Mr. Pickwick's Gastropub and Steakhouse

 

 

 

Amazing place-- Beer Selection awesome- had 5 casks when we were there! Old English style setting.. Owner Chris is a very knowledgable Beer man...The Bar setting was comfortable and the staff were friendly and also knowledgable on the beers... he also has a great scotch selection. It was the best feeling after a few hours in the Pub- we could walk upstairs to our room :)

I spent this past weekend at Ye Olde England Inne while on a weekend trip to Vermont. I logged in several hours at Mr. Pickwicks on Friday & Saturday night. It's always a nice luxury to have a 30 second walk and be in your room. This place is much better than your "typical" hotel bar.

Mr. Pickwicks clearly pays homage to the English pub scene and English culture. The atomsphere is rustic, comfortable and cozy with really good service during my visits. The bartenders were friendly, responsive and attentive.

The draft selection featured about 25 draft beers with options that included Fuller's ESB & London Pride, Old Speckled Hen, Marston's Oyster Stout, Cain's Bitter, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout, Gulden Draak, Urthel Hop It, Victory Whirlwind Whit, Cisco Brewer's Grey Lady, Harpoon Rich & Dan's Rye Ale, Bershire Brewing Drayman's Porter, Stone Vertical Epic 2010, Acme California IPA, Sierra Nevada Summerfest and Stoudt's Smooth Hoperator. They also offer about 60 bottles too.

It was my first time having Smooth Hoperator and it was delicious on tap. I also tried the Stone Vertical Epic that was really good too.

I had a good time here and appreciated the craft beer selection. Can't ask for too much more in a hotel/motel bar.

Located on the mountain road, not far from Route 100 in Vermont. It is an English restaurant and hotel / inne.

The atmosphere is Vermont with a big dash of England, fireplaces, wooden booths, with photos of random quirky British things.
Service is excellent, I have great experiences with the wait staff in the restaurant as well as the bartenders.
Selection is large ! The majority of the bottles are nothing to write home about. However on a tap selection of 18 or so, they typically have a handful of great beers, such as Goulden Carolous Tripel, mmm.
Prices are high, but most of Stowe is expensive, thanks AIG !

Stopped in today after an event up the road. Decided it was high-time I had a pint myself at Pickwicks!

The place is pleasantly decored. Classy English pub feel, clean and shiny tap columns, nice selection of proper glassware hanging over the bar, lots of tables, a fire place and a big screen tv.

Fred was my barkeep, a great gent as well as attentive and friendly. He was honest with me about what was good, what wasn't so great and what he liked himself. It's important to me that barkeeps don't just give me the answers that I want, but express their own opinion unapologetically.

1 cask, 3-top Belgian tower, and maybe 15 or so other lines. Draft ranges from VT to German, to English, Belgian and California. Bottle list is solid and seems to be expanding in the Belgian areas. Would like to see some more off-the-beaten-path domestic craft beers though.

Had one 12oz pour of Brooklyn's Old Ale, a 4oz pour of Delerium Tremens and a 4oz of Stone's Double Bastard. All great pours, all from pristine tap lines, all tasty.

A great place and worth a stop. Cheers to Allen and Fred!

Visited the bar in late Jan 2009. What a great find. The bar is inspired by an English pub, has a great fireplace, a flatscreen, a sick selection of scotches, and a beer menu that is literally a 10+ page book grouped by beer-type or region.

On tap were some very favorable selections: Three Philosophers, Brooklyn Black Chocolate, Dogfish Indian Brown, Anchor Christmas, Brother Thelonious...and we were informed they were planning on adding a new tower with Delirium taps very soon. All beers served in appropriate glassware - a much appreciated method.

The bartenders are quite friendly and professional. Samples are offered if you ask. We visited 3 times in one week, and didn't get comp'ed anything which seemed a little unusual...but you can't expect anything for free, right? The food menu was also impressive, with selections of traditional English pub fare to rabbit, elk chops, and ostrich filets. A little pricey on the food, but the elk was worth every dollar.

