McMenamins Thompson Brewery & Public House

Twice we’ve waited 1+ hour for lunch when they don’t even have a crowd. They just forget to put in the ticket. Much better experiences at the location on Madrona.

First let me say that I love, love, love McMenamin’s, and I’ve really enjoyed Thompson’s over the years. It has outside seating, it’s close to home, and has typically good food and beer/​wine. But over time I’ve seen the service get worse and worse. Wait staff are very slow and at times disinterested if your food is late or your beer late in arriving. At times we’ve waiting several minutes to even be noticed and half an hour to get our meal. Our last visit it took the waitress over 10 minutes to notice us. She walked by twice saying, «Hi guys, I’ll be right there,» and bring menus. When we ordered and it took almost half an hour to get our food. The soup I ordered before my meal arrived at the same time so didn’t get eaten. She screwed up our food order and although my husband said he’d eat it but not pay the extra cost, she put that on the check snd said since he ate it the manager said he had to pay for it. Horrible dining experience and a rotten way to treat any customer, much less regulars who have never complained previously.

Stopped here late one night for some grub. the food was awesome, our server was great, cool ambiance. We were seated in a secluded little booth that was pretty cool. I really enjoyed it. it did seem like we had to wait forever for the check, but overall a good time.

Sitting here with my old friend Will, we’re having a bacon cheeseburger really well done and I don’t mean overcooked hand form Patty and the role was nicely done tater tots and Fries were done really nicely special thing here the ketchup made in Oregon Buy from Portland Ketchup company. Thank God I can say yes to this place again.

Great atmosphere, good food! Strong drinks with decent prices. Great staff, fun, great sense of humor, respectful and on it. Place was low key, enjoyable and as I said overally good food!

Cool atmosphere, nice staff… I’ll be back!

I’ve been here a couple times before, usually pleasant enough people but super slow. This time I called in an order to go, I explained my allergies and asked for each item to clarify. I thought they’d be busy when I got there since I was hurried to hang up when ordering but they had 3 tables. After waiting twice as long as I was told, I get home not having had a problem before with such orders at other branches; only to find that I can’t eat anything I purchased because it was all made wrong.
No matter what I had asked it was completely disregarded, and it was as if I was a bother not a customer. I’ve recently had a similar experience in Corvallis and had hoped this would be better but it was worse. Mcmenamins has nothing worth supporting anymore. They grew too big to maintain apparently.
I can already feel the effects of an allergic reaction. STAY AWAY.

This place is amazing. The waiters are friendly, the food is amazing, the drinks are great!. Can’t wait tell summer to come and eat outside.

Literally the worst service I’ve experienced in the 35 US states I have visited.
Barmen poured a bar then left the bar for 15 minutes to socialize with other staff in the back. Came back and topped the beer up and then left again.
Beer was ready about 2 minutes later but barman didn’t return for another 20 minutes.
When I mentioned the beer was ready 15 minutes ago he go angry and told me it still wasn’t ready.
An interesting old house can’t make up for poor service, poor attitude and bad customer service.

I can’t get past the consistently poor service to even mention the food. (Lucky for them). The service is the worst in town. I only go because of a monthly meeting that meets there. It is the slowest place in town, only behind the other McMenamins. Undercover Boss needs to pay a visit, and toot-​sweet.

Food awesome. but whyyyyyy does service have to be so
the two hours I was there it took 20 minutes for someone to see me while after eating we sat in the back for another 20 with the checkbook in my hand waiting for someone to come back. i finally got up walked to the bar and waiting again while two employees are talking with ANOTHER couple sadly standing in the doorway waiting to be seated as well. Highly awkward all around and odd when there’s never more then maybe 4 or 5 tables of people at any time.

This is a McMenamins (obviously) with the expected menus. This one is better then many due to the staff. I have always had really good staff encounters here. They’ve been friendly, quick and helpful. I have also had some really good specials, Like I remember a bar-​b-​que burger that should be standard at all the McMenamins.
Tip– don’t forget you passport, you’ll get a burger with it if you hit Boon’s Treasury first (or a burger there if you’re here first).

I was driving from Portland and made my way to Salem and fell in love with this place. The inside is very antique and the servers are down to earth and friendly. I tried the Seasons IPA and was very surprised. It was great. I also tried their house cider which was a tad sweet but it would be great for those who are not avid beer drinkers. For food, I ate the garden burger which wasn’t out of this work but was good. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone looking for a cool place to grab a drink.

Highly recommend the Blacksmith Steak sandwich. Very cute Victorian house. Enjoyed sitting outside in the sun!

Disappointed in my most recent experience. When going to any Mcmennies, I never expect quick service. It’s the trade I make for delicious beer. At my visit I ordered a meal and asked for Cajun tots. When they came 35 minutes later, they were clearly plain. Not upset, I mentioned that they were plain and asked for the Cajun seasoning. The waitress cut me off before I could finish my request telling me they were seasoned, she looked them. I said they were not, I’d just some seasoning. She again told me I was wrong, and that she had double checked. This went on about 4 times of her telling me I was absolutely, certainly wrong. When they finally brought out the seasoning the comment made was «here is that EXTRA seasoning you asked for.» I have never been argued with by a waitress. Easily one of the worst experiences I’ve had at a restaurant, simply for rude factor. As for everything else, wait time took forever (as expected), meals were on point, and ruby was amazing.

I love the TNT basket here. It’s a cozy building, which sometimes makes for a nice private dinner but on busier nights can be uncomfortable. They usually have a fire going outside when it’s cool out, which smells great. The servers are usually very friendly!

