We've been to WR a couple times so far - and each time I'm not sure why we go back. This time will make it final. Â We went in mid-day yesterday, after baking in the sun at a parade - I brought my own Gluten-Free buns so I could enjoy a 4th-of-July burger. No dice. There are bread crumbs in the burgers ("meatloaf is how my BF described the taste). Â I ended up with a Rueben on my bun, which was actually kinda tasty, but my experience took over my star ratings.
I made it through one cocktail, and didn't really want the second one I ordered, so I made the BF finish it. I asked for sugar on the rim of the sweet martini, and I got splenda. Seriously? That. Was. Gross. Â The BF thought I was crazy, and there was no way it was splenda - but when we asked the bartender, she confirmed it. Said they didn't have sugar. Â That's just weird. Â And probably let someone know that - as I would have, in no way, wanted splenda in my drink.
Here's the kicker of the day. I accidentally left my wallet there. Â I've worked at a lot of bars, and you can tell a lot about the way a bar is managed buy the way this was handled. Â I left it on the bar, it was picked up by the bartender. I called when I got home, and asked the girl on the phone who (at that point) had it in her hand (casey? brittany? Â some sort of -ey name) if they could throw it in the safe, and I would pick it up in the morning (who *really* wants to head back downtown on a holiday afternoon). Â I slept well, thinking my cards and small amount of cash were OK.
I was wrong. Â Not only did it not make it to the safe, it was found this morning IN THE DJ BOOTH. Â The cash was (obviously) gone, as was $14 in CVS bucks. Seriously? Â You have to type in my phone number to even be able to use those? Why the hell would you take them? Â I guess I should be thankful that I got my cards back - but that's like saying "oh heavens - thank goodness you were only raped and he didn't kill you." Â While it is better than not getting anything back - it still makes the person who did it quite shitty.
Best line about the whole thing - when I picked the wallet up, and said they should let the manager know that someone went through it and stole money - the kids said "with our current management, I wouldn't doubt it was the manager who did it."
Yeah. We will not be going back there. Thanks for costing me $50 to learn that lesson.
Sometimes service is everything.
We stopped by today, brutally hot out, thinking we might grab a beer outside. Â Nope, too hot by the water too, so we sat inside.
It was quiet (Monday afternoon) check. Â Beer was cold. Â Check. Â We ordered 25 cent wings which were actually surprisingly good.
Linda was our server and she was just the nicest server I may have ever had. Â Seriously, I hope the management of WR READS these reviews because our entire experience was awesome because of Linda. Â She was attentive, talkative, smart, interested in our conversation and added to it as well. Â
I am sure weekends here are crazy and the servers cant offer such attention. Â But our service today was actually perfect.
I had never been to Fish Co, although I was told this was an upgrade.
Location is nice, great view and I like the outdoor patio area. Â Again, not sure what the theme they are going for is, seems a bit of a mish mosh of things going on. Â
We came to get some dinner and drinks while enjoying the Bruins Game (Go B's) and was overall disappointed. Â Drinks are a bit pricey, and not really worth it to be honest. Â We started with the blue crab and artichoke dip. Â I barely tasted any crab and it was just nothing to exciting. Â
I ordered a burger which was pretty decent, cooked just the way i like it. My husband ordered a chicken sandwich (which cost more than my burger). Â I am not even kidding you when I say that there was a bite, yes a bite of chicken slapped between 2 buns. Â If we were obnoxious we would have had to say something, but we just let it go and made a mental note to avoid food if we ever go back.
Definitely a good place if you want to sip a drink and enjoy the water view outside, or catch a game but i would suggest skipping the food.
If you want to try a lot of different whisky, neat, this is your place. Â I suggest you sit at the bar.
I had hoped to find some fancy high-end whisky based cocktails here but was majorly disappointed. Â There are NO HOUSE SPECIALTY COCKTAILS. Â Which is a total shame. Â I lived in Kentucky for a short while and all the bars had lots of whisky and lots of ways to showcase them. Â
Another disappointment was that the place was at maybe 20% capacity but it took 20 minutes, seriously- 20 minutes, for our server to come talk to us. Â She didn't even bother to bring a menu, we had to ask for one... which meant that she'd have to leave and come back. Â I will have you know that I went searching for a menu long before it got to this point but never found one laying around. Â
The third disappointment was that it was $11 for two DOMESTIC DRAFTS. Â Holy hell wtf?!
