Bukowski Tavern

Freshie

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Right off Boylston Street in the Prudential Center area, with a parking garage right next door, this place has a good location. Much smaller than it's sister location in Cambridge, but still has the same atmosphere of the young hipster crowd. Good music selections that included an entire Live Album of Led Zeppelin, followed by the Clash's "London Calling" album.

The quality of the beer was pretty good and had a varied selection. Some good local choices including BBC, and Charlie's Porter from the Tap which I was happy to see.

Service was great and the food was tasty pub grub, though a bit pricey. Considering the area though, not as bad as some other establishments.

Not as varied and wild as Sunset or the Publick House, but still my pick for that area of town.

12-23-2006 22:11:51 | More by Freshie

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 2.75 | $$$

Located in Back Bay near the Sheraton and the Hilton. It is something of a hole in a wall located at the base of a large parking garage. When one first walks in, there isn't much to look at. It is long, narrow and dark. The bar is to the left and there are a couple of tables lined up on the right. There's a tiny kitchen in the back. Overall, I'd describe it as dingy.

But one doesn't come here for the atmosphere. This is a beer bar and doesn't pretend to be anything but that. There is food available (as is required in every bar in Massachusetts), but it is strictly the bar variety of vittles.

The beer selection is varied and interesting. The tapped beer is always rotating with many unusual and difficult-to-find beers popping up all of the time. The bottled offerings are more steady.

The service is friendly and knowledgeable, but nearly everyone behaves rather indifferently. But when one's glass is near empty, they offer you a new one. There are many regulars who are friendly and willing to strike up a conversation.

05-13-2013 01:11:12 | More by smcolw

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.94/5  rDev +1.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5 | $$

This place is pretty tiny inside and really not that nice - the bathroom is fairly interesting in that the entire inside is diamond plate (like the bed of a pickup truck).

Beers were well poured but only used a couple of different glasses - based on the size of the pour rather than the style.

The waitstaff seemed a little overwhelmed when we visited, maybe it was close to the change of shift but it took a long time to flag down someone to take our order at each round. The waitstaff were friendly but did not seem overly knowledgeable about the beers or the food.

Though they did not have an extensive tap list, they had a very good tap list featuring lots of interesting and good local brews. A number of styles were represented and they even had a couple of more sessionable beers - I like the fact that for most beers they offered a snack size and a full pint.

Only had the chance to try food from the specials, it was called the pregnant dog - hot dog wrapped in bacon, deep fried, covered in peanut butter sauce and pickles. Amazing! Not sure how good the normal everyday food is but this special was delicious.

Prices are reasonable and on par with most of the other places I visited while in Boston.

One additional important piece of information is that this place is cash only!

05-08-2013 03:15:34 | More by dbrauneis

EspressoGuy

British Columbia (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -5.4%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 4.25 | $$

Feels like one of the good dive bars in San Francisco. Long, narrow, loud, dimly lit. Cash only. Best craft beer selection I could find in the downtown area. Kind of a "hipster" feel -- and has the obligatory Pabst Blue Ribbon to prove it. Not the friendliest service but that's fine. Well worth seeking out.

04-20-2013 21:43:20 | More by EspressoGuy

PhillyStyle

Georgia

4.23/5  rDev +8.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Visited on a late afternoon/early evening on a Friday before a Red Sox-Yankees game for about 2 hours or so. As described below, this is a great little whole in the wall kind of place...which is right up my alley. When we arrived the place only had a few other patrons, but when we left, maybe an hour before game time, the place was hopping. The place had a good vibe to it, not so loud that you had to shout, but sometimes so loud that you couldn't hear the music playing...and it was good music, they were playing the Screaming Trees' "Sweet Oblivion" and then followed it up with the Rolling Stones.

The place had a good tap list, a lot of the taps appeared to be local or at least from New England. I glanced over the bottle menu and noted that it was extensive and had a wide variety of styles and breweries. We didn't try the food, but the service that we did receive was good and was very knowledgeable about the beers that they had. Having lived on and traveled the east coast, it was not surprising or off-putting that the place was cash only and I didn't find that the prices were unreasonable. Overall, this is a great bar and one that I would frequent often if I lived in Boston.

