The princess and I had a makeshift dinner here and it was a great experience. We initially started outside and then made a last minute decision to get brews, pub grub, and play pool. It was a Monday, so wasn't overwhelmingly busy, and service was spot on. Chorizo and clams, nachos, a big salad, and some local beers made it a great night.
 Our server made sure we were set and always hydrated. Bill wasn't bad, especially given some of the pricing in the area.
 Great Barn-ish decor.
The Rusty Nail was gracious enough to host our large group of 30+ people, but that's where the hospitality stopped. After pre-paying, with an included 20% gratuity I might add, there was no service other than putting out our buffet food. When water or plates were needed, not a single server was to be found. When our group leader asked for plates a second time he was responded to quite rudely.
Good job Rusty Nail. Not only did you lose 30+ customers, but now all those people will spread the word. I hope the quick buck was worth it.
Cheap Vermont beer and wings. Really awesome wings. They have buffalo & BBQ wing sauce. Very unique. This place is under rated I would say. Our waitress provided great service. The only thing was they didn't have a lot of a selection on the menu. Would definitely stop by again if I'm ever in Stowe again.
Review Source:Summary: awful, awful service (from everyone there) and mediocre bar food at best.
I'm guessing this place can hold about 500 people, and that there were about 200 people when we arrived on Friday 7pm (3/2/2012). The hostess seemed perplexed and upset that we arrived. (I don't think this had anything to do with our party of five, but instead, she just seemed like she couldn't figure out how to handle people walking into their restaurant.)
She then told us we had to wait for a table, even though she on the phone five minutes earlier told us no wait, and even though we could see half of the tables were empty. She warned us that the kitchen would be slow tonight.
The waitress showed up to our table 10 minutes later.
Appetizers (including something as simple as popcorn) took almost exactly 30 minutes from the time we ordered it, and the rest of our food (burgers, and a chicken BLT which came sans T) took exactly one hour.
While we didn't have high hopes, we were still pretty let down. To keep it short, nothing was as good as it sounded (my salad was actually a complete departure from what was listed) and they were out of two of the four drinks we ordered... Going into one of the busiest weekends of the season?! If you want to drink beer and listen to live music, maybe play some pool and meet the locals, I'm sure this is a great spot. But don't come for a delicious meal.... Don't let the menu fool you!
Review Source:Went for apres ski drinks and some apps on a Thurs. Judging by the other reviews and from how empty the place was, this place is more of an after dinner bar. We still thought it was a good for what we were looking for. The beers a little pricey but the food was really delicious. We had wings and duck fat fries with an amazing aioli dipping sauce (you must try this if you go). The service was extremely friendly and attentive. I'd recommend for a quieter atmosphere post skiing.
Review Source:I don't know what everybody is complaining about. Â Frankly, I don't care. Â This is a place to go if you are in Stowe and want to drink brooze and maybe catch a half ass'ed concert. Â Prices were a little high, but I can deal with it.
Crowd was strangely pleasant. Â Some old, some young, all having fun without being annoying.
Draft selection was pretty solid, covering anything you really could want. Â Switchbacks were $4.50, which is reasonable and I'm not complaining. Â There are alot of really overpriced, boring establishments to drink and eat at. Â I didn't have the food here, so I can speak to that.
But really, for god sake, just go skiing and come back here tonight and drink and stop micromanaging every last move in your life.
As a party of 7 with 3 kids during a busy vacation week in Stowe, we attempted to call ahead to put our name on the list for dinner, as this casual restaurant doesn't take reservations. We were told that they do not have a call ahead list, so we headed over with games in tow, anticipating a bit of a wait. Â Once we arrived, Lindsey the hostess asked us if we were on the list...we had tried but were told there wasnt one! Â Now the wait would be about 50 minutes. We kept the kids occupied for nearly an hour wait...fine. Â We could see large empty tables not being cleared. Finally the hostess came over to seat us in a booth. Once we were seated and ready to order for our tired hungry kids, another waitress Kate came over to ask us to get up...they had sat the wrong party! We were shocked at her request for us to give up our table and continue to wait...no apology was made. Â We pointed to another vacant table that needed to be cleared and suggested they seat the other party there, as our kids were fading fast. Obviously we were made to appear the difficult party, as the gentleman in the other party walked over to our table and said, "Thanks for taking our table...real nice." but he didn't stick around for a response. It would have been much more professional for Kate (who we later found out was the GM..surprising) or Lindsey to simply say to the waiting party, "We are sorry for the mixup...our mistake...here's a free round of appetizers/drinks on us". Â None of us appreciated being made to look like the bad guy and the target of a hostile customer. Â Aside from our very friendly and professional waiter John, the way the hostess and GM handled this situation...with tired, hungry, and patient kids was totally inappropriate.
