Armsby Abbey

My friend and I found this place on Unilocal and went for the beer selection, but the food was what really stood out.
We got there as the brunch crowd was filtering out, but the place was still almost full so we grabbed a spot at the bar and ordered. The food was great, and the beer selection didn’t disappoint. Since we were mostly there for drinking at the bar and not for food, I have no complaints about the level of service.
The place was built in what looks like an old store front, and there is no foyer so sitting at the bar was a bit chilly despite the curtain they set up to catch the draft. That’s really the only complaint I would have about the place.

Armsby keeps a focus on local, seasonal ingredients with their meals. The beer list is extensive, with many options. They also have a large selection of cheese. They also have a mac and cheese to die for. The Venue is small and the service is not always great, but the food and drinks are worth it.

Maybe I should be a little ashamed at my lack of adventurism through a single day but I went here twice in a day — for lunch and dinner. The pork belly sandwich for lunch was quite filling and tasty. For dinner we had the Smoked Bone Marrow (a little disappointing since one marrow of out of the three was a bad cut and was all closed in) and Charred Carrots among other things. Always a good time here!

I read about Armsby Abbey on Unilocal and really wanted to try their poutine. My friend and I ended up going during their winter warmer brunch so the poutine was not on the menu but the menu was still fantastic. First things first, it’s not a huge venue and they have a nice system down for texting you when a seat becomes available so my guess is that it’s pretty common to wait to be seated if you haven’t made a reservation. We hung around the bar area and a departing couple gave us their seats so that was nice. My friend tried a peppermint stout and I got a mule. The mule was kind of weak. We thought it might take longer so we ordered a mac n cheese to share at the bar but we were seated before it came out. You have to clear your tab at the bar before being seated and the bartender said it’d come right over but we ended up having to ask our waitress to find it before our mains came.
The winter warmer brunch menu is interesting. It has a mix of lunch and breakfast foods and some interesting drinks. I am a big Glögg fan and was excited to see it on the menu so I ordered it. Interestingly, it came out in a hot wine glass and not in the traditional mug with raisins and nuts on top. It was okay but I expected more. For food, we ordered the quiche (great) and the beef stew. Delicious beef stew complete with an egg on top. I loved the variety of root veggies in it. The mac n cheese came and it was pretty good. I loved the breadcrumbs but I found the cheese blend very bland. I was surprised they didn’t have salt or pepper on the tables. I wanted to pepper up that cheese to make it more delicious.
Price-​wise — everything is more than reasonable for the amount and quality. My biggest complaint is the noise level. I could hear the woman seated next to me but we both struggled to hear the person seated across from us which was kind of an issue as we were strangers and couldn’t hear our loved ones. Very busy place on a Saturday morning. It might be better on a weekday night. I’m definitely going back to try the poutine!

Fantastic. This is the sort of surprisingly cool place you hope to discover up in Vermont or Portland, Maine… except it’s in downtown Worcester. On a frigid, blustery winter’s evening, it was a warm, dark, cozy oasis of comfort food and amazing beer. If you’re a craft beer fan, no doubt you’ve heard they’re the only place in the state to find Hill Farmstead, and indeed, they had four offerings from that brewery (I got the flight so I could try all of them). But the food was just as impressive. We had a great cheese plate, some of the best chili I’ve ever enjoyed, delicious pork habanero tacos (not as spicy as they sound), and their famous-​for-​a-​reason mac and cheese. No wonder I know a few people who drive all the way from Hartford to eat and drink here. Keep up the good work, Armsby Abbey!

Great pub with a focus on local seasonal ingredients. Amazing, amazing beer selection, including Hill Farmstead. The cheese platter is a wonderful thing and they have Mac and cheese to die for. It’s bustling loud and lively (at least for weekend brunch) but a fun and great atmosphere. Well worth the drive out from Boston. As a vegetarian I did wish for a few more options on the meat heavy menu but based on the raves I heard about the meat from fellow diners, I suppose not many people are complaining. And did I mention the beer list?!
Highly recommended.

