Porter Belly's

11/17/10

Best Guinness Outside of Ireland

by Mass Reviewer at Citysearch

I've never had a better pint of Guinness outside the isles than here. The flavor is stellar and savoured.

The place has a cozy backdrop that adds to the ambiance when having a meal and compliments the bands that perform there on weekends.

09/20/10

Cheap Beer, Good Music, Mad Chicks

by jdog123 at Citysearch

Great place that I would definitely recommend coming to. I was in town visiting a buddy in the area and he recommended this as the place to go to meet chicks and have a great time. Enjoyed the cheap beer, live music and by the end of the night I had drunk girls all around me and my buddies. Definitely going back anytime I'm in the area.

**I did not try the burgers, but heard they are great.

02/26/10

solid

by BostonBurgerBlog , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

Situated on Washington Street in Brighton, spaced among dozens of restaurants of a dozen different ethnicities, a restaurant has to stand out in some way or it will just be lost in a haze of pizza slices, Carnitas and Kung Pao. On the surface, Porter Belly's looks like every other pub you've been to dozens of times, the interior is questionable, but I must say, the burgers are pretty decent. But I can't go beyond that. Not the worst we've had, but not the best either, I suppose you could do much worse though. They offer almost an exclusive burger menu, there were some specials written out on a piece of paper separately, but it might as well have said roadkill because I barely glanced at it. The burgers aren't especially memorable by name, and the ingredients are all that imaginative either, and I realize I always order a basic cheeseburger, but I'm open to something beyond that should it be a signature burger of sorts. But why even bother with having a dozen or so burgers (some turkey) if you're not going to be creative about it anyway. Why not just serve burgers and offer free toppings on the side, ala Five Guys, but better? Or make it slightly more upscale but still be a burger at its core, ala The Biltmore, but better? Hmmm, I think I'm starting to realize what my prefect burger might taste like after all, if only someone could execute properly.

My problem with pubs in that they usually have an identity crisis; is it a pub, is it a place to get food, is it a club at night, or is it all three? On this particular Thursday afternoon, I have no idea, because we're the only two customers in there. Is 2:30 that strange of a time to eat lunch? The place smells like Pine Sol, and there are dozens of sports banners throughout (Go local sports teams!) and it feels more like an Elks Club than an Irish bar, although I can't figure out for the life of me what anyone would want to listen to Hoobastank while eating or drinking or doing anything for that matter. Music tastes aside, the burgers are solid, erupting like a volcano of juice at first bite, which actually worries me if anything. The reason being that burgers, and all protein in general, needs to rest a few minutes before serving. Why? Because all that effort spent on making a juicy burger and cooking it to temp. is wasted if it doesn't rest a few minutes before biting into it. The juices need a chance to redistribute, which will make it juicy all the way to the end. Now am I the consumer expected to let it rest in front of me? No way, if the food is served, it must be time to eat. Because of this fatal flaw, my burger becomes drier the more I eat, and more and more cooked as I near the end, so long medium-rare. But overall its good, the fries and right on, salted well and crispy in every way. The service is stellar, but c'mon, we were the only two in there. My biggest problem is with the choice of grilling versus griddling. We can go on and on about the pleasures of grilling (a future blog I'm sure), but for me, a burger has to be griddled, because again, all that glorious juice and beef fat will be lost through the grates. Not only that, over-charred in certain spots yields a slightly bitter, and very unpleasant taste, Porter Bellies is no exception.

I know I sound a bit overcritical, as per usual, but its just my opinion. This place really wasn't bad, if you didn't know any better, you might think its pretty great. Certainly the top tier of what we've had so far, aka, not a train wreck, but i think we still have a long way to go.

03/10/09

Love it

by nunesie23 at Citysearch

I love Porter Belly's and I am there with my friends almost every weekend. They always have good bands. The beers are fairly priced, and there is always a beer special. The atmosphere is great...cozy, homey, and relaxed. You couldn't ask for a better local bar. I do have one complaint however, and that is due to the volume that the band plays at. Porter's is a pretty small bar, and once that band starts playing, it is almost to loud. If they could just take it down a notch it would be perfect!

01/24/09

Best Atmosphere

by Henri15 at Citysearch

It's a very cute pub with the best atmosphere and very friendly staff. I would highly recommend it!

• Pros: Great deals on drinks