Absolutely love the Quail & Ale. Just a great local place with great people. The owners live right here in the neighborhood and you can tell they truly care about the restaurant and the community. The food is always excellent and the service is just as good. It's one of those places you walk into and just feel comfortable. Great food, great service, and even better people. We're lucky to have a place like the Quail & Ale right here in Derby. Highly recommend! read more

Heard so many good things about this place for the past few years. Finally able to get there and it did not disappoint!!! Great speakeasy vibe!!! Loved the decor and the understated holiday decorations. Especially loved the " George lassos the moon" decoration from my very favorite Christmas movie:) Their drinks are on point. The fig cocktail was to die for. My wife had the Paloma which was outstanding. The owner served us and she was a delight. So gracious and welcoming. So appreciative that we were there. The food was outstanding. I had the NY deli plate. Very good, the pastrami could be sliced a bit thinner, but it tasted great! Fries were hit fresh and crispy!! My wife had the Sunday special, derby dunker. Just wow. So good!! The truffle fries just kicked the whole thing into the stratosphere!! Can't wait to come back and try more of their food as well as their cocktails read more

The Quail & Ale - Fig martini - Pubs Near Me - Derby, Connecticut

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My wife and I love to to visit every few months. Cozy speakeasy atmosphere, but not a very big dining room, maybe 5 or 6 tables, so call ahead to make reservations if you don't want to eat at the bar. Great menu, I believe they rotate it weekly. Fantastic bar, with wide variety of bourbon choices, including a bourbon of the week. They will often have a musical guest on many nights. We were there with friends on Kentucky Derby day, and they had Mint Juleps and made sure to show the races, and the Derby was really exciting! Always a good time at the Q&A! read more

We've passed by The Quail & Ale a few times and have been really curious to see what it's like, so my family stopped in for dinner last night! It's a small neighborhood pub, and it was pretty packed on a Saturday night! We were very lucky to snag a table for 4 and know next time to make reservations. The vibe is a cross between Americana and goth, and it was a cool time to visit with all of the Halloween decorations. Drinks were solid, and some dishes were better than others. French onion soup was really delicious, and so were the chicken bites in an Asian sweet and sour sauce. The knotwurst special was also tasty and was almost like a milder hot dog. One of our critiques was on the ravioli dish, which was basically swimming in butter - I know it was a brown butter sage sauce, but it was swimming in the butter and could've used a little more flavor. Bacon was good in it through. Our other critique is that my dad ordered a smash burger, and what came out couldn't have been farther from a smash burger with how thick the patty was. It was okay, just didn't match the description of what he thought he was getting. Fries also weren't our favorite and were better if you tried to think of them as chips. Overall not a bad spot, I would definitely come back for drinks and apps! Service was fine, they handled the volume of customers well and they checked in often enough. read more

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I've been here quite a few times and it's become one of my favorite spots. Great food, great prices, great bartenders, great drinks. I honestly couldn't ask for more! read more

Great atmosphere! Great staff! SERIOUSLY AMAZING specialty drinks!!! And the foods damned good to boot! Kudos Jason & Sarah!!! read more

Heard about this new local spot so went to check it out! It was really quaint inside and the aesthetic was cool! Like old victorian pub vibes! The food was yummy, we got the rice crispy shrimp, elote corn dip and Nashville hot chicken. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! The drinks were fabulous too! Huckleberry lemonade and a spicy margarita! 10/10 (the service was good too!) read more

The Quail & Ale - Rice crispy shrimp, elote corn dip and Nashville hot chicken. Huckleberry lemonade and a spicy margarita! - Pubs Near Me - Derby, Connecticut

The owner, James, was there and very personable- explained that they had their grand opening the night before and constantly checked on us to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. The decor is "refurbished mill/factory" themed, and there's a VERY large bar running the length of the small restaurant. We went on a Thursday night. The impression we got from watching the other patrons interacting with each other and the staff was that it's a hangout spot for friends of the owner. We felt like we were crashing someone's party. The service was slow but sweet and sincere. The food was consistently over-salted so hopefully the chef was just feeling the pressure of a packed house and having an "off" night. The "home fries" were awesome! Big chunks of well cooked potatoes. Gave it a 3 so there's room for improvement. It's new- they're still getting their feet under them. read more

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Small local place with friendly help and excellent food. Industrial meets Irish pub vibe. read more

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Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or just out for some really awesome food and even better vibes, do yourself a favor and go experience this place! Sarah and Jason truly have it going on. read more

The Quail & Ale - Mixed grill for Father's Day! Succulent and Delicious! - Pubs Near Me - Derby, Connecticut

Great atmosphere! Nice place to hang out. Love the decor. Staff very friendly. Drinks and drink menu are fabulous! LOVE the tiki glasses! Definitely would go back. Nachos were excellent. Bathroom very clean. Stood there for hours and they did not rush us at all. Reason for 3 stars: parking is limited. Urban neighborhood. Main entrees were no so great. Had shrimp po boy and strawberry salad with grilled chicken. Fries were cold. Salad was just not good all around and the chicken on it tasted "off." Would definitely go back for the drinks, friendly staff and ambience. Make sure to check this place out! read more

