Cambridge Brewing Company

Imstillthegman

Delaware

4.19/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in for dinner while in Boston. Took a while to find the place....sits back from the street and the GPS didn't help. Once there, we were quickly seated and waited on. Fairly busy night with a varied crowd. Service was very good. Beers and food both came at reasonable speed. The food was good, though I felt my portion of the special ravioli for the night was quite small. Nine small, square ravioli for $16? I should have gotten a burger. The beer, including the one-offs available were quite good. I would probably make another visit, though Lord Hobo is just up the street.

05-16-2013 13:47:15 | More by Imstillthegman

Durge

Connecticut

4.11/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Although I've been here a few times over the years, I stopped by for a a couple beers recently and found it hadn't really changed notably, which isn't really a bad thing. Stopping in during a weekday afternoon, the place is a bit sleepy but not vacant. There's a comfortable crowd of couples and loners like me with good music playing and a nice selection of Cambridge brews on tap. I believe they have entertainment some nights and they serve food which I didn't have this trip, so I imagine the atmosphere might be a little more compelling at a different time. But it was fine for hanging out at the medium sized bar, watching some Sports Center updates and chatting intermittently with the staff. The bartender was an attentive young lady who was happy to talk some beer and was helpful. She offered me some half sized portions to allow me to have more variety without pushing my limits for driving home, which I greatly appreciated. There's nothing terribly special about the physical place but there's nothing wrong with it at all. They sell growlers and bombers from a cooler. Bathrooms and all else seem to be quite clean and pleasant. Some folks were having a bite to eat and the grub looked good, and I've eaten here some years ago and don't recall any issues. All and all this place is a nice stop which probably offers some livelier experiences for the evening crowds. The beers were all good from what I was able to enjoy this time through.

04-18-2013 03:20:18 | More by Durge

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.97/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Almost skipped over this place, but I'm glad I didn't. On the surface it seemed like another run of the mill chain-type brewery trying to cash in on the beer scene / college scene. And, well, it is that in a sense, but they actually make some good stuff here. Lots of room in here, with a good-sized bar and plenty of tables for dining. It's a generic but comfortable atmosphere, with a slight leaning towards hipsterism, but what do you expect; it's Cambridge.

There was a very nice selection of beers of tap, with a good variety of styles, and it seems that these guys are no strangers to barrel aging and wild fermentation. Definitely not your typical run-of-the-mill glorified homebrew beers here, there is actually some rhyme to their reason. Service was fine, even despite our party of 4 strolling in about 45 mins. before closing time. Prices were reasonable. We didn't sample any of the food.

Cool place overall, and I'd definitely go back if in the area (i.e. never, probably).

03-10-2013 00:55:05 | More by Rifugium

lucas1801

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

My favorite brewpub happens to be my local, I am a big fan of The beer and the staff is friendly and fun. Brewmaster Will Myers has a great barrel cellar and is awesome at producing sours, highly recommend. Food is better than typical pub fare, but the usual suspects are also there.

01-08-2013 01:46:07 | More by lucas1801

Maxwell

Massachusetts

4.53/5  rDev +12.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$$

The CBC is tucked away in a lovely little building on Kendall Square, and it does take a little intuition to find the place, but the rustic brick interior, the proximity of the stainless steel fermenters, and the smells wafting from the kitchen make this place a beautiful brew pub with the perfect look.

On top of the CBC’s superb beer selections, they also boast a very pleasing selection of food that rotates regularly, and is specifically designed to help pair with their beers. My favorite thing about the CBC as I walked in was how classy they were. They had their “go-hang-out” bar, but they also had some lovely dinning sections and an overall upper-level dinning feel that is not common in other brew pubs. Just by walking you could tell they cared about all parts of the brewpub from the beer, to the food, to the ambiance, and that is awesome. My only complaint about the atmosphere is that the wait staff were dressed a little too casually for the overall feel of the place, but that might just be for their own comfort, which I totally understand and support.

The beers were great, and the food was even better. This being an autumn visit, we sampled from the plethora of pumpkin beers that the CBC offered and were pleased with all of them. The winner of the night in terms of beer was definitely their classic Great Pumpkin Ale.

The Cambridge Brewing Company proved to be a delicious experience. So good, in fact, that I might even say I liked it for its food even more than I did for its beer, though both were quite spectacular. If you ever have the chance to go I highly recommend it, as everything that came out of the kitchen smelled amazing, and you could really tell they knew what they were doing. Check them out!

10-18-2012 20:49:05 | More by Maxwell

flexabull

California

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$$

A place I made two visits to during my stay in Boston.

