Brunswick Barbecue & Brew

Tonight my niece had her wedding reception here. Great food, atmosphere and I would highly recommend this establishment for your next party.

It had been five years since we were last here. I recall trying to stop in for lunch once with some retired buddies a couple of years ago, but they do not open until 5 pm. This being a Saturday evening in March, about 6 pm, we figured it would be quite busy. But we were astonished to see only a couple of cars in the parking lot. Accordingly, there were only about three other parties dining, and not a sole at the bar.
The list of draft beers is not long but it’s all quality brews. My wife ordered a pint of Dogfish 60 Minute IPA ($ 6) while I started with a pint of Brooklyn Brown ($ 5). Both were enjoyed while we perused the menu.
I recall the Cabbage, Potato, and Pulled Pork soup of the day ($ 4/​cup) sounded inviting, so we each ended up ordering a cup. It was really good.
For our main courses we chose a Pulled Pork Sandwich ($ 9.99) and the Beef Brisket ($ 15.99) dinner. The pulled pork was tender, nicely smoked, full of flavor, and piled high on a fresh Kaiser roll. Kansas City sauce was served on the side along with sweet potato fries. It was delicious.
The Beef Brisket was also served with their Kansas City sauce, and I have to say right up front, that this was the most tender brisket I’ve experienced. It certainly was also flavorful with just the right amount of smoke to my liking. It came with a choice of two sides, which allowed me to sample their Macaroni and Cheese in addition to the zucchini vegetable of the day. The mac and cheese was decent, and the zucchini was good. The dinner also came with Corn Bread that was on the sweeter side and a texture closer to a cake. The dinner was substantial enough for me to order a pint of Bells Cream Stout ($ 5) while I finished it. That was a really nice pairing.
Service was pleasant and efficient. We really shouldn’t wait so long to return here.

Listen, I grew up down the road from this place and have been a frequent customer due to the close proximity. When they opened, the food was okay for bar type food. Since then, I have watched the kitchen go down hill. Tonight we ate dinner here and the nachos were cold. On a night where there are a total of 3 tables you would think everything would be superb and hot! Quite the opposite, I would say. Nachos are not something a restaurant has any excuse to mess up. The taco salad, one would think, would be served with hot melted cheese with black beans. However, neither were available. When you order the brisket, you should not have to cut off half of the meat because it is riddled with inedible fat and gristle. When asked if you want coleslaw as a side, they shouldn’t serve you half a pound of pre-​made, tepid cabbage product. I know this is not the wait staffs fault but perhaps much more attention should be given to the kitchen staff and poor food preparation. If I were to rate this I would say 0 stars. I am not trying to be harsh but honest. At this rate I cannot see this place lasting much longer, nor should it without an overhaul of the kitchen. The only thing keeping this business going is the music and beer, both of which have nothing to do with the kitchen staff.

music was good … bartender slow… if you have some time… give it a go,

Brisket sandwich incredibly fatty with over cooked french fries. service was a little something to be desired the bartender was also our waiter and he was a little on the slow side. this was my first experience with Brunswick barbecue and it will definitely be my last its a place that I would never return to nor would I ever recommend

couldn’t agree more with wendy n! we have eaten at Brunswick bbq many times over the years. our visits have grown less frequent – which is why, I think, they continue at all. in between visits, we forget how bad the service is, and how mediocre the food has become. instead we remember the good ol’ meals and hope for their return. the bbq was never great, but the ample portions and good sides compensated well enough to keep us loyal. sandwiches and burgers were always better choices for us. not so anymore. the plates look good when they arrive, but the food is simply lacking in flavor or in anything to make it distinctive. the black bean veggie burger was dry and bland; topped with a nice thick dollop of bleu cheese and then broiled – but the flavors didn’t harmonize into anything that tasted good. an inclusion of spices or a drizzle of something was needed. the bacon burger was sizzling on its big bun, but it dripped more oil than savory taste. the shrimp were large and not overcooked – nice– in a salad of bagged baby spinach of less than ample proportions – not nice. not worth the $ 14, especially when not accompanied by bread. the taco salad met with approval and looked bountiful. the sweet potato fries were cooked well, and the regular fries cooked darkly, but neither tasted particularly delicious. there is nothing overtly wrong with the food – just an overall feeling of something lacking.
which leads to the service – definitely, apparently, and obviously lacking. the tattooed waitress strikes again! on our last visit, she was downright rude in addition to being oblivious to her assigned tables. this time, she was friendly and got our order almost right – but then she disappeared completely. twice I had to get up from our table to ask for something, and before that we had to stake her out to request a condiment. we were immediately transported to our former experiences with her, and to those with other brunswick bbq servers. they simply bring the food and bring the check; they don’t serve customers.
we are finally, I think, ready to call it quits. however, on our way out, I did see a pizza at the table next to ours that looked mighty good. call me a glutton for punishment.. ..

