Chelsea Brewing Company

ikats

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4

I found this place to be just very average. It does not have enough character. The place is pretty big, with high ceilings. There are some booths overlooking the Hudson River, the bar is behind the booths and there’s a dining area to the side. The place also has a deck which is probably nice to sit at during summer months, but in March it was nothing to look at. The view of the river is partially obstructed by golf complex and yacht basin (and in my case stacked chairs on the deck), so I did not find it to be a positive thing. There are better views of the Hudson.

Atmosphere is lacking. I would even go as far as to say that it is almost non-existent. Given this place’s proximity to the golf complex it has a feel of a golf club, but it does not work for a brewery in my opinion. The place is clean and the staff was OK.

Beer quality was good, but beers themselves were very average. Black Hole XXX Stout was fairly good, but my friend and I both agreed that Chelsea Sunset Red, Pier 59 Pale Ale and Frosty’s Winter Wheat were very unimpressive. After finishing our dinner we both decided to head down to some other bar to have a few more pints (ended up in The House of Brews). That was the first time I left a brewery to go to another bar.

The food was good, but nothing to make this place stand out.

All in all, if I’m ever starving in the area too lazy to go somewhere else, I’ll probably stop by for a few beers and food, but I will not make any extra efforts to get to this place.

03-22-2005 16:24:08 | More by ikats

DoubleSimcoe

New York

2.95/5  rDev -17.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$$$

Chelsea Brewing Company is Manhattan's only brewery. Strange, right? The capital of the world, and quite a beer market... and only ONE brewery. Some others in Brooklyn, of course, but only one in Manhattan Island.

Located inside the absurdly cavernous Chelsea Piers, this place is hard to find and hard to enjoy. It is huge but rather empty and sterile-looking. Could be a Rock Bottom in Anywhere, USA, only with nice views of the Hudson River and the boats docked outside.

Even when it is not crowded (I wonder if it ever is), service is slow and inefficient. You gotta flag your server down to ask for stuff. They are either understaffed or just lazy/uninterested/inattentive.

Beers can be very good, depending on the season. Their staples (Checker Cab, Red Ale) are boring as your mom doing porn and posting it on YouTube, but their seasonal ales are typically great (Hoppy Holidays, Tsar Imperial Stout, Wheatwine). You can find them in many bars around Manhattan, though, so why bother coming here?

Food is bad and extremely pricey. No better than your local diner, at much higher prices. Would not recommend eating here.

Atmosphere is alright. The aforementioned views, a very big place, like an event space you rent for a corporate party. Looks a little ratty and even dirty. I wonder what their Health Department score is?

All in all, I would say you should come here at least once if you live in NYC. If you like it enough, come back and sit at the bar. But really, not a good place. Just average. Which is a pitty, considering they're the only brewery in Manhattan!!

01-08-2011 06:33:55 | More by DoubleSimcoe

TheDeuce

New York

3.58/5  rDev +0.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Chelsea Brewing Company in Manhattan, NY

Atmosphere - difficult to find, way in back of the Chelsea Piers buildings, next to a golf shop. Atmosphere is relaxed, lots of wood, beautiful views of the Hudson outside. Overall ok. There was a brewery tour that day with lots of people.

Quality-I tried three beers, the Checker Blonde, the Autumn Wheat, and the Sunset Red. The Red and the Blonde were servicable, the Wheat was really unique and enjoyable. Very fresh, all were served in pint glasses.

Service-service was nice, if slow and very relaxed, my bartender was friendly but wasn't moving quickly. There were times when my family and I waited a while for service or a refill.

Selection-over 8 beers on tap, including seasonals for the hoildays. For the non-beer drinker a full bar.

Food-menu looked good but only had fries, they were great. Other food people ate looked good.

Value-Manhattan is expensive, this place is expensive, that said, this wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it may be.

Overall-a solid place with decent bar, not excellent but solid. Beautiful location. Many wish for a Manhattan challenger to them but I don't hate them as much as others. Solid

12-06-2010 00:13:51 | More by TheDeuce

Seanibus

California

3.66/5  rDev +2.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

The place is a little difficult to spot - in the cavernous and strangely designed Chelsea Piers project - and the restaurant itself looks a little bit run down and dirty. But the service was quite friendly, if a little leisurely. And the beer was tasty - the IPA and the Hoppy Holiday seasonal were both delicious (I didn't review, but I would have put both solidly north of a B). We didn't eat, but the menu looked extensive. For such a vast city, New York is still somewhat underdeveloped as a beer market, so it is good to see a solid brewpub in a relatively convenient location in Manhattan. I do wish the pedestrian access was better, which seems odd to say in walkable city like New York.

02-23-2010 13:13:12 | More by Seanibus

Nickls

District of Columbia

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

(From notes)

I've visited the Chelsea 'brewery' a few times over the past couple of years, primarily for the cask festivals that have been held there. The atmosphere has a bit more of an upscale feel to it, but it's very open, nice, and usually can find a seat without too much trouble outside, even during a cask festival. I actually prefer sitting outside (event or not) just because it's right on the hudson and it makes for a nice sunny afternoon spot.