In TWR's favor is the nice outdoor space overlooking the water. Â
I won't be back.
I went to Whiskey Republic last night after a really bad experience at another local place. I walked in with pretty low expectations to begin with and my attitude changed very quickly!
It was 9-930pm and we weren't charged a cover yet, even though the band was ready to go. Â I went to the bar and although it was crowded, a waitress served me right away and was attentive. I ordered mozzerella sticks, and she took the time to explain to me they were more like triangles and I said of course, thats fine , I will give them a go.
When the fried mozzerella came out, it was full of flavor! Hot, melted cheesy goodness blended with a good mix of spice and basil. It was sitting on a fresh bed of basil which really helped to infuse the flavor into the , what I am assuming, was fresh mozzerella cheese. So much flavor, so much cheese! I couldn't even finish it all by myself! Excellent!
Every time I went up to the bar to order another drink, even though the place was becoming significantly more crowded, it only took one or two minutes for the bartender to notice me and refill my drink. This made for a great experience, as sometimes it can take a while to get a drink when you're two rows back and trying to get noticed.
The local cover band that Played, was also great and had a lot of talent! They played a variety of the top hits, for pop and country, which I loved!
I will definately be back for a girls night with some girlfriends to dance and drink .This was my first time here and I can't wait to try the rest of the food and some other drinks. An entire page of whiskey drinks to choose from!
I actually really like this place. The outdoor seating and the spacious inside setup. Doesn't feel crowded. They have good music sometimes. Now I rarely hang out in bars but I found myself here with friends a few times over the last month and we had fun. We also liked the food we had. spiced nuts, grilled shrimp, sweet potato fries, and chips and salsa
Review Source:Gross bar. Can't seem to figure this place out. Whiskey Republic, are you an Irish pub? Are you a bar for college dudes? Are you a sports pub? A punk club? A hot spot for hipsters? It kinda seems like they're trying everything until they find something that works out. Some nights are completely dead, some are so packed you can't move. I don't get the cover charge in the middle of the week. Seems like this is a spot for the JWU crowd more than anyone else..or other people looking to start fist fights for no reason.
My friends keep making plans to meet here, and then we all have a bad time. A few weeks will pass and then we will experience some sort of amnesia and wind up here again. The food all tastes frozen, the service isn't great, and the bartenders seem to have a lot of friends hanging around. They'd rather talk to them than serve strangers, so be prepared to wait. The location on the water is good, but you'll drive around forever looking for parking or pay the overpriced valet. If you are an underage drinker, or between the ages of 21-23, you'll love this place.
Also - the name makes one think the whiskey selection would be at least decent. This place has a poor bar selection - move on over to the Hot Club or walk up Wickenden St to the Point Tavern.
I will admit that I am biased here, but "Whiskey" is a great place. My friends and I go every Friday night for Happy Hour. While it's a great venue, what really keeps us going back is the wait staff, and in particular, Kristina. The service and drinks are great. Beware though, while Happy Hour is generally quiet and laid-back, around 9:30-10 PM, this place fills up. Even when it has been elbow-room-only, my friends and I have always had great service.
Review Source:Went with a friend for a quick bite early (7pm) on a Saturday, Â place was not too crowded. Â We were greeted and told to sit wherever. Â Our waitress came right over and was delightful. Â We ordered the fried pickles for an appetizer and it was delicious, Â not too heavily battered. Â I got a burger and fries and my friend got the shepards pie and both were very good. Â Will definitely go back.
Review Source:Gave Whiskey Republic another go... My experience this time was even more lackluster than the last. We went in for trivia. The new host was great. He was engaging and funny. I decided to grab a bite since that was pretty much the only thing that went right in my previous visit. The drinks came quickly and then the food took quite a while. I had ordered The Whiskey Club which is a turkey club (i ordered mine sans chipotle mayo). When it arrived at the table each piece of bread appeared to be fried but had the consistency of a wet piece of cardboard which was then slathered heavily with Dijon mustard it was difficult to bite into and had pretty much no flavor. The service was very poor as per the usual and the only thing this place had going for it was the witty new trivia dude and the view outside.
