The Reservoir – Restaurant and Tap Room

What a great spot. They had just seated a whole squirt hockey team right before we walked in and warned us it might be a bit slow. We really didn’t care that it might be slow because we were just happy to be there after our mite pond hockey tourney weekend. Regardless of the crowded tables the service was great and we did not have to wait for anything. Seems like they have everything dialed in as it worked smoothly and like a charm. Beer list is to be applauded… beyond. Made my hubs happy. Burgers were excellent, fries were exceptional, steak sandwich was great and Mac and cheese was spot on. All in all a superb stop and not to be missed. Well done.

Like many of the little-​known swimming holes and hiking trails Vermont has to offer, The Rez is a hidden gem in a small town. While they’re popularity has seemed to explode over the last year, I have enjoyed their food and service for quite some time, and they continue to improve upon an already great menu, drink-​list, and atmosphere.
The American comfort food is amazing, and from there hearty portions to perfectly seasoned fries and burgers, they have something for everyone. You could take your kids here, but it is at it’s heart a Tap room, and the vibe is much more suiting for a lovely date-​night.
All in all I cannot recommend this restaurant enough, if I could give it six stars, I certainly would.
Also — try their Curry. I have quite the taste for Thai foods, and their Yellow Curry entrée was likely one of the best curries I have had so far.

I love this place!!! Highly recommend! Great Food. Especially the arugula salad with grilled chicken. Great selection of beers. Love the ambience. You will not be disappointed.

We asked a guy at the Craft Beer Store for somewhere to get some good take out, and he recommended the Reservoir. I had the Lamb burger with sweet potato fries & honey mustard. (May I add that this honey mustard has a kick of horseradish?) Joe had the pork burrito which was a solid burrito — this from a burrito connoisseur. However the best part of The Rez is the beer menu — both the bottle and draft lists were full of interesting beers from near and far. Lots of great local stuff like Hills Farmstead, Zero Gravity, and Lost Nation and of course the Alchemists Heady Topper. and Focal Banger. Not to mention a mug club and live music.
We enjoyed our little find so much we retuned the next night to dine in for dinner. I had the pork chop special — grilled perfectly and served with roasted Brussels sprouts and crispy sweet potato hash. Joe enjoyed the burger special with apple chutney and melted Brie (an underutilized burger cheese). Again, we were pleased with the quality of the food and the seasonal flavors.
Highly recommend The Rez for the food, the beer, and the atmosphere.
WWJCE? the Rez!

Great Vermont craft beer selection. Wife and I had Grassroots Legitimacy, Hill Farmstead Susan, and Lawson’s Finest Sip of Sunshine. For entrees we had pork chop special with orange marmalade topping which was divine, and Vermont meatloaf with locally sourced ingredients — yum.
Great experience with attentive service. Would happily come here again.

Came here on our way back home after a day on the bike path in Stowe. Wanted to go to Prohibition Pig, but the wait was too long. Got a table here after just a few minutes’ wait at the bar.
Fantastic, and I do mean fantastic, selection of Vermont beers on tap, including several offerings from Hill Farmstead and Lawsons.
Friendly, if overstretched, service, resulted in 2^nd round of drinks being rather delayed, but it’s hard to fault the waitress for what is clearly an understaffing issue.
Food was solid for a bar — wide selection of burgers and sandwiches, everything was tasty but not mind-​blowing — which you have to think is exactly what they’re going for.

The Reservoir, The Rez, The Rezilooski, yeah! I mean, come on! It’s really all about the beer, isn’t it? The Food is good enough, sure. The waitstaff seem a bit over worked but hey, they are there for ya! Bottom line is you get what you pay for, at the Rez. It has a local Vibe & sometimes they even have local artists to sing you some Songs. Did I mention the beer menu? Never mind, you didn’t come to Vermont for its beer. Where was I? Oh yeah! This is where we usually end up, in town. It’s real

In the Waterbury taprooms we went to after our section hike of the LT, this is the one with the best tap and bottle list we encountered. Not to mention that the food is pretty up there for American comfort food as well.
This is one of the few places in Vermont that I was able to find Hill Farmstead Abner on tap. Even the day before when I was at the brewery the day before, they didn’t have Abner, so it was a pleasant surprise to find it on tap here.
The patio seating on a Summer or Fall day cannot be beat, even though the seating is limited. You can toss back an Abner, have a burger, and plan the rest of your week on the LT or just enjoying your time in the area.
We’ll be back next time we tackle the LT and pass through Waterbury/​Stowe.

