Pearly Baker's Ale House

Pearly Baker's Ale HousePearly Baker's Ale House
Pearly Baker's Ale HousePearly Baker's Ale House
Bar, Eatery

11 Centre Sq
Easton, Pennsylvania, 18042-7702
United States

(610) 253-9949 | map
pearlybakers.net
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.97
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
24
pDev:
10.58%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by VegasBill:
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Reviewed by VegasBill from Nevada

3.85/5  rDev -3%
vibe: 2 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
As you enter this pub there is a long bar off to the left and a hallway leading to the dining room.Usually I love old buildings like this but the decor and atmosphere to me was depressing, just my opinion. The evening I was there a banquet was in the dining room and people were just beginning to arrive.As with Porters Pub there was a police car sitting out front the whole time I was there. So now I am getting a little uncomfortable.For beer I had an offering from Cicket Hill. Only one beer!!!
I knew the food here was quite good so I asked how long for a salad and as the banquet had not started the bartender said just a few minutes so I had the Smoked Cesar Salad which was a different take on a Cesar and excellent.And as the saying goes I got the hell out of there and safely back to Bethlehem.
A final note, above the bar there is 100 or more old tap handles, it was interesting to sit at the bar and look at each one and for many some memories.
Jun 19, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.59 by CreightonSM from New York

Jan 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.48 by chicagoish from Pennsylvania

Nov 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.34 by rydev24 from Pennsylvania

Feb 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Oct 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by jgido759 from New Jersey

Oct 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by JimmyAloysius from Pennsylvania

Jun 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by tomgoehring from Pennsylvania

Mar 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by ColForbinBC from New Jersey

Feb 15, 2014
Photo of sluggo013
Reviewed by sluggo013 from Washington

4.16/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
Great selection of local craft beers and very knowledgable. They have a real passion for good food and beer and a creative and tasty menu for both. The atmosphere is very chill and it draws a wide-ranging crowd. Overall, an enjoyable experience every time I've visited,
Jun 24, 2013
Photo of Knapp85
Reviewed by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

3.54/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.25
Stopped in here for a dew quick rounds after seeing Dana Carvey at the State Theater up the road. The bar is nice looking with a ton of tap handles surrounding the wall above the bar. The place was pretty busy and we still managed to find a spot at the bar. They have a good selection of beers from local breweries to others outside the state and country. The service was friendly and prompt. The Breakfast Stout I got on tap was a bit on the flat side so I was a bit disappointed by that. We never got any food although people were ordering it and it looked good. Overall it's a nice place and worth looking into.
Jan 11, 2013
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Reviewed by claspada from New Jersey

4.2/5  rDev +5.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Nice variance of seating: table, booth and bar. Wait staff and bartenders was super helpful and overly nice. The insanity that must be the hundred and hundreds of tap handles along the wall and ceiling is just crazy, they musty get one for every beer they get on draft which is awesome.
The quality of their lines have always been top notch as I have gone the day that they change them and they are always fresh. The line-up is usually a mix of super local stuff (from breweries I have never heard of) and quality easier to get local stuff (Yards, Weyerbacher, etc.).
If you are in Easton I would choose this place over anywhere else because it is right on the cirlcle and has super quality beers and ambiance (get some Sogo sushi close by if you are into that kind of thing).
Dec 03, 2012
Photo of Flounder57
Reviewed by Flounder57 from Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
We stopped in here this past Saturday after visiting Weyerbacher. The place is located in downtown Easton and we looked online for a place with a good draft selection and this is what we got.

This is a long restaurant with 20+ seats at the bar with high top booths and tables up front, table seating out back and more seating up stairs. Another cool thing is that they rotate a lot of draft in out and they have over a 100 taps hanging from the ceiling of breweries across the US.

The quality and selection of the beer was good. Over 20 draft selections and a good mixture of local breweries and styles too. It was good to see a nice blend of styles to offer. They do have some specialty bottles from time to time, but we came for the drafts and some food.

