Cask Republic – Norwalk

My husband and I cannot express how extraordinary cask republic is. Our server Nick was attentive and make excellent wine pairings. We had the Reuben and the puttanesca. And both were some of the best food we’ve had in sono for quite some time. The environment created was very romantic and a definite must for lovers! Enjoy!

A nice «small plates» addition to SoNo. Interesting beer selection, decent wines.
2 of us shared 4 plates — 50% hit ratio.
Thumbs up:
Kale salad — pretty tender as far as kale goes with tasty dressing and just-​ok anchovies. Nice size. Would order again.
Braised short ribs — served in an adorable individual-​sized Emile Henri or Le Creuset dish with outrageous grilled peasant bread. Perfect balance of beefy peppery tender goodness. Hours later, still thinking about it.
Meh:
Tuna tartare — needed a commitment to sesame or to a lime dash. Almost there but just missed.
Duck empanadas — dough was good. Filling was a waste of good duck meat. Overpowering onions. In a town full of Latin places and food trucks, if you’re gonna have these on your menu, your empanada game needs to be strong.
Will def try again since interior re-​do is appealing and the bar vibe is nice. By summer this place should have the kinks worked out.
Service was impeccable.
High hopes for this place!

Really great food i went there I had there Cask Republic Burger so good especially with Bacon and Onion Jam really good we also had a Appetizer that was really good COTIJA CHEESE GRITS my Brother had the Steak and he Asked for Rare and they got it Perfect some places are afraid to cook it like that

A cozy lively place with great drinks and good food too. Hanging out at the bar, I didn’t get to sample anything from their main menu. But the drinks my friends and I ordered and the bar food kept us really happy. They had cocktails on the tap. can you believe it? And not just regular martinis or margaritas. innovative, well made drinks. I had a pink panther with reisling, orange vodka, rum and all kinds of fruits… nice and refreshing. But the winner hands down was their smoked chilli guava margarita… what flavor. I might go home and try to look up/​invent a recipe for this one since I don’t live in Connecticut. All my friends tried different beers and I guess they liked their drinks too. We shared a bacon popcorn and korean bbq wings, both of which were very good. Those wings were the kind I know I will later crave and dream about. I could eat them everyday. Norwalk folks, please do yourself a favor and go order those wings and whatever else suits your palette.

Service was ok, not great. Everything was extremely slow. Food was subpar at best. Nothing had much flavor. The short rib was inedible and the pork belly mac and cheese was barely warm. Fries were soggy and meatballs had a great sauce, but on the dry side. First time Unilocal reviews let me down.

A beautiful remodeling of this bar/​restaurant. Taking out a huge wall down the middle has opened up the entire space and made it feel so much less claustrophobic. The space is huge with built in benches in addition to the normal bar stools and tables.
The selling point for the bar is that in addition to the beers on tap, they also have wines and cocktails on tap! I got the winter sangria which was off the charts amazing (and strong, holy cow). We stayed until closing and had a wonderful time. The staff was friendly, the drinks flowed, and a good time was had by all. I highly recommend coming here!

Amazing beer selection. They rotate very quickly, so there’s always something new to try. Bartenders’ recommendations are always on point. The beer alone is worth going for. The food is also very good — favorites are the bacon and cheese dip and tuna tartare.

Worst service ever! After having to send my food back TWICE because the meal contained something I could not eat, the server came back with my meal in a take away bag. The bill came and he didn’t even offer to take the meal off. When a friend at the table pointed that out, he went back to «talk to the manager» and came back saying he «unfortunately» could not take the meal off the bill because it was packed for me to take home, but that he could offer a discount on said meal (which was sent back TWICE!). After the table made a stink about it, he finally adjusted the bill. Shame on the manager and shame on the kitchen for screwing up twice. Will never go back. The one in Stamford is SO much better.

Cask Republic, a beer lover’s haven with 2 locations in Connecticut, recently opened a 3^rd in South Norwalk. Previously The Gingerman, the space has been revamped with a more open floor-​plan and a mix of regular tables, communal tables, and a private wine vault in the back that accommodates 4 diners.
Cask Republic retains The Gingerman’s impressive selection of beers, and though they have reduced the number of taps from 42 to 37, it’s for an exciting reason: they now also offer 10 wines on tap, 4 cocktails, and nitro coffee. Personally, I think 37 taps of beer is more than sufficient!
Cask Republic is ready to expand its reputation from a great place for beer to a great place for food, too. After trying 9 of Culinary Director Carl Carrion’s dishes, it’s clear they’re on the right track.
First, spiced lamb empanadas, pork belly mac and cheese, harvest salad, shrimp and grits, braised short ribs, and bacon popcorn from their «Small Plates» menu. The two standouts were the shrimp and grits, which were topped with perfectly cooked shrimp (I’d happily eat a plate of them solo or add to a salad), and the braised short ribs. Topped with a soft cooked egg and accompanied by grilled crusty bread, this dish got gobbled up immediately. Order two; you won’t want to share!
Next, some dishes from their «Large Plates» menu: mustard crusted Canadian salmon over green onion risotto, maple brined double cut pork chop, and IPA citrus marinated chicken with jalapeño grits, wild mushrooms, and roasted brussels sprouts.
The salmon was flaky and tender, and the tangy mustard crunch of the crust was a delicious counterpoint. I’m not a fan of risotto, but I’d love this served over the brussels spouts that accompanied the chicken.
Speaking of the chicken… WOW. Who would think that chicken would be a star? Cask Republic’s was juicy, perfectly charred, and wonderfully accented by the IPA marinade. I highly recommend it.
Rounding out the meal was a thick cut grilled pork chop so juicy it made a bit of a mess… but that was a good thing. Flavorful, tender, and quickly devoured, this would satisfy any meat lover.

