We went here for restaurant week/dine out Boston. It was two couples and we all came to the same conclusion just was subpar. The “nachos” was just a small open faced torta. The salad was over dressed for a Caesar salad but was tasty. My steak was actually cooked the way I asked but my friends was unevenly cooked. It's funny because he ordered his first and I said “the same thing please”. The butterscotch pudding dessert had NO FLAVOR. When we ordered drinks they came in one at a time. The drinks were decent. They need more staff that actually knows how to attend a table. We had missing silverware more than twice that and to be asked for. Definitely never coming back here.
Bob Zinsmeister
Only in a pinch. Breakfast buffet was $18 and worth much less. Sorry. Just being honest.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Heather K
We hosted a business dinner for a conference. Everything was delicious and working with the Events team was a breeze!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
richie martinez
Wife had the black fish and loved it. Nicely prepared, crispy skin. Steak was very good medium Prepared. Would definitely do again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak
Peter Jelinek
Tried to get a drink at 945 pm and they basically had the bar all cleaned up and ready for closing. No friuts available for cocktails. What is the point of having a bar with no ingredients for drinks? More interested in shutting down early than serving customers I guess.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 1
happytummy
Even though we had a reservation through Open Table (with a confirmation and everything!) there as no brunch at Punch Bowl. The server who was wrapping up breakfast told us there was no brunch, looked at us like we were crazy when we showed her the reservation messages and emails. So we had to go find someplace else to eat. Either this is a problem with Open table, or with Punch Bowl, but you should not allow people to make reservations for a meal tthat does not exist. Tghe Brunch menu is still up on the Punch Bowl website.
Maggie Moyers
Overall, Punch Bowl was a great experience. The service was 5 star and it was a really nice, low key atmosphere. The food was decent! The brussels sprouts were a little too well done and fried, not crispy as advertised. The nachos were more like mini fajitas than nachos and enough food for a meal! I’d recommend the calamari and the burger.Parking: A few spots on the street outside at a meter. Other meter spots across Brookline Ave.Kid-friendliness: We brought a 3 month old baby and she loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamburger Deluxe Cheeseburger with French Fries
noodlenoggin
This is the hotel restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn. I generally only eat at a hotel restaurant if I HAVE to for some reason, and it was raining to beat heck this night, so down to the Punch Bowl I went.Here's what I expect from a hotel restaurant: Business travelers bellied up to the bar; Limited menu selection; Frou-frou bourgeois dishes; High prices; Mediocre food.Here's what I GOT from the Punch Bowl: Business travelers bellied up to the bar; Limited menu selection; Frou-frou bourgeois dishes; High prices; GOOD food.Highest price on the dinner menu? 10oz sirloin for $39. A 10oz sirloin is not a $39 steak. There was not much to be had for under $20 that wasn't a side dish. And to be clear...I travel with an expense account, so it's not like I'm a pauper...but value is value.Anyway, I had a patty melt and a side of "crispy Brussels sprouts." I was pleasantly surprised by the food, overall. The sprouts had a flavor and texture more like potatoes, actually. Not the crispy roasted sprouts I was hoping for, but not bad on their own merits. The patty melt was legit tasty. Good quality ingredients, cooked well, I was impressed.And...I got to listen to the Boomers next to me rattle on about how most Uber drivers "are simple" but "nobody's above" driving for Uber, and how proud she was of the engineer driving at night to try to save up to buy a house, and how he was "living the American Dream," and had "accepted the equation," whatever that meant. So...dinner and an education.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Patty Melt
Ferdinand Hendriks
Parking: Expensive
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Burger with Umami Black Garlic Sauce, Small Clam Chowder
Maryellen Perugini
The continental breakfast had very little selection to charge $18 per person. We were told that we could not order Al cart menu.There was an additional $1.80 kitchen charge as well.The waitress was very rude and unapologetic.Disappointed ☹️
I have had a few meals in the private dining room and found them all to be disappointing. The room’s decor is cold and uninviting. The wait staff is sub-par and inadequately attentive. The food is unremarkable.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Rader S.
This is a typical not so good hotel restaurant. That pretty much sums it up. We read the reviews and still went! We were staying in the hotel and were tired and didn't feel like going anywhere. Don't make the same mistake we made. Go the one mile into Brookline Village. There is a ton of great restaurants to choose from.
Preston Croteau
We used Punch Bowl to cater our day-long business retreat and were very happy with the experience. The menu worked great for our group, and the service leading up to and day-of our event was great. Very happy with our experience and will definitely be coming back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kristy Methot
Thoroughly enjoyed my time and experience. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff were amazing! Very good food. I felt comfortable and the welcomed. I will be back!Special shout out to James and his service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: East Coast Oysters
TammyC
We wanted quiet ambience, simple and delicious plates, and we got it. Plus wonderful service. The host and our server were attentive, friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the pork tacos and jumbo shrimp cocktail. Save room for dessert. Tried the sweet cornbread with fruit. Even though I am a chocolate lover, I enjoyed it more than the chocolate bread pudding, which was also tasty. It was fun to have something out of the ordinary.
