I was in New Haven for a wedding a couple months ago. My buddy and I wanted to go out for a drink before we go back to the hotel. We just typed in "bar" on yelp to see what was closest. Christopher Martins. We didn't even bother reading the reviews, we just wanted a drink. We walk in; one shaved-head buffed up barback, a woman working the bar, and one younger drunk man that we soon find out to be a regular. My buddy and I order our drinks and have a normal conversation. Since there only five people in the bar I can't help but hear this regular (who is screaming) tell the beefy barback all about how he hooked up with some passed out chick and stole the contents of her purse. The two had a great laugh about the whole thing. This was off-putting, but whatever, I'm adult, I'm very well aware that there are scumbags in the world. I try to ignore this man's disgusting story and keep talking to my buddy. We're talking about baseball. My buddy is a mets fan. Suddenly, the drunk regular chimes in: "The fucking Mets! The Mets are fucking losers. What a joke team!" Oh, rad. I'm down to have a sports conversation. I start talking about team facts and why I think the Mets have a chance and ask him what he thinks the problem with the Mets are. "WELL. THE METS FUCKING SUCK. THAT TEAM IS FOR LOSERS." At this point I figure that this might be a bit and he is joking, so I again ask him to elaborate hoping to start up the sports-convo. "LOSER TEAM FOR FUCKING QUEERS." Clearly this guy does not want to start a conversation. I list a couple facts in defense of the Mets and then tell him that if he doesn't wanna talk about it I guess there's nothing else to say. Again: "YEAH BUT, THE METS SUCK. LOSER TEAM FOR FUCKING QUEERS." The female bartender is in the backroom at this point so she doesn't know what's going on. However, the shaved head bulky barback is having a ball at all this. So I ignore him and my buddy and I try to resume our conversation. Drunk regular interrupts us again. "WHAT ARE YOU A FUCKING KIKE? YOU FUCKING JEWS LOVE THE METS, RIGHT?" The barback, is again, laughing his god damn brains out at this. Now, I'm not Jewish, neither is my buddy, but nonetheless, I have absolutely ZERO tolerance for any type of racism or anti-semite behavior. I say this to the drunken regular: "You shouldn't talk that way." His response: "TYPICAL JEWISH SHIT. THE METS SUCK." I've had it with this guy. I ask him if he wants to take it outside. This is well deserved in my opinion. This man is a horrible racist. At this point the shaved-headed beefy barback (who is also slightly-brown, I say this because I want to make it clear to people who it was) yells "OKAY. GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" To my buddy and I, who, were we Jewish, would be victims of a hate-crime. The drunken regular yells "FUCK YOU FAGGOTS THIS IS OUR BAR GO BACK TO FUCKING AUSCHWITZ!" and then the barback yells "YEAH GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE FAGGOTS!" We leave, and even 50 feet from the door we could hear the rapist drunken regular and his buff barback buddy yell homophobic slurs.
The female bartender was in the back the entire time and had nothing to do with the situation. Also, initially we really liked the feel of the place and were going to take the entire wedding party there for drinks the next day. We went to Anna Liffeys instead and had a great time thanks to the lack of racism and homophobia.
I'm not sure if this place is struggling or not. However, there was only one patron on a Saturday night at midnight. So I'm going to assume it is. If there is a manager reading this and you're wondering what's going wrong, it's your shaved head, slightly-brown, beefed up barback.
I'm not looking for drink tickets. I have no bias whatsoever. Look at my yelp account, I live in Los Angeles and will never be in New Haven again. I just feel the need to stand up against racism and homophobia. I hope the manager deals with this situation not only for the sake of his bar, but for the sake of decency as well.
Great food with excellent bartenders, definitely easy to become a "regular" fast! Â
   Chicken Parm is a must (w/ extra sauce on the side), pulled pork burrito, turkey club (in house roasted, no slimy deli meat here), and southern wings w/ chipotle ranch are all delicious. Oh and don't forget the French Onion soup-a 10!!  You can switch breads and sides with all sandwiches (veggies, soup, addicting fries, onion rings, salad) and the more formal menu offers Italian/American fare with LOCAL produce/ingredients.  Outdoor seating is available both on the bar side and 2-3 tables on the more formal dining side.
    Complete bar with good tap selection; 2 large flat screen TV's on the bar side; good happy hour, always with something tasty from the kitchen; reasonably priced.  Always willing to accommodate my "particularities" with my order, ask for what you want and you should be able to get it.
