There are two Sunsets - the one on Brighton ave and the one on Comm Ave(across from the BU gym). Â This one has a large selection of beer and less on the liquor side(versus the Comm Ave is more tequila/hard liquor and less beer emphasis). Â Both locations serve large portions of food to share with others. Â The servers we have had in the past have been very knowledgeable about the beers and are equipped to suggest the right beer for you. Â Sunset has always been a go to place when I went to undergrad around the area and continues to do well. Â Great for small groups to gather!
Review Source:Sweet baby Jesus this place gets better every single friggin' time. Its probably the only place that EVERYTHING is good...even the napkins. I ordered the cajun popcorn shrimp which came with honey mustard and mild cajun dipping sauces. It was amazing. Full of flavor and TLC.
My friend got the half basket of vegetarian nachos. It's enough to share with 2-3 people. A full basket will prob feed an entire football team (but don't give any to Aaron Hernandez). Â
This place seriously will blow your socks off. The atmosphere is cool and laid back like the peace sign. I always like bringing new folks here because they fall in love. The music is usually on point and will make you bob your head while you're eating/drinking/talking/flirting/watching sports on their TV.
Our bartender was full of smiles (She had nice teeth too) and was very pleasant and attentive.
*peace fingers*
This place is damn good.
Bartenders are knowledgeable and very helpful. Table service has always been great as well.
Food is probably not the most "authentic" but it's delicious and gets the job done. Brunch is surprisingly good. As others have commented, it includes a drink and the options on the burrito bar hold up surprisingly well.
A must for a Sunday hangover!
This has become one of our favorite places in Allston. Â The food is delicious, the staff is sweet and accomodating, and the beer menu goes without saying! Â This is our go to place for brunch, as they serve it until 3:00 on Sundays and whenever you order off of the brunch menu, you automatically get your first bloody mary, mimosa, or "beery Mary" for free! Â They also have an all you can eat taco bar for brunch, but I highly recommend any of the benedicts! Â
Favorites on the menu include the beertails, the fish tacos, and any of the burritos! You really can't go wrong here!
In terms of accessibility, it is a little cramped but with a wheelchair and a scooter, we have never had difficulty being seated or feeling awkward, like we are in the way! Â
Just be super careful because the door is right near the top of a flight of stairs! Â It can be a little unnerving as you enter, but everyone is super helpful! Â They will continue to get our business as long as we live here!
My only small gripe, is that, unlike the Cantina on Comm Ave, they do not have a full tequila menu. Â Beer is in the spotlight here. Â Also- "Patron's" that is connected, is NOT accessible, which is a bummer, because we have tried their food and it's delicious as well. Â Maybe some day!
Sunset has been a favorite of mine for many years. My friends and I go here for birthdays and celebrations or just to grab a drink after work. It's always hoppin' so on a busy night there's sometimes a long wait if you have a big group.
The beer list is phenomenal and the draft beers never disappoint. I drink a lot of different craft beers but there's always something new for me to try. Sometimes it's hard to decide which awesome beer to get, but the bartenders are usually pretty good with suggestions. I'm also a big fan of the create your own flight for those nights when I'm being especially indecisive.
In terms of food, everything I've had has been good. I usually stick with apps, but the meals I've had are great too (everything from burgers & sandwiches to taco's and fajitas). The nacho's are like crack and I just can't stay away from them. There are many different kinds of fries to pick from (my fav. are the sweet potato fries or the cajun curly fries), the spinach & artichoke dip is awesome, and the tater-tots are straight up tasty.
The only reason I don't give the Sunset 5 stars is because of the long wait times and because I have had a few inexperienced and unprofessional waiters/waitresses. However many of the servers are great (Eleni for example is the sweetest).
This place is unreal. The menu could be published as a book it's so big, and has everything from pulled pork to tacos to jalepeño soup to humungous salads. The beer selection is unmatched for the area and the margaritas are delicious and HUGE. Really fun place to go as a small group.
Review Source:I enjoyed 3 new-to-me brews and a mountain of nachos whilst captivated by Cody and the story of his Peruvian adventures. But you don't need a globetrotting cousin to enjoy sunset. You just need to be hungry and thirsty... And decisive.
There is a massive draft and bottle list, organized by brew style. As an amateur beer lover, I was delighted. And the nachos really were huge - they filled 4 hungry bellies. Add to this some great service, and I had a great first visit. I'm sure to return! Gotta hear more of Cody's stories, too.
Knock knock...
Who's there?
Kick ass food and beer.