The service was good and our bartender was very knowledgeable about the local brews. We were able to try a quick sample of a few different breweries before making our choice on what we wanted to drink.

As for food, pretty simple menu here. We both got some delicious French onion soup and sandwiches that were served with yam chips.

This was in between a bit pricey and leaning a bit towards the reasonable side. Prices seemed to vary with all the different ABV's. Roughly 7/7.50 average for a draft.

Other than that, we were happy r
to have found this place and it was also easy to hop back on the highway to visit our buddy in Long Island.
Nov 30, 2012
Photo of beerboy430
Reviewed by beerboy430

4.53/5  rDev +14.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
I stopped in downtown easton's top tap beer bar. 25 beers on tap, most of which were craft brews (yay). The selection was a wide variety of styles from porters to IPAs and american belgins a
to belgins from belgim. The prices ran from 2$ to 9$ all served in pints. I was super happy and nicely buzzed from a 25oz bottle of red and white from dogfish. My buddy was enjoying the founders imperial stout and would not shut up about how nice and fresh it was.
The food matched well with the beer. Great burgers to amazing entrees. If you are in downtown easton Pa check it out and enjoy the beer. Cheers to all the beer geeks
Mar 10, 2012
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Reviewed by chefguy from New Jersey

4.68/5  rDev +17.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
nice place right smack dab in the heart of Easton. decent enough tap selection, around 20 almost all craft brews. good variety of styles, some top notch selections. Had the Bethleham Brew Works Insidious imperial Stout, absolutely delicious and clearly fresh. Spoke with Josh the beer manager. He is bringing in some more obscure belgians and is very knowlegable and enthusiastic.
Food is great...calamari was perfectly crispy and not greasy. burger made with local beef Gruyere cheese and mushrooms was about as great as you'll ever have. service was impeccable with serveral servers making sure we were well taken care of. Food came out very quickly. decor is really nice, great long wood bar in front, antique dining room in back.
prices were very reasonable by NY / NJ standards but probably above the norm for Easton. (burgers starting at $7, beers $5 and up.) fries extra but terrific yam chips included and really good, fries were perfect too.
highly recommended I'll go anytime i'm in area and would probably be a regular if local.
Feb 29, 2012
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

3.8/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
A real nice historic looking building housing a decent selection of on tap offerings. There are about 10-15 taps but the bottle list is about five, maybe six macros. Good chance you will find here on tap Weyerbacher, Victory some Troegs, and perhaps some Flying Fish. I was quite surprised to find Summit here from Minnesota.

Very family and kid friendly (there were lots of kids in the dining room when i went to have lunch) the staff are also quite nice and can help with suggestions. Can only comment on lunch items which were pretty basic but fine nothing really unique or stellar.
Jul 23, 2011
Photo of Seanibus
Reviewed by Seanibus from California

3.8/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
Great beer list - 20 taps with a healthy mix of unusual craft offerings and macro beers (draft PBR? Gotcha covered). The front bar area is quite attractive and fun, but no kids are allowed, so if you have little ones, you must sit in a more formal dining room in the back. The menu is quite good, with lots of interesting choices and a strong emphasis on local ingredients. The execution was less exciting, though not bad - it just didn't live up to the high promise of the menu. The service was quite friendly, but I found a little bit slow - not impossibly, just it dragged slightly at spots. The beer list is the real star, with a couple of good IPAs, including the new Lucky U from Breckenridge and the sometimes hard-to-find Erie Misery Bay IPA. There was a decent selection of locals, including Cricket Hill and River Horse, though I was surprised to see only one offering, the Double Simcoe in bottles, from local standout Weyerbacher. The beer list tends toward the high ABV, it seems. I found the prices slightly steep for the region, but not impossibly so.
Jan 17, 2010
Photo of WreckDiver
Reviewed by WreckDiver from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Parking is terrible & the meter guy makes continuous rounds.
Check the meter before feeding it... they have different time
limits ranging from 15 minutes to 10 hours and are all mixed, but they all continue to take quarters beyond the max time.... you just don't get anything for your change.