I see some reviews about the prices of beer. Tap beer is priced about right. And, yes, the bottled beer menu does have a decent mark-up, however, it is not any different than a typical markup on a bottle of wine. If you keep that in mind, and remember that most of these beers are not available at any retail store in Vermont...it's worth it for those who may not have the opportunity to try those bottled gems elsewhere.

I look forward to going back on our next trip to VT.

Located on Mountain Road in Stowe, this is a great place to stop after enjoying your favorite outdoor activity. There is a large horseshoe bar with some tables as well. The dark wood, dim lighting and a stone fireplace set the mood.
The selection here is absolutely fantastic. 21 lines running and over 150 bottles in the cellar! On a recent visit, there was some amazing Belgian beers on tap: La'Chouffe, Mc'Chouffe, Houblon Chouffe, Maredsous 8 & 10 all served in the proper glassware. This is the only place in Vermont with these on tap and one of the few in the country.
The bartender was friendly and extremely beer knowledgeable. We had a couple beers and samples of others were offered.
We didn't eat anything but did scan the menu. The prices were expensive, but remember this is an Inne located on Mountain Road in Stowe, so it's not surprising.
I've read some pretty bad reviews of this place on this site and don't understand them. A place with this type of selection is definitely worth a stop.

I stayed at the Inne this past week and ate here one night, had breakfast every morning, and had drinks and dessert another night. The first thing I noticed is that it was very expensive. That was a HUGE turnoff, as 12 oz bottles started at $4.50 and pints of draft beer were $6.25! That was a bit outrageous. Nothing on the food menu was under $20. That being said, and because I'm reviewing it as a beer place, the beer was served properly and the bartender we had one night was outstanding. He knew beer and was more than willing to give us samples of whatever we wanted. They had some fairly uncommon beers on tap, including Brooklyn's Dopplebock, which was excellent. They had Harpoon's 100 bbl series on tap as well. The bottled beer list was quite extensive, though they claimed to have "rare" beers, but nothing was overly rare (at least not for RI, though perhaps for VT). The food was excellent, especially breakfast, though dinner was awesome as well. The biggest turnoff, however, is the cost. It was far more expensive than any other bar I've been to.

First of all, let me just say that I expected more from this place than I should have in the first place. The cellar man was very encouraging about this place and it made me want to visit.

However, when I arrived to Mr.Pickwicks, my experience was mediocre. First of all, the server did not seem very friendly. Instead of a proper pint glass, he served me the beer I ordered in a small mug with a handle. I don't know if this is the standard serving glassware but I was offended by it.

Second of all, the beer selection really isn't that impressive. They only had one beer on cask when I had believed that they had much more on cask.

Maybe I got my hopes up too much. Still, I just wasn't impressed by this place and will not be returning. The server seemed like he didn't want to be there and the feeling I got from the atmosphere was not the typical friendly pub feeling.

This one slipped in under the radar. Didn't even know about 'til she spotted their ad in one of those Vermont travel guides they have everywhere. Trouble; she's got an eye for these sorts of details and itinerary improv. Passed it on the way up the mountain, a little something to take in on the way back down is all. Turned out to be a very convenient one-two coming from that other place here in Stowe...

Ye Olde England Inne sits up on a little hill, with their restaurant, Mr. Pickwick's off to one side. The 2 sided arched bar seats a dozen and holds stacked glassware, with booze and a smattering of selections from their bottled list on the wood railing. The room is English pubby, white walls with black Tudor framed trim decorated with equestrian theme pieces; horse brass, and paintings of men on horseback, and pictures of various English people, British car prints, plates and plaques, etc. Plaid carpet and lots of wood, large windows to both sides of a center fireplace, pewter mugs hanging on the cross beams above, a pair of nice chairs in the corner, and a few tables adjacent to the bar. A stone archway leads to the rear restaurant seating area; a crescent shaped dining room holding a dozen tables with more of the same décor and large windows looking out back.