Review Source:I'm taking off a star because Ive become privy to a scam that they run here. As the name suggests, the place is known for whisky and their menu has a great variety that looks pretty well priced. What they don't tell you is that they will come up with a way to charge you $2 more for whatever you get.
When I got a drink on the rocks, they charged me $2 for ice, listed on the receipt as "rocks". Really?
When I got a drink straight, the extra $2 fee popped up for getting a straight drink.
There's really no need to indulge in this shady nickel and diming. Hope this changes.
I really only come here when someone else makes plans to. I'm more of a dive bar kind of person so some of what I write might reflect that.
Anyways, there isn't much free parking unless you're willing to walk a bit. They offer a valet at $10 too. I find the $10 cover to be a bit much for what you get when you walk inside. At this point you're $20 down before even entering. Â It's always crowded beyond belief, like elbow to elbow anytime after 10pm. The drinks are reasonably priced. It really depends on which bartender you get. I've had an awesome rum&&coke aswell as a coke with a splash of rum. The smaller cash only bar in the back rarely has a line so I'd suggest that over opening a tab. The crowd is mostly bros on the hunt for wasted girls, which aren't hard to find.
The outdoor area is what saves this place. It is right on the water so during the summer it's great to just grab a drink and retreat out there. Like I said it's a place I go to once in a while hoping it'll be different.
Would you pay $5 to get in the door on a Wednesday? Neither would I, but for some reason our group made plans to stop by here before ending our night.
Drinks:
You'd think Whiskey Republic would have you know...whiskey. Nope. Unless you want Jack and Coke, you're poop outta luck.
Atmosphere:
Within 10 minutes of walking into the establishment, another patron attempted to pick a fight with a friend of mine. The reasoning was the girl he was dancing next to started dancing with my friend. That's when you realize you're in a college town with a bunch of kids who probably just turned 21, never left Providence, and are terrible tippers. I understand this will probably happen anywhere, but it seems especially risky here due to the number of alpha males lurking.
Staff:
Security was pretty slow at conflict resolution unless punches were being thrown. I give them a point for determining which group was at fault, and properly evicting them from the premises though.
Final Thoughts:
"Whiskey Wednesdays" seems to be pretty popular around here since the place was packed by midnight. Great for dancing and meeting people you've probably seen yesterday. Not so great for large groups.
We went here on a Thursday night and the place was dead. Â There were maybe 10 people in the entire place. Â Very odd. Â Despite the place being nearly empty, service was slow. Â The people behind the bar were talking a lot with each other and it took us multiple attempts to get their attention.
My husband ordered a BLT. Â The sandwich was HUGE and between the two of us we couldn't finish it. Â The fries were clearly frozen and were very soggy--nearly inedible. Â
That said, this place has potential to be a great summer bar because of its large patio. Â We will have to check it out in warmer weather.
I went here the other night for my birthday dinner and we had a great time! I had a reservation and we were running a little late, I called them on the way and they were totally understanding and accommodating, there were 14 of us total.
The drinks were really good! I had the lime ricky as did a bunch of my friends and it was delicious. The food was also outstanding. We had the fried pickles, crab dip, and wings. They were all great although the wings are just plain boneless wings with your choice of sauce on the side, my friends wished they had been cooked in the sauce.
I had the fish and chips and it was delicious! The fries are awesome, sweet potato and regular and everyone really liked their food.
The service was quick especially because we were such a large party but the waitress either seemed like she was in a bad mood or overwhelmed, she didn't smile very much and wasn't super friendly, that's the only reason I'm not giving this place five stars.
Overall, I would definitely go back again, oh and they have free valet parking, don't make the mistake we did and pay to park!
Seems like this place could be ok. Â The food we had was ok, the service was fair. Â It seemed so odd to me that as we were getting ready to leave around 8pm on a Friday it was turning into a dance hall. Â Complete with the tables and chairs being moved right from beneath us. Â Kinda weird, but I guess it happens. Â Best part of this place is clearly the water view.