Review Source:The nail is often a solid choice. Paying cover when I'm a local does make me a little crazy, but the bands on big nights bring in a good crowd. Bartenders are friendly and the prices are pretty much on par for Stowe.
The Nail has the best bones in Stowe, when it comes to bar, big space, nice big clean bathrooms, etc. The problem lays in that on a quieter night it just has to feel a bit empty, when that same crowd elsewhere would feel a bit more energized.
They've been getting a ton of attention for the food lately and I really need to get in for a real meal soon, but I had some AWESOME duck fat fries recently!
Fast, friendly service in the heart of Stowe. The food has vastly improved since I was there two years ago. Started up with the crab and artichoke dip and duck fat fries. Both were extremely decadent and delicious. Dove into a Ruben sandwich for the main event and was pleasantly surprised by the kimchee and sriracha mayo substitutions for traditional Ruben components. The outdoor seating was perfect backdrop for our late summer evening, dinner, and tasty cocktails.
Review Source:This place was terrible. Â The bartender couldn't have given a rat's behind about us and was bashing Boston with 2 other patrons who lived in MA. Â Hellllooooo, I live near Boston, dumbass....watch your mouth!
The beer selection is good, but the service was SLOW. Â We had about 2 drinks each in the span of 2 hours (I really wanted to leave, but the fiancee didn't want to).
They have live entertainment and the night we went, the guy who sang "St. Elmo's Fire" way back in the 80's was there. Â After he was finished with his first set, apparently the manager told him not to bother to come back. Â Was that rude or am I missing something??
I'm giving it 1 star only because it had air hockey upstairs, otherwise I would have given it 0 stars if possible.
I think I was lucky, when I went there it wasn't "night club" time, rather 5 or so. Sat at the bar and tried out the local beers and had a light meal. The atmosphere was just like any other dive bar I call home meets chain restaurant. I'm pretty sure its the only Rusty Nail around, yet it felt like I was at one of those Ground Round/Ruby Tuesday places.
As others have complained it did take a while to get the food, a little long I think since the place was empty and mostly just locals drinking. I believe I was the only person there eating at the time. When it came to more alcohol, they were very attentive to getting us more beer before the current one was completly finished.
The manager? was very friendly talking to me and my lady which was nice since it was our first time in Stowe. I can see why Men's Journal gave this place the best ski bar, they pretty much only hire ski bunnies to work the bar, think of it like Hooters but you don't have matching uniforms.
I didn't go upstairs to the game room/club, so I can't review that but its not my style anyway. I'd go back for beers since they are open late when the town likes to close down around 6pm, but its not my first choice.
Great place for a beer, but stay away from the food. The wait staff may or may not be good when you go, it is very hit and miss. They used to have a good menu and have many local offerings but not so much anymore. Your food will most likely be topped with a stale crostini that you would think was made of cardboard (it is intended to be some type of crouton/bread product). The food was overcooked in my case and the cesear salad was soggy and likely several days old if the wilted, brown lettuce was any indication. The waitress waited more than 20 Â minutes before checking on our table even though the restaurant and bar were empty.
Review Source:After getting back from a whack jazz show in Montpelier, we decided to bring our boozy belligerence into overdrive at the Rusty Nail.
A $10 cover is pretty fucked up in LA. Â In Stowe it borders on criminal. Â We were drunk enough not to care and after talking to these NY city slickers on the front porch over a Camel Crush, Josh, my bro and me headed into the bar.
The soundsystem was thumping. Â The cover band "last kid picked" was solid. Â They covered Sublime, Green Day, Nirvana, basically everything that I listed to when I was 15, which added to the nostalgia of being back in Vermont for the first time since high school.
We slammed back tequila shots, jagaermeister shots and pints of local beer and found some girls on the dance floor.  I say this without ego, but me and my brother were easily the best dancers in the 100 person sea of  awkwardly-rhythmed honkies.  It didn't take tooooo long for a coupla otherwise spoken-for chicas to start grinding up on us.  And it was only a few minutes later that we got the first angry boyfriend threatening us....red face....spittle flying.
"Dude. Â We're just dancing." Â I said. Â "Don't blame me if you can't keep your lady in check."
