Stoddard’s Fine Food & Ale

Not the kind of place I usually come to, but we were staying at the Godfrey around the corner so popped in for a quick bite.
This place was so loud, I felt like I was at a concert. By the time my girlfriend and I left, we had sore throats and raspy voices from legitimately screaming in order to hear each other.
Since we had already made the choice to be seated, we just split a couple of apps & each had a drink so we could be in and out. Also, not sure why we were seated in the back where hoards of people were standing around us, instead of in the front where there were tables and it would have been quieter.
Our server was nice, and they have an extensive cocktail list. Everything was underwhelming though, so if I were to come back, it would be on a weeknight when it’s slower.

Took way too long. Food was average. Too noisy. Waitress was rude. THE WAIT WAS 2 HOURS TO GET OUR FOOD. This is ridiculous, you ruined my best friends 21^st birthday. I am disappointed I love food in Boston and this is sad.

I really like this place and I wish I didn’t have to write this review.
Service was awful. From two different servers.
The girl server was so rude to me when I asked a recommendation for a cocktail. She made me feel like I can’t read. Best feeling you can give a costumer.
I get it. It was a busy night, hard work. But what can I say, I came here to have fun but got so upset from the service.
Expected more from this place and was highly disappointed. There are other places with great cocktails and beer.

Great place to come to and have a cheese board with a nice beer or wine! I love the brick walls, wooden floors, and the overall chill vibe of this bar. I have never tried their food though, so I’m not sure what that is like.
Service is prompt, friendly and knowledgeable. Prices are decent, and it’s not hard to get a seat.
Close to the red, green, orange and blue lines! Right in the heart of Boston! Great place to check out!

What a great find after a long day of exploring Boston and it’s surrounding areas! The atmosphere is very warm and cozy with a great overall vibe. The bar had something to please our small group of beer and wine lovers. Everyone enjoyed the food, the service was good and we were all relaxed and happy.

Great décor. Good for a beer. Nice wood interior with a few tvs but not a sports bar. Awesome bar display. Bartenders look pretty spiffs im sure they can make a stiff drink.

Overall disappointing. We come once in awhile for the beer selection — the selection is good but service is slow and sometimes awful. Generally don’t mind since the beer is good and we never go when we’re in a hurry. This time we were meeting a friend and decided to grab dinner since there was a beer event. Bad decision.
We ordered the scotch egg to start. The only thing you could taste was the egg — no sausage flavor at all — and even the egg could have used salt.
I ordered the fish and chips for dinner — fish portion was tiny, the breading was soggy, and the best thing that could be said about it was the fish wasn’t overcooked. I dumped salt on it to try and get some sort of flavor, and I am someone who never salts food. Fries were limp and flavorless. Might have been the worst fish and chips I have had in my life, and it cost over $ 20. Seriously — I would choose McDonalds’ fish filet over that. My husband ordered the rabbit and it too was tiny and a bit dry (although it had more flavor than my food).
To put this in perspective, our expectations were not high at all. We expected decent food that was overpriced, but this food was bad. Period.
Visit for the beer if you have time to flag down service but don’t try the food. It’s not at all worth it.

I loved this place. Service is flawless and as soon as we walked in, we were greeted by friendly staff and were seated right away. I ordered the French dip sandwich, which was superb! The root beer is also very tasty and delicious. I would definitely recommend that you come here, and I know that I’ll be back many more times. Heads up, no kids menus, but if you have older kids, no problem. We had so much food that we had to take some home to eat for dinner. The servings are delicious and plentiful. The scenery is awesome, like it’s a street outside at night. If you’re looking for a great place in Downtown Crossing, here’s the place to go.