Review Source:Love this BAR. First off what an amazing transformation from Fish Company! Not to say I didn't enjoy the dive experience of Fish Co in my college days but WHISKEY REPUBLIC came in and made this a true staple and amazing addition to the Providence bar, restaurant, and social scene. Great place to check out the game and enjoy some appetizers! Extremely friendly staff and ownership. Valet parking is always offered and a very nice experience over the summer to grab a drink on the water for lunch. Cheers
Review Source:$10 cover for poor parking options, a long line, sticky floors, poor acoustics/ear-splitting noise level, inadequate seating, and a $20 dry cleaning tab to get cheap beer from more than one klutz out of my clothes is not my idea of a fun time.... (no complaints about the bartenders at least, they were spot on).
Review Source:Whiskey Republic is Ok in my book. Â
The beer is cold, the view from the patio is pretty awesome, and the food is not too shabby either.
That being said, it's not my fave bar/restaurant in the area, but really..who cares? Â They pour a mighty fine Guinness. Â
I was there once for a Yelp event and once for an evening out with my hubby. Â The food was all pretty tasty but it wasn't anything super special. Â The service was pretty decent as well. Â I would recommend the oyster shooter for an appetizer. Â I enjoyed the huge juicy oyster nestled in a vodka and cocktail sauce mixture filled shot glass. Yum. Â The Shrimp and grits were pretty delish too and my husband said the burger hit the spot.
It may not have rocked my socks off but I recommend it if you want to grab a burger before heading over to the Hot Club for more drinks.
A three star rating because it has 1-star service but a 5-star location, and you can bring your dogs!
I love looking out over the water on the outdoor patio, and the servers will bring you a bowl of water for your furry friends. Â However, the service (both bartenders and servers) are slooooooooooow. Â The most recent time I was there it took 45 minutes to get our drinks. Â
Their cocktail list is pretty poor, and they don't do higher-end cocktails like mojitos. Â I suppose it makes sense since they want you to focus on the whiskey - but if you don't like whiskey or beer don't expect to get your favorite drink here.
One nice thing is that the crowd is varied, age-wise. Â Families and 20-somethings interspersed among the tables, which is a welcome change from the Fish Co. Â You can always wander down to the Hot Club if you want to get your hooch on!
I first came to Whiskey Republic during its opening week, which also happened to be St. Paddy's Day, so I have some very fond memories of the place from the get-go. This place is definitely more sports bar than dive bar and the place has cleaned up so so much since it was Fish Co. Drinks aren't overly expensive and there's a nice variety of liquors (specifically whiskey).
I won a free work appetizer party and the manager/events coordinator Suzanne was super helpful in setting everything up. The weather was cooperating (sunny and in the 70s!) so we were given some tables outside on the deck. The service was a bit slow and our waitress wasn't the friendliest (part of it I think was due to that she wasn't informed that we had the app party). Regardless of some minor mishaps, we enjoyed the apps and pitchers of cold beer.
The Whiskey Republic is not worth the money or the time, both of which were overspent. Â
We went there on a Monday holiday and sat outside (only after standing at the empty hostess station for 15 minutes). Â Ordered some cocktails, one of which tasted awful and the other tasted weak. Â Ordered a sandwich and a burger, sandwich was mostly bread and the burger was WAY overcooked. Â
But the cherry on the pie was Dierdre (i think that's it) our waitress. Â She was just plain awful. Â I've worked as a server and I know how tough it can be sometimes but she was downright unpleasant. Â Not to mention slow and forgetful. Â And she didn't even bring me back the change for our bill, just assumed she could keep a ten dollar tip on a 30 dollar tab. Â WTF?
DO NOT GO HERE, just casually stroll to Lola's or The Hot Club.
This place should be called the Jekyll or Hyde Republic. About a month ago I had a business meeting there. I was slightly impressed. The appetizers were amazing the bathroom stocked with sooo much TP. The waitress was a bit annoying kept asking "would you like something to drink?". YES I WILL BACK OFF BECKY. But the service was nice.
Anyway a month later I went back for a send off for a supervisor who was leaving. Thats when the shh...hit the fan. The bathrooms were a disaster. The appetizers were overpriced and did not taste good.
Speaking of the bathrooms. How come there was only ONE TP roll for 8 stalls?
Maybe I got there on a bad night but the place was like half way to capacity.
