The food is really good for a pub that's in the middle of a less exciting neighborhood.
Thursdays are the best night, but the most crowded, when there's a regular live singer who plays guitar. If you like banging on tables to a tune and singing your favorite parts of the song, and being around friendly people, this is the place for you.
But it's crowded enough as it is so... stay away.
This is a solid, 3 1/2 star neighborhood place. Â The food is good, and shows some thought. Â The decor is terrific, but it's a little small and can be loud. Â It's a bar with food, but the food is better than that would normally indicate and the beer selection ain't too shabby either.
I had the Mission Burger with cheese and bacon and the fires with curry. Â The curry was fine, better than the James' Gate but not as good as the Green Briar. Â For a dollar, the cheese was a nice thick piece so that you could still taste it, but for the same cost of an additional dollar my extra crispy bacon was a single piece right out of the fryer. Â In the meantime, my wife's Prosciutto/Fig sauce/Gorgonzola pizza was very nice, and this coming from someone who hates gorgonzola.
In other words, the place has a few small flaws, and doesn't really break any new ground. Â But in the category of neighborhood beer bars that offer a good burger and bandy the world "Irish" about, it punches its weight plus a little extra.
Everything is tasty. The service is good and the bartenders friendly. I've done late lunch, early dinner, and brunch here. I'm sure there are plenty of busy times and I magically find the times when they're quiet. Which is how I like it.
Bloody Mary's are great-- not too spicy but still plenty of flavor. Great sandwiches, salad, soups and entrees. Haven't had a bad meal here! Super convenient to Brigham Circle/MassArt/Simmons.
lowkey spot. it was perfect for grabbing a drink after the MFA. good service, chill people. id gladly return for a casual night out with some friends, but  i wouldnt recommend it for a first date spot; too loud to hold a legit conversation (granted, i was there from 10pm-1am).
food:
- calamari was okay.
- curry fries. i definitely do NOT recommend it!! Â i LOVE curry. but curry fries??! i cant do it. its watery, odd flavored, and simply not meant to be.
+ mars bar toastie (irish mars bar, Belgian waffles, bananas, fresh cream and strawberries). YUM.
The beer list...oh the beer list. Â You have your staples on tap, and you have your Pretty Things that rotates along with the Sam's Seasonal brew. Â No matter what you can't go wrong! Lots of great choices on tap and in a bottle. Â
Now on to the food...I don't care what you get to eat as long as you get a side of the truffle fries. Â They are perfectly salty and tangy with the truffle oil and Parmesan cheese on top. Â You can smell them coming towards your table and your mouth will instantly begin to water!
After apartment hunting all day in Boston, we treated ourselves to a cozy dinner at the Squealing Pig. It's a small restaurant with a great atmosphere - and the beer menu is great. I ended up getting their special brewed beer which was quite tasty.
Since it was raining, I needed some comfort food which came in the form of their chicken, brie, tomato and pesto toastie with tomato soup. That meal really took me home, and it was made with quality ingredients. Ill definitely come back, especially because for their reasonable pricing.
went here for brunch....wish i stayed in bed. Â The eggs were burnt on arrival but I should be thankful when I saw how burnt they were on the bottem side. Â looked like a charcoal party compare to the top. Â Been here for dinner at its a 5 star, brunch is a 1 star. Â
My girlfriend kept thinking "dont they ever wonder why its empty here when they serve Brunch?" Â Guess not, they still serve burnt, low quality food. Â Also, all the food was terribly unseasoned. Â We had a kick out of pretending the intern was now the head chef.
The Squealing Pig is a good spot; friendly service, reasonable prices, and a great location (close to several graduate schools). The food is better than your average pub fare and the crowd isn't too loud.
A nice amenity is the ATM located in the back room, which will come in handy when you're in a group where too many people want to pay by card or for when the Squealing Pig's card reader is down.
Has potential, maybe I wasn't there on the right night. They had an Irish folk singer playing which was cool --but they had him set up poorly so it made it very awkward to move around the bar or even get to the bathroom. Service was also poor when I went, but like I said maybe it was just the night.
Review Source:I loved it here. Love the lighting & atmosphere/decoration, loved my little bottles of Lambic Framboise, loved the tuscan fries, loved the trivia (IDK how but this guy somehow condensed stump trivia into a much shorter timeframe, which I really liked. I hate when trivia takes like 4 hours- ain't nobody got time for that!). Â Also appreciate the hooks at the bar for purses.