Anyway, the pub was very nice in terms of atmosphere. The food was good, but portions small & pricey. I got the calamarie for $9?, though it was good, there was only about a 1/8 cup, with an equal amount of chopped scallions & a tasty mayonaise based sauce. Wife got the guacamoli & chips... small cup of puree avacado & little else for $8.50. The burgers looked good $10 for what looked like a handmade 1/2lb burger. Opted not to order more & instead went to find another beer pub. Menu was very limited.

Beer selection is limited to 10 rotating taps... no bottles. 2 taps were empty, the eight remaining were decent micro brews & some decent "commercial beers"... yuengling, guiness, & another common irish ale.
Jul 12, 2009
Photo of irishman06
Reviewed by irishman06 from Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +10.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Peraly Baker's is located in an old building in downtown Easton, PA, which, like the rest of downtown, has some unexplainable charm and class. The main bar room is beautiful, with comfortable booths and a clean counter. A high ceiling with hanging plants adds to the sense of space. The bartenders and wait staff are incredibly friendly. The food is excellent. My personal favorite is the Pearly's Chicken, which consists of chicken breast stuffed with a few cheeses (boursin is one), andouille sausage, and their homemade beer mayonnaise. Delicious. The burgers are also excellent (the Ale House is a winner, consisting of onion rings, cheese, and their special-made beer mustard), as well as the salads (full and half-size), which make a meal in full size. And don't forget the wild game dishes, which change seasonally. The beer selection is solid. They have all the typical imports (Guinness, Bass, Heineken, Stella, etc.) and some local favorites (Victory Brewing, Weyerbacher). There are monthly special selections, and they are sure to choose these according to the season. They will always have a few microbrews from some of the lesser known breweries in the U.S. and will happily describe them for you to help you make a decision. My favorite place for a brew and burger. Highly recommended.
Nov 18, 2008
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Reviewed by bierSnob from Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
AN exceptionally warm April Sunday afternoon,and we chose this place because Porters and Witch brew parking wasn't close to keep an eye on the Element with the Jack Russels in it.

The six of us, my Mom, sister and her husband, my wife and six year old daughter, arrived at at 430. We were told that the kitchen was closed but would open in about 30 - 45 minutes. We thought then headed next door to Mothers for a pop. We went back at 515pm and found an ourdoor table, perfect considering the weather.

Let's cut to the chase.... THe reason for the mediocre service was because there was a show at the State theatre. We were asked if we were going to the show. We said we weren't. So we think our order was put to the back of the line. We waited a while ... had appitizers .. waited some more, alot more, then our meal came. Exceptional quality and tasty entree's.

The beer menu was great. The waitress was great too ... and brought out three free beers over the wait and after.

I faced the bank and with the front door to my back. Looking down the ally and at the buildings, I could swear that I was in Disney. The art deco architecture looks as if the imagineers took pictures here and recreated them in Orlando.
Apr 20, 2008
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Reviewed by slander from New York