I will say one thing the FREE valet parking is AMAZING!!!
I had a wonderful experience here. Â I went for a yelp event where all the Jameson cocktails were on the house. Â Ever the adventurous drinker, I asked the bartender what was available. Â She raised an eyebrow at me and asked, "does an egg white scare you?" Â I knew I was in good hands.
In what I thought was a dive-y bar, the bartender (I'm sorry, I can't remember your name) proceeded to make me a delicious whiskey sour from scratch, egg white and all. Â And no, I was not afraid of it.
She asked if I wanted another and while delicious, I wanted to see what else she had up her sleeve.  So, without asking for any more information from me, she concocted her play on a Jameson old fashioned  Equally tasty and balanced.
I can't wait to go back.
Party on a Wednesday, sure why not?
Stopped here a few times once for a Yelp Party and once on Wednesday afternoon in which a have a DJ and had a great time both times. The Wiskey Republic is such a great place with a Fabulous view of Providence from the patio, a great staff and delicious food... you clearly can forget the great mixed drinks either!
Def someplace worth checking out, can't wait to comeback to enjoy the patio over the summer.
I've always felt "why even try Whiskey Republic when there's Hot Club!?"
Well, I guess it just took one of those sunny spring Friday afternoons, uncomfortably crammed on the Hot Club deck with the rest of the happy hour crowd freshly sprung from the clutches of the workweek... meanwhile down the dock, an oasis of clean, empty tables and chairs beckoned like sirens. And much like the fate of those sailors in The Odyssey, temptation led to our peril.
I will say I am impressed by the transformation from the days of Fish Co. (shudder... at both icky venue... and memories) both inside and out.
As for service and especially food: thumbs down. Location alone cannot sustain you! It's just a missed opportunity to offer something that Hot Club can't - good pub grub! The food is overpriced and horrible. I'm not one to turn my nose up at nachos and fried apps after a few beers on an otherwise empty stomach, but I think they take the crown for crappiest nachos in Providence.
There was a lot of service-oriented confusion going on. At least a server took a long-forgotten beer off the tab at the end of the night without a problem - they're definitely nice enough. Speaking of beer, what's up with the sloppy overpour of my 'Gansetts? Dribbling down my arm then leaving the glass nice-n-sticky.
Nice bathrooms. Gotta love the Xelerator hand dryer. But it took a lot of female solidarity to share ONE scrappy roll of T.P. across 6/8? stalls - really? by 9PM?
Love the view but keep workin' on it, guys.
I recently tried whiskey Republic at a Yelp event, after being very impressed with the venue I decided it was time to take my partner in crime down to the city to give him a glimpse into what I had been raving about for days. Â
So on a wonderfully sunny Saturday we decided to grab a late lunch. Â We picked out a nice sunny spot by the windows overlooking the great view. Â The view is really amazing. Â A friend ended up meeting us there and the waitstaff happily accompanied our additional guest. Â
We order the chicken schnitzel sandwich, a club salad, and the black and tan wings. Â There was a small snafu with the salad (forgot the chicken) but that was quickly fixed, which was fine. Â The wings were very good and the chicken schnitzel sandwich was heavenly. After we were stuffed we made our way out on the deck to lounge around and have a couple of beers.
It was a glorious afternoon and I look forward to many more.
I happen to dig The Whiskey Republic. Why, you ask? Lemme tell ya, kids...
There is a kick-ass bartender here. I think her name is Carrie or Kayla or something like that, and this chick is amazing. She brings her own kit with her, makes dynamite cocktails from scratch, and gives a heavy pour. Awesome.
The view is phenomenal. Seriously, one of the best water views in the city, and the porch makes it an ideal spot to grab a drink, unwind and watch the sunset. Glorious.
The service is great. These people are so friendly and sincerely nice I feel like I'm actually visiting someone's home.
They have free valet, which is completely necessary in this area. Seriously.
I know they caught a lot of flack in the past, but they've listened to what yelpers have to say, and remedied, remedied, remedied. I urge you to try 'em again, kids. You won't be sorry.
Last night was only my second time at the Whiskey (my first was when they first opened and Against Me! played). I had a blast- and the service was on point.
The Whiskey is in an ideal setting (the old Fish Co.), right on the water, and there is plenty of patio seating.