Try the Jamaican Jerk Jerky Chicken Sandwich with Curly Fries or the BBQ Chicken Quesadilla. Food is great and the service is pretty damn good for a alcohol oriented environment. Pretty much the only thing I miss about living in Allston.
After going to Sunset every week for a year, I'm not sure why I go to other places sometimes.
As a hophead, this bar has the best selection of any place I've been to. I take it for granted, but the choices are amazing (ask for a flight and request to switch out the bad ones).
Sunset also has the best nachos I've ever had--get the loaded vegetarian full nachos. Good for 3-6 people, and crunchy throughout. I hate soggy stuff, but they somehow avoid it despite putting all sorts of good things on there.
Seriously, though, it has an amazing beer selection. If it were every dance-y, I probably wouldn't go anywhere else.
I've lived in Allston for almost 2 years and always walked past this place but never got around to going in till this week. Twice. And am considering going tonight. That'll be the third time this week.
The place is really chill, dimly lit, sports on the telly. The first time I went it was really noisy from all the ice hockey fans. But I discovered Liedeman's Framboise and Ommegang Three Philosophers, so it was a good night. The sour cream n chive curly fries were nice and salty, great beer food.
The next day I went with the same 2 friends to get dinner... we weren't expecting much - it IS a pub, after all - but we were so, so, so wrong. Beef ribs were surprisingly nice, though a little bit fatty and the sauce was a bit rich. Asparagus and salad were a nice touch (I know it sounds silly to be commenting on greens in a pub but those things matter to meeee) but the cornbread was gross. Tasted like a bowl of sugar.
The biggest surprise here though was the smokey fried chicken. There's beer in it (beer battered or marinated I'm not sure) so if you don't like an alcoholic aftertaste in your fried chicken steer clear. But if you are ok with it and want to have the juiciest chicken breast you've ever had in your life, get it. Fantastic chicken, fantastic potato salad (although Soulfire still wins for best batter).
Best of all, service here is OUTSTANDING. Every single server I saw was friendly and enthusiastic... they just gave off that feeling of "I'm proud to work here". Which is great thing in this day and age. Definitely going back. And definitely trying their nachos next time. All the other tables were ordering em, and they looked ridiculous. In a really good way.
This is the spot to kick it on a random week night.  The food is greasy and delicious.  The drink selection is massive.  My favorite is the dirty ho ;) I usually order their fries, fish tacos, or the fajitas.  I haven't had a bad night here.  Definitely recommended!  On a busy night, there might be a  wait for a big party.  But it's usually a short wait.  Non-issue.
Review Source:We ended up here last Wednesday night because another BBQ place was closed for the night and I am SO glad they were having electrical problems.
So many beers to choose from, and so much good food! Two of us got pulled pork sliders, and one got a rack of ribs - definitely not short on the pork at our table. Everything was really tasty (although I have had better pulled pork), and I especially liked the cornbread that came with the rack of ribs.'
The service is what really made me happy. I had a raging headache at first and our server and her trainee had my large glass of water full about 90% of the time. I would definitely recommend this place!
I've always been a huge fan of Sunset, but hadn't been there in years. I had a friend visiting Boston and we went for dinner/drinks. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but they have a completely unbeatable selection (something like 100 beers on tap). The waitress was spot on with her recommendations, and the food was good as well.
I didn't have one last time, but I wouldn't recommend getting a cocktail. Not sure why anyone gets them here honestly with the amazing beer collection.
This place has really, really gone down hill. Â Before, I would give it four stars. Â I had not been in quite a while. Â Now, it is a 1.5 star... I understand costs have gone up, but still...
1) No vegetable presence in the baby back ribs entree.
2) Only 6 ribs... wow... used to be at least 9 or 12; falling off the plate before...
3) Sauce and grilling technique not as good... Perhaps just boiled with some sauce thrown on at the end?
4) The "corn" bread had the slightest whiff of corn and was mostly pure sugar. Â Pretty gross...
5) The Mediterranean salmon/seafood special was not bad, but again, virtually no vegetable.
6) Service you ask? Fairly pathetic... multiple problems (wrong size of beer, slow service on at 445pm?!?, very long delay for water). Â Maybe that was luck of the draw: other tables seemed to have better service. Â Oh... am I PITA (pain in ...) you ask? Not before food is served... Only smiles from me. Â I don't want any extra saliva flavoring in my food. Â We were pretty patient and still, not only poor service but a pretty bland to annoyed expressions from our server.
Portions smaller... taste poor... no vegetable... fairly expensive for what it is... Oh well... another reliable one bites the dust...
It's still a four-star place if you are only having beer. Â The selection still is impressive...