3.86/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Super Bowl Sunday, didn't think it was very likely that I'd be trudging out to Easton for the chili cook off at Pearly Bakers, but I woke up and found myself driving across I-78 heading West. The Bunofskys were already in and working the room by the time I hit the PA line and I knew I'd have to play catch up. Rolling into town, I didn't really know where I was going but Pearly Baker's was easier to find than a flesh colored crayon...
Waited on line for a bit to get to the chili in the rear, just taking in the place. The whole room is bar area and seating, save a long corridor running the length along the far wall. A long marble topped bar is held in a pen, with a handful of bar tables and bunch of leather crescent shaped booths lying adjacent. An enormous mirrored bar back runs the whole wall, with a large arched panel over shelving in the center and 3 smaller arched panels over the shelving to each side, holding booze and glassware, and then the wines are tucked below the bar. Dozens and dozens of tap handles from kegs ago run in a long line, suspended upside down above the bar. Beige walls with brick to the front, a high pressed tin ceiling and a raised area over the middle of the bar with skylights that are opened from long handles you spin to open them. Ceiling fans, drop lighting, and hanging potted plants suspended from the skylights. A handful of tables in an elevated seating area below the large front windows adorned with colored glass panels. A big blackboard above the bar listing things not beer, a single TV in the corner, a cork board made of corks, crappy macro mirrors, old area black & whites of the building, and an awesome, ancient Seitz Brothers Brewery, Easton, PA, framed print of a guy standing, surfing, riding 4 leashed goats (been there, done that), dated 1877, it's got some water damage but it's still wicked cool.
Finally made it to the back and did the round the room tasting of the 17 chilis there with the Bunofsky's. It's a smallish room with seating normally, although it was all scattered about to hold the vendors today. There were some kickin' ass chilis back there. The wait staff hit up and down the waiting line and came through frequently taking beer orders. Once we got through sampling every damn chili back there and hitting the good ones a second time, we migrated back out to the bar area. 20 taps split out over 2 towers of 10 taps, one to each side of center, and a most horrible affront to decency... it wasn't enough that the hand pump on the bar was dead, no. They're using it as a paper towel rack. I'm sorry, but that's just not right.
Now the taps list is a mix of good micros, mostly local and regional (Heavyweight Perkuno's Hammer, Sly Fox Dunkel & IPA, Lancaster Winter Warmer, Yuengling, Climax Nut Brown, Heavy Seas Loose Cannon, Sam Adams Winter, Summit IPA), the usual blah imports (Guinness, Harp, Bass, Smithwicks, Stella, Franziskaner, Spaten) and a crappy macro or two. The printed list however, was a little out of whack. It showed the Summit IPA as a Pale Ale, the Heavy Seas Loose Cannon as the Small Craft Warning Uber Pils, the Sly Fox IPA as the O'Reilly's Stout, and listed something called the High Point Nut Brown (come on, get it together, now). They were also carrying a single 750 for sale, the Sly Fox Xmas Ale displayed on a shelf.
It's a good house, beers were fresh (the Hammer was delightful as usual), and service was attentative and prompt on this event day.

Side bar: As we left, coffee and spicy hot chocolate were being served to go. I had the single best cup of hot chocolate of my life here. It was thick and viscous, had great legs, and some excellent heat from the peppers. Damn, that was good. They don't make it there, it's from some coffee house in town called The Cosmic Cup but I wanted to share.
Mar 12, 2006
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Reviewed by TheLongBeachBum from California

3.83/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Whenever I am the Middle East-on in PA, I just feel like it is a tinderbox of potential violence; lots of street corner hangers, bent over Jamahl’s talking into car windows and a mélange of “dodgy” looking dudes just….well, just doing sweet FA….maybe I’m wrong but that’s just how it feels. As it happens I never feel threatened, but it does seems like only a misunderstood glance away at times.

Anyways, I was on my way back to the Airport but fancied one last beer with BA Erica after a weekend in PA; sadly Plan #A – Which Brew, was not open, Plan #B – Porter’s Pub, was also closed…sheeeaaayytt…..so Erica’s quick thinking quickly put Plan #C into operation and we were soon racing back down Northampton Street back to civilization and in no time parked right outside the nearby Crayola Factory (or whatever it is called) on the roundabout thingy, ironically called Central Square (WTF!?! Is that what they man about putting a round peg in a square hole?) in lower downtown Easton.

Well the Pearly Baker’s Alehouse was a really nice surprise, just off the roundabout shaped Central Square Pearly Baker's sits in the South-East corner and is easily located. The exterior has the words “Pearly Baker’s” in bright green neon above a dark green awning which covers the pastel yellow frontage. A single large window sits to the left of the entrance, which itself is situated on the extreme right hand side. Outside near the entrance a wooden boxed lectern stands by the door but it was unmanned during a quiet chilly Monday afternoon.

