The Willimantic Brewing Co / Main Street Cafe

Not a bad place to stop for lunch or a beer. I found the service to be good, not great, but good. Food came out super slow, but ultimately tasted alright. I built my own burger and it was a 7 out of 10 for me. The chicken wraps there were not bad either. I’ll give it another shot, perhaps dinner verses lunch, and review it again. Just didn’t impress me enough to push the rating to a 4.

We’ve been coming here for over 10 years and Willibrew is a cultural staple in the local and beer community. The pub special scallop salad was awesome. Hope to see it become in the regular rotation of whimsically named dishes after local places in Windham county.

Willibrew is a tried and true for Willimantic eats. They brew their own beer and, while it can taste kind of hit or miss, I think it’s a cool touch (and when you walk in, you can smell that barley malty hoppy smell, don’t know what else to call it). Luckily, if you’re not a fan of the house brew, they have a massive and diverse beer list that suits the Bud drinkers all the way to the precisely 235 minute aged whiskey barrel IPA whatever whatever beer snob. The restaurant’s history is rooted in the fact that the building is the old post office and their menu/​theming totally riffs off that. I love that many of their dishes and sides are named after postal codes and surrounding CT areas. They have cool ‘themed’ nights that afford you specials like stein night, wine nights, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything off the menu I didn’t like. My go-​to is the grilled tuna wrap with mandarin orange glaze. Their garlic fries are loaded with raw garlic. Don’t order the nachos if you don’t have three friends because they are delicious but massive and you will try to eat the whole plate and probably have a heart attack. Their nachos are pretty on point. I don’t understand why they don’t have guacamole though. Even though you’ll really need another layer on this massive mountain of nachos like a hole in the head, my heart breaks every time I forget and then am told they do not have guacamole. Anyway, the food isn’t out of this world but it’s consistent, standard pub fare, and the menu is diverse so you know there will be something for everyone. Seating can be a little rough. The dining area often holds wait lists for ridiculous amounts of time and the bar seating can be a mad house, as that area is seat yourself so you have to hover like a crazy vulture if you want to sit and eat there. I prefer dining in there though because you can play trivia on the TV and you’re closer to the bar. Also, for such a busy place, I think I’ve always had fast, efficient, and friendly service. The hostesses sometimes throw shade but I don’t usually sit in the dining area anyway.

This place is absolutely amazing! Haven’t lived in the area long and it’s already become a fast favorite to show family when they visit. Great selection of drinks and food. I personally love their quesadillas! Might have to street park and wait a bit to be seated when it’s busy but it’ll be so worth it! The staff is super friendly and the food is to die for.