I figured that since I've lost count of how many times I've been to the Sunset group, it deserves a review.
Food is very average and despite its enormous menu, expect nothing more than standard bar/pub quality food. Portions however, are enormous so if you want to have a meal that would probably last you the entire day for a good price, then it's a good place to eat. The food highlight of this place is definitely the nachos. Grill and Tap offers 2 sizes whereas its sister restaurant down the street (Sunset Cantina) offers the XXL--a massive, artery clogging, mountain of cheese, meat, chips, guac, sour cream, jalapenos, olives, chili, and whatever else you decide to tack onto it. After lots of experimentation, I'd have to say that the pulled pork + chicken chili combo takes the cake.
For drinks, they offer a huge selection of beer and whatever else you could possibly wish for. Quality of cocktails is also pretty average and watered down, but we all go for beers there so it's nbd.
Service is hit or miss. From my experience, Grill and Tap has much better service than Cantina, but unless they take 40 minutes to make my nachos, and another 30 minutes to get me my check after I've requested it, I'm not going to judge them. Since that's only happened at Cantina, I'm going to keep this review at 4 stars.
This place has a truly insane beer selection. Like, seriously. You just have to look at the menu to understand.
As far as the food goes, I find it hilarious. I love americanized Mexican food as much as the next person, but seriously, so funny to me. But their nachos were pretty delicious. My mini sliders were decent, but nothing to write home about.
I am giving it 4 stars because of their beer selection. They obviously have a ridiculous amount of beer and their cocktails are cheap too. However, the food is okay. The food is primarily mexican but have a few other things throughout the menu. However, they do not do complimentary chips and salsa like most mexican restaurants do -- boo! I suppose they aren't marketing themselves as a mexican place but I mean i was expecting some chips! I ended up just paying the $5.99 for the tortilla basket w/guac (not bad), corn salsa, mango salsa and regular. It was okay but nothing great. I ordered a quesadilla and they messed it up the first time and got me a new one but didn't take it off the bill which i feel like any restaurant should do when messing up your order. I will come back for their beer but their food I can leave
Review Source:As a gluten-free eater, Sunset is at the top of my list of places to nosh. They're known for their killer beer menu, but what makes me happy is their copious amounts of cider and mead. Sometimes us GF people get sick of regular Woodchuck or Magners!
Their food is also awesome. My favorite gluten-free app is the chicken dippers (bronzed). Actually, sometimes I just get it as my meal because they give you SO MUCH CHICKEN. The rest of their GF menu is pretty decent, be sure to ask for it when you arrive.
For non-gluten-free fair, make sure you get the spinach and artichoke dip. It's not really a dip as much as it is a heaping pile of pita chips covered in melted cheese, olives, tomatoes, and a hefty glob of deliciousness (I guess that's the dip part). Amazing.
NACHOS. If anyone knows me, I go a little nuts over nachos. I'm pretty much a nacho fiend. Sunset Grill and Tap has PHENOMENAL nachos! Piled high to the sky with cheese, many slices of jalapenos, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. MMmmmmm....They also have a wide variety of beers--- a little too hard for me to select one... Â I could live off of their nachos.
Review Source:I should get it out of the way at the outset -- I love Sunset and routinely find myself there on weekend afternoons with my boyfriend, sampling every beer the waitress/bartender recommends and getting my happy little buzz on. The beer list is, as advertised, second-to-none, and the staff has always been extremely knowledgeable when we've had questions or been in need of a suggestion. I love being able to find beers from all over the country at a single bar, as opposed to having to trek around to various liquor stores in search of a brew I read about on a blog somewhere.
The food is consistently ok, though the menu could definitely stand some pruning. The nachos are a crowd-pleaser (and you will need a crowd to finish even the half order, trust me), and I am a total devotee of the sour cream and chive fries. For heftier fare, the burritos are massive and the sandwiches are of the fork-and-knife variety, not the "pick this up and daintily eat it" set. The Sunday morning All-You-Can-Eat-Fajita-Bar is a neighborhood staple, and the fact it comes with a complimentary mimosa or beery mary is the proverbial icing on the cake.
If you go on a weekend night, be prepare to wait -- because of the extensive beer list, people tend to linger at their tables after they eat, causing a logjam of patrons clamoring to get in. The bar is cramped, so it's not ideal for waiting, either -- probably my only real complaint. It's also a bit pricier than other area bars, but that's what happens when you offer such a huge selection, and I'm more than willing to pay a few extra bucks for a good, quality beer as opposed to the $2.50 Coors Light specials running all over the rest of Allston.
