My birthday is coming up and I'm pondering dragging the family to Portsmouth brewery for food and beers. How family friendly is the place on say a Sunday afternoon or evening? How busy does it get? Pondering whether to go up for lunch or dinner, depending on experiences with how busy it gets on an average weekend. Probably will be going next Sunday. Is it madhouse and not worth it? Long waits? Etc... Thanks in advance, Dope
Not sure about this sunday. It does get very busy in the summer but I can not imagine that this time of year they are swamped. It is a very family friendly environment so don't worry about that. Have a great time. NHB
My experiences on a Sunday, especially in the Fall, are the later on Sundays the slower it gets. Yet again, it is Columbus Day weekend so it could be a little busier. Even still, it shouldn't be so packed that you couldn't get a table in a decent amount of time. Plus, if you can sneak downstairs they have free pool on Sundays. Cheers
Yes to family friendly, and crowds shouldn't be too bad on a Sunday afternoon (compared to Saturday afternoons). Current bottles-to-go selection is decent and broader than usual. Also, Hop Harvest is on, which is one of the P-brews best seasonals.
I don't have a family to bring there myself but I see plenty of families there every time I go. The fact that they have a kids menu is a pretty good sign that the welcome mat is out for anyone and everybody. As others have said, Sunday won't be as busy as Saturday but the crowds often depend on the weather and sunny days can bring a lot of people out to walk around Portsmouth. Even if it is busy, I wouldn't expect a long wait like you might find during the summer.
Yum,that damn hop harvest has eluded me....itchin to try that one. OP: Don't worry,you will be fine. P-Brew is a great time for the fam. psssst:Whatta ya waiting for? Go ! Cheers
I had no problem on a Sunday afternoon. Good food, good beer. Check out the fridge in the gift shop and pick up some bottles.
I'd just like to chime in to say that if you enjoy a good hot pastrami sammich, theirs is killer. They cure their own pastrami in house and it's fantastic. I remember eating one paired with their imperial ipa... simple pleasures my friend.
The two times I've been there I've had mussels and a pulled pork sandwich, both have been fantastic. They seem to have excellent food, and really great beers. If I lived closer than two hours away, I'd be there ALL the time. Very family friendly, especially during the day. Enjoy!
As Smutty said, no Smutty bottles for sale in the shop. Smuttynose and Portsmouth Brewery are owned by the same people, but legally separate entities, which means that only Portsmouth Brewery beers are brewed on-site, and only P-Brew beers are available for take home purchase (growlers and bombers). Speaking of which, while I love Smuttynose and many of the other beers P-Brew sometimes has on as guests, I'd recommend sticking with house-brewed beers while visiting Portsmouth Brewery. It's the only place you're going to be able to have them.
Dope since it's your birthday, top off your meal with an "Oatmeal Stout Float". You won't regret it.... (They also have it on Cask right now with Chocolate Espresso Beans)
I can vouch for the PB being a complete family-friendly place. I've brought my kids twice in the past 2yrs & they have asked me when we're going back. Great meals & drinks for the adults & respect for the little ones for sure. Tho my 8-yr old absolutely loves the curry mussels (so do I) .
Do you get seated in the "kids" room all the time too? Funny how I have never been seated in that room off to the left until I started bringing kids in with me.
I've been seated in that room plenty of times with no kids. I like that room, that room was a friend of mine. That room, sir, is no kids' room. As far as I'm concerned, the best seat is on the tiny patio, but there's not a bad room or seat at the Portsmouth Brewery.
Actually we've been seated up on the right the past few times. When my son was an infant we were seated in that room...along with many other families with kids.