Food was great. Waitress was extremely friendly and always checked up for refills and such. Huge amount of food on dinner plates. Potato skins were great for an app. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut. The Kansas City ribs SUCKED. Seeing that this is a BBQ place this should automatically deduct them to 2 stars if not 1 but everything else was that great that they deserve the 4. The ribs though, holy crap were they dry and tiny. They should have paid me to eat them, but they were on a combo plate so gladly I had brisket and such to resort to.

I’m torn on writing this review. The food was good, but the service was downright pitiful. We hadn’t been here in a long time and decided to give it a try. We had a drink at the bar before the rest of our party arrived. The bartender was great. She was very helpful when I asked if she could tell me what was safe for me to eat; what was gluten free on the menu (I ended up having Brunswick BBQ ribs, garlic mashed potatoes and cole slaw). Once our party arrived we were seated at a booth and a waitress took over. It went downhill fast. We ordered the steamers that were on special for an appetizer, hubby ordered the ribs and chicken and a bottled beer. The drinks were delivered and we had to flag the waitress down to ask for a glass for the beer. Steamers never arrived at all. Our meals came and hubby only had ribs, no chicken. We asked where were the steamers and the waitress gave us a blank look and said «they weren’t up». We asked about the chicken for the chicken & ribs. She said hubby only ordered ribs. No, he ordered chicken AND ribs. She acted like she was going to go and get the chicken for him. We asked for ketchup and she disappeared. I ended up having to get up and find my own ketchup. Not ONCE did she come back… no steamers, no chicken, no ‘is everything ok, do you need anything?” NOTHING!
That being said, everyone did enjoy their meal and the food was good. We were just very disappointed with the service. She just totally blew off half our order with not so much as an apology or any acknowledgement. VERY disappointing.
Would we go back? Yes, probably. But we’ll definitely sit at the bar and eat. If you get the waitress with glasses and her right arm tattooed with a sleeve good luck.
We ALWAYS tip 20+%. The rest of our party wanted to leave her NO tip at all, but we compromised and only left 5%. Had she been apologetic or even acknowledged her errors it would have been different but she just TOTALLY blew us off and that was rude, unprofessional and unacceptable.

The service was very good, Morgan was great. The food was delicious and the portions were big! Recommend the ribs w/​sauce (one of the best in the area in my opinion), the pulled pork, the garlic mashed and mac and cheese. The sides weren’t out of a plastic container, good stuff. Nice place, plenty of room and there were TV’s in the bar area. Great place to hang out, would definitely recommend it!

Stopped in for a date night because of the Groupon. Hoping for something like the 4 – 5 star reviews on here, but it wasn’t meant to be. Kind of dingy and dated atmosphere, more bar than restaurant. Our waitress had to ask another waitress to come over to tell us about the very limited beer selection (4 – 5 beers on tap)… not a good sign for a place that advertises bbq and BREW. Even after that they were out of the two beers we ordered and our second choices tasted off and stale (clean your taps!). My brisket plate came out sliced and smothered in unappetizing bbq sauce (it was literally swimming in it) and that was probably trying to disguise the fact that it was more big globs of fat than meat. Very low quality meat, no bbq bark or smokiness, it was terrible, inedible. My wife had the pulled pork plate and while the portion was large and it wasn’t smothered in sauce, the flavor was bland. Sides were average at best. The place is out in the country, but unfortunately the drive out and back is the best part. Head south to Uncle Marty’s or Town Tavern in Averill Park for better beer and food.

When we pulled into the parking lot and walked in, the atmosphere was great! They had a gas fireplace going and let us sit at the table closest to it. I was really looking forward to the evening. The waitress brought us Anchor Steam Merry Christmas instead of the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale ordered. She didn’t know any of the beers and seemed to be out of anything we wanted. This should have been an omen of things to come. Our friends ordered the combination plate and when it came out, the chicken was awful. Our friend said it smelled like wet dog and hay and when he tried it, the taste was rancid. It disgusted him so much that he had the waitress take it back and couldn’t order anything else in its place because he lost his appetite. The ribs our other friend ordered tasted ok, but weren’t tender at all and had to be ripped from the bone. We won’t be giving this place a second chance.