Overall, Sunset Grille and Tap is a good place to grab a beer (or three) and try something new. Don't forget to get a Beer Club card if you're planning to come back!
At Sunset Grill, it's all about selection--beer selection that is. Â The beer menu is literally a several page brochure with the draft options on the back and the rest being on bottle. Â It is pretty epic, and is legitimately the biggest menu I've seen (lots of bars like to claim this, but Sunset measures up). Â I tried some sweet potato fries that were good, but otherwise I didn't try the food. Â The layout of the place is odd, with tables taking up most of the large space and a disproportionately small bar in the back; there was a second bar over by the bathrooms that looked really nice, but it was closed. Â Service was a little awkward, but otherwise fine. Â
In terms of the beer bar experience Sunset is a little lacking, but they beat quality with quantity. Â I first tried a Sierra Nevada Ovila Brandy Barrel-Aged Quad which was on tap. Â It was good, but I found the brandy to have overshadowed the natural flavors of the quad in some respects. Â I liked it but didn't love it like I hoped; I'll have to try a regular quad or another of these American abbey beers in the near future. Â We came in kind of late and were going to walk to the train but it was then that I saw that they had Anchor Small Beer on bottle. Â I've had a lot of difficulty finding this beer back home because it just doesn't get shipped to New York, and I wanted to try it badly because it's the last Anchor beer--other than the impossible Our Barrel Ale--that I haven't tried. Â The fact that it's made with the second runnings of their Old Foghorn mash is awesome too. Â So we ended up cabbing it home, as that Small Beer is carbonated to death (it was better than expected though). Â
You guys are lucky to have an awesome and reasonably priced beer bar like this. Â
Cheers!
I am a fan of their nachos and beer selection. That is really all I've ever had, but it keeps me coming back! I am a fan of places with large beer lists, but being that I like the girlie light beers, sometimes I can't find what I like on draft at other places in Allston. Sunset always has something I like, which is a plus when I'm craving those delicious nachos. A word of caution as far as drinks go, one of my friends ordered a cosmo there and it was not very good. Probably her fault for ordering a mixed drink at a beer joint, but relevant to those of you that aren't a fan of beer.
Onto the nachos... if you have a smaller party, a half order is usually plenty. That being said, I brought my boyfriend here and we ordered a half order for the 2 of us and finished it, which surprised even our waitress. We were starving and the pulled-pork was just so wonderful!
I have had really interesting waiter experiences here. Once my table was trying to split the bill between 5 of us and the waiter came over and asked if we wanted him to split it for us. We said sure thinking he would give us separate checks but he sat down and whipped out his iPhone to calculate everyone's meal, which we were already doing previously. I have also had a waitress who tried to persuade me to a different drink choice because she apparently remembered that I hadn't liked it when I ordered it previously (which was not true). I don't know what is up there, but it was odd.
So I'll be the first to admit that I don't care for beer all that often. It's not that I don't like it, it just doesn't do it for me at the end of the day. Â But sometimes, on the rare occasion that I want a beer, I'll get prepared and try to find myself a place that can deliver. Â After countless minutes reviewing and getting tips from friends, I decided one night to head here since they had a stellar beer menu.
A place with such an extensive beer menu, I expect to have the people working there be semi-knowledgeable, but I clearly expected too much. Â I like pale ales, and when I requested a recommendation of one, the guy said "I dunno, how about a Porter? The Anchor is pretty good." Well, I'm pretty sure that porters are dark ales, and I won't question how good the Anchor is, but I'll go for something more my level. Guess I shouldn't ask questions. . .
After a few beers (choosing on my own), I tried the food and ordered the calamari. It was overly greasy and not really fried at all. Very disappointing.
I'd say go if you know a ton about beers or if you just want to try a bunch of random beer because their selection is massive, but I'm not 100% sold. Maybe I'll give it a second chance soon, we'll see.
After five years in Boston, the boyfriend and I finally made it over to Sunset.
We started off with a plate of nachos and glasses of Magners (on tap, bonus points). The nachos were super yummy and had stuff layered throughout so you didn't get three chips covered in delicious and then a plate of warm tortilla chips.
Our food came super quickly, which was kind of overwhelming. We were still working through the nachos and didn't know where to put the food. I guess that's what we get for visiting at 6 pm on a Friday.
I got the spinach and artichoke skins, which were creamy and crunchy and all around perfect. It came with a stone ground mustard, which paired well with it.
The boyfriend got a sub-atomic mac and cheese, which is buffalo chicken mac and cheese. He said it was good but he wasn't super impressed with it.