A tower on one side of the bar holds 6 Vermont taps (Rock Art Ridge Runner & American Red Ale, Otter Creek Copper Ale, Switchback APA, Trout River Rainbow Red, the 6th tap was kicked). 15 taps on the other side of the bar across 5 towers of 3 each; mostly the standard imports (Guinness, Harp, Bass, Smithwicks, Newcastle, Boddingtons, Stella), some English specialties (Old Speckled Hen, Double Diamond, Belhaven, Hobgoblin, Holy Grail, Abbot Ale, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout), and Cider Jack.

Beyond the tower of Vermont beers, a good deal of the taps are somewhat blah, although they do have an impressive bottled list; somewhere in the neighborhood of 180 beers. A decent selection of American micros (Gearys, Harpoon, Anchor, Smutty, Magic Hat, Rogue, Otter Creek, Mendocino, Gritty's, Flying Dog, Saranac, Sam Adams), English, Belgian, and a "Rare & Unusual" category that included the Rodenbach Alexander. I had them promptly combing around their beer cellar for it and coming up empty handed. Also a large Malt Whiskey list, some 70 selections broken out by region. She had a sampler of the Vermont tap beers, and I had the Youngs Chocolate Stout. Beers were fresh and tasty. I asked about the handpump and was told that they do do cask beer, but only when the barman thinks he can move it in 3 to 4 hours. He was a most colorful character, playfully psychotic, wonderfully rude and entertaining, and comically exaggerated much like a Dicken's character. He gave us a little, little taste of the Glenmoray '64 (shhh), peaty, smokey, smoooth, damn that's nice.

Good place. Our day in Stowe was saved by good ol' Pickwick.

This is the pub and restaurant for Ye Olde English Inn on the mountain road in Stowe. The inn itself is a pretty cool and authentic looking place. This place fits in perfectly with the theme of the inn.

You walk in and its kind of dark and very wooden with a real nice stone fireplace. The bar is directly in front of you and the restaurant opens up to the right. They do have an outdoor patio and there was a nice jazz band playing outside. The atmosphere is fabulous. I have a feeling it might be even better in the Winter or Fall also but I happened to visit in early July.

The beer selection was very good. Lots of mostly british beers that you dont see around very often--especially on draught. I had an Old Hobgoblin and a half pint of one other somewhat hard to find British beer. Unfortunately, the name of it escapes me. Freshness on the beers was fine.

The server was absolutely clueless about the beers and tended to disappear quite a bit. The pricing was a bit on the high side but I would again attribute this to Stowe being a fancy town. Very nice place. I will definitely hit it the next time I am up there. The inn seemd like it would be a nice place to stay but I did get the feeling it was probably fairly expensive too. Overall, a real nice place though. Recommended for sure.

Food is priced well above my range. Beer as also priced to high for me at $5.25/20oz. Served in wonderful imperial mugs the ale is. The selection is good, but not quite where I'd like a bar of it's type to be. They should have some more exotic english ales for UK and America. The selection of Vermont brews could also be much improved. If the Shed doesn't quench your beer crave when in Stowe, hit this place up.

This place is a beer lover's paradise, particularly if you like English beers. The bar area is a bit small, but it's dark and very comfy and has a huge fireplace to keep everyone warm. Definitely reminds me of a traditional English pub. Many of the patrons are English as well. There are a handful of tables and a horseshoe shaped bar with about 25 beers on tap, and one beer engine. Many selections from Vermont's many microbrews, although the depth of these could be better. The bottle list is also pretty vast. The bartenders are knowledgeable and friendly, and happy to describe a beer for you and give you a taster glass. I returned to this place several times during my visit, and always found something new to try. The restaurant is excellent, and the service was impeccable. This place is not to be missed if you are in Stowe.