Woodbines

Woodbines is another craft beer and bar restaurant on Vernon Blvd in Long Island City that has fish and chips on the menu which my partner as craving for. At 5:00 PM, there weren’t that many people, and it was easy to get a seat inside the restaurant. Keep in mind, they do follow COVID protocols, so they asked us to check our temperature against the wall. They definitely have an outdoor setup, and that seemed to be more popular with the guests as the night went on. There are some other affliate locations in the city such as Kent’s Ale House in North Williamsburg.

Ambiance

The decor had a very woodsy bar feel to it. Inside the restaurant, they have several TVs mounted for watching sports, and they also have bar seating too. It gave me a little Yard House feel, but obviously a lot smaller setting.

The service itself was pretty smooth, and it was never difficult to get ahold of the wait staff.

Food

The Montauk Watermelon Session Ale (left) was seasonal and has slight watermelon notes. This was was fairly light, and the watermelon was very subtle.

The Roasted Coco Colada (right) had silver rum, coconut water, fresh lemon juice, pineapple juice, and a touch of agave. The rum in this didn’t blend with the rest of the juices that well.

The wings came with buffalo sauce, blue cheese, and celery. Surprisingly, the batter on the wings was crispy, thick, and good. The buffalo sauce wasn’t that spicy but had the usual flavors. The blue cheese was decent, although there was a thick piece of cheese in it. I wish they grinded it more, so that there was more sauce volume.

The fish and chips came with beer battered fresh cod and was served with homemade tartar sauce, irish coleslaw, lemon, and house fries. The cod was flakey albeit a very bland. The batter was crispy, but definitely could’ve used some more seasoning in it. Even with the tartar sauce, I thought it could’ve used some seasoning. The irish coleslaw was overly creamy, so it was not too enjoyable. The house fries were thick and pretty good although they could’ve used just a few more minutes in the fryer.

The Woodbines burger came topped with irish cheddar cheese, thick irish bacon, and creamy irish coleslaw on a brioche bun. It was served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and a side of pickle slice. The burger itself was pretty good, though definitely not the best. It’s not much different than normal gastro pub style food. I am not much of a fan of the creamy irish coleslaw. I think it could’ve used less cream and maybe a little more zest or sour notes, and it would’ve been great. The house fries here were actually more crispy than my partner’s fish and chips fries.

Final Verdict

This restaurant is your pretty average gastropub restaurant. The food was pretty decent, so you can’t go wrong with it if you didn’t have options. If you were coming here for the fish and chips, be prepared in case if it’s underseasoned.

Yelp Jabs

Caveat: I usually like this spot. Good food, casual ambiance, great drinks. BUT tonight I waited AN HOUR for my “to-go” burger and fries.

Not all sit down restaurants deliver consistent take out orders. This is why it’s better to order take out from restaurant that do it well.

I ordered the lobster Mac & cheese. Honestly, not one bit of lobster, so there’s that…

That’s a little disappointing. Lesson here is to not order the lobster mac and cheese as a small scale gastropub restaurant. I just can’t fathom it to be a wise choice.