This place blows. And unfortunately, due to my regional constraints and the proximity of this place to the college, I'm sure I'll be stuck going here occasionally with colleagues. Here's why it stinks:
1) It's expensive. For what you get, it's easily $3-4 more expensive per entree than what it's worth. No salad with chicken is worth $16. Beers are equivalently priced for the region, mixed drinks and top-shelf are expensive.
2) The waitstaff is generally pretty poor. Even when this place is absolutely not busy, they are super slow and inattentive. I waited 45 min for a salad. Let me say that again, I waited 45 min for a salad. If it's the cooks, fine. But at least acknowledge that you hosed my lunch hour.
3) This place has all the charm of a Chili's without the chili pepper motif. There is literally nothing in the bar that makes you think that they thought about design or comfort of anyone. Save for a hockey stick and a football jersey, this place has no defining features beyond the ubiquitous flat screen TVs. Go Ephs. Go elsewhere.
4) On busy nights, not enough bartenders, and they don't know how to mix drinks. Beers are fine.
On the good side (this is what grudgingly earned them my 2 stars):
1) The food is ok, I'd say that some of it ironically is better than Hops and Vines down the road. The Cuban is particularly good.
2) The patio is nice in the summer.
Here are things you could do other than eat here: 1) Go to public in north adams, they have some issues but it's easily 30% cheaper and the food is equivalent or better 2) Have a drink at Mezze, and they have summer bar menu usually  3) Go across the street to the liquor store, buy a 6 pack and find absolutely anywhere else on campus to have said drink with friends. Papa Charlies is also a good alternative, sans liquor.
Tucked back from the main street, the Purple Pub a pretty typical pub-ing place for local pupils to partake in a pint. Â A bit of a loud space, but the bar is massive and there is plenty of seating for in-cohesive conversing or (more likely) watching the game on the gigantic flat screen behind the bar.
Our Saturday evening visit included: an impressive wait to be noticed by the moody bartendress, crowd-gauking at the televised basketball dunkathon, more raised eye browing from our o-so-patient bartendress, and then (around 10pm) local music provided at a head-splitting volume (clearly turned up to 11, Nigel would have been pleased). Â The musician was talented, but almost too loud to listen to (dude, go to an open mic venue where you'll be appreciated, not this bro-hole).
If you're looking for a place to get plastered and perform the parking lot pukey prance then PP might just be perfect. Â Drink up, underclassmen (you're going to need it for your reality check in the morning). Â On the bright side, drafts were about $5 each (pennies!).
I remember this place used to be elsewhere on Spring Street growing up and had never been. Â My friend raved about the mussels, and I had heard about the beer list, so that brought us through the door. Â
Atmosphere: Nice looking bar. Modern with large windows/doors that open to patio seating. Very chill until the live music started. We found it loud and departed shortly after the college crew arrived. I had forgotten that I was in Williamstown. Â Way too many khakis and blazers w/ emblems for my taste! Â
Service: Â Great! Â Our server used to be the Chef and he was great! Â He asked another server for my beer questions, but that is cool. Â
Food: They had various burgers that looked good, but we stuck with apps. Â Mussles were amazing in an awesome white wine cream sauce. Â I actually DID drink what was not sopped up by the extra bread which we ordered. Â My friend commented that the portion was smaller than it used to be. It was actually a little light for two persons. Our waiter confirmed our suspicion. I wonder if the price dropped accordingly? Â Ultimate (I think) nachos. the ones with chicken and deep fried jalapenos! Â Tasty.
Beer: Nice selection of locals. Two BBC beers and one from Pittsfield, MA as well. Should have started and stuck with my last beer (BBC Coffee Porter). Â Very smooth and something that I will surely remember!
Verdict: I would certainly be back. Â VERY respectable beer list which is HUGE for me. Â They could ditch the PBR and Budweiser Light (yes, they spelled it out), but I understand the need for a few of these.
I only had a beer here, but the food at least looked good. It took the bartender about five minutes to stop chatting with her friends to finally notice that we had been sitting at the bar for that long. Four big TVs all with a different game on, and the sound on only on the Patriots game. I am not necessarily a fan of bars turning up music instead of the commentary, but also I can understand not everyone wants to listen to all of that talk. A nice atmosphere.
Review Source:There aren't many options in town so you really want this place to be good. Â But it's not. Â It's really not. Â Oh, the sweet potato fries are nice. Â And the burgers are tasty. Â But the service is piss poor. Â Hostess is never around and it can take 20 minutes before a server can be bothered to give a menu, let alone come back and take an order. Â And it's not just once. Â It's every single time. Â And they don't know much about the menu or the drinks. Â (I once asked the bar tender what their local IPA was like, to which she replied "I don't know. It tastes like an IPA" and walked away.) Â It's like they're trying to be ruthlessly inefficient and generally unpleasant. Â But they will always be packed because there's no competition (and to be fair, they are probably a bit burned out on waiting tables from years of waiting on crowds of college students all the time). Â And so it goes.
Review Source:I had lunch there (May 2012) with my wife and both of our meals were excellent. I got the gazpacho soup which was tasty and prepared so nicely with finely chopped vegetables. Â The wait staff was also very helpful and enjoyable us and showed they cared about our service. Â Overall, excellent place we will return when we visit the area which is about once a month.
Review Source:Delicious burgers. Terrible Service.
On one particular night (5 dollar burger night every thursday!) we had to wait about 20 minutes just to order, and our burgers didn't come out for about another 1 and 15 minutes. I was famished by then!