My boyfriend and I heard about their Valentines Day Special and decided to make a reservation. The special has a fixed price, and you just pick and choose what you want.
We have a lot of comments. So I’m going to break it down by section to make this review easier to understand.
Service:
We walk in, and there’s a hostess on the phone. But it clearly was not a business call (clearly because she said «love you» at the end). We were standing there for about a minute or two before her call ended. Then she hung up, and proceedes to walk away, and only then did she realize that we were there (right in front of her). And she acted surprised and said, «oh, did you guys want a table?» No, I want to buy a horse. YES I WANT A TABLE WHY ELSE AM I AT A RESTAURANT. *breathe in… breathe out*
Okay so then we were seated. Our waiter was very kind, but it seemed like he wasn’t knowledgeable about the menu. There was the separate menu for the V-​day Special, and as we were looking at it, he came over and said that the drinks were going to be $ 5 for the first round, and then their regular price for proceeding rounds. Which would be fine but it explicitly says that the first round of a cocktail/​beer was included in the fixed price. I asked him about that and he said «yeah its included, but its $ 5». Confusing but I knew I was going nowhere with it so I just let it go and ordered my drink. The vday menu itself was confusing as well. Why did they include a salad on there that is not included in the fixed price special? Beats me. Also it has the vday special at $ 37.50/person, and the website has it at $ 65/​couple. What?!
The bread didn’t come, we had to ask the waiter to bring it. It eventually came after our soup and drinks. He didn’t really come in and check if our water was full, or anything like that. Once we got our entrees though, he came back periodically to check in.
On our way out, despite there being two staff members at the hostess desk, we were not greeted or thanked for coming, or wished a happy valentines day.
Food quality:
The food was good. Except… my boyfriend ordered the prime rib. They told him «okay I’ll put that in right away because we only have 3 left». Um, what? You have your Valentines Day event advertised, did you not plan ahead for customers? We came in at 6:30 on valentines day, and you only have 3 prime ribs left!!! Not okay. It’s not like its 11pm and dinner is well over and done. Anywho, he ordered the prime rib medium rare. Definitely was not medium rare. It was medium well. Not okay. But we didn’t complain, because we hate sending food back, knowing it will just get thrown out. The dessert was dry and not appetizing. It was supposed to be a cute little chocolate cake but eh. If we were to rate the food alone, we would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.
Ambiance:
If you’re going to advertise a valentines day event, at least ATTEMPT to theme the place up. There were no special decorations for valentines day. Not even just flowers on the table or something. The most themed up they got was printing their vday menu on pink paper.
And here we go. The bathrooms. Absolutely disgusting. They need staff to clean that and check in more frequently. The trash was overflowing, the floor was disgusting, and it smelled like it hadn’t been cleaned in a week. I’ve seen cleaner bathrooms in NYC’s Chinatown. And in the Philippines, which is a third world country (and I can say that because I lived there).
Last but not least, it qas advertised that the fixed price would be $ 65, gratuity included. We were charged for the two drinks, which we shouldn’t have been because they were supposed to be included in the fixed price. However my boyfriend only noticed it now as we sit in the car driving away from the place.
All in all, we were very unimpressed. We will NOT be coming back. And I am very very sad that we had to have this experience for Valentines day, which is also our anniversary.
And yes, I am so upset about the experience that I started writing the review as we were finishing up paying and leaving. I couldn’t even wait till we got home.

I hate this restraunt. I waited three hours for seats and when i ordered a medium steak i got a charred piece of rubber. The only reason Im not giving this a 1 is because they had good drinks.

This is one of our big favorites, my husband and I. We especially love Sunday and bring your own mug. Pub food at its best and an ungodly selection of beers, some freshly made on site. Gorgeous old building too!

One of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. Great service, friendly staff, great atmosphere even when it’s packed. Can’t believe it took me so long to check this place out!

We had an Areopostal pizza for lunch and it was Spot On delicious! Even great heated up!!! Beers were great as usual!!!

Great double cooked wings. Good beer, great cocktails. It’s busy all the time. They need a bigger parking lot for sure.

Pretty cool atmosphere. The beer is good. Food not so much. At least what we had — bruschetta, vodka pasta and eggplant. It wasn’t worth the $ 15-​$ 16. I would go with the generic bar foods as I hear the nachos looked good.

This place is pretty cool for being in a relatively drab area of Connecticut. It is an old post office renovated into a bar and the ambiance is incredible. They have tons of beer on tap and daily drink specials. They also have a selection of beers they brew themselves. So this should appease any bear snobs who find themselves in eastern CT. I happened to go on a «Martini Monday» when all martinis are $ 1 off. I ordered a drink named after a watermelon jolly rancher (I’m pretty sure) and it was very good.
The menu has a diverse option of American food items, including pizza, burgers, pasta, and flatbreads. I ordered a flatbread with plain sauce and cheese and it was very good. The service was a little slow, at times, but our waitress was very nice.
The only downside was that parking was hard to find. If it wasn’t for my friend who happened to know about an open lot a few blocks down the street I would have been driving around downtown Willimantic looking for a meter.

Great atmosphere, great food, great beer. It can get pretty crowded on weekends so hey there early!