After sitting for awhile and properly digesting our enormous meals, we decided to order the mudslide pie. I...I can't even tell you what it was. It was made of espresso ice cream, Reese's cups, Heath bars, and other chocolate deliciousness. Half of it came home with us, it was just too large of a beast for us to conquer.
Our waitress, Hilary, was great. She was very nice and attentive and gave us some good recommendations.
I get the feeling that we'll be back.
Simply great for the beer buff. Â After reading and hearing about Sunset Grill for ah-so long, finally made it there. Â They have an amazing selection of beers and beer paraphernalia. Â That is the redeeming feature. Â I have been here only once, I am not sure I will go again. Â There are other places in Boston that have a decent Beer selection.
Perhaps my expectations were too high. Â However in a place that is rated among the best for beer, my expectations are high for the staff to be knowledgeable and helpful. Â I would also expect the beer to be poured in an appropriate glassware. Â
Secondly, food is sub-par. Â Calamari too oily, Chicken fingers too dry and hard, Â dipping sauces- mass produced. Â Chicken quesadilla also was poorly made and garnishes slapped together. Â Salsa, watered down and tasteless, Â small blob of guacamole disappointed as well. Â
Three stars for an amazing beer selection and beer paraphernalia.  Trained/educated staff and  better prepped food will make this place compelling.
Biggest beer selection I've ever seen and designed in a monster beer hall. Having just come in from the train on a Friday night, it was busy and the crowd was fun and lively. I ordered the darkest, blackest beer, strongest beer that they could find and it did the trick nicely.
I coupled that with some NE clam chowder which looked like sour milk when it arrived. No flavor and barely anything beyond simple cream. I had to get a dish of nachos simply to tie me over in other things.
Service was great, for such a large establishment. Would go back for drinks but not for food.
Incredible beer selection. At times very overwhelming. The wait staff seems to know their stuff tho, if u have a question about a beer just ask. Walking in there to order a  Budweiser is a sucka move. Respect yourself, and try something new. Plus they don't have Budweiser anyway.
The food is ok. The only thing I can tell u to avoid is the jambalya pasta. If Kraft made an easy microwaveable jambalaya pasta, this would be it. Stick with burgers, fries, chicken skewers, their steak buritto, or the fluffernutter. Bloody Mary's; not so good either.
I don't think I've ever seen so many beer choices at one bar. The beer menu was seriously like a novel and I couldn't even look through the whole thing because it was so long! If I lived around there, I would probably try to taste every single drink they have. This is a really nice place to hangout with friends and just sit and drink and chat, which is what we did. We ordered a few pitchers to share and some appetizers as well. The food is decent and the beer is great!! We had a blueberry beer and then some other flavored beer and it was just a fun time hanging out and drinking!
The place is very big unlike other bars so everyone can have a seat without someone awkwardly standing around. There's also tvs around so good for games and stuff for those that are interested but really, COME FOR THE BEERS!!
I can't say I love it here because it's kind of awkwardly shaped and noisy and dark...and the parking in that area sucks BUT there are definitely a lot of positives to this place.
Great beer selection. Can't get a vodka soda on the main floor because they don't have a full liquor license....that sucks.
Good God, the nachos are amazing. I love lettuce on EVERYTHING and lettuce on nachos makes it feel more healthy, so it's a win-win. Burgers are ok. Everything is very reasonably priced, so that's a plus.
the bar of beer dreams
Kentucky bourbon 4 LIFE
mound monster nachos
There are a couple things that Sunset does THE BEST in BOSTON. Â I speak the truth. Â
1) Most taps and selection of beer in all of Boston. Â
Hundreds and hundreds of beer. Â BEER FLOATS. Crazy selections that change seasonally. Â They also have a full bar with incredible cocktails. Â My friend got a dark and stormy the other day, and it was essentially a pint of rum. Â We almost asked for more rootbeer. INTENSE
2) Best and Biggest nachos in all of Boston. Â
Again, there is no competition here. Â Ravenous after kayaking the charles? Â It come in two sizes: T-Rex Dinner and Blue Whale Lunchable. Â Basically, the smaller size feeds four people as a meal, and the larger size six people. Â App or meal. Â It just depends on how hungry you are. Â I really like the nachos with BBQ pulled pork, but you can also get them with the andouille sausage (not on the menu). Â DIVINE.
Service has always been good when I'm there. Â Menu is solid overall. Â But beyond the crazy beer and nachos, it's a solid and extensive bar menu. Â There is so much, anyone could find what they're looking for. Â
It can get really busy with long waits if you have a big party, but there's a lot of space if you want to have a big party. Â Oddly, hardly any bar seating. Â
Cheers!