The Quail & Ale in Derby Connecticut is an Irish pub out of its element. With its 100-year-old brick industrial architecture and tastefully renovated interior, reminiscent of some 1950s, back alley speakeasy - this place feels like it should be in New York City's West Village or Boston's North End. Jason and Sarah Miller are the owners, operators, bartenders, waitstaff and door greeters - and have created a jewel of an establishment with great food and top shelf, creative drinks - that I hope all the locals appreciate. After all, any bar entrance that features a wall sized painted rendering of Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar on the stage, replicating the cover art from London Calling - is immediately labeled "cool" in my book. read more

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Wow, I have been here twice. The first time for drinks and small plates and it was outstanding. Had wings and an order of dumplings. The drinks and food change all the time. Second time I was there had full meal and even without reservations I was seated and had a wonderful meal. It's small and highly recommend reservations. read more

Came in for appetizers and some alcohol with a friend to catch up Enjoy the atmosphere, very nice mood and cozy but not overly so. Tried the French Onion soup and Buffalo wings: No notes needed on the French Onion soup, very good. Buffalo wings very good, might consider brining them a little but otherwise very tasty sauce without being too hot to taste. Service friendly and didn't look at me sideways for fumbling my drink order - I'd only heard of a highball before, didn't realize it was a "type of drink" any bartender would be familiar with, and not a "Specific Drink" read more

Found this spot a few weeks back. Awesome spot and the food and cocktails were Great. Def recommend and will go back. Awesome ambiance and service too! read more

My wife and l love going there, Sara and Jason always welcome us as we walk in and make us feel right at home. The atmosphere is great and the food is awesome, service is fantastic. Can't wait to go back. read more

What a great neighborhood bar ! Hip decor, craft cocktails and amazing food. Went for their Mahaloween celebration to see The Clams. Great surf rock band. Can't wait to go back and try the other items on the menu. The home fries are to.die.for!!! read more

It's a new small place on a busy road but luckily there's a parking lot. Love the decor. Industrial and rustic. The service was excellent. Can't recall our waitress's name but she had blonde hair always smiling being diligent. The owners are awesome, personable and friendly. The French onion soup, wow; so good. The home fries were big chunks of crispy potatoes; delicious! Wine was tasty. My date had the chicken parm which he said was good, not great. Chicken was a little dry but the sauce was yummy. It wasn't served with pasta which it really should be. He agreed. Serving hot food on a cold cast iron is a little strange. Let it be hot, baby! ;) We'll definitely return. It's a hidden gem that Derby was longing for. read more

The food is excellent, the drink list as well curated, and the wines are impressively well thought out and matched the menu. This is a gem that happens to be located in Derby, I look forward to returning. read more

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If I could give a negative star I would. The service is non existent, as a party of four who sat down for dinner we had our waitress come to check on us 1 time. We waited 1 hour before our food order was taken and our first round of drinks were bone dry for 30 mins before we could find anyone to acknowledge our table. If this wasn't bad enough when our food was delivered to our table, 45 mins after ordering, it was ever so slightly, warm. The food was tasteless, but editable. For a small space with only approx 40-50 seats (mainly bar seating) they are severely understaffed. If you want to spend and evening waiting for your sub par dinner then by all means swing by; but if you're looking for an evening of drinks, great food and an enjoyable atmosphere then look somewhere else. Best of luck in the future,... however long that maybe. read more

I was an assistant chef for Marriott. Friends brought me here and I was immediately hit with a cozy atmosphere and friendly staff. The food here is next level and 5 star all the way. The wi gs were great, had the Krakow Carbonara. Phenominal! Price point was perfect and have spent that on lesser quality. Def try this place if you get a chance. read more

This place is great. Good food, good drinks, and good service. My only complaint is that they seem to be somewhat unreliable with their opening hours. They'll often close long before the posted closing time which I can understand if it's a very slow night, but it makes it hard to plan a trip over there with some friends if you don't even know for sure that the place is going to be open. Overall though, as I said I would recommend this place to anyone. The "Omen Old Fashioned" in particular is killer. read more

First of all let me put some context into Quail and Ale that a lot of people might miss out on. It's not a simplistic run of the mill place that you see replicated over and over again in every town. This place is different, IN A GOOD WAY. It's refreshing to an industry lost in the mundane. Quaint, well made craft cocktails and the most delicious food with made with fresh ingredients (Brussel sprouts, chicken bites w/ Nashville hot sauce, brat platter, steaks, burgers, signature fries) and cool music vibes from jazz to classics. It really transfers me to being in an eclectic restaurant/bar in NYC. Definitely brings that cool NYC vibe. I really think if you don't get it and it's not your type of pace it's probably because you prefer chain restaurants or the hundreds of "Italian" retread places read more

This place is awesome. The food is phenomenal and the owners will make you feel like family.

Great environment, family friendly. Food is fantastic. Jason is sub par but Sarah makes up for it as does the food. Great new place to enjoy! read more