Inside the interior is a nice change of pace and there are several Fin de Siècle architectural aspects of great merit. The high ceilings are classic signs of the late 1800’s, as are the tin ceilings, sadly painted in a monochrome color; it would be nice to see this accentuated with at least two colors. Most notable is the large leaded glass atrium over the middle of the bar area, this cascades a plunging daylight which drapes the imbiber at that Bar such that no lights are on during the day. As you enter there are a couple of tables in the area behind the single front window to your left. Spreading back against the left hand wall is the Bar. The dark green marble topped bar is unfettered, clean lines are accentuated by the fact that the Taps are all set against the back wall which is fully fitted with carved wood shelves and lots of glass and mirrors, plus a small statue of an old man sitting whilst picking his nose, look for him, he is there. The fittings have a solid real feel to them which lends a high end quality aspect to the whole establishment. Right in front of the Bar, and to your middle as you enter, four quarter circle booths, all upholstered in black leather, face the bar and are obviously suited toward the 'drinker only' classes for busier times. The back of the building is partially annexed and has a well furnished restaurant area with a most splendid Chandelier.

Around a Dozen Taps line the middle of the back wall behind the bar, they included some notable brews on my visit; one or two big boys including Bass, a couple from Sly Fox, Middles Ages Wailing Wench (still don’t get that brew), Cricket Hill, plus some local brews and one or two others of lesser interest. Erica knows that I hate the “W” beers and was eager to gleefully inform me that she had noted that there were NO Weyerbacher beers at all…..so that’s a bonus and worth at least 0.5 marks (just kidding). The range wasn’t exactly enthralling, but enough to keep me happy for an hour or so. Of note was a, apparently, redundant black handled Beer Engine installed on the Bar. Shame it wasn’t in use!

I fancied an appetizer before the 5 hour flight home….a hot bowl of fresh Onion Soup was damn tasty and eagerly dispatched, I had some Fries too, and not bad but very French, if you know what I mean. Erica tried some Breadcrumb coated Cheesy Stick Finger thingies…..they were nice though, as was the dip they came with.

Service was good, our server, Dawn, offered a taste sampler of each brew before we purchased, which was good, because one or two of the brews, although fine, tasted a little rank…one of which was an IPA that was awful, forget where it was from. Thankfully the taste samples saved us a purchase of such brews that were not to our tastes, so that was a solid plus point.

A nice enough pit-stop and a very cool place to enjoy a brew and a bite to eat, the appetizers are reasonable but the rest of the food is not cheap - a little expensive but a lovely place to hang out during the quieter day times, I enjoyed my hour or so in here. Thanks to –e for the ride here and back to the Airport.

Last Visit: Monday 31st October, 2005.
Nov 07, 2005
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Reviewed by francisweizen from Washington

3.95/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
This is a nice spot in downtown Easton that is apparantly making a big comeback beer-wise. This was my first visit here, and I definately liked the high ceiling, warm brick interior. Very pleasing to the eyes. The quality of food and beer was very good, although we only got some fries, which were definately a little better than average. Beer selection was good with some real micro winners, and some more obscure stuff too. The bartender recommended the Rammstein Maibock. Nice stuff too, that Maibock. Prices for dinner is a little high end, and too rich for my blood, but than again others may not find it so bad. Solid on all accounts. Recommended if you are going anywhere near Crayola-land.
Apr 14, 2005
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Reviewed by goindownsouth from New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev -2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
A very, very aesthetically appealing place to dine, Pearly Baker's Alehouse is certainly a worthwhile stop while in downtown Easton. The interior is deep and rich in dark wood accents, which adds to the high comfort level during your visit. The beer selection is certainly above average, with a smattering of microbrews mixed in with some highly-circulated imports like Bass and the like. Culinary offerings at Pearly Baker's are definately above regular old pub grub, and border on high-end...although very good. Having supper there may set you back a good bit, to be sure. All in all, a solid place to visit, although there may be better value elsewhere in downtown Easton.

Egészségedre!
Jul 22, 2004
Pearly Baker's Ale House in Easton, PA
Place rating: 3.97 out of 5 with 24 ratings