We went here for restaurant week/dine out Boston. It was two couples and we all came to the same conclusion just was subpar. The “nachos” was just a small open faced torta. The salad was over dressed for a Caesar salad but was tasty. My steak was actually cooked the way I asked but my friends was unevenly cooked. It's funny because he ordered his first and I said “the same thing please”. The butterscotch pudding dessert had NO FLAVOR. When we ordered drinks they came in one at a time. The drinks were decent. They need more staff that actually knows how to attend a table. We had missing silverware more than twice that and to be asked for. Definitely never coming back here.
Only in a pinch. Breakfast buffet was $18 and worth much less. Sorry. Just being honest.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
We hosted a business dinner for a conference. Everything was delicious and working with the Events team was a breeze!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wife had the black fish and loved it. Nicely prepared, crispy skin. Steak was very good medium Prepared. Would definitely do again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak
Tried to get a drink at 945 pm and they basically had the bar all cleaned up and ready for closing. No friuts available for cocktails. What is the point of having a bar with no ingredients for drinks? More interested in shutting down early than serving customers I guess.
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 1
Even though we had a reservation through Open Table (with a confirmation and everything!) there as no brunch at Punch Bowl. The server who was wrapping up breakfast told us there was no brunch, looked at us like we were crazy when we showed her the reservation messages and emails. So we had to go find someplace else to eat. Either this is a problem with Open table, or with Punch Bowl, but you should not allow people to make reservations for a meal tthat does not exist. Tghe Brunch menu is still up on the Punch Bowl website.
Overall, Punch Bowl was a great experience. The service was 5 star and it was a really nice, low key atmosphere. The food was decent! The brussels sprouts were a little too well done and fried, not crispy as advertised. The nachos were more like mini fajitas than nachos and enough food for a meal! I’d recommend the calamari and the burger.Parking: A few spots on the street outside at a meter. Other meter spots across Brookline Ave.Kid-friendliness: We brought a 3 month old baby and she loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hamburger Deluxe Cheeseburger with French Fries
This is the hotel restaurant at the Hilton Garden Inn. I generally only eat at a hotel restaurant if I HAVE to for some reason, and it was raining to beat heck this night, so down to the Punch Bowl I went.Here's what I expect from a hotel restaurant: Business travelers bellied up to the bar; Limited menu selection; Frou-frou bourgeois dishes; High prices; Mediocre food.Here's what I GOT from the Punch Bowl: Business travelers bellied up to the bar; Limited menu selection; Frou-frou bourgeois dishes; High prices; GOOD food.Highest price on the dinner menu? 10oz sirloin for $39. A 10oz sirloin is not a $39 steak. There was not much to be had for under $20 that wasn't a side dish. And to be clear...I travel with an expense account, so it's not like I'm a pauper...but value is value.Anyway, I had a patty melt and a side of "crispy Brussels sprouts." I was pleasantly surprised by the food, overall. The sprouts had a flavor and texture more like potatoes, actually. Not the crispy roasted sprouts I was hoping for, but not bad on their own merits. The patty melt was legit tasty. Good quality ingredients, cooked well, I was impressed.And...I got to listen to the Boomers next to me rattle on about how most Uber drivers "are simple" but "nobody's above" driving for Uber, and how proud she was of the engineer driving at night to try to save up to buy a house, and how he was "living the American Dream," and had "accepted the equation," whatever that meant. So...dinner and an education.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Patty Melt
Parking: Expensive
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Burger with Umami Black Garlic Sauce, Small Clam Chowder
The continental breakfast had very little selection to charge $18 per person. We were told that we could not order Al cart menu.There was an additional $1.80 kitchen charge as well.The waitress was very rude and unapologetic.Disappointed ☹️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
I have had a few meals in the private dining room and found them all to be disappointing. The room’s decor is cold and uninviting. The wait staff is sub-par and inadequately attentive. The food is unremarkable.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
This is a typical not so good hotel restaurant. That pretty much sums it up. We read the reviews and still went! We were staying in the hotel and were tired and didn't feel like going anywhere. Don't make the same mistake we made. Go the one mile into Brookline Village. There is a ton of great restaurants to choose from.
We used Punch Bowl to cater our day-long business retreat and were very happy with the experience. The menu worked great for our group, and the service leading up to and day-of our event was great. Very happy with our experience and will definitely be coming back again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thoroughly enjoyed my time and experience. The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff were amazing! Very good food. I felt comfortable and the welcomed. I will be back!Special shout out to James and his service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: East Coast Oysters
We wanted quiet ambience, simple and delicious plates, and we got it. Plus wonderful service. The host and our server were attentive, friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the pork tacos and jumbo shrimp cocktail. Save room for dessert. Tried the sweet cornbread with fruit. Even though I am a chocolate lover, I enjoyed it more than the chocolate bread pudding, which was also tasty. It was fun to have something out of the ordinary.