Bukowski Tavern

BeerSox

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Located in a "college area", this is one of the better joints you may find (at least in any college area, not necessarily in all of Boston). Close to public transportation and Harvard University. Parking can be difficult.

On one wall there are doors that can be opened when the weather is nice. Thre is a long bar, along with several tables and booths. If you're looking to watch sports you may want to head somewhere else or be sure to sit near a TV.

The policy in this location is cash only. Not sure why, but they do provide an ATM in the back of the bar.

The beer selection is quite large. Beer is served in correct glassware at the correct temperature, and the staff seems to be pretty knowledgable about what style the beer is and what characteristics it has. They do have beers like Miller Lite in case someone is interested in that.

The food is decent, pretty much bar food. I wouldn't expect anything out of the ordinary or exceptionally fancy.

Buowski's is a good place to go whenever you want to gather with some friends for some good beer. I recommend this place if you're in the Harvard area.

05-30-2008 18:48:55 | More by BeerSox

SurlyDuff

Oregon

3.7/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$$

Packed to capacity and really noisy. Then the music kicked in and it became loud enough that I couldn't hear someone a foot away.

Great selection of taps, and a full list of probably 75 bottle beers, broken down in a list/book sorted by style. Good variety on tap and bottles.

Staff was pretty knowedgable. I had forgotten what style Great Divides Titan was, and the tap list didn't say. She knew, so props to her. Otherwise, staff interaction was quick and impatient.

Brews aren't the cheapest. The most gouged offerings were the bottles. For example, a 22oz of Avery's Maharaja was over $18. I got a bottle of it in Portland, Or for $6.50 (though I am impressed they have it)... Pretty much anything over 6% was only 12oz too, what the crap?! I mean, if your gonna give half-pints and charge the same, set the bar at 9%.

Food is no-frills, under $10 and came to the table fast, despite it being a fullhouse.

Place takes CASH ONLY. Our total came to $85, plus tip. What a pain to bring cash out when I could be earning miles. Bah!

05-09-2008 14:12:48 | More by SurlyDuff

Southernwayfarer

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

First visit. Friday, late March, 3pm. Totally empty. There are 7 other people in the bar. 15 beers on tap - nice selection. I'm trying three IPAs - Stone Ruination, Great Divide Hercules DIPA, and Founders Centennial IPA. All three beers are fresh. Bartender is attentive (how couldn't she be I'm one of three people at the bar).

I was hoping for a few more interesing craft brews in bottles. There's a long list but I didn't find it too inspiring. I'd say its biased toward imports.

I know its a scene here in the evening but I'm happy now. The big question for me is how often the rotate there draft selection. I'm pleased to try the three I've mentioned but I'm hoping for a good rotation.

03-28-2008 21:07:45 | More by Southernwayfarer

dkeramaty

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$$

Went last night for my friends birthday. Not to crowded; enough room to get the 15 of us tables. The selection while not that large (for taps) certaintly had enough quality beers to choose from (ie. Racer 5, Hercules DIPA, Grail Ale, Pranqster, etc...). They also had a pretty big bottled list (99 I think), but when I go to the bars I go for the taps. Prices were average, didn't get any food but my friend did and the portions were kind of small (Chicken Quesadilla). Overall pretty nice beer bar, but IMO it is no Sunset or Publick House.

06-07-2007 00:16:18 | More by dkeramaty

Damian

Massachusetts

4.2/5  rDev +8.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $$$$

This place is totally overrated. The food is not all that great, the music is way too loud (even though the music selection is quite good), and the place is way too dark (I had to use a flashlight to read the beer munu). Worst of all, the beers are totally overpriced. ($8 for a La Fin Du Monde. Come on! I thought you guys were supposed to be "punk rock.") I'd much rather travel to the Sunset Grill & Tap in Allston and deal with some drunk college kids so that I could have a much better beer selection (and pay much less).

