The Kingston Brewing Company
Just as OB has Tango as their territory, we have Kingston Brew Pub as ours. We find ourselves there after work on many Fridays. In the summer, their patio is shaded and great for people watching. They also have a pretty awesome courtyard in the back (with a hilarious park bench on the roof… I really don’t know why that is there, I wonder if people sit there and watch the people below).
They make their own beer and cider so you definitely don’t want to miss it. I find myself drawn to the Dragon Pale Ale as my usual drink of choice. We interviewed a whole bunch of candidates here last year and had them on the second floor where there is lots of room for big parties.
Their pub grub is pretty good too. This is the Horn of Plenty (“This will blow you over – onion rings, zucchini sticks, mushroom caps, chips, wings, and nachos. ‘Where to Eat on Day Parole’ calls it ‘Wow! What a pile of food!”‘) for $15.10. It is gigantic. Lots of nachos and even more fries that I really like (very darkly fried with skin on). The wings are marinated and charbroiled in BBQ sauce and not deep fried. Thus I don’t find them too oily.
This is the Lamb Burger 6 oz (served with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and pickle on a whole wheat bun and chips and cooked medium) for $10.90. I found the burger a touch on the dry side but it had a nice fragrant lamb flavour. Again these chips are pretty tasty.
This is the UN Chicken Sandwich (Canadian Grade “A” breaded chicken breast topped with Swiss Cheese, sprouts, tomato, lettuce and East Indian curried mayo on a whole wheat bun) for $11.25. Nicely crispy chicken and a very interesting mayo.
Kingston Brew Pub is our go-to place for a drink after work. It will remain so for many years to come because of its location, its food, and its drinks.
More than the quality of their beer and food, Kingston Brewing Company is a class act in Kingston. The countless hours management dedicate to community building, charity and selfless acts in Kingston is an example to all businesses. The Brew Pub is a community in itself, equaled perhaps only by Chez Piggy in that respect. Definitely my go to place when visitors come to Kingston.
Fully agree with you Rich. Van and the KBC crew do a great deal to support the community. Of note, they consistently provide a visible presence during military parades, and the Brew Pub-mobile even participated in the Red and White Parade on Canada Day.
I have really enjoyed the KBC in the past – great beers! I have to say that as of late I have found their burgers dry and over cooked. I appreciate that they want to fully cook my food, but sometimes it's a bit hard swallowing that hockey puck. I love the patio out back, the atmosphere inside is very unique too.
I once had a birthday party at the Brew and the service was mind-blowingly good. The waiter was extremely attentive to the 30+ people with me upstairs. Not only the service is top-notch; the food is excellent. One of my favourite dishes is the smoked salmon plate, which they smoke themselves. The Brew is my favourite pub in Kingston.
While not much of a beer connoisseur, aside from clearly knowing that I like it a lot, KBC brews are excellent. A buddy of mine, much more of a beer fanatic than I, from Ottawa, will never come to Ktown without hitting the brew pub – he loves it. On the other hand, the food doesn't quite do it for me. It's OK. The beer is what gets me back there.
I am shocked by this review. I've been to the KBC countless times for drinks and maybe a dozen times for food and I am always disappointed. The food is dry and overcooked and always seems poor in quality (I know from a friend who worked there that the chicken breasts are frozen). Their wing "ghetto" sauce is far too sweet and doesn't go with blue cheese (the only way to eat wings IMHO) and the nachos seem like they were simply nuked in the microwave. I know we all have our own opinions and that's great but to call this one of the best sources of pub grub in the city is an insult to places like The Duke who really put serious thought and care into their menu.
Kind of agree.
Granted I have only eaten there twice in the last 3 years, but I found the food to be your typical, run of the mill, deep fried fare. Not a lot of imagination or quality, just large portions of fried frozen food. To each their own, some people love the stuff, but I can think of far more enjoyable alternatives for the same money (Fanatics, who, believe it or not, I firmly believe to have the BEST fish and chips in town (sorry Pilot House), and of course the already mentioned Iron Duke). Oh, I also noted that their fryer oil very likely was in dire need of changing when I was last there.
No qualms when it comes to the beer though, it's the good stuff!
I'm not shocked by Russ's review, as a majority of the comments show that many people love the Brew Pub. For me, that love has definitely dwindled over the years. I've grown really tired of the food, as I find it to be overly greasy, but then again this is a brew pub, so perhaps some of us are expecting too much. When I visited the Mill Street Brewery in Toronto last April, there food wasn't much better. While I stop by the Brew Pub less frequently these days, I still enjoy a few of their beers now and again.
My big question, one that's gone unanswered for quite some time, is when are they going to get their product into the LCBO? I wrote about this over a year ago and have yet to seem the infamous White Tail available in stores? Wishful thinking on their part, or did something fall off the rails?
Love, love, love the patio. I feel much less passionate about the food. In fact I would have to say it has gone downhill in recent years. Or maybe it was always mediocre and I was previously too enthralled with the microbrews to notice.
Love the place itself, much more in the winter – you can't beat it for over the top Christmas decor! The beers are pretty good, they have an excellent selection of malts, but the food is terrible. Still love the place.
Not sure if they still have it, but I WANT that old red truck as my surf-mobile…
That's still there!
Tracey and I hit the brew pub a couple of weeks back. It was really nice, we sat in the patio. The beer and cider was good and food was okay. Tracey had the UN Chicken sandwich and really liked it. I had a shaved meat dish and thought it was so-so but the prices were decent too.
Great beer, but not so great food. Very bland. Their baguette is awful, it shouldn't even be called a baguette.