Chelsea Brewing

The experience started with so much potential. A group of good friends on a summer night, celebrating a friend’s birthday, we were all ready to drink, eat and be merry. On top of it, we were ready to spend some $$. Reservations in advance for 15, we arrived to a near empty bar, rudely greeted by the hostess. Regardless, I introduced myself to our server with a big smile and let him know we were celebrating and very generous tippers, slipping him a $20 before we even ordered a drink. Note: we are a friendly group of people who love dining in NYC. Our beer was served with “hot” glasses which the server would not replace because that was apparently all the glasses they had (the enormous BREWERY that could seat a few 100 was almost empty). We kindly asked to move to a table on the outside patio, which took them 40 minutes to do because they claimed there was no room (clearly in our view the deck was half empty). We waited over a half hour for the server to take our dinner order, another hour after we finished dinner to have the cake brought out, which the waiter basically refused to bring out when kindly asked several times. Asking for the check, that was the fastest service we had received all night – gratuity added and the waiter said to me “be sure to leave an additional tip” WTF?!?! The service was so bad it was almost comic. What the Chelsea Brewery didn’t know was that within our group of friends was a restaurant critic for a major food publication, another critic for a well known NY magazine and myself – an events planner in NYC. They lost more business than just the 15 people that came to dinner that night. The food was sub-par. Pros: The venue has potential if it were to change management Cons: Worst Service in NYC more

Let's start with the good: I planned a surprise birthday party here for a large group of people. The event staff (Colleen) was extremely helpful in setting up the private brewery tour and dinner reservations. The brewery tour was the best part of the evening. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and laid-back, perfect for our group of friends. The next four hours were terrible. I had to track down our waiter for menus, then to place drink orders and then to order food. When we asked him about the beers, the waiter had absolutely no clue how they tasted. This was only made worse when he finally delivered the pitchers and had no idea which beer was in which container. The food finally arrived, with only a few mix-ups of who ordered what. It was not worth the wait and definitely not worth the price; my $13 medium hamburger arrived burnt, cold and dry. Everyone was equally disappointed in the food. We didn't see our waiter again until 2.5 hours later when we tracked him down (in a now empty restaurant) for the check. Save yourself the aggravation and money - go somewhere else. Pros: Brewery tour, outdoor seating Cons: Service, food, management more

Do not in anyway, shape, or form, make this a destination for the food. Come here only to sit outside on the water and have a beer. Otherwise, look elsewhere. The food is absolutely terrible and ridiculously over priced - and I mean, ridiculously over priced especially for such poor quality. The service is horrendously slow and incompetent. The beer is ok. However, if you can manage to sit out in the sun next to the water, it's not a bad place to spend an afternoon. Just don't come hungry... even the appetizers aren't worth it, unless you only eat over priced, over cooked, fried food. Pros: Marina view Cons: The food, the service, the prices more

I had not been back since the end of the summer last year since the service and the food had not been that great. But I decided to go back with a couple of my girlfriends and I thought that the food was getting better and the service wasn't that bad. The only thing I would suggest is that is a renovation, the place looks run down and looks out dated. The beer wwas great and My friends and I will be coming back. more

I had a surprise 50th birthday party for my husband at Chelsea Brewing Company last weekend and it was fantastic! The party planner helped me plan every step of the way and the party went off without a hitch. Food was fantastic, beer phenomonal, service was superb! The tour of the brewery was an added bonus to my guests. I want to have my 50th birthday party in June at Chelsea Brewing Company too! Pros: Fresh beer, excellent staff, great food selections Cons: parking - pricey in Chelsea Piers parking lot more

This place was terrible. It was only a step above fast food, in fact I would rather have Wendy's than the food here. I had a $17 salad with salmon, I could tell the salmon was frozen, thrown on a bed of grocery store mixed greens, with defrosted green beans, and ok balsamic. There are so many restaurants in New York, they should at least give some kind of an effort for good food. It doesn't even look like they brew beer there anymore. Service was fine. Pros: View Cons: Food more

do not order the over-priced horrible food or a mixed drink from this place! I've had better food for 3x as less in so many other places. Albeit this is a brewing company, so you should try the beers. I wouldn't know b/c I wasn't ever given a list of beer to chose from when I was seated at my table. Do NOT go here. Go to Brooklyn Brewery instead, where you can at least order or bring your own food! Pros: a decent view while being ripped off Cons: being ripped off more