Atmosphere — 8
Food — 8
Service — 2
First of all let me say the place is a warm, cosy pub and I thought the food was very good though a bit pricey. I understand that in the theater district things can be expensive & I don’t mind paying at all for a good meal. I had a burger and the pretzel appetizer –both solid. My two daughters got the $ 31 steaks and they said they were good but I noticed they were pretty small… about the size of half a tennis ball. They have Cap’n Eli’s root beer from Maine which is always a plus.
Made Open Table reservation for 10:30 which was one of the choices. They are in the theater district and this was after a show. I get a phone call while I’m at the Nutcracker saying that the kitchen closes at 10:15. Turns out this was not a problem, we made it there by 10:14, but still if you offer a 10:30 seating on OpenTable you should honor it. Have been using Open Table for years in the United States and Canada and I have never had this happen.
Waitress arrives at table, pad in hand, and doesn’t say one word –just looks at us. Very strange. After about 20 seconds she breaks the awkward silence –would you like something to drink? We ordered drinks, she walked away, saying nothing. Returned to take order and said we had to order now because the kitchen is closing. We were all ready and gave the order. Since we hadn’t eaten anything all day we asked if she was going to bring bread and butter. «No, we don’t do that,» and she walked away. We just ordered four meals, drinks and appetizers! The whole thing felt very rushed after that. She came back with two of our drinks. The other two we had to wait almost to the end of the meal and remind her about them. We were discussing splitting a dessert and she brings the check and puts it down in front of me. I don’t acknowledge it but I say to my wife and daughters «I think I’m going to get the cheesecake» just to see what happens. Mind you we haven’t been offered a dessert menu so I don’t know if they even have cheesecake. Two women at the table next to us are eating chocolate mousse. Then I ask my daughters if they will have some cheesecake if I order it, as our waitress clears the table of the dirty plates. Nothing. At this point I just put my credit card in the check binder and she takes the binder. When she brings it back she says the kitchen is closed and all we have is chocolate mousse — do you want some? Mind you, she has already processed my credit card. I said no thanks, we’re going to go someplace else for dessert just to see what she’d say. She smiled and said «OK, thanks so much» as if the whole evening hadn’t happened.
I never stiff a server, they usually work hard and it is a thankless task, I left 20%, but I am usually 30 to 40% tipper. I will go back and see how it goes at some point –we did like the food.

Great drinks. Trevor the bartender was great and really knew his stuff. Made a drink for my wife off the menu that she loved. Didn’t have any beers, but they have a great selection.

YES
— the beer list is huge and always rotating, I especially appreciate they tell you what’s coming next
— this place is pretty. really. it feels like something out of the Harvard 1910 yearbook.
— location is great, perfect to meet friends after holiday shopping or finding a middle place to meet friends on opposite sides of the city– close to park st and downtown crossing
— that cocktail list.
MAYBE
— the food is decent. nothing to write home about.
NO
— yep, it’s expensive. but you pay for the atmosphere.
— tables are kind of cramped, you’ll hear everyone else’s conversations.
— don’t first date here.
Go for lunch if you can, it’s actually affordable to sample their menu.

I had a wonderful evening here. They were packed on a Tuesday night which I was warned about thanks to Unilocal.I luckily was able to find a table tucked away next to the bar which was nice to not stand for the rest of the night.
The décor is off the charts. Vintage iron, wooden rails, tin ceiling, street lights, and vintage corsets. They’re one of the few buildings to survive a fire that ripped through this area of Boston a long time ago and the history is certainly still alive in here.
The first thing I noticed was the long line of draft beers available. It’s more than a bit overwhelming but the bartenders are so helpful, just give them a few hints on the types that you like. I was thrilled to get a Downeast after the last few places I asked at said that they were sold out. Hooray!
The food was good, not fantastic. We went for a combination of appetizers so we could taste lots of different things. We got the cheese fondue, scotch egg, and the crab mango salad. My favorites were the fondue and the scotch egg. Especially the fondue! I was unabashedly scraping the bowl even after the pretzel bits were gone.
It’s LOUD in here. So don’t come for an intimate conversation. They also get crowded very quickly so I’d recommend coming early or getting a reservation.
Cheers!

I’ve now had the opportunity to have a meal here as well as, previously, late-​night drinks. All is good, or maybe «Fine» ?? It feels like they should bill themselves as Stoddard’s Fine Ale & Food, because a larger portion of the menus is devoted to drink, with an extensive variety of whiskeys and bourbons as well as draft beers and cocktails. My own cocktail, a Temple Smash, was a pleasing mix of bourbon, ginger beer, lemon juice, muddled mint leaves, and enough ice to make it look like you were getting a full glass worth of an alcoholic beverage (I will have to learn how to make this drink on my own).
The food selection is limited, but if you do what you do well, that is sufficient, and it was. Their take on poutine is delicious, though not authentic (not enough gravy and some cheese like Swiss instead of curds). Most of your meal options come with either grilled asparagus or some random variety of ways to prepare cabbage and/​or potatoes. Ah, but those meat and fish options. My half rack of ribs were essentially drunken, and I had a tough time getting the meat onto my fork as it would fall apart and off the bone instantly. It came with pickled red cabbage on a bed of mac & cheese — that part will fill you if you let it.
I have no idea if they serve dessert here, as we were given our bill as soon as our plates were cleared. Other reviews claim they have 2 dessert offers. But even if they were out of both of their desserts, you would think they would at least offer you an after-​dinner drink or coffee as an option — hey it’s money you lose by not offering.

