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The Bench
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Reviewed by brewme from Massachusetts
4.25/5 rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
Went here with a friend last night. Very impressive beer list, all reasonably priced. Good food, nice inside, not a great outdoor dining area. Would go again.
Aug 16, 2021Reviewed by GratefulBeerGuy from New Hampshire
4.35/5 rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.75
4.35/5 rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.75
Beercation through Vermont starting on Route 100. Waterbury/Stowe/Burlington area. Camped two days in Little River State Park. We had already been lots of places and didn't feel like traveling too far after a day of hiking so it was either Thai or brick oven Pizza... Luckily we went with brick oven style at the Bench. Had no idea the beer selection was going to be that extensive.
The pizza was amazing and my wife ordered a can that topped my list of beers tried so far on our trip: The Lotus IPA by Big Tree and Farnum collaboration.
Jul 30, 2019The pizza was amazing and my wife ordered a can that topped my list of beers tried so far on our trip: The Lotus IPA by Big Tree and Farnum collaboration.
Reviewed by cambabeer from New York
4.83/5 rDev +11.5%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.25
4.83/5 rDev +11.5%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.25
Probably your best option for food and beer at the same place in Stowe. The burger was great, sat at the bar, the beer selection was on point. Almost entirely Vermont beers. A couple of Hill Farmstead, Foley Brothers, Sip of Sunshine, Alchemist (in cans) just about everything you're looking for. I also forgot my credit card, having to go back the next day, and they were super nice and let me in way before they even opened up. Great staff, food, and beer.
May 09, 2018Rated by zotzot from Vermont
3.63/5 rDev -16.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 2.5
3.63/5 rDev -16.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 2.5
Burnt pizza smothered with runny tomatoes
Mediocre beer menu
No flights - not a real beer place
Apr 22, 2018Mediocre beer menu
No flights - not a real beer place
Reviewed by ManapuaMan from Massachusetts
4.35/5 rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5
4.35/5 rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5
Man, we shouldn't have ordered the poutine. It was delicious but it filled me up like fucking balloon. That's my bad, not theirs, and it killed my ability to explore the beer menu. However! It's an undoubtedly great spot to visit.
A little more upscale than a bar/pub - not in look and feel mind you (it's very chill and rustic Vermont) but in the food options, which are awesome. Great menu across the board - from apps to munchies, salads and proteins.
Beer list is right there with the best of them, perhaps just a notch below nearby Doc Ponds. I got a pint of Von Trapp Helles and a new DIPA from Foley that I had never heard of. They had Prairie Bomb! on tap which surprised me. Very impressive.
I already mentioned the poutine, which was rich and creamy and delicious and filling, and we also enjoyed some veggies, dip, salads and the kids got pizza. All great, as you would expect. Highly recommend a stopover while in Stowe.
Aug 24, 2017A little more upscale than a bar/pub - not in look and feel mind you (it's very chill and rustic Vermont) but in the food options, which are awesome. Great menu across the board - from apps to munchies, salads and proteins.
Beer list is right there with the best of them, perhaps just a notch below nearby Doc Ponds. I got a pint of Von Trapp Helles and a new DIPA from Foley that I had never heard of. They had Prairie Bomb! on tap which surprised me. Very impressive.
I already mentioned the poutine, which was rich and creamy and delicious and filling, and we also enjoyed some veggies, dip, salads and the kids got pizza. All great, as you would expect. Highly recommend a stopover while in Stowe.
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
4.5/5 rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
4.5/5 rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
This cozy and lovely restaurant offers up a fabulous selection of Vermont to New England beer offerings. Service is always good. Food is absolutely fantastic. Another great place in Stowe, one can't pass up.
Jun 20, 2017Reviewed by John_M from Washington
4.08/5 rDev -5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25
4.08/5 rDev -5.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25
Stopped for a glass of Abner the day, on our way back from the Von Trapp resort.
The Bench is a nice size restaurant, but with a small size bar area as well to the right upon entering (and was where we perched on this day). The place struck me as well lit, airy and a bit formal, though we were comfortable enough in the bar area (nice size TV over the back bar, with around 10 or so seats and a smattering of table and chairs). I think there was around 22 or 23 beers on tap, which much to my shock and surprise, included the excellent Phaedrus IPA from Culmination Brewing in Portland, Or. Otherwise, there was the usual emphasis on local (mostly Vermont) and regional breweries. Quality seemed to be pretty overall, which I expected. Didn't try the food, but the menu looked very good, and we noticed that the selection was fairly similar to what was on offer the previous evening over at the Reservoir pub (the bartender indicated that the Bench is the sister pub of the Reservoir). There weren't a whole lot of folks in the place when we stopped in (around 2:30 or 3:00), so service was very prompt and quick. The bartender was friendly enough, and we enjoyed our stay here.
This was a pretty solid location, but the truth be told, it was probably our least favorite of the various pubs we visited during our stay in the Waterbury/Stowe area (we also visited Doc Ponds and Blackback). That's how high the bar is set in this area (where excellent beer can be found pretty much everywhere)..