There was literally one server working while over 100 people occupied the place on a recent night. She was clearly not prepared to handle any sort of busy night, and the management was unapologetic about it as well. The food was decent and came as expected, but we waited over half an hour just to place our order and simply left money on the table 20 minutes after asking for the check, which never arrived. Pros: Very fresh draft beers Cons: Shockingly understaffed more

Went here for lunch to soon realize that I could of had lunch at a hole in the wall with better food and service. Once the food was ordered, the waiter was not to be seen again. We had to go to the hostess (who was anything but attentive) to pay. She asked us where we sat to figure out our bill. Quite an airheaded statement coming from the person who sat us at our table. Food is sub-par at best, beer is nothing special. This area has much, much better restaurants to offer. Pros: Nothing Cons: Wasted an hour of my life more

Go for the beers and only the beers. I'd recommend steering clear of the food. On a nice night, try and snag yourself one of the outdoor tables by the water. The staff is friendly, as are most of the patrons. There is also some type of recycling deal where if you buy a jug of booze to go you can bring it back at a later date. I'm not sure on the specifics though. Pros: Microbrews, View Cons: Food more

We went after hitting golf balls and ordered mozzarella sticks (not very good, even for frozen bar food), chicken sandwich (chewy, not fresh and not tasty at all - it all hit the trash) with fries (sub-par) and a salad with salmon (the fish was some kind of white fish, soft and tastless and the green were like they'd been sitting out for hours). The staff was friendly, especially the hostess, the view was nice of the river and the beers were unique and GOOD! Net net: BEER ONLY! Pros: Friendly staff, Outdoor Seating, Good Micro-brew Beer Cons: Food, Food more

I went for New Years - Nightmare. I prepaid $180 for two tickets for an open bar from 9pm- 2am. I got there before 9 and had to wait outside in the cold until 10:30. I called a few days later and complained and was offered a ticket to the next New Years Eve Party for $50 or a $25 gift certificate. I told them that it was unacceptable and that I was going to call me credit card company to dispute the charge if they did not give me a refund for the time I was waiting outside at minimum. The manager said she would call backand needless to say I never heard back. The Chelsea Brewing Company not only has horrible customer service and business practices- it has mediocre food and beer. There are a million great places to go in Manhattan DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME! Cons: Service more

don't ever think of spending new years eve at this place. their so called "all inclusive pre-paid event" did not mention the hour and a half wait at the door, and a staff so small, that drink waits were rediculous. if i hadn't pre-paid 810 bucks for me and my 9 friends, we would have gone elsewhere in a heartbeat. more

Went there for New Year's Eve. It was terrible. Disorganized, over-crowded, rude staff, impossible to reach bar. I will never go back there. Pros: None more

As we were being seated, the hostess told us we could sit anywhere along the window. There were booths available (which_face_the_window), but since there were only two of us, we had to sit at one of the smaller tables along the window. It was drafty. They had at least two children's birthday parties, so there wasn't any available space in the back. Our waiter was nice, but didn't know too much about the beer, and was hard to get. My burger was not very good. The fries were tasty and the stout was delicious. We left with two growlers. Worth checking out for the beer. But go when it's nice out... and on an off night, the bar was packed that night. I am going to go back this spring to try it again, but I think they definitely rely too heavily on the view. Pros: on the water, good beer, on the water Cons: mediocre food, too many kids, out if the way more

The Chelsea Brewery is probably one of the most wasted opportunities in Manhattan. With very few true brewpubs left (thankyou Rudy), this one could be the best, but due to horrendous management and service, falls to the bottom of the list. Make the trip to Broolyn Brewery, you'll be glad you did. Pros: Checker Blonde Ale, spacious, scenery Cons: bad service, bad food, bad management more

Everyone should check out the Chelsea Brewing Company. The Blonde Ale is delicious, and they have a beer for all tastes - Stout, IPA, Wheat, fruit flavored ( in addition to a full bar). Sit out on the deck and enjoy the sunset, or dine inside for a more inimate meal. If you haven't been there lately, the service has improved greatly and the staff is always friendly. Pros: outdoors, fresh beer, good food more