The beer selection is always excellent with Hill Farmstead always being included, which is some of the best beer you can find anywhere. Their menu is constantly changing and is delicious, locally sourced, and homemade.
It’s a shame how bad the service is though, hence the 3 star review. I’ve noticed in the past year or so the service has gotten gradually worse. On most days it takes a while for the waiters/​waitresses to even get to your table once you’ve sat down. After that, service is slow in all aspects, including even a simple beer order. Today when i went, for example, It took the waitress almost 10 minutes to even come to the table to take a drink order and almost as long to receive the drinks we had ordered. And that all happened mid-​day on a Monday and it wasn’t even crowded.
Service at the bar is usually very fast for drinks.
All in all, I keep going back to this place for the amazing food and beer selection, but the service is so bad that it is sometimes painful even going.

Go for Beer. Stay for the cocktails. Partake in the food.
Beer = Amazing. Did you know that they are the ONLY *ONLY Massachusetts distributor of Hill Farmstead? Without these guys you’d be driving 3.5 hours to wait in line in Vermont. Which, by the way, is really, really cold this time of year. I know. I went to UVM. But even if you’re not into Hill Farmstead (which would be incorrect but I digress), they have a simply awesome list of always changing brews!
Okay, so maybe you’re not a beer person? Let’s discuss the cocktail situation. Because it is also awesome. I had arguably the best Bloody Mary of my life there (Chipotle Infused Vodka? Yes Please!). I also had a Spiced Sangria that was a glorious piece of Festivus Morning Glory. They have something for everyone and they are all DELICIOUS. So that base is covered.
Finally, food. It’s all Farm to Table up in your face which means the ingredients are about as fresh as it gets. My suggestion? Give in to the tea and ask your Wait Person what they love and go with that — the staff is so friendly and they are clearly very passionate about everything this joint has to offer.
I might have stumbled on this place accidentally but I’ll be returning because of the ambiance and offerings for many moons into the future.

Visited the Abbey for the first time tonight. Friends go for the beer list, and although heavy on the Hill Farmstead, it certainly did not disappoint. The menu is unique — seems to be one of those places where you will like something about an item but they throw in a curve ball. Our group was pretty bland — burgers, pulled pork sandwich, and Mac and cheese. The fries were tasteless and the ketchup bland. The Mac and cheese was good but exceedingly rich. I’m glad I got the slaw on the side of the pulled pork because the sandwich was very good but the slaw average at best.
Once again I wish I could do half stars as the beer list took things up but the food menu was not what I was looking for. I’ll justify the extra half star by saying the service was friendly and attentive.

I usually don’t like reviewing a place after only one visit, but my travel schedule is so weird I don’t know when I’ll get back here. But one visit was enough to convince me this is the type of place I’d come to again and again.
Admittedly, it’s got a real hipster feel, but the food and the beer is what stands out at this place. This is another spot in Worcester that will surprise you with how well it stands out. Another place I plan to visit again when I pay the city a visit.

Well my kids didn’t like it, lol. It’s a foodie place. And be prepared for leisurely dining (we saw a sign outside that said it was part of a slow restaurant movement or something)
First, the waiter we had was slow (service wise). I was excited to try a farmhouse ale by a certain brewery that my buddy told me ‘I had to try’ and it was on the menu, but when I ordered it was out. So asked to try another one. as did my wife… those samples took about 10 minutes. Our food was coming and we still didn’t have our beers. If I wasn’t in such a beer mood, I would have canned it (oohh.that was a good pun. nice work). We ordered the kids an IPA Mac and Cheese. Kids no likey, mommy and daddy say yumm.

Soup: Can’t recall as it was soup of the day but we almost sent it back… it was lukewarm. But the waiter never showed back up and this point we said screw it.
Bacon and Apple Grilled Cheese $ 12: Definitely good but not I can’t wait to go back good.
So I mostly liked this place, and would go again.