See, that's my solution to a problem.
My brother has a different style. Â He laid out three kids before the bouncers got involved. Â He was about to tangle with the bouncers. Â But one of 'em was built like a cast iron safe door, and I delicately defused the situation.
So, in the end no one got laid and we went back to our A-Frame cabin with Stowe Mountain views with nothing but testosterone. Â
Oh well. Â I'll def. go back to the Nail, but next time with a different wingman.
One star for the pleasant lunch I enjoyed here one sunny afternoon in October 2006.
One star for the decentness of the food that day.
One star for the fact that if I was looking for a lively night scene to hobnob with ski bunnies and horny local guys, this is where I'd go.
But that's not what I'm looking for, so that's as far as I can go. I think I got lucky because i didn't go here at night, during which time I can just tell it's a rowdy, noisy scene.
If you're looking for a quieter place that's open later than most restaurants in the area, try the excellent Pie in the Sky down the street. But for an al fresco lunch it's good.
The Good:
 :: it's got alcohol
 :: big parking lot
 :: outdoor seating
The Bad:
 :: everything else. the crowd. the choders. not a place i'd recommend if you are younger than 45-50.
The Ugly:
 :: the insane volume of the music. on top of that, they turned it LOUDER. oh wow. i guess The Old need to hear that crazy Van Morrison song on super loud, since it's probably not trendy to wear your hearing aid out in public
 :: the 55-60 year old choder with a popped collar. nuff said.
Would I go back? No. How about a big hell no. Try Matterhorn instead.
Rusty Nail, a perfect name for a bar/nightclub. About two miles or so on the Stowe access road, you will see Rusty Nail on your right-hand side, just past a Japanese Hibachi restaurant. Don't drive too fast as the area is pretty dark or you might miss the turn to pull into the parking lot. If it wasn't for the Rusty Nail sign, you might just past this place as you won't really be able to see the crowds or hear the loud music from the road.
During the winters, Rusty Nail is known for it's beautiful and majestic ice bar that is located outside on the porch area. Walk upstairs and have your ID ready as there is usually a bouncer to check your age. Inside, there is a large dance floor, about 20'x20'. Surrounding the dance floor, there are about 15 tables to sit at for those looking to eat a meal. I found the seating a little lacking, and they could definitely throw some more tables in for people wishing to dine in. There is also a rectangular full bar area, with about 5-7 stools on each side. Most top shelf liquors can be found here as well as about 20-25 beers on tap, the majority being local Vermont brews. Food is also served here, the typical bar food ranging from burgers, chicken, fish, and appetizers.
I definitely love coming to this bar after a day of riding at Stowe Mountain for some wings and a few beers. For those wanting a relaxing bar to hang out at, avoid coming at later hours, as sometimes this place turns into a nightclub with very loud music.
Though I didn't experience the night club aspect of the Rusty Nail, I can definitely vouch for the restaurant. Â First of all, this place is huge-- there are a couple of different bar areas, and a separate dining room section with a fireplace. Â The decor is what you'd expect-- VT license plates, Original Sin snowboard decks, etc. Â It's cozy for such a huge room, and exudes a vibe of fun...even before the dancing gets going. Â There's a huge dance floor area for that, by the way.
We were seated in the dining room area, right by the fire. Â We were starving, so we immediately ordered blue cheese steak tips that our sweet waitress highly recommended. Â They were definitely yummy, if a bit heavy. Â Wanting to stick to lighter fare after that, I went with their Ahi tuna. Â Yeah...it's VT. Â Probably not the wisest choice, but it turned out to be really great-- rare with edges seared to perfection, almost caramelized...even if it probably started out as a frozen slab of fish, this far from the sea. Â My man got the blue cheese burger and was very happy with its greasy goodness.
We stuck to Hoegaarden on tap and it was delicious as always. Â Our meal was slow and leisurely, and we finished it up with a Maple Creme Brulee which was really great. Â We'll definitely come back when we're in the area tearin' it up on the slopes!
Men's Journal called this bar the "best ski bar in the country." Maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but going here is the best part of a day spent skiing at Stowe. The place itself is huge, and it's a great venue for live music. The beer selection is pretty typical of a Vermont bar, and the mixed drinks are creative. The food is a little pricey for a place that is much more bar than restaurant, but it's pretty damn good.
Some tips: If it's crowded, you should bundle up and head outside for a drink at the ice bar during the winter (did someone say ice luge?), or head upstairs to play some air hockey.
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