The burgers are fantastic though- large, but fantastic. The Williams burger is a perfect blend of a well done burger and interesting flavors: garlic aioli sauce, avocado, etc.
Though, a caveat should be mentioned to the 5 dollar burger night deal: that's only for the most basic burger: if you add anything, they start ticking up the price.
Oops!
We attempted to visit The Purple Pub on a wednesday afternoon for LUNCH... and it was clear: They were understaffed, poorly prepared, and not interested in our business.
We took a table, and waited 7-10 minutes... In that timeframe, another couple sat down at the table next to us, after which the waitress greeted them, took their drink orders, and SERVED their drinks, all before we were even ACKNOWLEDGED...
Yeah, that's grounds for picking up our things and leaving. What a joke... good luck staying in business with that level of service...
We LOVE the Purple Pub for their delicious and crispy wings. Â In the past we have received poor service, but the last several times we went the service has been great. Â We've sat at both the bar and the high top tables, and the service was equally good. Â Perhaps because we've become "regulars"? Â Not sure...
The taste of the spicy wings (sweet, spicy, crisp) are my fav. Â I've also had a burger there, which I enjoyed, as well as the supreme nachos, which were yummy (although my fiance complained about the underneath chips lacking toppings, but I find that's a problem where ever one orders nachos).
One thing I would love to change about the plate is the "dining room" seating area. When seated in this section (which is really just a part of the restaurant sectioned off by a high wall), one cannot see the televisions, nor feel as though they are a part of the fun pub atmosphere. Â I've seen people come to eat and leave when the only seating options were in this section, and I've felt the same way. Â I think the Purple Pub would do themselves a service by removing the wall and making the "dining room" a part of the actual restaurant. Â No one likes sitting in the corner at a fun pub and feeling removed from the action. :(
Great food, could use some layout improvements, but a fun atmosphere and attractive decor with a warm fireplace.
Since there are only two bars in town, this one wins the battle and gets the 4 stars. Â Go on Thursday Wednesday or Thursday nights for $5 burgers and they are actually pretty good.
Also if you are looking for a place that is not just college kids, this place has a lot of locals and faculty.
Sit at the bar, otherwise you might not get service, although the Owner is really friendly and helpful
We stopped here after visiting the Williamstown College Art Museum with friends (The museum is well worth a visit BTW, and FREE as well.)
The food was reasonably priced with a nice varied menu. Our party had the reuben ($12), a salmon BLT ($12) a Mediterranean salad ($17) and a cheeseburger ($11).
Although a number of reviewers have complained about deathly slow service, our service was fine throughout the meal.
Everything was fresh and very good tasting and the fries were excellent.
They have a decent selection of beers (~$5 bottles, $6 tap).
As long as the service holds out, it's worth a visit.
As a Williams College graduate, I was skeptical when I saw the new incarnation of the Purple Pub. Â The previous version burned down about a year ago and it is missed by Williams alumni despite that it was a bit of a dive bar. Â I tended bar and check IDs at the door which was one of my college highlights.
The new Pub is tucked off the main drag of Spring Street like before but the decor is sleek, modern and features a gas fireplace. Â It also much roomier.
Food was an improvement versus the old days. Â However, the bar is set pretty low as the old menu was basically beer, booze, sandwiches and chips served at noon. Â It was known as "Pub Lunch" back then.
My lunch choices were simple, a bowl of chicken tortilla soup and nachos. Â Both were high quality and tasty. Â The other party at my table had a lunch salad that she enjoyed.
Service was very attentive.
So the Purple Pub has recently been reopened in Williamstown, on Spring Street, after being closed since a fire in 2007. This was my first visit here and they definitely have some kinks to work out. This review is mostly about the food and service.
First of all, there's no host or hostess despite the fact that the place was pretty packed when I arrived there with a group of 4 on a Saturday night. We were told that we would have to swoop down upon a table as soon as a group left. Luckily for us, we didn't have to wait too long but you'd think that the place would be more organized considering it had opened about 3 weeks before.
We were told the food may be slow coming out which was fine. We ordered the buffalo wings and a veggie chili as appetizers (they had already run out of the corn chowder, turkey chili and one of the beers on tap although it was only around 7pm). Â The buffalo wings were pretty good with a nice chunky bleu cheese dressing. The chili needed more salt and some cheese would've been very welcome.
The bf and I ordered the same thing, The Williams burger which came with avocado, sprouts, shredded lettuce, cheese, and bacon. My sister ordered The Boss which was supposed to be pulled pork on top of a burger patty with jalapenos, onions, and pepperjack cheese. Here's where the service really messed up. First, they overcooked one of the burgers slightly which wasn't a big deal. But my sister, instead of receiving what she ordered, received a double cheeseburger with two huge patties of meat. She brought this to the attention of the waitress who went back to talk to the kitchen then told us that they had given the kitchen old menus and that the manager would bring a side of the pulled pork. After waiting another ten minutes, she comes back again and repeats that the manager will bring the pulled pork, "Do you still want it?" YES. The manager comes over with a little dish of pork after several more minutes (which wasn't very well seasoned or sauced at all) and tells us about the menu switch again. Then leaves.
Well, I've worked at several restaurants before and they did a couple of things wrong. They gave my sister the wrong order without even trying to give her the right one; pulled pork on the side does not equate to the same burger especially since the condiments and veggies on it were different. Because it was their mistake, most restaurants would comp it. The Purple Pub did not. And even without the mistakes, the food wasn't all that great. The ratio of their burgers were off because there was just so much burger compared to the meager veggies and the few avocado slices weren't very fresh. I had heard that the food was good and the service clunky but I have to admit that I was very disappointed.
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