Halfway Cafe

This is our go to local spot for great food, service and friendly people. We love the burgers, steak tips, and fish & chips. The beer is served cold and quickly. Oh, the prices are very reasonable too!
Yes, you can tell that it’s been around for a long time, as the atmosphere is a little dark, but it is kept very clean and inviting.
We eat there at least once a week and look forward to it each time. They make us feel like part of the family!

First time there was great, every time after there were issues with food not getting wrung in at all. Good place for drinks, eat food before coming here during later hours.

i’m bummed — this place has really gone downhill. for years (like 15) it was my goto place for a good beer and a nice range of pub food. i took my family there this weekend, hadn’t been in several months, and it’s a completely different experience. the menu is half (no pun intended) of what it once was. far fewer items and very little variety. nothing at all unique. the burgers and wings were good, but the pasta was straight from stop-​n-​shop. and beer selection? forget it. they had maybe 10 beers on tap, and nothing even remotely brown. i get that bud is popular (and cheap) but it’s pretty customary to include at least something akin to a newcastle or heaven help you, a guinness. again, not long ago they had all that and more. the décor is still the same, but even the eating utensils have been knocked down a grade. the steak knives were flimsy and really (!) cheap — like balsa wood cheap. even the kids were laughing about it. i know, it’s a pub, and the who really cares about the knives. i get that, but on top of everything else, it really emphasized the measures they’ve taken to reduce costs. our waiter was new, and kinda lost, but i’m fine with that. i’ve been there and you gotta learn somewhere. the other veteran waiters covered his ass.
the «new» rewards card is also a pain. i have yet to understand the app or point system, and even if you’ve got a ton of points you can’t apply them at one time. clearly a method to keep you coming, but it feels underhanded. i had to write down a 12 dig number for the waitress in order to get my discount. what’s the point of the app again?
it really sucks that this place has lost the magic and it kills me to write a bad review. it’s not horrible, but my 2 starts is based on what it once was (5). if you walked in for the first time you’d probably think it was ok, but nothing memorable. the prices are par for the course, and the staff generally cool. it’s great that the managers are on the floor helping, but it seems like someone a level up has come thru with an axe and taken away alot of the best aspects. time to find a new watering hole.

Just sat down with a co– worker and we both ordered burgers both cooked medium. Both burgers were served RAW! Never again. It was not very busy at the time (not that it would be an excuse).

The boneless honey barbeque wings are the best. Go after 9pm and they are only $ 5! Great deal for the quality. Always have had great service too.

Halfway Café is a great neighborhood place that has done a lot in the last few months to up their consistency both at the bar and in the kitchen. The food is very good, in general, and the staff aims to please. Since we’re regulars, we’ve gotten to know the management, too, and they have sincerely listened to anything we had to say. It’s not gourmet dining, or craft cocktails, but it’s our «Cheers», and we love to go here.

Pub grub to the 9s. Nothing fancy here, but lots to choose from. Wings, burgers, steak. No frills, just right. Go there!

Josh is a very knowledgeable and friendly bartender, and Amanda Cote had an awesome acoustic set. We will definitely be back!

I’ve been coming here since I was in diapers with my parents, and I must say after many years of being a customer I still find myself coming back to the Halfway as a go-​to casual spot. I even had my first legal drink here at midnight on my 21^st bday. Sure the menu has changed a bit and personally I miss the old food, but the same friendly people, solid pub food, and the drink menu keep me coming back for more.
Oh PS: Get the nachos. That colossal plate of cheesey chip goodness hasn’t changed since I started going there. Warning: Bring at least 3 other people, this app is huge.
Also btw, pretty sure I was sitting adjacent from «Denise O» who wrote a previous review. The waitress, who she so RUDLEY insulted and spoke to, assisted our table that night as well did a fantastic job, super funny and courteous, and she wasn’t even our original server! I noticed she was assisting other tables including ours in addition to her own because she was helping out new employees, who this woman so rudely called her «minions.» Calm down, lady, this is Halfway Café, not the Ritz Carlton. Go snack on your caviar and leave the good eats to the rest of us who appreciate the good food and local spirit.
Keep on keeping on, Halfway. I’ll be seeing you soon.

I Live close by here. The food is great, the staff is friendly, the place is clean, the beers are cold, and the popcorn is yummy. What more can you ask for?
One downside: the soda gun at the service bar is ridiculously loud! It’s an unsolved mystery as to why…
Love this bar.

I’ve always had luck here. Generally order the burgers, and I’m a fan. The jalapeño bacon is great! T? he steak tips are always cooked to order.
Staff is very pleasant and friendly.

They have a smoking deck off to the side. Which is now the only place to sit since they destroyed all the chairs in the bar and replaced them with tippy tables and cheap hard bottomed bar stools. Hope you don’t bring a purse cuz there’s no place to put it. Fail on the renovations, Halfway, pure fail.

Great food, excellent service. Josh was phenomenal! We are always happy to stop by. Happy Cinco de mayo!

I had the house chardonnay (good) and the pub nachos with buffalo chicken. «F» for the pub nachos at $ 13.99. Exactly 3-​small pieces of chicken, that was it. Skimpy dollop sour cream, only enough cheese to barely cover the top layer of nachos.
B-​A-​D. Well, what did I expect from a place that «specializes in grill cheese»? LMAO.
Seriously bad food at high prices.
Also, there were (8)“40″ something patrons in the bar area who were visibly intoxicated and super loud. Management could have cared less.
This was my second time here and my last… disgusting.

The Halfway Café in Marlborough is halfway between a locals-​bar and a locals restaurant. The food is about the quality you would find in the average bar. A decent place to stop by if you are in a rush or meeting somebody quickly. But if you are in a situation that calls for standards, call for another place.

I’m a big fan of Halfway, but disappointed.
Removed my favorite, the Buffalo chicken sandwich and replaced it with a «Double H» sandwich with Halfway hot sauce, which is not even close to being as good.

Ive gone here twice and both times ive never been truly happy walking out. Employees arent really on point. The food was too greasy the second time, first time, i just didnt like the chewyness in meat. So i havent gone back… but maybe in the future…

I received a reply from the manager who said I should try the restaurant again because «We have recently updated our menu with our new summer specials including Steamers, Twin Lobster Rolls, BBQ Ribs etc.»
So, my wife and I were really in the mood for steamers one night and figured we’d give Halfway another chance. Upon arriving, we saw that steamers were prominently advertised on their sign outside. The only problem is that when we sat down, we were informed that they had run out of steamers. I commented that they should change the sign outside before I left.
I’m not usually a negative reviewer, but this place has repeatedly disappointed me. As the saying goes, «Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.» It’s unlikely I’ll try again.

Update: We heard some changes had been made so we gave it another go and were pleasantly surprised. The waitstaff was friendly and attentive — reminded us of what this place used to be a few years ago.
The menu has been re-​done and looked great. We each ordered a build-​your-​own grilled cheese. I had melted cheddar on marble rye with jalapeño-​infused bacon, apple slices and tomatoes. My bf had melted cheddar on marble rye with regular bacon and sweet onion jam. They were both warm, gooey and delicious, served promptly.
Very pleased to have had a positive experience! We were missing this place!

4 stars. not sure what is missing from making this a 5 star.
I dunno.
Always have a great meal here.
Their Tito’s bloody Mary is awesome! garnished with a jalapeño spiced bacon strip and a jalapeño spiced pickle spear.
Lately, i’ve been drawn to their Mai Tai.
their massive safari dog. great burgers.
Great drinks.
Always had great service, at the bar anyway. Al
They do a chili spiced honey sauce on their wings. I think they call it Buzz sauce.
try it!