John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

Ok, so a brewery review definitely has to mention the beers, but I'm not a huge beer fan. Having said so, I really liked the John Harvard's Pale Ale and the Pumpkin Spice Beers. I'm more of a cocktail person. So all I want is a glass of eye candy and a good munching, and I wasn't disappointed. The service was quick, our waiter was polite and patient and answered all our questions with a smile. The food was delicious; we tried almost everything on the starters menu. I would give the highest recommendation to popcorn shrimp and the chicken skewers. Its a great place to hang with friends and go in groups because the food is really heavy!! Would love to visit again soon!

They have a nice selection of beers brewed in house. You can see the equipment on the way to the restroom (BONUS!) Decent menu, knowledgable bartenders. Trivia Nights on Wednesday.

***Great Place for Food and Beer and HAPPY HOUR***

In four words, the Stony Brook bar scene is "Harvard's and the Bench."

Harvard's serves essentially slightly upper-scale bar food and their own brews, showcasing their brewing machinery with a big glass wall adjacent to the dining room. On the whole, it's much less "undergrady" and imo much nicer than the Bench.

While Harvard's is a pretty safe spot to grab a decent dinner, I mainly come here for Happy Hour (before 7pm, after 10pm). Happy Hour entails $3 beers and half-off appetizers, and can effectively be made into dinner (although I usually come here after 10pm and go to PJs for 3-6p happy hour on Fridays).

The chicken nachos here are AMAZING, especially after a beer or two. You get a good hunk of guac, the chicken is actually really tasty, the cheese is melted perfectly and the chips hold strong for all the food that is piled on top of them. The bowl they are served on comes out steaming hot since I think they cook them right in there. Definitely some of the better wings and fries I've had at a bar. Quesadillas are also pretty good although probably not as much bang for the buck as the nachos. I found the spinach and artichoke dip with pita bread was good but much less food for the price than other appetizers (still not bad at half off though!)

As many of the other reviewers me have mentioned, the Pumpkin Spice Ale is terrific, the only problem being it's only served around the fall. Harvard's changes up their beers pretty regularly (every month or so), which in a way makes it frustrating if you find one you really like and it disappears, but it always means there is variety. There have a been a couple that I thought were mediocre but the majority are unique and better than the $3 blue moon I would otherwise be getting at another happy hour. You can also get a sampler to try 5 for $7.

VERDICT: Solid 4-4.5 stars. The lack of bars in Stony Brook makes me very glad this place exists. Great for happy hour (esp grad students and 20s-30s crowd), good for dinner (esp families after SH malling). GET THE NACHOS!

(99 Yelp reviews for a Suffolk County establishment??? It must be wildly popular!!!)