If Irish whiskey makes you frisky (like it does to me), this is the bar for you. They serve a plethora of not only the Irish variety, but bourbons and scotches as well.
Beer selection was not huuuge, but had some nice variety. I was particularly excited to try the Goose Island IPA- a first for me. If you know me, you know not much excites me more then tasting a beer I've never heard of- especially on draft.
I look forward to getting in some serious sunshine (and beer drinking) at this spot real soon!
The clear sunset skies afforded a great backdrop of beautiful water views just outside the windows of our party space. Had it been a little warmer, I would've enjoyed some time at one of the outside tables on their waterfront deck. The interior of this place is so different from the last time I visited when it was Fish Co. Â - wide planked floors, exposed beams and tastful lighting...and most importantly - it really was clean (no sticky beer floors to be found). Â
Waitstaff was attentive with the drinks...bus staff a little slow with clearing the empty food plates from our table, but they did come around.
Plenty of tables about the open concept space allowed for folks to sit comfortably, order meals or enjoy drinks with a reasonable amount of personal space. Â Lots of TV's for game watching...
I had a few tastes off the menu here at the private party I attended, but my fave was the indulgent crab mac n' cheese with a rich creamy sauce with generous bits of crab.
An added plus was the complimentary valet which was a treat with the dicey parking situation in this area. Â
I will be back when warmer weather comes to enjoy some late day rays on the deck with a tasty beverage (or two).
Well, let's just say thankfully it's not like the Fish Co. back in the day. I didn't stick to the floor, no one was puking on the deck, and the food was tasty! (now...."back in the day" I was the on spillin drinks on the floor, puking on the deck, and not eating because I was full from popcorn from the Hot Club earlier in the night)
I was nicely surprised by the quality of the food (mmmmmm.........crab mac & cheese!) and the interior is nicely done. Â
I wouldn't go for a "dinner" out -- I think it's more of a place to have deck drinks and a pub-meal. I've also been there when bands have played where the crowd is much younger -- I had some excellent people watching opportunities!
Ewwwwwwwwwww.
Should I be less harsh? You're not coming here for fine dining or an elegant, quiet bar-hopping experience. And I know the type of bar from both Chicago and Providence - sticky floors, 19-year-olds, drinks that taste like water (and this is rich coming from me), 99% of men wearing vertically striped or checkered shirts, no room to move...I shouldn't have been surprised on Saturday night when I realized that Whiskey Republic was certainly One of Those Places.
But add a mind-numbingly stupid $10 cover charge. For what? So we could crowd in like sardines, into a too-small (but somehow kind of clean?) "waterfront" bar? So we could listen to a good-but-not-cover-worthy cover band? Right, OK. I love the British/Irish term of "taking the piss," and I couldn't help but think, "$10? Are you taking the piss?" Seriously WR, you are not that great.
The $3 coat check was set up in a corner randomly and had enough room for my coat but barely for any other people who would be entering. The bathrooms were surprisingly clean. The drinks were horribly priced and weak, even for me (if I wanted  Sprite, I'd have gone to the gas station on Wickenden). And the bartenders were snooty and hardly friendly at all. Why would you go here? This place is awful.
Watery drinks, undercooked burger, a FIRE AT OUR TABLE.
The waitress never asked about the first two and didn't even notice the third. I guess they take the no-frills atmosphere seriously!
The martini recipes sounded good and flavor was ok, but more sugar water than liquor and in a small glass for $8. The burger looked appetizing but was literally raw aside from a brown, grilled surface. The fries were good, but had a weird coconut smell / taste, we still can't figure that one out.
For some reason, they serve food in baskets with large paper liners -- Â at the same time completely unprotected votive candles are burning at the table. Aren't open flames like this illegal in RI? Â In any case, the paper caught on fire -- THERE WERE FLAMES SHOOTING A FOOT HIGH and not one member of the staff noticed. We put it out ourselves, luckily, before anyone was hurt.
We went early and got a parking spot - I would've been ticked had we paid for valet and had this experience on top of it. I can't think of a situation where I would rush back here again.
We knew WR would be a quick, pub-type meal before going elsewhere for the night. I didn't expect to have to join the firefighter's union just to get through the meal... although the idea of that pole secretly fascinates me.