It made me a little sad how quickly it emptied out after trivia- they turned the lights way down, the TVs off, and there were literally like 3 people left in there besides my friend and I. Was hoping the crowd would be a little more interactive, but there seemed like a lot of hipster elitists. Guess I'll have to stick to Flann O'briens if I want to talk to strangers! Still, will definitely be back here soon.
A little torn because I just went here with a friend after the screening of 2001 at the MFA, so needless to say, we were both feeling confused. I loved the place from the outside, it just snowed and was freezing and the Pig looked really comfortable and inviting. The outside decor was cute, very old travern. I loved the inside of the place as well! It was cute and spilt up to two different places with the bar right up front for all to see.
Now, I would really give this place 2 stars for food (not a fan) but 4 stars for the wonderful staff and selection of drinks (thus the 3). Anyway, I ordered the salmon sandwich and felt really underwhelmed. Again, I just saw 2001: Space Odessey so maybe I was still trying to process that? I'm not sure. But The sandwich wasn't that much to my liking and I also upgraded my fries (on the recommendation of my fellow yelpers) to the Tuscan truffle fries which were not to my liking (I found them to be uh, bland and just covered in cheese. Not really what I was expecting). However like I said, it just wasn't to our liking (my friend got the fish curry which she was not impressed with.). But alas (I also wasn't super hunger-- thus not telling my server about the food).
Anyway, service was great. Our waitress was nice and prompt and made good beer recommendations. On this I would be back! All the staff were super friendly and helpful! So in all, I would be back for a drink but would eat elsewhere.
this place will make you squeal with delight! I love the Squealing Pig! Reason # 1- they have framboise, my favorite. Second, the toasties. I get the ham, pineapple and bread and butter pickles toastie and it is so good! Yummy. The crowd (in my experiences) tends to be the Longwood crowd & young professionals. The place isn't very big and it gets really crowded so waiting space can be tough and you may wait awhile but it is worth it. Good atmosphere, good drinks, good food! Also the last time I went the waiter we had was great.
Review Source:I tried this out whilst on a business trip to Boston. It happened to be close to the hotel and my fellow yelpers had reviewed it favorably, thereby saving me from the alternatives that looked pretty naff.
First of all having dragged my colleague along with me, I was heartened when we approached and it looked so promising from the outside. It doesn't disappoint on the inside either, although I don't think is call it cozy, it does have atmosphere. The bar staff were great and the pub quiz which was in progress when we arrived, seemed to be pretty good fun.
We laid into sampling the beer options right off the bat and they were good, one thing I will say is that they lacked a good session beer. Perhaps if the Pig Swill had been in stock that would have filled the gap.
Now to the food. I was pretty hungry by the time we got to ordering so I totally over ordered. We had the curry fries - yummo. Then both my colleague and I had pizza. I had the spicy lamb, my colleague had the proscutio and fig. Both were great, the crust was light and crispy.
All in all thus was a hit, I got to go to one place whilst I was in Boston, and I'm not sorry it was this place. Give it a go when your in this party of town.
Nice bar, good food, great beer selection, slow service. I was amazed, after the waiter suggested bacon on the excellent hamburger, to find that meant exactly one single bacon strip on the large burger -- a bizarrely penny-pinching approach considering the prices.
So, great beer selection, nice atmosphere, but the first restaurant I've encountered in my life that can't spare two strips of bacon for a bacon cheeseburger.
I really like this place. I think the staff is very friendly and although it can be slow, it's usually because it's packed and I can understand that.
Their beer selection is awesome, and their food options pretty kick-ass. Went there with two friends today and thought the service was excellent.
This is one of my favorite restaurants in this neighborhood. I was looking for something different when I found this place (which was by web search since there's no way of just stumbling onto this place). This place is definitely all about comfort food. They have a huge menu of pizzas, apps, entrees and desserts. Definitely get the toastie! The toastie is a mars bar, belgian waffles, strawberries and cream. It's AMAZING!!!!! My mouth is watering just talking about it.
As for everything else, the mussels and wings are good and the "pig burger" (onions, cheese, and bacon) is perfect. Literally perfect.
go here!!!!!!!!!!
