Brookline Pub

Bacon ranch fries. That’s all I keep thinking about. It’s so simple, yet so delicious. Bacon, ranch — and then the most important party — FRESH CUT POTATO FRIES.
I went for my first trivia night and it was really fun! It gets pretty busy, so make sure to head there before 7pm to get a seat and your team situated. Their special for Tuesday is $ 2 burgers and they feature a beer at a special price as well (forgive me for not remembering the price… I swear I didn’t drink that much!). Last night was Sam Adams seasonal, but they also have local beers on tap, and I happily ordered East End’s Fat Gary (my fave!).
The burger was okay. Nothing crazy. The bun seemed a little stale. But honestly the fries totally made up for that. Actually, the fries made me forget we waited about 45 minutes for our food. Granted, I think they get pretty slammed for trivia night. The staff was really hustling with what looked like only one to two servers.
I didn’t realize it was an old movie theater, so you look up and there’s a beautiful tin ceiling. It’s still a dive bar, but I feel like they have some really great features… again FRIES, a good craft/​local beer offering and plenty of TV’s for essential game watching.

I watched a guy squirt ketchup on himself.

Ok place. Beer selection was better than expected. Menu was not that interesting. Completely typical menu for a bar. As large as the beer selection is, the menu is equally limited. Burgers… check. Fries… check. Onion rings… check. One gets the picture. I’m not going to beat them up too much on that. The patrons grazing on chicken parts and cow ribs seems blissful enough so I imagine those parts + bits were satisfying. My biggest problem was the staff. Three bartenders could not keep us stocked, and we were front and center at the bar. They were very disinterested in my party and we often had to wait for any attention. Not that busy… I had hoped for more.

Warmest Beer in the Burgh! Ive seen the owner bring back beer at 5 and put it in the cooler and expects it to be cold for HH and it’s just like drinking hot water for tea. And to add to the warm beer there is no A/​C so thats where I want to be on a hot summer night. The place isn’t the cleanest which is a negative for me a chef always told me look at a places bathroom that will reflect the kitchen… The bathroom looks like it gets cleaned monthly maybe weekly so hopefully the kitchen gets cleaned more often. Now the Food, it is good yet inconsistent depends on day of the week (cook cooking) to determine outcome of food. Staff is par if that. And no matter what time you to the Pub there is some sort of rift raft no matter the age or gender there is just jagoffs everywhere.

A local bar in up and coming part of the city! We went with a few friends for a Saturday afternoon lunch. They have a nice outdoor area and just banned smoking (although still venting out!). Our waitress was not that friendly but got the job done. They have a nice list of craft beers and plenty of bottles but not as many as what seemed advertised outside-​out of a few things. I went with the Ace Pear Cider and Arcadia Whit-​both very good and for the price outstanding! Drafts were $ 4! They have a typical bar menu with pizza, sandwiches and burgers and very cheap prices. I went with the turkey bacon club with chips which was the Sunday special and only $ 5. The homemade chips were tasty and the turkey bacon club was very good as well. I got it on a Kaiser roll with provolone cheese. Others in my party ordered a burger with fries (only $ 5.99) and 2 slices of pizza. There pizza is as good as they say. Would like to go back for happy hour.

The beer selection was great and the service was friendly and fast, but the cigarette smoke just kills the place. I was going there to grab something to eat, however as soon as you walk in you get blasted with a cloud of stale cigarette smoke. I can’t see how anyone would want to eat while sitting in what basically is a giant ashtray. The place itself is fairly large but there were only a handful of people sucking down cheap beer while inhaling even cheaper cigarettes. I guess if they want to cater to those couple of people that’s their business, but my guess is if this place doesn’t get with the times it won’t be around much longer.

I had their pizza and it was great!!! They have a ton of gourmet pies available with tons of well chosen toppings and I’ve had the one with the meatballs, spinach, and tomato sauce, and another one with pepperoni, spinach, tomato, and ricotta??? I think. I kind of forget.
As for their menu, it looks like that have lots of great choices. LOTS of them. A lot. They have a big menu. They have like thirty seven thousand different sauces for their wings which is just a little bit overwhelming for me but I can see how all of them would be popular because all of them sound really great.
What. The HELL is up with Pittsburgh people putting french fries on their SALAD?! Unacceptable. Not the pub’s fault but… dude. What the hell.
They have trivia on Tuesday nights at least, their happy hour is still like the absolute best happy hour I’ve ever heard of in my life, and I still think everyone there is really really nice.