The service is pretty OK, but you can tell at times that the folks tending bar don't necessarily know what's up. I've never had to wait long for a brew, though. For a brewpub, they have a nice selection of their rotationals, and usually have something nice seasonly. I've actually had most of their brews in other bars in the city, and the quality is never lacking. Some are lackluster, but others are really quite good. I've never run into a freshness problem, and like other reviews mention, they do excellent cask brews.

Overall, it's a least worth venturing to during nicer weather for a sit outside with a solid beer in hand.

11-18-2009 21:00:05 | More by Nickls

m1ked

California

3.3/5  rDev -7.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | $$

I have been here 4 seperate timesand each time the service just blows. Now I have never been "sat" at a table. It has always been at the bar, or outside. The one bartender chick just doesn't grasp the concept of customer service, asin if its good, then the tip is good. Everytime I have gone the place was not busy, so come on. Once we went and one of the brewers, an older gent, was way cool and chatted us up about beer- way cool.

For Atmosphere, if you sit out back and look out on the water, it is awesome. So pretty to look out at the boats in the marina, the river, over a Jersey. Good place to bring visitors. A nice walk along the pier, or before/after the Chelsea MArket. I have had their pretzel platter twicw- which is literally 2 soft pretzels with a cheese sauce and a mustard. Otherwise I can't vouch for teir food. I think their beers are good- no homeruns, but pretty solid.

In a nutshell, beautiful location with good beers, and bad service, unless you get to talk with one of the brewers.

10-10-2009 01:04:42 | More by m1ked

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.46/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Attended a wedding in Chelsea at the Lighthouse on Pier 61 on a Saturday night. After it was over, my wife and I stopped by Pier 59 to have a pint at CBC. I would assume that normally on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon people would be there enjoying the wonderful view. Well, on a Saturday night at around midnight, there were literally two people in the whole place when we walked in. Not much of a view when it's completely dark outside too. First thing we were greeted with from the bartender was that it was last call. I thought NYC never slept? Anyway, we told him that we just stopped by for one quick pint. Seven beers on tap on the menu. I got the Gotham Stout and my wife a blonde ale. My stout was decent, a bit too dry and bitter for that hour of the night. My advice would be to go during the day when you can enjoy the wonderful waterside location, and don't go late at night as there was no scene there whatsoever.

09-21-2009 22:54:56 | More by morebeergood

david18

New York

3.73/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $

The last brewpub in NYC that brews in manhattan I believe. On the hudson at Chelsea Piers which is a great place. Beer selection is somewhat conservative (although they did recently offer an "imperial mild") the beer is quite good. There's an ipa, which is very good and they are best known for a red and blonde both of which are good. Not great.

Chris. the brewer, is very nice and originally from the Bay Area.

The place is very nice, pretty and they host a number of events, which includes a recently added cask festival. Good place to go for a pint or four.

07-20-2009 21:02:31 | More by david18

albern

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

You can't beat the location of this place, right on the waterfront. I sat outside and enjoyed a wonderful view of the Hudson. Stupidly, they don't use the awning nor do they use umbrellas, so after 12 noon, the sun is right over head or directly on you. You are literally sitting east west with the sun overhead. I tried the sampler and there was really only one beer I would recommend and that is the IPA. The others were fair to middling or worse. I had the chicken fajita sandwich, which wasn't bad, my wife had a salad, which also wasn't bad. I will review the beer separately. A good deal can be said for the gentrification of the Chelsea Piers which 20 years ago were a place you avoided at all costs. The piers are now a multi use facility, with even a driving range with huge netting. Quite impressive view overall.

07-02-2009 23:18:45 | More by albern

BatcherBrewer

Maryland

2.75/5  rDev -22.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2 | selection: 3 | food: 2.5 | $$

I travel quite a bit and do my best to visit the local brew pub. I must say this was not my best stop.

Service was terrible. Our group of 6 waited about 10min. at the front waiting to be seated. The only one we saw working in sight was the bar tender. Finally we had to ask him if we could just be seated. Not a good start.

Once seated another 15mins laps before I had to ask a passing waiter to get some service just to get drinks. Still not going very well.

The menu...some interesting items. One in particular caught my taste buds. The Fra Diablo, a "spicy" seafood pasta dish. So after ordering the wait began once again. No server came by to say how is everything...nothing. Once the food got there it was luke warm and I have had spicier mild salsa then the as promised "spicy" Fra Diablo.

The Beer... The generic selection. Stout, Brown, IPA, etc. So as usual I got the sampler. In order from worst to best.

The Red Ale: Tasted and smelled like a dirty gym sock which I drank just because I had wasting beer.

The Blonde: This was a very light, mild malt character with the hint of hops. Better then the dirty sock.

The IPA: Not the best I have had and was a bit oxidized, I would give a better description but it was OK.

The Brown: Finally getting some malt character and some good use of hops.

Imperial Stout: The malt and hops have finally come!

90 Shilling Scotch Ale: My number one choice.

My suggestion, go straight for the 90 Shilling and skip the food.

04-21-2009 16:50:22 | More by BatcherBrewer