Been there 2 time in the past 8 years I have lived in the area… Both in the past 2 weeks! Wish I found this place earlier.
The first night was a regular week night, but all our kids had things to do so we stopped by. Nice comfortable place, they had a nice band in the back room playing so it provided a great background to the meal.
The food was really good.
The second time I went with my mother and son, I was in the mood for that food again. This time the Band was in the Bar area, a great Bluegrass band that I would have really enjoyed listening to. again the food was good, however, my son (age 4) was crying that the music was to loud and my mother and I couldn’t talk at all.
I guess I need to find a way to know if I need to go to listen to music, or go for a good meal with those I love.

One of my favorite local restaurants! Live music every Friday night. The Bluegrass jams they host once a month are fantastic! A small, but great selection of beers on tap. I’m always pleased with the quality of food and service. They just started making wood fired pizzas about a year ago, and are better than most pizzeria pizzas I’ve had locally. A great place to have a meal or just sip a beer with an appetizer!

This place is a joke. My first and only time at the place I received old food. Poor service and high prices. How this place stays in business is beyond me.

This is a very convenient place to go if you are coming back from Vermont — just make a left off rte 7 onto 278, follow to end, and make another left onto rte 2 — it’s on the right just past Tamarac school. It’s great that you can go somewhere without a cover and hear some great music. It’s a nice casual place to bring the family or meet friends because it’s pretty loud, you don’t have to dress up, the prices are very reasonable and it’s very pleasant. Last night was not their best service night. We were shown to the table and the lights were not on in that section of the restaurant — so we were supposed to sit in the dark? We turned the light switch on. I mean, common sense! The table was stabilized by a wad of newspaper shoved under the leg. The carpet was dirty with crumbs. Ok, I can put all that aside because I have been there before and the food is good and maybe they were busy and couldn’t get to that. But after taking our drink orders, I could have killed and skinned and smoked bbq myself in a shorter amount of time than it took for the food to come out. The bbq was excellent but my drink glass stood empty for a long time and only when my companion went to the bar and asked for another, did suddenly it occur to our waitress that maybe they had a table to check on. The food was excellent — but the service needs help. It’s too slow and not attentive enough in checking up on whether you need anything else. They are very nice just need some better training. I do recommend the food, the atmosphere, and the music. The smoked chicken, brisket, garlic mashed potatoes, and cole slaw are all excellent. The nachos are outstanding too. The best thing of all is the cornbread with sweet butter. Yum. I rank the food 4 stars, the service 2 for an average of 3 stars. The last time I went here I had much better service in the bar area.

family of 5…2 adults, 3 children all under age 12.
WAS STARVING after being at the Graftom lake park most of the afternoon… would have eaten just about anything and this place looked busy which was a good sign especially on a Sunday about 530pm.
When we first walked in the place was large and the bar was full… about 2 tables actually had people eating.
First ordered the Nachos Grande appetizer to hold us over til the real food arrived…
ordered the drinks and they came out promptly
Tha Nachos never came and the meal did… off to a bad start,
Ordered 3 kids meals…1 child had. homemade mac and cheese. DRY and looked like it had been sitting for a few days waiting for a customer. 2 children had quesadilla… also not hot… how is that possible, had to melt the cheese make it.
Adult 1 Ordered the veggie stack thing with pasta, wasnt sure what to expect here. It came out like a stack of grilled veggies with a huge cheese ball melted on top of it all. OK… Again…not hot. The «melted“cheese was cold, what is going on in the kitchen. It really looked like it was all premade sitting in the cooler waiting for a customer to show up and order it. This plate shoule have taken about 12 minutes to make. It had a large Portabella mushroom which was uncooked in the middle of all the peppers stacked under the large cheese ball… The Pasta was in a seperate dish… just penne with some basil? sprinkled on it… no sauce or anything… sauce wasnt an option given when ordering. Adult 1 drank water with this mess and the next two days was sick from the food.
Adult 2 ordered the FULL rack Brunswick Baby Back Ribs…» Sticky and Sweet” was what I was told… came out DRY and Warm… not hot, DRY DRY DRY… like eating dried Jerky off the bone. I got the Mac and cheese side and Beans… Mac and Cheese… COLD and DRY (like my childs) like week old leftovers. HEY CHEF… add some milk and butter throw it in the microwave and stir the noodles around for 2 seconds to TRY to freshen up this «HOMEMADE» train wreck.
Left with 2 stomach aches and 3 kids that were still hungry… inexpensive and terrible food… I guess it is a great place to drink alchohol.