This place was no.... IS great! Ended up going here for lunch in between museums over in the Northeastern University section of Boston. When I looked it up on Yelp mobile I was surprised to read all the great food reviews. In an Irish pub? Really? Really.....
Got myself an awsome toastie. And the pizza they make in house looked fan-frickin-tastic. Then someone ordered an old fashioned. Then someone else got one. They looked tasty. Well I have had one in quite some time and I hear museums are really fun buzzed. Holy cow what great drink! What a great bar. Almost makes me wish I lived in Boston. Almost...... Go Yanks ;). I will definitely be hitting this place up the next time I hit Bean Town an I will hit full force. Food, drinks, the whole mess. That's a promise
A solid bar, with a good beer selection. It can get a bit crowded, but if you come for dinner you can expect great service. My favorite part are there dinner and drink specials. You can get some great deals.
Don't expect anything outstanding or gourmet, but they do what they are trying to do (pub and pub food) to exactly what you would expect in Boston, and even go a step further by offering a great deals.
Worth a stop in the area... and i've even gone out of my way once in a while when a groupon for the place popped up.
The fries here are tasty (home made, hand cut, crispy) and the atmosphere is good. It's generally pretty crowded when I go (usually after work). There always seem to be lots of postdocs from HMS, so if you're looking to score a Harvard man/woman (who you should encourage to go into industry and NOT academia, should the relationship last beyond curry fries and a pint), this is the place for you.
Prices are ok... Not super cheap, but you don't need to remortgage the condo either.
We used to go here for trivia which is not recommended... Not only is it slammed, but the tj doesn't enforce the no cell phones or only 6 players per team rule. This means that there are often teams of 11 postdocs with 11 iPhones. If you're a rule abiding trivia player, this is very annoying.
The back room is my favorite place to sit, especially in the winter when the fire is lit. It feels very english to me, and if I squint my eyes enough, I can almost pretend that I'm back at my local in the UK. Â
One other thing worth mentioning: A couple of years ago when I told one of the owners that I wished I could get a proper english easter egg. She was sweet enough to give me one that she had left over! Just for this, you should patronize this bar!
Love the Mars Bar Toastie, great fries, and good selection of beer. Recently renovated interior, wish they kept the cermic pig on the shelf, though, I loved that thing!
Thursday nights are the time to come, but grab a table by 10 to enjoy the entertainment!
A younger crowd, mostly students from surrounding colleges, but if you need an irish pub and enjoy vulgar folk songs, check it out!
This place is tucked away in the Longwood neighborhood, and was hard to find even though I had a GPS device leading me there. Â But once we got there, it was worth it. Â
Great burger, incredible curry fries. Â Wide beer selection, too.
It is a pub-style place that has a neighborhood feeling.
Some of my favorite calamari ever, and I love their toasties! Â Especially the fig, prosciut and gorgonzola. Â I'd recommend this place any day for drinking, eating or entertainment.
Thursday nights this place is packed, but that makes it all the more fun. Â Cheerful Irish music and a great beer on tap is a great day in Boston if you ask me.
This is in the running to be my favorite bar in Boston. So much so that it's worth taking the--shudder--green line and crossing the Charles River in the cold February wind. I suppose my only complaint might be the limited amount of tables--but this hasn't been a problem yet (sneak inside in time for happy hour!) and certainly adds to the charm.
The Tuscan truffle fries are the perfect accompaniment for a pint of one of the many excellent Belgian (and fancy! Chimay, LaChouffe, Delirium Tremens) beers or local brews offered on tap. And the fig, prosciutto, gorgonzola toastie was incredible. Must come back for the mars bar toastie.
What in the hell is going on with the thermostat in this place? Depending on where you are sitting you will be subjected to intermittent blasts of arctic air followed by nostril-cracking heat. I don't get it.
Regardless, it's a (sometimes excessively) cozy spot to grab a beer and some food. Now, everyone knows the Mars Bar toastie, I mean, it has it's own spot on the wall for chrissakes. But don't overlook the other sandwiches as well. Perhaps a step up over typical pub grub. Personally, I'm a sucker for the potato and salt mix memorialized in french fry form. Even with the best intentions, I usually find myself faced with a plate of curry fries and just a smidgeon of guilt. (I'll work it off at the gym I don't belong to!)