Apr 11, 2017The Bench is a nice size restaurant, but with a small size bar area as well to the right upon entering (and was where we perched on this day). The place struck me as well lit, airy and a bit formal, though we were comfortable enough in the bar area (nice size TV over the back bar, with around 10 or so seats and a smattering of table and chairs). I think there was around 22 or 23 beers on tap, which much to my shock and surprise, included the excellent Phaedrus IPA from Culmination Brewing in Portland, Or. Otherwise, there was the usual emphasis on local (mostly Vermont) and regional breweries. Quality seemed to be pretty overall, which I expected. Didn't try the food, but the menu looked very good, and we noticed that the selection was fairly similar to what was on offer the previous evening over at the Reservoir pub (the bartender indicated that the Bench is the sister pub of the Reservoir). There weren't a whole lot of folks in the place when we stopped in (around 2:30 or 3:00), so service was very prompt and quick. The bartender was friendly enough, and we enjoyed our stay here.
This was a pretty solid location, but the truth be told, it was probably our least favorite of the various pubs we visited during our stay in the Waterbury/Stowe area (we also visited Doc Ponds and Blackback). That's how high the bar is set in this area (where excellent beer can be found pretty much everywhere)..
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut
4.06/5 rDev -6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
4.06/5 rDev -6.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4
Excellent tap list here: both large in the amount of offerings, and high in the quality. Fresh cans of Heady, too, in case nothing on the tap list grabs your attention.
The food was very good, and quite filling. Overall, this was the most impressive stop I made this trip to Vermont.
Mar 19, 2017The food was very good, and quite filling. Overall, this was the most impressive stop I made this trip to Vermont.
Reviewed by SpoiledInVT from Vermont
4.25/5 rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
Good place to go in Stowe if you want a quick and delicious meal, and a wide array of drafts. The usual suspects of Hill, Heady, Focal, Lost Nation and such, with a smattering of lesser-known Vermont beers. Maine Beer, Ballast Point, and other West Coasters were also represented on the board the night I went. Some staff seemed a little under-informed on their beer, but they are extremely friendly and helpful. I did have to send back a very Phenolic beer, and staff looked at me like I had three heads when I told them it tasted like Band-Aids :) Overall a great place I would revisit!
Mar 26, 2016Reviewed by scxcrunner from Massachusetts
4.29/5 rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25
4.29/5 rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.25
Tap list doesn't get much better than this. multiple HF offerings, Heady, Focal Banger, KBS all in one night! food was good too and the wait for a table wasn't terrible.
Feb 13, 2016Reviewed by Rifugium from North Dakota
4.2/5 rDev -3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3.75
4.2/5 rDev -3%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.75 | food: 3.75
I really like this place. Enough to go there three times during a week stay in Stowe. My last trip there was the first time I'd seen Bench, so presumably it's relatively new, but I dare say it could very well be the best bar in town, if only for the taplist.
Clean, lodgey feel, a good amount of tables and a small-to-medium sized bar. Popular...the place fills up fast. Service was a bit lacking, unfortunately. The bartenders I got always seemed wifty and inattentive. But the taplist keeps me going back. Probably the best assortment of VT beers you can ask for, with the likes of HF, and Lawson's, Alchemist cans, Lost Nation...the list goes on. Good out-of-staters too like MBC and so on. The food was decent but not too memorable. I think I only ate there once and got some lack-luster fish tacos. But the menu still was pretty good overall, and I'd be interested in trying some other items.
Pros and cons here, but the beer wins over all, and with a taplist like they maintain, I just can't argue.
Oct 19, 2015Clean, lodgey feel, a good amount of tables and a small-to-medium sized bar. Popular...the place fills up fast. Service was a bit lacking, unfortunately. The bartenders I got always seemed wifty and inattentive. But the taplist keeps me going back. Probably the best assortment of VT beers you can ask for, with the likes of HF, and Lawson's, Alchemist cans, Lost Nation...the list goes on. Good out-of-staters too like MBC and so on. The food was decent but not too memorable. I think I only ate there once and got some lack-luster fish tacos. But the menu still was pretty good overall, and I'd be interested in trying some other items.
Pros and cons here, but the beer wins over all, and with a taplist like they maintain, I just can't argue.
Reviewed by ElGallo from New Hampshire
4.39/5 rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
4.39/5 rDev +1.4%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
This place is a machine. I had dinner here on a very busy summer night. Sat at the counter by the wood-fired oven and watched the staff quickly churn out one great meal after another. Very impressive. Beer list is very good for Stowe, with a couple of Hill Farmstead offerings on draft, plus Lost Nation, Lawson's Finest, and Alchemist cans. Our food was very good, and the service was friendly; our server knew the beer list inside and out. Cool place for a beer and some upscale pub food. Cheers!
Aug 06, 2015Reviewed by TBonez477 from Vermont
4.13/5 rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
4.13/5 rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.25
Really nice place with a great wood oven used for more than just pizza. And the tap list covered HF, MBC and many others. Cans of Heady and Focal available, as well as unlisted bottles of Bomb!.
Jul 26, 2015
The Bench in Stowe, VT
Place rating:
4.33 out of
5 with
32 ratings
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