The Wife and I had dinner here last night after one of her co-​workers had recommended it to her. She got the ½ rack of ribs plate and I got the sampler, my ribs were a tad dry but still had great flavor and bark. Probably the best ribs we’ve had since moving up here. The pulled pork I got was also very good, even had enough left over to have a PP sandwich for lunch today. Good experience overall, will definitely make a return trip.

Love this place and am willing to drive a bit to get there. Choices of barbecue styles and the smoker is right there as you pull in to park in the ample parking lot. It is a great atmosphere inside. Warm, woody and relaxed. Great staff and good choice of beers. I’ve been there all four seasons — it’s always a good time for barbecue.

Had a great day outside and wanted to finish off with a bang. Having had a great experience at the Brunswick BBQ and Brew once before, we decided to stop in again.
Sadly, this experience was not as good as the first. Floor was dirty. High chair was dirty. Floaties at the bottom of my pint glass.
Waitress was unsure of beers they had on tap, but halfheartedly took a stab at listing them. Their prior beer selection was half the reason we stopped here… we remembered it for having several good craft brewery selections. So we asked for a beer list and chose one from the menu; her response was «we are out of that one, you must not have been listening». Oh. Struck out on another listed menu item when I ordered… no sweet potato fries.
Then our food came. My daughter’s mac and cheese would have been better described as «mac and milk» and there was no side with it. I would describe my pulled pork as crunchy and dry. We mentioned the mac and cheese issue to our waitress who had tasted it earlier and agreed it was tasteless and watery, but offered to get us something else. We opted for cornbread. When the bill came, my daughters meal, which should have been juice/​mac and cheese/​side but turned out to be juice/​cornbread/​no side was still at full price. Which is only 5 $ but it is the principle, really. All this and I overheard both of the tables being served near us complaining to her as well about their food.
Overall, the service left much to be desired, as did the upkeep of the restaurant and the quality of the food. Prices were still great. And I am still impressed with their craft brew selections. That is, if they have most of what they had listed.
As I mentioned above, we had stopped in here last October on the way home from a day at the park with the kids. I should have reviewed it then… place was clean (with the exception of a messy bathroom sink situation due to a faucet malfunction), service was outstanding, beer was great, food was good as were the prices.
Seems the quality of food and service is headed downhill at this establishment and we are really disappointed to see it happen. Perhaps they had a change in management, or cook staff. Either way, it would be great to see it turn around as it is a convenient location to stop on the way back from a day in the woods in MA or VT when you have a hankering for a good beer and some comfort food.

Brunswick Barbecue & Brew is nestled in at the end of a quaint, tiny town right before the beginning (or end depending on which way you’re going) of Highway 2. The building brings very little attention to itself; while the brick red building does stands out from the rest of quiet Brunswick, one can easily drive by the place without even realizing it was there — that is until you catch the smell of a smokey grill wafting through your car window as you pass by.
It is very difficult to talk about a place that has the perfect first impression. The service may not have been up to par, the bathroom sink might have been too dirty, or maybe the waitress had a slight moustache that wasn’t to your liking. Point being is this: It is always easier to pick at all the wrong things than it is praise it for all the good ones. Every now and then though, after sifting through all the garbage, you find a place that you absolutely love and all you can really do is simply smile.
With that being said, there really is nothing much more I can say. The service is impeccable and the food is delicious. I have seriously tried with all my might to find something minutely annoying, but to no avail. It is a nice place to end the day driving on along Highway 2, and it is unfortunate that I didn’t discover Brunswick Barbecue & Brew earlier.
To all those who are in the Troy area, I urge you stop by and enjoy a simple, delicious meal with your friends and/​or family. It is unlikely that someone will see this review, but this place deserves all the attention in can get. And if by chance you stumble upon this, much like I stumbled upon this restaurant, hopefully you’ll make the effort to go and have the simple and delicious food.