Small brewpub tucked into the back of a small square in Cambridge, cozy little place with lots of outdoor seating, and a nice smaller indoor seating/bar area.

Quality was quite good, I tried 4 beers during my 2 visits, a couple were solid (Pale Ale and Session IPA) and two were excellent (Wild Ale and Great Pumpkin).

Service was good, the girl that served us dinner the first night was quick and speedy, the bartender during my second visit was cool, and poured me a free taster of their Bruin. (which was also nice)

Selection was about 10 taps with a nice variety of styles.

Food was decent, but not all that special.

Overall, a nice place to get a very good beer, ok for a bite too.

09-26-2012 19:38:46 | More by flexabull

BostonHops

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

had dinner tonight with my wife. beer menu consists of a handful of house, or year-round brews, and then another handful of seasonals. started with youenjoymystout, which was great - a tasty and unique RIS. later in the meal tried their big man IPA, which, while it didn't exactly knock my socks off, was nevertheless a tasty IPA with a big malt backbone. wife tried the tripel threat (tripel), which she enjoyed too.

food did not disappoint. i had the NY sirloin with carmelized onions while my wife had their lobster risotto; we share nachos for an app. service was prompt but not rushed; our server was knowledgeable and pleasant. they don't have an especially wide variety of beers but you'll probably find something to suffice. overall a great experience especially factoring the prices, which were very reasonable. definitely recommended. there is also a kids menu, if applicable.

09-15-2012 05:15:56 | More by BostonHops

merc7186

New York

3.98/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Visited on 7/21/12.

A: This place has a great vibe to it, plenty of bar area, indoor seating and outdoor seating. We went on a Saturday afternoon during the summer and still had a good crowd.

Q: I failed miserably on their beers, was disappointed with Pale Ale on cask then on tap, then again with their seasonal BPA. I've had several of their bombers in the past and really liked but left disapponted.

S: The service was great, our waitress was very friendly, knowledgable and even made good recommendations of other places to try in the area too.

S: Selection was decent as they offered 5 year round offerings, 6 seasonal offerings and to go bombers and growlers. It was a good array of various styles especially for the season.

F: Food was slightly better than average but nothing spectacular.

Overall, I was really excited to finally come here but left feeling disappointed over my beer choices which were less than average.

07-26-2012 13:39:15 | More by merc7186

kinopio

Massachusetts

4.78/5  rDev +18.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$

The #1 beer destination in the Boston area. A must visit place, simply put.

I lived close to CBC in my early 20's and I have it to thank for introducing me to a world of beer I didn't know existed. They made me a fan of Sours and Barleywines years ago and since then I've had dozens of examples of those styles but still rank theirs way up there. They also knock it out of the park with saisons and sessionable stouts. They are one of the most experimental brewers in the US so there is always something interesting on tap.

I'd say my favorite beers of theirs would be Tripel Threat, Benevolence, Cerisse Cassee and Blunderbuss Barleywine.

They were one of the first places around here to focus on local ingredients. You'll often find local fish, cheese etc on their menu. These are typically on their specials board so I would suggest ordering from there. I dig their pizza and plentiful vegetarian options as well.

CBC has one of the best patios in the city. The main bar area is great, with plenty of sunlight and room to mingle near the bar.

This place is tops. Any beer lovers trip to Boston needs to make an evening at Cambridge Brewing Company a priority.

03-28-2012 17:14:52 | More by kinopio

LeeMarvin

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

I’ve been going to CBC since 1993, and throughout the years, the only consistency to this place has been the beer. You can’t go wrong with the beer. It’s worth a trip to this place for the beer. They have some of the best barleywines and stouts you’ll find at a brewpub and their sessionables are solid. Their events are good times, especially the Barleywine Fest. I consider myself fortunate to have this place so close to my home because of their amazing beers, and I’ll always keep coming back for their beers.

But if you’re looking for someplace to have dinner, there are no guarantees. I’ve had some of the most amazing dinners and waitstaff at CBC—people who remember us and take the time to make us feel welcome and well attended, serving up food as good as you could hope for. But I’ve also been ignored for a half hour with an empty beer glass on a slow night, waiting for food that ends up sucking without so much as an “I’m sorry.” On one occasion, the bartender gave a big party of us the wrong bill, and after we paid it, tried to infer that we were trying to skip out without paying the correct bill. The next time we went back (a few months later), a different waiter remembered me and gave us stellar service. You never know what you’re going to get, and it’s become frustrating over the years because I love supporting the kind of brewing innovation and beer quality that CBC achieves.

03-15-2012 17:08:59 | More by LeeMarvin