The service is not really friendly. In fact, the few times I have asked to sit at a certain table (to avoid the aforementioned -70 degree wind chill), my polite requests have been met with flustered or annoyed acquiescence. Weird. Regardless, I always have fun at the Pig and so I will continue to return. See you there. I'll be the girl dressed in layers regardless of the season.
Eeeeek. Â Some reviews you feel bad writing, but with great disappointment, comes great responsibility...
I've been here more than a few times to confirm this suspicion, but the Pig is the weakest link of the Longwood bar/grill scene. Â I recently went here with two coworkers and ALL THREE of our dishes were mildly disappointing. Â Buffalo wings/sauce were watery and weak, Seafood chowder was essentially salty potato soup, and a club sandwich ended up having less than a half of a strip of bacon in it.
WTF?!
I'd pass all this off on a horrible day where the cook's wives all left them at the same time, but this seems to happen EVERY time I go here. Â In 3-4 visits, I've never left feeling GOOD about a meal. Â
Food aside, this place seems to subscribe to the single waitress philosophy of service. Â On a busy lunch or even dinner shift it seems like one waitress and one bartender cover an entire restaurant.
Again, WTF?!
Its not uncommon to wait 20 minutes to order and an additional 40 for your meal to actually arrive. Â In high end up-scale restaurants I'm often annoyed by this phenomenon, but here? That's inexcusable. Â These aren't gourmet entrees that are being prepared. Â A soup requires a ladle, an opposable thumb, one arm, and a bowl. Â Waiting the better part of an hour for those items to connect is just plain disappointing. Â
All of these factors considered, I can't really credit the Pig for doing anything particularly well. Â They have the largest collection of porcelain pigs as decorations. Â If that is a key seller to your patronage, maybe this is the restaurant for you. Â If not, keep walking.
Am I the only one who actually hears a squealing pig when you read the name of this place? It makes me chuckle.
I liked the feel of this place. Wooden floors. Open kitchen on one end. A room with a fireplace at the other. Rows of little blue lights on the ceiling that make you a little dizzy when you've had a couple beers and stare at them for a while.
The beer was flowing freely, and the burger I had for dinner was tasty and HUGE. Let's hear it for having sharp cheddar as a burger topping. Yay. The fries were good. Some might say overcooked, but they were just how I like them.
The place was packed when I walked in, though the crowd thinned out over the course of the evening, despite the fact that trivia was still going on. We ended up moving from our seats at the bar to a nearby table for more comfort. Service was a little slow due to the aforementioned crowd and a limited staff, but they brought things around eventually. It's not like we were in any hurry anyway.
Shared the sweet toastie for dessert. Interesting concept. I don't know that I could eat the whole thing, but excellent for sharing with some friends.
We were there for trivia, and the music was some strange flashback, it was all old school. I'm still a little mad at the bonus picture round, female sportscasters. We totally named a bunch of them, but those photos must have been many years old, because we weren't able to match any of them up. Disappointing since we usually rule the picture round, but I guess it didn't really matter. We won anyway. Yay us.
So I'd been invited to the Pig twice before actually arriving - third time's the charm I guess - and man, did I kick my own ass for not venturing out here earlier. (More proof I guess that I should listen to a Mr. Methy Hobo - yes, this is going to be a shittastic name droppy review. Prepare yourself).
I don't know why I was expecting an ugly dank dive (maybe b/c MassART kids are always talking about this place?) but the Pig is anything but. It's quaint, dark, pretty, well laid out, and, as I discovered, insanely crowded just after work (thank dog for Tom's eagle eyes otherwise I may have been lost amid a sea of med center staffers).
While service is slow the staff are friendly, cordial, and polite. I noticed that they usually took awhile b/c they were busy chatting with other customers - I kind of like that.
I feel like this is the kind of place where you can build some great memories with your good friends (hail Seatards) or with some interesting single serving types. Â (And hell, thanks to $1 and some malt vinegar I already have...).
I'll be back for sure - especially now that I've realized 1. that the Pig is right off the 66 line and 2. that this fine establishment serves curry chips. Â High five taste buds.
First up, I love the name. It's almost a traditional British pub name, but the squealing part adds that wee bit extra. And of course, everyone loves pubs with animals in their names, as you get more points in Pub Cricket for them - <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPub_cricket&s=56911c358e142740eb1c05639fee501110f270c52f985928e58a3560afa67559" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/…</a>
4 points for The Pig!
