Wickenden Pub

radshoesbro

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

located right in the center of wickenden st in lovely providence, rhode island. this is a charming little bar that i honesly do not frequent nearly as often as i should. they have a ton of bottled beer (must be 50 plus) and some on tap. the service is a friendly, but no more so than most bartenders. in fact, i've found that some of the worst bars have the best service. but i digress. what i really love about this place is that it attracts a younger crowd, and thus, i fit in quite nicely. the men's bathroom has so very humorous writing on the walls, which i suggest you check out while you're there. my only qualm with the place is that it's a bit on the small side. only four tables and not a very large bar. can't come here with very many people.

05-27-2006 00:22:26 | More by radshoesbro

bignick

Massachusetts

4.09/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $

This is one of my favorite places in New England to have a beer. It appeals to me both because they have a pretty good selection (12 or so lackluster taps and 80 or so very good bottles) and because it has the "charm" of a college bar. That is to say, it is a young crowd, and they offer some very large glasses. The last two times I went there I had a 34 oz of fresh Harpoon IPA and a 34 oz of Red Seal Ale for $7.50. Unfortunately, these were both the best beers on tap at the time, but the bottle selection is quite broad and expansive. The tap list is rotated occasioanlly, but I do not think the bottle list does. This place is an institution; it has been in existence for over one hundred years, and at its current rate, it is not going anywhere.

02-13-2006 04:45:04 | More by bignick

ribeer11

Rhode Island

4.64/5  rDev +16.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

My favorite bar by far. Good selection, great service. They have a few rotating beers..(bottles) and a seasonal and rotating tap. Everyone there is friendly....and if you go there enough they all know who you are....it's like the Cheers of Providence. I love their Beer Club and am currently on my 5th card. They have recently added a "smoking lounge" out back...it's basically a back yard fenced in...and it now has a Koi pond with a waterfall. This place has a special charm that you either love or don't...

09-28-2005 17:25:27 | More by ribeer11

slander

New York

4.28/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5

What exactly is a "Wickenden"? Yeah, I know, you're thinking "Wiccan Den", a place where Wiccans hang, doing their... bidding? Conveniently nestled in a residential neighborhood for optimal Wiccaning, perhaps? Well, I didn't see any of that going on here but I can't discount it.
The bar is located at ground floor level and feels very basementy. The walls behind the bar and behind you when you're sitting at the bar are old stone, seemingly painted dark and varnished 'cause they're all shiny. The front and rear walls are clean dark wood. Ceiling is wood beams with a portion painted and a portion panelled wood. There's shelving behind the bar housing booze and glassware, and a shelf with nothing but 1/2 yard glasses on display. 3 Booths along the wall behind you, 3 tables in the middle of the room, a bar counter with seating/leaning space for 9, and an old dark wood bar that seats upwards of a dozen and a half. At the end of the bar is a full yard glass displayed on the counter and ancient copper pitchers and cups hang overhead and on walls.
13 taps over 3 towers. A few New England micros (Seadog IPA, Newport Storm Amber, Sam Adams Winter & Lager, Harpoon IPA), and then Guinness, Harp, Bass, Newcastle, Rolling Rock, Miller Lite, and a Cider. You can get drafts in 16 ounce, 20 ounce, 1/2 yard, or 34 ounce mug servings. There's a cooler of beers in the front corner near the door. I've reas reviews stating 99 bottles but I can't validate that. I did see a good mix of the standard micros, macros, imports and other (Spotted the Weyerbacher Winter a long ways from home). They've got a curious 99 beer club. I asked to see the card and the 99 beers were pretty much the mix of micros, macros and imports they carry. It's just odd because it was implied that you had to drink specifically these 99 beers, not any 99 beers there. They tout the, "Life is too short to drink crappy beer" motto here, but they force some of that on you if you want to take in the 99 beers for the club (I'm sure I have that wrong and you can just take in any 99 beers. At least, I'm fairly sure that I'm sure).
Service was very good. One of the funniest damn bartenders ever and he wasn't trying. He had a cold and wanted a bowl of hot soup. He poured the soup from a can into a bowl but the bowl wouldn't fit into the microwave so he ended up eating it cold. Kind of defeats the purpose. He also made a "to do" about the selection of new discs loaded into the CD juke box by the guy who comes and changes the discs as we'd never heard of a bunch of them. Just good comedy.
Good CD juke box, Phil's golf game in the corner and a TV at the end of the bar, where we got to watch "The Gauntlet" for a little while ("State line's a lonely place to find out that your own people set you up").
It was pretty quiet on this Friday afternoon. Just Phil and myself and another patron or two. And then Romeo showed up. A bull mastiff, biggest goddamn dog I've ever seen. Thought it was a bear. He let out a resounding bark. He meant that shit, you could tell.

