October 4, 2009
I have been here a number of times, so this rating is a compilation of those visits. The brewpub is divided into three basic areas with the bar on the right, restaurant on the left, and retail shop and brewing equipment down the center. The service is usually good, although there is one time I can recall where it was absolutely miserable, but I’ll consider that an aberration. The beers are for the most part solid, nothing outstanding, but nothing dreadful either, and they do a very good job of rotating the styles. I’ve never come here and not been able to try something new. The food is good and comes in generous portions. This place is worth visiting if you are in the area, and is definitely a step up from TGI Fridays or Applebees.

September 30, 2009
Went there on a very crowded friday night. Went to the bar while waiting for a table. There was only one, very overwhelmed, bartender who could barely keep up with the orders, but she was very congenial anyway. Anyway, for $3 draft beers, I didn’t mind waiting 5 or 10 minutes for service. For some reason, the beer is more expensive when you order from the table. Decent beer, a comfortable crowd drawing heavily on Stony brook university, especially after doing a lot of drinking in the city, the price is right. I plan on coming back. I only tried 2 beers this first time. I also got their nachos. A huge serving that I (almost) finished myself.

May 5, 2009
The food and the beer was very forgettable. I felt like I was at an applebees but with less of a beer selection. The waiter was the only bright spot he was helpful but not knowledgeable about the beer selection. Overall I would not go out my way to go back.

October 30, 2008
They have pretty good beer, but the food is not so good. Don’t get fish and skip dessert. The apps are pretty good.

September 20, 2008
This is my local brewpub and although the beer isn’t the greatest, most of it is pretty decent and worth the trip if you’re in the area. The really good thing about this place is that on weekdays 4-7 they have 1/2 price appetizers and 1/2 beer. Also on Wednesday they have trivia night, if you’re into that. So it’s really worth it go to at these times especially. The food is pretty good and comes in large portions. They have a pretty good turnover of their beers, about a new one every week. Nice atmosphere and good service. Recommended.

September 29, 2007
I visited John Harvard’s yesterday for the first time to meet some friends who invited me to dinner. I found the atmosphere to be a step up on the usual Friday’s, which it resembled on the outside. The inside was separated by dining areas on the left, the bar on the right, and brewery in the center, behind glass. As it was Friday afternoon, the bar was already crowded, but the dining area was sparse, so we landed there with a round of beers to share. I liked the Tripel, Pale Ale, and Porter very much though the IPA was shaky at best. Strangely, the beers came with no head, but I don’t know what to attribute that to. As we ordered dinner, I had the Chicken Pot pie and tasted the hot/spicy chicken tenders. Both were found to be good. I hope to return there to try some of the other selections and I would suggest it to anyone.

September 7, 2006
For 9.3.06.....Struck out with the beers here- the Old Willy IPA was too stouty and not very good. The lager was even more uninspiring, a muddy tasting lager.. Brendan the waiter was good as was all the food we sampled. All the appetizers were fried - don’t eat that stuff ! The sous-chef supervised specialities [entrees] were all excellent. The interior was not pubby, more of an upscale Chilis without the bricabrac. Ate in the bar area which was extremely quiet and dark - the dining area was more lit and still fairly quiet. Overall, above average food, below average micro brews

July 15, 2006
In response to a few previous raters. There are many better breweries in the NYC/Long Island area, Southampton, Six Points, Brooklyn, even Blue Point, but, the beers here were very good. I’ve only been once, but of the 8 beers I had only 2 were sub-par, some of the others, including the Triple and Koelsch were very good, especially by brewpub standards. The brewer at this location knows what he’s doing. The food was decent although my burger was a little overcooked. The service was very friendly and quite efficient. The manager on duty even came over to chat and offer me five bucks off the next time I come in (since this was my first time). When I was there it was very quiet, but still, I’ve got no complaints about the service. The growlers are quite overpriced, but otherwise the prices were about what you’d expect. I saw five new styles in the tanks as well, so there’s no lack of diversity. Hopefully the next batch will be as good as what I had here today.

January 21, 2006
I’ve read what the other reviewers have had to say about this place, and I have to wonder if they’re from the same planet as I am. I’ve been going to Harvard’s regularly for the past decade or so -- driving 60 miles round-trip twice a week in doing so -- and if any of you can suggest a place on Long Island OR in NYC that makes BETTER beer than this place does, I’d sure like you to do so. While the service is NOT where it should be, where CAN you get good service these days? Unfortunately, it’s just the way it is in today’s world. But, in my humble opinion, anyone who badmouths the beer at THIS John Harvard’s just doesn’t know what the heck good beer is. Hey, believe me, I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, believe me. It’s just that in MY opinion, your opinion’s SUCK! By the way, the food here is EXCELLENT, especially for this genre of restaurant. Plus, I take my wife to this place, we have a couple of pints of GREAT beer, a couple of GREAT meals, and the entire bill barely gets past thirty bucks. Really, this particular John Harvard’s is the BEST microbrewery on Long Island, and better than ANY I’ve been to in NYC, as well. And this is coming from someone who makes his own beer AND grew up in the restaurant business, so take it for what it’s worth.

January 18, 2006 [ Updated October 5, 2006 ]
I used to go to college near this place and I have visited it often. So, I believe my rating better represents the place than the raters before me. This is an ok looking resturant, dimly lit, cool stained glass, and a good amount of TVs in the bar area. The food is usually average to above average. The beers are constantly changing, so you may catch good stuff or bad stuff. Usually the good stuff comes out in the colder months. The make a great imperial stout, barely wine, a strong holiday red, belgina style dubbels and tripels. However, I cannot recommend anything good that is made in the warmer months. So, if you catch it at a good time enjoy, otherwise go for the food.