I FUCKING LOVE THIS PLACE! The Fish Company is Providence's PREMIER Â ROCK AND ROLL BAR! The attitude! The atmoshere! The TUNES! I like it! I love it! I want some more of it!
When I heard Dropkick Murphy's frontman Dicky Barrett was opening a ROCK AND ROLL bar in Providence? I was like "FUCK YEAH! FINALLY WE GET A REAL LIVE PUNK ROCK BAR!" and the Fish Co. does not fail to deliver in that aspect. Â From the moment you set inside this place, you can't help feel a connection to the immediate punk rock past, yep even all the way back to when "Dookie" and "Smash" changed music forever! You'll be treated to some of the best local (and non-local too!) cover bands ready to make you slam-dance like a motherfucker, right up until about 10:30 or 11.
Which is awesome, because they save you a good 2-3 hours of paying for that babysitter at home! That can almost buy you a full round of drinks at the bar! PUNK ROCK!
Way better than Fish Co!
It is 100 times cleaner that Fish Co. You do not leave feeling like you spent the evening at the Johnston landfill. The drinks are good, pretty standard for a bar.
On a nice night, if you get there early enough, you can sit outside at a table with a view of the water. Not much of a view, but really nice when the weather is warm!
Plan ahead for parking, it is rough around there and they ticket!
Neither successful as a irish pub or a rock venue but trying too hard to be both.
All this place has going for it is location, which is overshadowed by it's more famous neighbor Hot Club which manages to have more deck space and a better summertime patio vibe.
Boring brand-name Beer? yes.
Generic sports bar crowd? yes.
Cloying cover bands? yes yes.
Somehow both empty and cramped feeling? yes.
Inexplicable lack of parking? yes yes. (Srsly who would valet at a place like this?)
Half-hearted menu? a thousand times yes.
My friend ordered some mystery balls, and they were just that - a mystery in ball form. Â I won't even play the vegetarian card, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would be satisfied by anything they ate here. Â Deep fried AND undercooked? I'm sorry, but adding alcohol to every dish does not cuisine make.
I'm sorry WR, nothing revolutionary here.
IS THIS A REPUBLIC? Â I WOULD ADVOCATE THE OVERTHROW OF THE GOVERNMENT!
I know the place was the old "Fish Co.", and I know that much like its predecessor, it is again more focused on drinking than eating. Â However, IF you are going to serve food, why would you treat that service as an afterthought? Â I know Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphy's threw money into this place, but I have no illusions that he is there counting beans or preparing meals. Â Yet, I can't believe that a place with his financial backing so readily disregards its food service and thinks the word would not get around.
My wife and I went early on a Saturday night to try the place. Â We had just a quick bite in mind, so we did not have any expectations of the place being a White Linen and Sorbet type of establishment. Â We were just looking for basic fare, which is why this seemed to be fine. Â Surprisingly, the place was not crowded at all, which is to say that it seemed to be that there was more staff than patrons. Â Of those patrons, they mostly appeared to be drinking, not eating, so the kitchen did not seem to be pressed at all. Â
When we asked about a few items on the menu, sadly the server could only recite the menu description. Â There was nothing more substantive in explanation that encouraged any one item to be tried, Â so we both just ordered salads. Â Without hyperbole, it took at least 15 minutes before they arrived. Â The kitchen was certainly not in the weeds. Â In fact, I don't believe I saw any other order sent out of the window prior to our salads. Â
How hard could salad be? Â Even if prepared from scratch? Â When my wife's salad arrived, the chicken was raw. Â To give the staff credit, the waitress did ask and offer to pull the item off the bill. Â At that point, I was not about to ask the kitchen to re-do the order since I had steadily lost confidence from the time I arrived to believe that what was coming subsequently would have had any chance of being better than what had come prior. Â
It was obvious to us that the idea of the establishment is a bar, not even a pub. Â That's fine if that's what it is. Â However, if part of your advertising and logo lists food, you may want to take that seriously. Â I am not exactly placing blame with the staff, since the orders tend to flow downstream. Â If the management does not want to give a welcoming atmosphere generally to those eating, or it does not train its staff to think about explaining or preparing its food, then I can not blame the staff.