I like the ambience here. This place is the oldest fielding area survive the 1872 Boston great fire. Food is good and so is the ambience.

This is a bar. You go in and order delicious drinks. You might order delicious food as well. Somewhere along the way you run out of money, but that’s okay because they take credit cards.
Buy drinks and food. Have a good time. Excellent joy.

Upping the star count, because their beer selection is pretty stellar, and I love the atmosphere of both the upstairs and downstairs bars. Come for brews and you’ll leave happy.

Haben den Pub eher zufällig gefunden.
Sehr nettes Ambiente. Die Kellner sind freundlich und schnell.
Haben einen Burger und Nudeln mit Meeresfrüchten gegessen. Das Essen kam schnell und war sehr gut.
Die Auswahl an Bieren und Cocktails ist riesig.
Wir haben uns mit Bier begnügt.
Aber auch die Cocktails sahen sehr gut aus.
Wer in Boston ist und einen Pub sucht, kann ohne Probleme hier einkehren.

I went here to have some drinks but we finally had dinner too. They have a comprehensive list of draft and bottled beers, typical ales or ipa among some other Belgium beers.
The beers I had were good, the atmosphere was nice and it’s usually packed after 6pm. We stayed next to a barrel and had beers there. The decoration is nice, built on top of wood feels like an old tavern.
After having some beers we decided to had dinner, so as it was my last dinner I ordered Stoddard’s Burger with onion rings. The hamburger was average for me, I had much better ones, but it was good.
The service was fast and very attendant, we had a great stay in this place.

Read great reviews about their Moscow Mule, so I came in last night to try it out. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday night and I was able to snag a seat at the bar. Everyone working behind the bar was excellent, very friendly and attentive. I had the pleasure of enjoying the company of Keith, Tyler and Tony behind the bar.
First Moscow Mule came in a glass, not the copper mug. They don’t give them out to people they don’t really know, because they have a big issue of copper mug theft (I mean, they are really nice). But if you make a request and share some friendly conversation with the bartender, you can get one, and man. does it taste so much better!
Very clean, great atmosphere, and the prices aren’t terrible for Boston. I will definitely be coming back!

The food is nothing to rave about. Overpriced for what you get. Jm Curley has better offerings across the street. BUT — the Moscow Mules here are the best in town! Come here for the drinks and ambiance. It has a cool old-​fashioned vibe, and the beer/​cocktail list is pretty great. Enjoy browsing all the choices, but always get the Moscow Mule. sooooooo good.
The service is friendly, although it sometimes takes awhile to catch the bartender’s attention. But they wear cool 20’s-era suspenders and it makes me feel like I’m in an episode of Mad Men so I forgive them.

FOOD
The menu was awesome. Lots of appetizer choices, salads, and amazing entrees. I ordered the duck salad which came with pomegranate seeds, spicy almonds, and a warm pomegranate vinaigrette. I was worried the salad would be too crunchy, but everything blended well together. The duck slices were very thin but went great with the salad. It was $ 10 which i thought meant it would be a small portion. I was totally wrong, the salad was very filling and the amount of duck was perfect.
One of my friends order the steak and frites. The steak was a little overcooked and she mentioned it was a bit chewy. However, the steak itself was huge with a large number of fries on the side.
Finally, my other friend ordered the duo of duck, which she is still talking about today. I tried her duck confit, which was cooked perfectly. She was very happy with the dish and made us swear we would come back.
DRINKS
The drink menus was very extensive. There were plenty of craft beers on tap that weren’t too expensive. and a number of specialty cocktails.
ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere was somewhat casual, but the majority of customers were older. Being grad students, we definitely stood out in a sea of working professionals.
I will mention that the service was not that great. It took forever for our food to come, and our waiter hardly ever came to the table. We also didn’t have utensils for the longest time, and had to keep reminding him to bring them over.
ADVICE
Stoddards is a great place to have a few drinks and maybe an appetizer. The food took a long time to come out and was a bit expensive for my taste.