy goodness. My husband said his pork was as good as his German Schnitzel! I really love the small pours of high end wines. I had a Barolo to wrap up my meal. I always enjoy eating at Great Riad Kitchen and look forward to our next visit.

What another amazing experience!! We day at the Oyster Bar and was greeted by Executive Chef Ben…read moreWoffe. it took is all a minute to recognize eachother, but this moment made for a fantastic dinner. The place was quiet, which allowed Ben to sirens time talking to us and giving is the ones and outs of his creations. Our server was Sienna, who was bright and personable, and worked side by side with Chef Ben to make our meal memorable. We started our meal with oysters. Chef gave us his recommendations and they were has delicious as he hyped them up to be. Then we tried the lobster guacamole, which the star of the shows was actually the bacon lardon that's layered in. A must try for anyone who loves this dip. I had the pineapple braised pulled pork tacos. I could barely finish two, yet alone the 3 healthy sized tacos. And my girlfriend was treated to both the crab cake and the specialty salmon cakes. She proclaimed the salmon the winner of that cake battle. For desert, which we didn't finish either, was the berry cobbler. I compared it to an oversized toaster strudel, but homemade and much more flavorful. Overall, we love it here. This is our 2nd trip and we'll be sure to come again soon! Pro Tip: sit at the Oyster Bar, watching the kitchen working is a phenomenal experience. Thank you again to Chef Ben and Sienna! And look, they also have events coming up!!

When I came to the diner I ordered the sausage and gravy over biscuits. The owner himself served…read morethe food to me and boasted how its $4.75 with coffee. In my mind I was already regretting my decision. He also boasted how he serves about 50 gallons a week to which I questioned if he serves it to pigs. I proceeded to taste only to realize that it tasted like gunk and he makes the environment hostile by angrily saying that hundreds of people eats this every week and it is NOT worth spitting out even though it could make someone sick. Then someone made a mess in the kitchen and said that the women are best are cleaning it as its up their ally. Anyway I came back later in the night for dinner and I request a Greek-Style Crusted Rack of Lamb and LET me tell you how chaotic it was. One chef couldn't repeat back the order, another chef had an an aggresive attitude and wanted to do the meat despite the fact that he was in charge of the salads. The owner then proceeded to throw the rack of the lamb with NOT an ounce of seasoning or sear. 5 of the cooks saw this and rallied behind him to correct sear and season the lamb. When I was served my dish it was a mess. ALL of the lamb was improperly cut with one looking like as if though he took a bite out of it. When I took my dish to explain it I saw at LEAST 10 pounds of LAMB WASTED. I decided to leave as the kitchen was such a mess and when I said my experience was horrible the owner said a horrible comment. He was lucky that he was the OWNER and NOT an EMPLOYEE because I would have ejected him from the kitchen and told him to go upstairs and get his bags packed. - Nordon Samson For anyone reading this, understand that I am referring to a famous moment about the owner. Aside from this the coffee and pancakes were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND everyone to come here for pankcakes and the breakfast.

Clam chowdah. I live on the North Shore and this is better than MOST clam chowdah from Boston to…read moreNewburyport and all point between. No hyperbole. Eggs Irish had the perfect poached egg. I love eating here. Ambiance is awesome--it's a REAL diner with real people. The waitstaff, cooks, and hep are always friendly.

Bottomless coffee. Breakfast sandwiches that beat an egg mcmuffin. Fast service. Friendly! Good…read moreprices. Everything you could want for breakfast or brunch. They also sell a house made muffin of the day. Corn beef hash with home fries was really good too. A must visit!!

Kinda rude, not gonna lie. The upgrade was amazing ! I asked simply "hey please don't put extra…read moresalt or non at all if possible on my food ! No allergies just wanted to lower as much salt as possible" she must be the owner but was very snippy and said "well don't put non on we make everything homemade. Okay cool, but like don't added extra if possible please (they did, I could see the salt on my eggs but hey! Whatever food is food just wanted to reduce my sodium intake). I was completely caught off guard. Then our eggs were under.. now I don't fault them, but I was already over it you could see the egg whites just hanging out all over the plate.. Then she forgets my friends toast... and she rudely said "well you should have told me........" we did. Twice..... then she took it upon herself to have a conversation with a guest (which whatever go for it), but we asked for the bill. 5 minutes went by .... 10 minutes went by. 20 MINUTES WENT BY and FINALLY we got our bill. Now for reference we had a late breakfast and they had prolly had 2 parties plus us . Overall won't come back at all. Congrats on the renovation is looks beautiful ! Truthfully, but our experience was terrible and will not come back. Go to the hungry hen instead .