07-10-2012 16:52:57 | More by PhillyStyle

BostonHops

Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

cool little bar named after the writer and poet charles bukowski, and probably a tavern he'd have appreciated. sort of a no frills, low-key atmosphere with its dive bar-like vibe - which to me is one its appeals - with a solid beer menu (won't blow you away necessarily but probably the best that i frequent in this area of the city).

bukowski's strength is clearly it's bottle menu, which is plentiful and features a good range of locals, out-of-state brews, seasonals, and belgians. there is a rotating draft lineup that can be hit or miss. last time i was in i had a pesto burger that was pretty tasty, esp for pub fare. one downside is that bukowski's is cash only - who has cash these days? the other is that it's relatively small so it can fill up quickly and get a bit noisy. regardless, definitely worth the trip if you're in the area.

original review on: 07-21-2010

05-16-2012 16:53:48 | More by BostonHops

greenengineer

Massachusetts

4.56/5  rDev +17.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Great little hole in the wall tucked between a parking garage and the Pike. I went in at 5:30PM on a Friday afternoon to hoist a few while waiting for someone. Sat at the bar. 21 taps including 1 cask - none of them Macro brews. Good variety of locals. Not trying to have "everything" like some places do, instead it's fresh and decent, with a good variety. Welcoming staff - no attitude, fun atmosphere.

If you're at an event at the Hynes Convention Center, this seems the best choice for an escape. It is the anti-Pru.

Seems to get crowded later in the night. Never been there at that time.

02-12-2012 15:19:17 | More by greenengineer

malthound

Colorado

3.93/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

Simply put, I love this place. The 'numbers' don't really do it justice. I didn't try the food, but it looked decent. Let's face it guys, this is a notch above a dive bar with a respectable beer list. It's no Toronado, but I felt more at home here than in most bars. The staff is polite and knowledgable, but also very 'Boston', so don't get yer panties in a wad if they don't wax poetic about malt-hop profiles. Enjoy your beer and the vibe, music courtesy of some dude's iPod. Best time I've had in the last year.

01-08-2012 02:36:45 | More by malthound

glid02

Georgia

4.13/5  rDev +6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in here for lunch during a recent trip.

Atmosphere is nice, it's a thin and deep place with the bar going most of the way back on the left side with seating on the right and in the back. It's got a good deal of windows so there's no dark and dingy feeling, and a few TVs dot the place.

Quality is good. I ordered mostly half pours so I wasn't able to get a good look at their glassware, but everything was served at the proper temperature and with a good amount of head.

Service is also good. We didn't have to wait long for our server, although it was early in the day and there weren't a lot of people there. She was helpful with the selections as well.

The selection was very good. I recall about 20 taps running the gamut of styles, about 30-40% of them local. The bottle list wasn't extensive but seemed well thought out.

Food was solid, if nothing to write home about. I had the chili dog and fries and went away satisfied but not overly impressed.

Value seemed about average for the area. It's a bit on the expensive side for me, being from Atlanta, but overall pretty fair.

Overall the menu was solid and the beer selection was even better. Certainly worth a stop if you're in the area.

08-15-2011 23:02:14 | More by glid02

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

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

I was able to hit Bukowski's twice in my trip to Boston. Staying down the block at the Sheraton, Bukowski's was my plan for a fast start in the city. Started with "The Buk" a house pale ale made in collaboration by staff and Wormtown Brewing, according to the bartender. After that, drafts of Osak Blue's G'Night Imperial Red Ale and Lagunitas Olde GnarleyWine. Both very good and impressive offerings for the relatively small number of taps. Ordered dinner--mac and cheese--which looked awesome on the list and was mediocre at best. Mac and cheese seems to be a east coast staple, which I had at several pubs during the course of my vacation, and this was the worst.

A week later when we returned to Boston from road tripping New England, we were tired in the hotel, so I ordered the vegetarian meatball sub, which was much better. I had a Cisco The Grey Lady witbier that was well served and refreshing. However, I noticed that the overall tap offering was much lighter and not as much fun as the weekend before.

Overall, Bukowksi's a great little pub and a placed that I enjoyed a lot for an initial stop. When I asked the bartender for a local place to drink some more, he seemed to prevaricate and gave no recommendations. Maybe he was unaware of the perfectly fun The Other Side less than two blocks away (found later) and other stops. In the end, every beer was well served and they do a good job of presentation and handling of the beer, which is the most important thing really.

07-06-2011 20:10:01 | More by FightingEntropy