Type.. .. .. .…Bar+Restaurant
Level.. .. .. .…High
Location.. .. .…Excellent, Main Square
Prices.. .. .. .. .. .Medium to Low
Tap Selection.. .Very High
Bottle Selection. .High
Samplers.. .. .…Unknown
Full Pours.. .…Yes
Beer Level.. .…Very High
Food.. .. .. .…Yes
Food Level.. .. .Good
Staff.. .. .. .…Fairly Nice
Growlers.. .. .. .Doubtful
Noise Level.. .. .Loud
Décor.. .. .. .. .Step Above Dive Bar, Irish Pub
Good for Kids.. .Probably Not
Parking.. .. .. .Street
WiFi.. .. .. .…Doubtful
Cash Only.. .…No
Recommended. .Yes
Comments: This combines with Prohibition Pig and Blackback or whatever to combine a trifecta of beer bars within a 200 feet radius in the main square of Waterbury. Less expensive and less trendy than Prohibition Pig. Food looked good, but not crazy. Staff not as on their game. Tap list was excellent, but it was skewed from Hill Farmstead’s Anniversary Event.

Here are some of the reasons I really like The Reservoir:
1) The Poutine appetizer is a pile of French fries on top of a delicious pool of gravy and is then topped with big gooey wads of cheese curds. Yum!
2) The spaghetti squash entrée looks like a plate full of pesto laden spaghetti. It is full of flavor with pine nuts, fresh feta and roasted tomatoes. It is so good you won’t know or even care that it’s a vegetarian dish.
3) The beer menu has a whole page of «big bottles», and you can get a flight of Vermont craft ales.
4) Our server was great! Dave was attentive and friendly but never got in our way.
5) The restaurant is just minutes away from the Ben & Jerry’s factory, which makes it a great stop for dinner before taking tour of ice cream bliss.
So much fun! So glad we went here!

My fiancé and I ate here twice during a 3-​day visit, we couldn’t stop going back.
I was pleasantly blown away by the personable and attentive service, AMAZING beer selection (Hill Farmstead, Heady, Lawson’s), and delicious food– I mean even the side salad was memorable.
I also appreciated that they had varying levels of flights (premium/​non-​premium) as we had a lot of beer to try and I wouldn’t get through it all drinking straight pints/​glass portions.
They have a cool outdoor section as well, with live music on Sundays and full-​size Jenga.
Can’t wait to visit again!

I was staying in the area for the Mad Marathon. I came here to check it out based on the recommendation of a Waterbury resident. I enjoyed the beers and burger on Saturday that I came back here on Sunday after running the marathon. I sat at the bar on both days. The bartenders were all great. There was even live music on Sunday. They have great burgers and a pretty big beer selection.
*Simple Roots Pale Ale*
The bartender suggested this beer. It was a local Burlington brew from a brewery that was run out of a garage. Not bad!
*Alchemist Heady Topper*
I’ve heard nothing but great things and praises about this beer. It comes in a can and it was as good as it’s been touted. I’m not a big fan of IPA’s, but this double IPA might change my mind. It helps to drink one of the best!
*Alchemist Focal Banger*
While the Heady Topper is the must-​drink beer while in Vermont, the Focal Banger shouldn’t be overlooked! While not as strong as the Heady Topper, this was a good IPA. Again, I’m not a big fan of IPA’s, but I feel that’s because I have been drinking some bad ones back home.
*½ lb Vermont Burger with pepper jack cheese*
This was a very good tasty juicy burger with simple ingredients, leaf lettuce and onion. I added the pepper jack cheese. Easily one of the best burgers that I’ve eaten. It came with fries and a pickle.
*Firehouse Burger*
This was a hearty burger with fried jalapeños & pickles, sweet chili mayo, bacon, Cabot pepper jack, and arugula. It had a little kick to it, but wasn’t too spicy. Another good burger!
I would not hesitate to come here again if I’m ever in the Waterbury area! I would like to check out the rest of their menu.

Always the pinnacle of local fresh food. we enjoy every dish know if it supports local farms.
The chicken fingers are the best ever. Local pulled pork, all tasty.
It’s still five stars although they got rid of my favorite slaw to put on my pulled pork and the onion strings.
Seriously, go there. It’s worth every penny.

My full heart is and will always be with The Rez. I promise I am not related to or affiliated with the restaurant, though it is like my own personal Cheers! Everyone knows my name or calls me RockStar lol
This past visit was as insanely good as every other time has been– I got lucky and caught them during the very short Fiddlehead’s season!!!