I had high hopes of the rebirth of this location would be something more that just a dive as it had become with the prior incarnation of the Fish Co. Â Yes, they dressed it up so it doesn't look like a longshoreman's cabin. Â Great look, but that appears to be window dressing, unfortunately. Â
I will not be going back, even if I wanted to go just to a bar. Â What a shame.
Can you say upgrade?
Don't get me wrong, when The Whiskey Republic was known as Fish Co. everyone and their mom ended up there at some point and probably had some crazy time. I know I did.
But my wild nights are long gone and so is the Fish Co. and I must say that its replacement is not half bad...thanks mostly to Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys, who bought the place and turned it into something that's more awesome and less trashy.
We went here on a whim after a few beers at the Hot Club. i was starving so we went to the place that was the closest and with some decent food(we didn't feel like walking through a possible thunderstorm/hail/tornado).
Whiskey Republic looks pretty decent on the outside and when you walk in, you can tell they definitely tried to class up the joint i.e. they got rid of the stripper poles throughout the place. Yay!
It was a pretty busy night with game one of the Stanley Cup Finals AND they were also trying to run a trivia night (which was actually one of the better trivia nights I've been to). It still didn't seem crowded though.
Same layout as Fish Co. except with better seats and a much nicer bar. The waitress we had was good and the service was prompt.
Their menu is small. I'm talking like In-N-Out small.Definitely less than 20 items.
The interesting thing is that they listed their Chef De Cuisine on the menu..a minor thing but not something that it often seen in a bar's menu.
I ordered some Crab and Shrimp fritters to start. They were tasty. Nothing too spectacular but good. For my entree, I got the Chicken "Schnitzel" which was an open faced sandwich made with breaded chicken, tomatoes, Muenster cheese, capers (surprising!) and a fried over easy egg.
Phew, OK that was a mouthful.
It was incredibly delicious. There was a delicate balance between the melted Muenster cheese and the tartness of the capers and the chicken itself was very well-cooked. By the way, any time a fried over easy egg, which was cooked PERFECTLY, is placed on a sandwich am automatically a fan.
Their fries are pretty bomb too. Wicked good.
The dessert special of the day had the words Jack Daniels and Creme Brulee. My fat ass was had already inhaled all my food so I was too full for dessert.
I'd definitely go back here for a drink, date or to beat some people with my trivia knowledge.
The Whiskey Republic is  a newly renovated place opened by Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys (it occupies what used to be Fish Co.). I was expecting a punk rock dive bar kind of feel but its rather big, new and comes off more like a bar created more on the focus group input of a dozen or so  college aged males than anything else (think lots of T.V.s, young female bartenders hired for reasons other than their ability to pour a  pint or mix a drink, and buffalo wings).
I came here on a whim with a few friends for a couple of drinks and to watch the Celtics game. Now I am the first to admit that I can be overly picky about bars/pubs but this place pretty much lived up to my (low) expectations.
Upon entering it was easy enough to find a good spot at the bar and they had Guinness on tap so I thought  "well this place can't be that bad..." But when I noticed that the barmaid poured me a Guinness into a Budweiser glass without letting in rest, I made the sign of the cross and prayed to St. Patrick.
My friend had the grilled chicken salad which he said wasn't bad but nothing memorable. I had already eaten so I just had a few pints (I switched to Stella after the Guinness fiasco). Beers are pricey and the selection is pedestrian at best.
There was a trivia contest going on (Wednesday is trivia night) and the sound system was quite loud. The questions were pretty good, did you know that Roger Clemens leads the major leagues  in felony convictions for starting pitchers? Still we were able to watch the game in peace until they started setting up for late night.
At approximately 10pm the place began to transform when a 1/2 dozen or so large bouncers, who you couldn't pay me enough to piss off, starting getting ready for what I imagine was the late night club crowd. As soon as the fourth quarter ended the DJ started "spinning" some pretty horrendous top 40 rock and roll (I think I heard a Creed song).
There is a nice view of the river and power plant. It is probably the only power plant in America I would describe as aesthetically pleasing. Yet I really can't see myself returning anytime soon. Its not that its a bad space but I like my bars to have a less corporate feel and I prefer knowledge to endowment when it comes to bar tending.
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