Croxley's Ale House & Eatery

I have eaten at Croxley's 3 times. 1st time for beers and wings with my buds at night. That seemed to be fairly decent as the beer selection is very extensive. Went back twice for Lunch. Lunch both times was a severe disappointment. I really would like to like this place, but the food was truly sub-par. Lunch mussels seemed to be already cooked, left-over and then reheated and barely warm. Really terrible. Lunch Burger was flavorless and dry. I could not eat it. That says a lot when you can't eat the burger. Lunch wings were under-cooked, very fatty, not crispy and cold. What must occur in the kitchen to be able to serve a deep-fried chicken wing cold, I wonder?  I like the venue, but I just can't go back. I hope the management reads this and makes changes as it could be a good spot if they do, as they have ALL the beers a fella could ask for......but I need to know that I can eat something too. Maybe it is only interested in the night-time business.

They say location is the most important thing in the business world, and nothing could be truer as Croxley's is just a five minute walk from my house.

If you're a guy who like beer, and you were told that this magical place with over 80 different kinds of beers would open a mere 5 minute walk from our house, wouldn't you be excited??  DUH...yeah!!

So I've been to Croxleys over a dozen times and had yet to review it.  For the purpose of my review, I've mainly only sat at the bar, having dinner at a table only once in my numerous visits.

First off, the bar layout is awesome.  I call it the double decker bar, as there are two sides at two different height levels.  Beer taps line both sides of the bar down the center and it is a beer lover's dream.  When a place has to give you a menu for the beers, much like a wine list, you know there are a lot of beers to choose from.  I've been there so many times but I have yet to sample everything.  I'll get there though.

The bartenders are a mix of guys and girls and my experiences have been nothing short of delightful.  They are friendly, knowledgeable about the beers, and if they don't know, they'll let you sample any beer you want.  

So if you love craft beers and Long Island beers, this is the place for you, hands down.  Now, lets talk about the food.

I love wings....however, the bone-in wings at Croxley's are a joke.  Another reviewer called them pigeon wings...that's being generous.  The bone-in wings suck..stay away from them.  Now on the other hand, the boneless wings are good....big chunks of chicken with many available sauces...you can also mix and match the sauces to make great combos.  If you catch it right, the deals on the wings are awesome....10 cents.  The burger....nothing to write home about, but good.  I did get one that was raw in the center....not medium, not medium rare, but totally raw.  Not good.  Shepard's Pie is excellent.  The Pretzel is excellent.  Meatballs are excellent.  Now, I haven't been there recently, but I think the menu has been slightly revamped with a few new choices.

This place tends to get real crowded on the weekends at night and it's loud.  There is a cool outdoor area, but most people use this to go out and smoke.  I hear talk of them setting up an outdoor bar, but I haven't seen that happen yet.

All in all, I think Croxley is an awesome addition to Smithtown and the Main St corridor.  If they can get some better bone-in wings, then I'd give this place five stars, but for now, no dice!

P.S.  I forgot to mention that they do have TVs everywhere and the NFL Sunday ticket for NFL games on Sundays.  They will usually accomodate any particular game, but they will mainly cater to Jets & Giants games.  Not EVERY game will be shown.

Been to 2 locations great beer selection but that's all. The staff are a little on the stuck up side. Always acting as if they are too busy. There was nobody in the Smithtown location when I had visited for wings. There sauce is nothing special and I left hungry because their wings are tiny. They have been asked to join the Long Island Buffalo Wing Festival in August but no response.  Get over yourself Croxleys because you have 5 locations doesn't make you Best Wings on Long Island and I seriously question anyone's tastebuds that think they are!