On a 1 to 5, the beer is a 10. Some of the most outstanding beers you will find anywhere. Incredible guest beers, but the house brews take it to the next level. IPA’s seem to be the signature house, but there always seems to be a saison, porter or stout available. Not a big fan of the flagship beer, but that is not a negative on the quality of the beer, but rather my taste for the style. I have eaten there dozens of times and the food is consistent and good. Tend to go with the sandwiches, salads and appetizers which are well priced and good portions. The BLT has to be the best in state and their nachos are two story’s high. Bar is always busy and the overall atmosphere is excellent. The room was previously a post office and still has the PO boxes. Great Place!

This place is a favorite. It never disappoints. Always has good service and friendly staff. I’ve never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a table in the dining area or the pub (and I have a lot of friends who’ve said the same thing). We love going to Stein Night on Sunday nights. The place has a really relaxed and friendly atmosphere, in the pub and the dining area.
The food is great and everything on the menu is delicious. Especially the mountain of nachos they serve. Favorites on the menu include their quesadillas, nachos, pulled pork sliders, cajun fries, and their beer butter with bread is delicious. I’ve never had a bad experience here and I’ve been here a lot.
Every time I come here, it’s a good time.

I love that this is a building that was a fancy old school Post Office. The insides are cherrywood and and high ceilings. The inner square is where they actually brew their beers. We opted to eat at the bar. The bartender was very knowledgeable about the beers that they had on tap and in bottles. I had the chili salad dish. It was delicous.
This place is a favorite of Eastern Connecticut State University. I enjoy the photo collages on the walls and the years dating them. For me I paid attention to the way people used to dress from year to year. It was nostalgic for me since I went to UCONN in the early 2000’s

Type.. .. .. .. .. .Outdated Old-​Style Brewpub/Applebee’s
Level.. .. .. .. .. .Low
Location.. .. .…Good, Main Drag
Prices.. .. .. .…Higher
Tap Selection.…Large, 50 taps with 20 local taps
Bottle Selection. .Unknown
Samplers.. .. .. .Yes, Sampler Flights of 5 at a time
Full Pours.. .. .. .Yes
Beer Level.. .…Poor
Food.. .. .. .. .. .Yes
Food Level.. .. …Poor
Staff.. .. .. .. .. .Decent, Nice Enough
Growlers.. .. .. .No
Noise Level.. .. .Loud
Décor.. .. .. .…Outdated Applebee’s, Awkward Huge Open Space, Trash stuck to walls
Good for Kids.. .Yes
Parking.. .. .. . …Private Lot
WiFi.. .. .. .. .. .Unknown
Cash Only.. .…No
Recommended. .No
Comments: Yes it is a brewpub and yes it is the highest rated place in CT on
, but the food is not good and the beers are not good. Plain and simple. Outdated menu has 200 food options with everything from French, American, Italian, hell probably there’s a Thai salad in there. Food portions were so big, that one pasta dish for $ 17 could feed four people. Our pasta dish was very poorly seasoned. Could lower the prices of the dishes and reduce the portions. House beers were papery, buttery, uncarbonated. Other tap pours from guest taps were similarly bad hinting at a tap system problem from incorrect tap cleaning. Servers were nice, but unaware of how bad the food and beer is that they are serving. Could be a good candidate for Bar Rescue.

I love the atmosphere’s this restaurant has, the dining room is very open and bright with high ceilings and good colors, they have an outdoor dining area where you can watch Main St Willimantic go by and the bar has the same high ceilings with lots and lots of dark wood trim. Great beers and a wide variety of specials and fun stuff going on, highly recommend checking out their calendar (Thursday taco-​rita night and Sunday Stein day are greats!).

Good beer, good meal. Flatbread pizza, chicken sandwich with caramelized onions, burritos and the taco Thursday special were all consumed with a smile. Evan was a great waiter

Flying cigar ale is nice and cold on a hot day but tasted a little flat. Also had the Paradigm Shift which was an extraordinary beer. Had the Reuben (Corned Beef) and it was decent. Probably a 6 out of 10. Seemed like the bread was toasted not grilled. Sort of a marbled rye and it was excellent. Server was very friendly and started off inexplicably slow but we got there as they opened and it may have taken a bit for the place to get going. Once he got going he was excellent. All in all it was very good.