11-29-2004 00:41:04 | More by slander

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

Located in what feels like an ancient basement, the Wickendon Pub has overall on of hte better beer selections in RI. They have 99 bottles and 13 taps, with some sort of beer club where you get free stuff after you try everything. They have a fair chare of macros with all the micros. Also a decent selection of English and Belgium bottles. I've never seen this place even close to full, so I always wonder how the turnover is with all the beer. But I've never had a bottle that has gone bad. In terms of beer knowledge, the owner is pretty good, but the other bartenders were not particularly helpful. The atmosphere everytime I have been there is kind of dead. Never more than 10 people. It is also kind of dark with dark tones, which do not do much for a bright atmoshere. It actually reminds me of some of the basement pubs I have been to in Ireland. Also, I do not think they have any food.

04-29-2004 11:30:28 | More by MuddyFeet

ybnorml

Rhode Island

4.08/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The Wickenden pub has been a bar on and off since the 1800's before prohibition. This acounts for the low ceilings and fieldstone walls. I recently did the 99 beer club thing here. Drink 99 different beers have your card punched and get a hat, a t-shirt and a nice golf style knit shit. Also you get your name on a brass plaque put up on the "Wall of Shame". Note the quickest any one completed their card is in 10 days. Of the 10 taps one is now a revolving microbrew. Last month was Long Trail, this month is Archer Ale and next up is North Coast Red Seal Ale. Last night I had a Grittys Best Bitter and ASN Bigfoot. I don't usually stay too late ( I stop in after work) , so I'm not usually exposed to the noise and smoke factor. If you're in there between 4 and 6 you might get to meet Romeo. All the girls love him. Oh by the way I've always enjoyed myself here.

04-09-2004 13:05:07 | More by ybnorml

etho1416

New York

4.66/5  rDev +16.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5

The wick has the largest selection of beer of any bar in RI. THey have over 100 beers in bottle and about 10 on tap. They have a beer club, that if you drink a 100 of their beers, you get your name on a plaque on the wall. This makes for a great excuse to attempt to drink all thier beers. The selection inlcudes almost every new england microbrew there is plus a large selection of interesting foreign beers. The prices tend to run rather high. every thursday they have a raffle night where they give away a ton of great prizes in a free raffle. The crowd is made up of mostly college kids but tends to be very diverese and friendly.

02-22-2004 04:49:31 | More by etho1416

Running4beer

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4

Fun place. People are friendly, staff is friendly and once in a while you'll get a visit from a Bull Mastiff(big dog) belongs to the owner who joins us just before last call for a drink. Many jokes on the walls in the bathroom(as slothrop states in his review), to the carvings of people's names, slogans etc on the wood tables, the wall of shame for drinking all 99 varieties of sweet brew. Not bright inside just the right setting for a laid back night of drinking, relaxing and meeting new people. Fairly descent selection of beers, there are 99 different types but could be a better 99. Great slogan " Life's to short to drink shitty beer", like I said there's a big selection and they even have some shitty beer if you like that. It does close early and I asked about that it's because the block they are on is considered residential so 1145pm is last call and 12am doors close. This is a good place to get the night started, knock back a few and have a good night out in Providence.

10-24-2003 12:47:17 | More by Running4beer

vitesse

Georgia

4.14/5  rDev +3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

a tiny little pub. lots of dark woods on the interior. located in a funky neighborhood of providence with lots of nice, casual restaurants nearby.

long beer list of 100 or so in bottles. som draugts to, but nothing that's too hard to find on tap. i had orval, leffe and celebrator there.
plenty of american micros, too.

check out their 99 beer club with plaques on the wall.
i went on a sat. afternoon when it wasn't crowded, but apparently it's popular with students on weekend nights. prices seemed pretty fair, also.

one of the top two or three beer establishments in the city. a must-visit.

07-23-2003 15:35:24 | More by vitesse

ecoboy

Rhode Island

3.95/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5

I cannot add much beyond what is written here already, other than to say I feel like I have been unable to get to the Wick Pub any other time than when it is crowded and noisy (read: weekend nights.) It's really small. I bet they could move to new digs that were a little bigger, but then it wouldn't be the Wick Pub. Perhaps that's why the locals (and the PC seniors, strange I never went there when I was at Brown) love it so much. They know their favorite days and times to go and can space out their visits fror when they need that beer bar jolt. It is certainly a fun place for younger folks, but being 35 and looking for a low-key environment in which to try new beer doesn't lead me here that often.

The beer selection is unassailable. That's why you should stop in.

06-17-2003 12:40:11 | More by ecoboy