But then beyond that this is a great pub with a wide range of interesting beers (including a 12.2% one on tap - yowza) and some real decent food like humanongous burgers, weird pizzas and great toasties. They've almost got the gastropub thing going, with stripped wooden floors, chairs and tables and a visible kitchen at one end. Kudos for that.
Your very own Seatards were here for Wednesday trivia and ended up the night as winners - although truth be told, anyone who has ever ordered the Mars Bar waffle toastie is a winner.
Four stars for now. The table service is erratic as hell, but at least they have the decency to announce when someone's Midlifecrisis-Mustang is being towed away outside.
For a no-relevance rocktrack, click here and read on: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXZHVkJ1wVFM&s=394ca2efaaf206184e95c61258d0018459ee7083bcc1ff7cacc7cdd8e41a6714" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>
Fellow Yelper Tarah H. preached the good lawd word about this everyPub and gave the utmost praise to the toasties - a blue collar moniker for your griddled panini.
Panini: (n.) Â a term and easy means given to jack the price of a pressed sandwich. See also: grilled cheese.
Let's give it a go, shall we?
Drawn by the siren song of Stump victory, I joined a band of merrY lads and lassies for Wednesday trivia and drinks. Allagash for $4 a pint? Tres bonne! Massive payouts to knowledge juggernauts? Sign me up. Malt vinegar for mountainous sides of fries? All like Allix T. drinkin' that shiz.
But...
That's where the stars collide. There is a nostalgic aesthetic for a rundown pub, particularly to blinded Brits, but a dive this isn't so it really shouldn't act like one. A single server was working the entire floor and on a typically crowded evening, this shows poor planning and provided inconsistent albeit friendly service throughout the night. The toastie - a Cuban, I might add - came very dry with bland pork and ham, as well as a false promise of jalapeno relish. Sounded interesting. Maybe next time it'll make it ON TO THE SANDWICH.
The trivia and participating crowd carried an oddly somber vibe, perhaps due to Eddie Murphy crooning his pursuit of partying all the time. Party all the time, party all the tiiiiiime. He wants to! The tween-question music made me want to have sex for all the wrong reasons.
Flash forward, we slaughtered the entirety of our intellectually meager competition and treated ourselves to a Mars Bar toastie. Can anyone confirm Eggo's are made in Belgium? Thought not. Delicious nonetheless; just a little hyperbolic and misleading in the description.
Parallel rows of blue Christmas lights gave soft illumination to the joint and made the Merman behind us feel at home. He still dried up and died, but he went with a false sense of security and a smile on his gilled, half-human face. The random butcher pig models and Old Worlde wooden pinballesque games provided appreciated kitsche.
Dunno kiddo, maybe I rocked the right place at the wrong time. Could also be the fact that my RENTAL candy apple red, racing-striped Mustang almost got towed. All in all, it was the people around me that made the night in this 3star bar.
Them and the guy with the ExtreMullet. Let's go rip it up in the Stang and crank Winger to 11, brosef.
Go back and click that link, Ricky. Tweren't no accident.
Imagine the best grilled cheese sandwich you've ever had. Now, multiply that by at least 10. That's right about where a Toastie from The Squealing Pig stands.
Thick slices of bread toasted to golden brown perfection. I usually opt for the cheddar, tomato and onion. Plenty of melty cheese goodness, fresh tomato with just enough onion to add that extra kick of flavor without overpowering the rest of the sandwich. Splurge that extra $1 for the fries...they're definitely worth it!
Oh right, and they have beer, too!! Lots of beer with a great selection that is sure to have something to quench your thirst. Don't know what brew you want? Ask the bartenders, they're friendly, helpful and know their shiz. They're also wonderful at mixing drinks and shots.
Thursday night and you don't know what to do? Craving a little dirty Irish music, some interesting twists on old songs and a loud, rowdy time with your friends? Go to the Pig and listen to the song stylings of Mike Barret.
I was a regular at The Pig when I lived on Mission Hill. I still miss Thursday nights and those Toasties. *tear
If I still lived in Mission Hill, I would probably make this my regular spot (second to Flann's, which WAS my regular spot back in the day). They have an amazingly extensive beer selection, and that always makes me a happy girl.
Also, based on the skewers platter I ate and the food I saw others order, the food is damn good too. The beef skewers I had were cooked just right and were very tender, and the salad on the side was a nice touch. Would definitely go out of my way to hang here again.