06-25-2006 07:34:16 | More by Damian

slander

New York

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

First thing was to drop our bags at Brookline's "The Richman Inn". Sorting out the whole, "park the car in the street, can't park the car in the street, go to the cop shop for a permit, park the car in the lot with a permit, have to get the car out of the lot permitted or not by such and such a time the next morning", then proved wonderfully fun, so we were well poised to begin bickering about where to now go. In the end, we settled for starting at Bukowski's and working our way out for cheap Cantillions...
Place was jammin' by the time we got there, just shy of when they started playing the "one man in, one man out" game. In a very short amount of time, we were able to see the late comers standing out front on line through the wall of paned windows on large roll up garage doors looking out on the street. We congregated amongst the group of raised bar tables standing two deep along these front windows. Looking out over the room, nearly a dozen tables along the rear wall beneath a sprawling Charles Bukowski mural. Forward the tables sits an 8 seat bar counter separating the seating area from the bar. A long "C" shaped bar runs the near wall, with a half dozen adjacent booths, and another 5 to the rear of the room. The bar back holds booze on shelves, with the contents of the "99 bottles of beer on the wall" list (their bottled beer selections) displayed above the back of the bar, running from one end to the other. TV's in both corners, a large long iron rack above holding glass steins, drop bulb lamps and track spots, shelved glassware, and a cold bottle bin behind the bar. Taps are listed on a hanging blackboard overhead to the rear. A pair of casks (Harpoon Helles & BBC Impy Stout) and 15 taps (BBC Coffee House Porter, Avery Reverend & Old Jubilation, Founders Red's Rye, DogFishHead Raison D'Extra & 60 Minute IPA, Cambridge EZ Ryeder, Harpoon IPA & Triticus, B.B. Burgerbrau, Tap Shoefly Stout, Lagunitas Maximus, Anderson Valley Boont Amber, Brooklyn Monster and PBR). I could drink that Founders Red's Rye all damn night. A real nice selection and the beer was well kept. The bottled collection of nearly a hundred is a mix of roughly 1/4 American micros, another 1/4 and then some Belgian/German/English, another 1/4 various imports, and the last 1/4 macros and more. Some decent choices there.
Beyond the bar rests the "Spin it, you own it" wheel. A giant mounted wheel nicely done up with with beer and brewery art. Spin the wheel, you get what you get.
What? Wait, no. I'm sorry, whaaat?!?! Wait, I can't... I can't hear you!!!! And that would be because of the obnoxiously loud crappy club music they're piping through the place. It's a real deterrent from wanting to remain here, turn that shit down. Phil said, "I must be too old", but he's always playing that old man card. Very good beer but unnecessary bad clubbiness.

03-18-2006 15:08:25 | More by slander

bignick

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

This is a pretty good place in my experience. I definitely like it more than the other location. In a way it's opposite because it's wide open with a huge front window, whereas the Back Bay location is dark with few windows. From what I have heard the food is pretty good, but I have never tried it myself at this location. On my last trip I had an Ipswich Oatmeal on cask, which was beatiful and delicious. I think it was about $5, which is a decent deal for such a high quality product. On the whole, the prices were on par with the other location, with slightly better taps.

03-09-2006 05:52:32 | More by bignick

ridedammit

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$$

Since I am a member of the Dead Author's Club at the Boston version of this bar, and because we moved to Cambridge, I had to try this Bukowski's out. Beer selection is similar to the Boston bar, tons of bottles, a dozen or so taps. The taps revolve at a decent rate, but most are permanent fixtures. The food is edible, but I don't go for the fine fare, its the good music, the good beerselection and a comfortable vibe. This Bukowski is bigger and has soft comfy booth seeting, although I prefer to sit at the bar. Most of the bartendars I meet there are at least somewhat knowledgable about the beers. They are also into music and can give you advice if you are looking to increase your music library.

Overall I like it and will go if I am in Inman Sq looking for food or a beer.

03-03-2006 21:35:48 | More by ridedammit

francisweizen

Australia

3.34/5  rDev -13.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

I stopped here a bit late two Fridays ago for the EBF pre-party. honestly I was dissapointed. Located in a nice enough neighberhood in Cambridge the outside decor is nice, but waiting in the freezing cold wasnt too fun at 9pm. Upon going inside I saw that most of my BA buds had left, but I spotted a few familiar faces and had some nice chats with many old friends, new friends, and brewer friends. Anyways, the atmosphere here was way too "collegey" (in a bad way not like the brewpubs in Madison, WI which are collegey in a good way!). Loud and obnoxious patrons and music alike. The quality of the beers served were great, and the selection on my visit was damn good with the cask Harpoon keller, oak aged triticus, and berkshire coffee porter real highlights. This place has a decent food menu, but I did not eat on my visit. 24 or-so taps, and 1 cask going on my visit, gravity pours sometimes too I think. Overall the beer selection is good, and the service is decent, but this place has a bad atmosphere and it is expensive as hell ($6 a pint on most beers!). I prefer the Boston one on Dalston street *MUCH* more than this!

02-23-2006 23:41:59 | More by francisweizen

clvand0

Kentucky

3.83/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

I stopped in here for the Extreme Beer Festival pre-party. Had to wait outside in the cold because it was a one in, one out sort of deal. But I can't blame them for being crowded. Once inside, it was very dimly lighted, so much that I could not read the tap handles to see what was on tap. Call me a fogey, but the music was excessively loud techno. Just not my thing. However, the staff were very attentive and helpful and always made sure there was a beer in hand. The beers on tap turned out to be a great selection. I didn't have any food here - actually, I don't think they served food. There was a large bar area, then some tall tables and some booths across the wall opposite the bar.

02-20-2006 15:56:00 | More by clvand0