Now this is what a pub should be like– what a fun place! I had a superb weekday night with a group of people I had just met at the coffee shop for an open mic earlier. There was a dude in cowboy boots and a hat to perform a bunch of fun old country songs, and the crowd who was made up of a bunch of neighborhood locals absolutely ate it up. This place was actually pretty big on the inside, consisting of a large bar with a good bottled beer selection (not a great tab selection though), big tables for groups, a stage, pool tables, and dart boards — where I spent most of the night. Give me dive bar with pool tables and dart boards and I’m good for the night. The beer ran like well water as we were showered with good music, where even some of the locals got on stage later to play some tunes on the guitar. Although I’m hardly ever in Brookline, I’d love to stop in again sometime.

So their wings used to be the reason to come, but since they started their new menu and started serving pizza, they have a new reason to draw you in (or keep you there). Their pizzas are delicious, and many specialty pies priced below $ 15 for a large. Would easily feed 3 or 4. Could rival local pizza joints! Many good beers on tap (bring back PumKing!!) and other cheap foods/​drinks, this should definitely be on your map in the south hills. Pub it up!

I agree with Will here. This place is what it is, and you go there for what it is. Did you follow that? Let me break it down for you.
1. The drinks are cheap. So cheap, in fact, that my NYC friend couldn’t believe his eyes and was double-​fisting the whole night. Oh and offering to buy everyone drinks. WIN!
2. The bartenders were friendly. Just as expected at a joint like this.
3. Pool tables. They weren’t free the night we went there, but sounds like they have free pool. Perfect for a cheap beer place.
4. I don’t like the smoke. I come from Ohio where it’s been illegal to smoke in restaurants in Columbus since even before the laws were passed state-​wide. There is an outside patio area for those who want to escape it. (it could easily be where the smokers are sent. hint hint Brookline Pub. :))
But I do think this bar is for those Yinzers who are there for a cheap beer, a game of pool and a good time, and unfortunately that involves smoking for the majority of them. All in all, this place is cool in my book.

the better of the 3 or so bars along Brookline Blvd. but suffers from a very smoky /​local-​yokel yinzer crowd that all seem to know each other and look at you with contempt if you’re not familiar … the bar-​maids can sometimes be disinterested in serving you or getting your next round … they’re trying to cater to the 20-​something burgh kids with the ghetto urban music on the weekends and etc. you have your typical burned out men/​women in there swilling, during the day… in any case, this is Brookline, not the East end so, you get what you pay for …

I see you Darren W. I get your point, but I think you have missed the point of Brookline Pub.
This review is going to break it down for you.
Things you go to Brookline Pub for:
Cheap Beer, Free pool on Sundays, 30 cent wings on Monday and Thursday, Karaōke on Thursday nights, a smoke filled room of blue collar dudes.
Things you don’t go to Brookline Pub for:
A good meal, anything cooked to perfection, a check that actually reflects what you consumed, good smelling clothes after leaving, a door on the bathroom, a door on the bathroom stall.
I love the Brookline Pub for what it is, a smokey bar filled with people who want to drink and hang out. The bar tenders are nice… Missy is my girl. Their craft brews are under $ 4 and they have cheap bar food. Yeah it’s not that great but it’s Brookline and it’s a dirty pub that I happen to love.

They’re back in business. I rode by last night and saw that they were open. Crud.

Good beer selection, although beer from the taps always tastes funny/​flat. Buckets of beers are cheap. Food is decent and very reasonably priced. The bar is VERY smoky at night though. You will leave there smelling like an ashtray, unfortunately.

I have to agree with Darren, and I hate doing so because I love Brookline and supporting the businesses. There are two different ways to look at Brookline Pub with two different experiences. The first is during the day as a restaurant. It’s not terrible and probably from this aspect alone I’d grant it 3 stars. The food isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s average and decently priced. The second view is at night as a bar. It is clearly a very local hang-​out and did not attract the type of crowd that I am interested in being around. It’s also quite smoky and feels a little seedy (OK, kind of a lot). I want to believe in it, but I just feel like it would need to change first.

Ignore the other review for the Brookline Pub and go there and check it out for yourself. You won’t find better food at lower prices anywhere in the city. There are specials everyday and they have an aweome beer selection. The crowd is always friendly and the pub is never empty. Every time a friend visits from out of town, I take them to Brookline Pub and they always ask to go back. My favorite thing on the menu is the wings. They have more sauces and rubs than you can count and they could very well be in the top 3 wings in the city with two wing nights per week! Just go already…