I love McMenamins, all of their establishments! I love the ruby and the terminator I also love them mixed. They often have wonderfully delish and delightful wines and seasonal beers as well. My boyfriend and I try to hit happy hour for Cajun tots, a meal, and beer! Love the Wilbur!

One of the many stops on the McMenamins Passport adventure, the Thompson Brewery is a cute house with a pleasant ambience. The food was pretty good and the service was decent. Probably one of the better McMenamins.

The food is very decent and the spirits are great, in more ways than one! Pretty old house, pleasant atmosphere and plenty of parking.
It gets all the stars from me because I have booked it for an event twice. My dad was a regular here, and friends with all the other regulars, a great bunch. We held a wake here for another one of the old timers, and also had my father’s wake here. Both were popular people that had wakes that were probably a little too well attended for the size of Thompson House!
They kept the food and beverage coming very reliably, and put up with a raucous bunch of old hot rodders and assorted oddball characters, who turned it into a major party, in true Irish wake fashion.
They gave me plenty of space to build shrines of photos, artwork, and memories of the deceased. In the second case, the death was very tragic, and myself and my mother were a mess, and no doubt not that easy to deal with. I wasn’t ready for this, and holding a large wake was getting beyond what I could handle.
No problem for Thompson House! The staff were right in gear, ironing out the petty details smoothly.
Interestingly, I think it has a history as a funeral home, but I’m not too sure.
The costs were all handled by friends who pitched in, and they were reasonable. They knew how to settle up the bill among the volunteers– smoothly, and keeping things well out of the hands of the most grieving of the family.
The whole staff even stepped up to express their sympathy.
So thanks TH– you are a class act.

Great place to stop by for a meal with fantastic beer! I’ve always enjoyed the food here, but I’ll typically only eat if it’s during Happy Hour. The food is pretty spendy considering how small the portions are, and even the happy hour deals aren’t that great.
All in all, I still love the Atmosphere, and Thompson has amazing outdoor seating!

We are getting our Mcmenamins passports started and this was the final stop for the day. I would highly recommend doing the passport if you plan to be around Oregon much, it has been a lot of fun so far! Stopped in for lunner (lunch/​dinner) and ordered the wrap special while my fiancé had their pulled pork sandwich. Both were good, though I did order the sweet potato fries which is extra and they weren’t worth it. Definitely stick with the tots, salad, or soup to accompany your sandwich. The sweet potato fries were simply bland and not as good as others’. They have a great atmosphere, we chose to sit outside and enjoy the coolness of the shade.
Both of us ordered drinks, I had a spiked Arnold Palmer and my fiancé got the Copper Moon. Both were good and refreshing. The waiter came back with another regular Arnold Palmer though I didn’t ask for it and at first I was grateful for it but then we took a look at the bill and noticed that we were charged extra which to me wasn’t worth it. Overall I would come back, but order a little differently to avoid confusion and get a better side with my wrap.

This place doesn’t disappoint! We’ve been here four times. We’ve only ever had not great service once and it’s because the place was PACKED! I love that this historical looking house has such unique seating! It holds true for everything a local can expect of McMenamin’s pubs, and also holds its own flare! The food is delicious as always and then what sets it apart from other McMenamin’s pubs is the incredible service! We tasted every beer on the menu before filling our Passport Exclusive growler with delicious local brew. Last time we came before this, we enjoyed some hilarious repartee with our server. Another time, the server was incredibly attentive to our needs, and brewed us coffee AND gave us two to-​go cups because we had a long drive ahead of us! Come here! Sit outside, or enjoy one of the adorable booths upstairs! You won’t be disappointed!

One of the very finest of the McMenamins venues and our new personal favorite. Ambiance –A+, service /​hospitality/​historical knowledge-​A+, food (I had the gyro she had the chicken)-A+!

Came in here again. Sorry to say I. the food just OK again. They deserve better. They can do a lot better and somehow this someone’s not following corporate specs being done .what’s being done is only fair

Good grub that goes well with the great beer. Great casual environment with good staff. It’s a great place to hang, but not if you’re in a hurry. Also tons of seating outside when the sun comes out.

Waited 7+ minutes and ended up leaving because no one would seat us. Will never return since this has happened each time we’ve eaten at this location.
You’d think their corporate regional manager would get a clue and resolve this service oriented problem? Someone higher up is not doing their job and ignoring public feedback based on all the Unilocal posts.
Establishing a bad reputation is cancer for a brand and this place has a malignant attitude towards customers.

I have no idea why the reviews here are so low. I have a passport, so you know I’ve been to a butt ton of Mcmennamins, and this one easily had the best food I’ve ever had at a Mcmennamins. I had the special — turkey burger. It was ridiculously large and very tasty. My husband had a steak sandwich easily larger than my calf. Our server Rachelle was attentive and delightful. Larger selection of beer and wine than many if their locations too.

I was very impressed with the service here and my delicious meal was served around 7 minutes after I placed my order (no joke). Awesome service from Rachelle! Nice assortment of beers, wines, and liquor. Great happy hour too. I’ll definitely return…

Several years ago, I would have considered myself a regular at this location as I would stop by at least 3 – 4 times a week. After I moved out of South Salem I have only returned a few times. The main reason is for the absolutely, horrible customer service.
Its so sad because its a pretty cool place to go for a pint, especially in the summer because of their porch and outdoor seating. Sadly the people who have been hired on just don’t have any respect for the company they work for and have completely ruined the reputation of this location. The couple times I have attempted to dine/​drink there lately, I’ve actually walked out before even ordering because I’ve never been served…
There really needs to be some deep, deep sanitizing/​cleaning at this location as well. Floors, ceilings, carpets, tiles, windowsills, windows, knick-​knacks, etc.
Across town at Boon’s is a whole different story, great service.