You know how sometimes you watch food Porn reality tv shows all slack jawed & drooling on the couch? Now imagine you could stand up & step through the TV & just bathe in it. That is how it feels to eat here. They have over 17 beers on tap rated above a 90 on beer advocate. That’s just the tap. My girlfriend called dibs on the Misty Knoll Farm Fried Chicken Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Shed Mountain Ale Gravy, Biscuit, Coleslaw. This may have driven an irreparable wedge in our relationship. Until I tried the Flat Iron Steak & Shrimp. Then we kissed & made up.

AMAZING.
We went here last night after arriving (starving) at our hotel.
We had a short wait and decided on grabbing a drink at the bar. The bartender explained all of the Vermont beers on tap and how you can get a sampler of Vermont beers – awesome! We were then seated by the hostess.
I immediately decided on the «rezetarian burger» with a side of poutine. Our food came out promptly by the very polite food runner. I can’t even explain to you how amazing this was. I’m hoping it wasn’t just because I was starving, either. This burger was like a flavor explosion in my mouth. It was a white bean, basmati rice, tofu veggie patty that was soft and moist, but crisp on the edges. The fries were sensational as well – crispy with hot gravy and savory cheese curds.
My boyfriend had the chicken burrito and it was HUGE and came with a delicious hot sauce.
Our server was nice, but she seemed very uninterested in her job… I didn’t care because our food was so amazing.

Really, REALLY tasty. We weren’t sure what to expect but the menu posted outside looked promising so we have it a shot and were glad we did. Beer menu gets two BIG thumbs up — very diverse selection of brews. For dinner, hubby had the mac and cheese (which was the best we’ve ever tried) and sliders on special. I had the firehouse burger which was creative and flavorful. The service was friendly and prompt and the décor was rustic and casual — more along the lines of upscale bar but it was still family-​friendly. Highly recommend if you are looking for dinner or drinks!

I was surprised to find a place like this in small town Waterbury but it was recommended to us by a local. A nice dive bar feeling with a great beer list. I tried the Trapp Family Lodge Oktoberfest. Fell so in love with this beer but heartbroken when I found out the brewery doesn’t bottle it. I had the lamb burger with that resembled a gyro. It was fantastic.
The downside to our meal was when our desserts were brought out. We ordered the bread pudding which was great but we had another dessert that was like crepes with nutella in it. We found massive chunks of foil paper from the nutella jar inside the crêpe. Management came over and profusely apologized for it. They handled the situation very well.
As I mentioned what really stuck out to me was their local beer selection on the menu. They had such a wide variety to choose from you can’t go wrong.

A great place for a midday lunch as there is seating outside.
The menu only offers flights of VT beers, which is slightly confusing. Still, the draft list was incredible and I ordered a Hill Farmstead Walden, a hoppy blonde ale.
For starters, the poutine was very good, although I do recommend getting an egg on it.
The Smoked Salmon PLT well made, although I recommend an upgrade to creamy mac n’ cheese or thin and light onion rings.
The service was impeccable. The space was quite large.

The Reservoir is ¹⁄₃ of the reason why I wished I live in Waterbury. If their amazing beer selection (including the VT trifecta of Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, and Lawson’s Finest Liquids on tap) isn’t enough to chide you over, the fact that all the ingredients used in this establishment are fresh and bought locally from farmers and merchants in the Green Mountain State should be able to assuage any non-​beer enthusiast to this restaurant as well.
I ordered the Shed Burger and asked my server how else I could make my burger a little more Vermontoise. She then pointed out that despite the fact that they have a burger named the ½lb Vermont Burger, the Shed Burger is probably as VT as it gets: The beef is from grass-​fed Vermont-​raised cows, which is flavored with Shed Brewing Company’s Mountain Ale; sitting atop the beef patty is molten cheddar cheese from Cabot Creamery down the street; the leaf lettuce, onion, and pickles are all local-​farm produced and picked; the English Muffin was apparently the way this burger was originally served by the chef at Shed Brewing Co.‘s Brewpub (also made locally); and to top it off, she told me I could even go a step further and add Vermont Smoke & Cure Bacon for good measure.
I am proud to say that I have tasted Vermont at the Reservoir and it is delicious. The slogan on their website says it all — Fresh Eats, Craft Beer. If eating an affordable world-​class meal paired with some of the best brews America has to offer is your thing, then the Reservoir will definitely not disappoint. If good food and good beer isn’t quite your thing, then you might as well go jump off a cliff because it appears that you hate life.