Very beautiful place — rustic design is true to other Cask Republics. There are two TVs and the cocktails/​wines are ON TAP! They’re pretty expensive ($$) but it’s a nice place to go when you’re feeling classy.

Cask republic used to be the ginger man. Everything I’ve had on the food menu has been good. But it’s the drinks that keep me coming back. They have an excellent beer selection that is rotating. But they don’t stop at being a beer bar. Their cocktails are off the charts. I asked the bartender (colin) for a recommendation and he sold me on his spin on an old fashioned. This combo of an old fashioned and a manhattan was second to none. Starts out with the smokey bourbon flavor and finishes off smooth as silk. Honestly, the best bourbon cocktail I’ve ever had. Also worth trying is their insomnia cocktail, made with nitro brew coffee. Five stars for the atmosphere, drinks, and friendliness of the staff

I recently moved out to the east coast from Los Angeles and I finally found a place that is firing on all cylinders! The staff are helpful, friendly, and enthusiastic. The kitchen has an amazing innovative progressive menu with culinary creations that are delicious. Not only that, but there were no issues with the order not coming out on time or coming out incorrect etc… it seemed that was the consensus from the tables around us as well. Unfortunately I’ve had some bad experiences at quite a few restaurants out here, were the FOH is not communicating with the BOH or there is some issue with the food going to the wrong table, getting the wrong order, or just waiting for what seems like an eternity for the entire meal to make it’s way to the table. This is not the case at Cask Republic. I will also add that the ambiance is very cool, from the music to the lighting to the modern décor. I’m known for picking apart restaurants but I couldn’t do it here. They got it down! And for only opening up just recently I have to give the team at Cask in South Norwalk, kudos, for having a professional attitude about customer service and the way a restaurant should be operated. Congratulations on a solid opening and to all the Unilocalers I definitely suggest heading over to Cask Republic in SONO, you will not be disappointed!

WOW… cool beer line up.WOW.wine on tap.WOW.cocktails on tap… food menu is awesome from raw bar to shrimp and grits to smoked grilled ribeye… this place is making South Norwalk a destination spot… can’t wait for the patio open up…

Needed to grab dinner before my son’s Halloween festivities. I walked by this place a couple of times and was happy to see that it is now open. As soon as you step in you see fantastic choices in modern décor, friendly staff and a cool bar off to the left. I ask for a suggestion for a chicken dish and was informed that the I.P.A. Chicken was good. Wow… it was delicious. Served with grits that was seasoned superbly. We were offered complementary sparkling water which was very nice. Bathroom (Womens) was extremely clean. I would have had dessert but I was stuffed. The choices sounded great but I could not fit another bite. I love corner seats with large windows. When I return I hope to be lucky enough to choose that table again. Server Will M. was super sweet and attentive. SONO is so much fun and now Cask Republic has made it cool.

Gave Cask a try for dinner yesterday evening.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. The space was open and set up nicely. I appreciated the communal high top and the fact that a) the chairs had backs and b) the table had a foot rest. It’s the little things.
The menu is nice. I can be a little picky with my food, so for me it was a little meat (pork/​lamb) heavy, but my dining companion loved it and I could appreciate the creativity and uniqueness of some of the items.
We started with a few small plates:
Korean wings — we both thought these were just OK and quite salty.
Bacon popcorn — not my favorite, but my companion LOVED it. I think it’s a great idea and the perfect thing to put on the menu.
Shrimp and grits — these were amazing. The grits were really flavorful, as was the sauce. The shrimp were nicely sized and seasoned well. Delicious!
For our entrees, I got the fall salad and he had the lamb pastrami sandwich.
My salad was good, a salad, nothing too special, but I was OK with that because I was full.
He loved his sandwich. There may have actually been a moment where he closed his eyes to savor it. His first round of fries were cold, so they brought out a second order. While hot, these were overly salted and therefore inedible. But that’s easy to fix.
We both appreciated the beer/​wine/​cocktail list. Service was friendly.
We will definitely return!