The beer is cold but the service can be colder; bartender John spent time talking with his friends at one end of the bar and then got mad when we pointed to our emptey glasses. He seemed to think he was doing us a favor by gettting us a new round. Brick burger is tasty and curly fries are good but John(?) is not the most attentive or friendly barkeep
Review Source:I used to live upstairs above the "bandstand" Â went back the other day for the first time in a long time. Â I had the "brick" which was a loaded burger. It was good my Meal for the day. Â Beers were good but expensive conversation with customers and the bar tender was good as I remember.
Review Source:A good place for a burger!
If that sounds like weak praise, it ISN't. A good burger is hard to find.
Have eaten here (dined is a bit grand of a word) in the bar side three times. Usually a burger, because it's fast and consistently good and well priced and BIG...
Have NOT been in the dining room side for formal meals, but it wouldn't occur to me to do that, since Martin's is, in my opinion at least, mostly a great place to meet people before going out on the town. Grab a beer, split a burger, chat and then suck it in to look fashionable somewhere else.
Its a bar, it has a great unpretentious bar scene with dedicated bar habitues and the bar food is good, but don't confuse it as a gourmet foodie temple, like Red or Miso or Oaxaca Kitchen, but don't expect to pay those kinds of prices, either.
Good is GOOD! Well Done, Christopher Martin's!
A friend brought me here, claiming that this place is her "Cheers", and I fell in love with it right away. Â Why? Â They have Woodchuck on draft. Â Do you know how hard it is to come by Woodchuck in CT? Â The place is completely laid-back and unpretentious, which is exactly what a bar should be. Â It's a bar you can actually hold a conversation in without being drowned out by music. Â The staff were very friendly and attentive, too. Â If I still lived in the area, I'd probably frequent this place regularly.
Review Source:Not terribly offensive, not that great.
I REALLY wish this place was better since I live just around the corner, but Christopher Martin's is the kind of place that just barely arrives at *good enough*. The beers selection isn't that hot, the crowd ranges from fairly tame to fairly lame, but if you feel like watching the game there are worse options. This isn't the kind of place I would go expecting to meet someone interesting, but it isn't a bad option if you have a group of friends to bring there with you.
I've only been to the pub side, not the bistro. Their fries were fine, but beyond that I can't comment on the food.
I go here about once a month for the NACHOS. Â They are baked and it makes all the difference. Â The cheesey melts properly, not like that microwaved cheese wiz crap that other restaurants use. Â The pub food is fine .
The happy hour crowd is usually a quiet scene with a dozen or so people at the bar and free app's on the burners. Â Overall, great detour on the way home.
I've been to Christopher Martins Pub a few times in the past 12 months and always sat on the Pub side and had drinks and food from the Pub menu. There has not been one time when I did not have a good meal there. Its nothing mind blowing - just quality pub food. They are in a weird location and it is hard to find a parking spot though sometimes they do have valet for a few bucks. Recently I was there with 4 other people and had a great experience... much better than say Eli's. I had the mushroom Swiss cheeseburger and it was excellent. Everyone enjoyed his or her food. One specific note is that the waitress was probably one of the hardest working waitresses I have ever seen at a pub - she didn't skip a beat.
My friends and I go to this restaurant when we want some cold draft beer, lively crowd (though yes, sometimes too old) and food that doesn't taste like run of the mill pub food. Its comfort food and I recommend it for a Red Sox game or a good sandwich. Never been to the restaurant side however... so I can't speak for that half.
I can't believe nobody has reviewed this place yet. It's not even like it's that great, but almost everybody has been here at some point in time.
Besides the fact that it's a Red Sox bar, I dislike this place for many reasons. The crowd here is kind of older and boring. Now, I'm about to turn 30, so I'm not saying I'm a youngin', but this place is a snoozefest, even when it's busy.
The food here gives off the impression of being pretty good, but in reality it's your average bar food, ranging from above average to practically inedible (probably the worst chicken fingers I've ever eaten. I mean, seriously, you can't make good chicken fingers?!?).
Occasionally I'll go here just for the hell of it, but then after a beer or two I remember why I only come here once in a blue moon.
In reality, there's nothing horribly offensive about this place, hence the 3 stars, but there's nothing really redeeming about it either.
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