Loved the location and atmosphere, we had great service! Chicken sandwich and hush puppies were incredible. I would eat here again!

I don't think I've ever written a restaurant review before, but this was such a disappointment that I sincerely want to save others from the experience. About six months ago we came here for brunch on a Sunday. It was good. Tonight we decided to return. We were seated on the deck. It was 12 minutes before our waitress bothered to stop by the table, despite walking by and looking at us five or six times. When she did there was no greeting, just "what can I get for you?" We'd had plenty of time to look at the menu, so we ordered drinks, the chicken wings app, and two of their featured burgers with fries. The wings, at $12, were seven small pieces in the bottom of a big bowl with a small ramekin of blue cheese. No presentation at all. No celery as promised on the menu. And no individual plates for discarded bones. The waitress stopped by and asked how we liked them. We told her we hadn't started because we were waiting for plates, or even a single plate, for discards. She said she'd be right back, then proceeded to walk by us four or five more times without dropping off plates. Not long after the burgers arrived, $18 "grass fed" burgers that were each about 6 ounces total, on a store bought bun you might get in the bread aisle at Stop N Shop. And the french fries were limp and ice cold. This actually worked out because we each got a little ramekin with about a tablespoon of ketchup, which we used on the burgers. If we had eaten the fries, we would have had to ask for more. Ugh. The waitress could see that we were unhappy with the whole thing so she avoided us until she dropped off the check. I don't believe in penalizing service staff, so I left her our customary 25% tip, but the management of The Engine Room should be ashamed of themselves. We're not tourists in Mystic to be ripped off. We live up the road in Westerly year round and would have loved to make the Engine Room our new "go to" place. Fat chance. Do yourself a favor: until you hear that they're under new management, avoid this place at all costs. read more

Food and drinks were delicious. Quick service. Hush puppies were great. We also had the lobster roll, pulled pork sandwich, chicken burger and hot burger all which were very tasty. Definitely a place we'd go back when visiting mystic ! read more

This place was exactly what my girlfriend and I were looking for. Local spot with awesome food. Drinks and burgers were spot on. Will be put in my rotations when in mystic and also advised for friends. read more

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I would have gave this 5 stars if it wasn't for the extremely long wait to get our food, we waited over 45 minutes for our meal. The place was packed on a Friday night and we had a group of 7 people but we all ordered sandwiches except for 1 person. The food was awesome, burger I had was cooked perfectly and had tons of flavor, the fries were great. The shared wings we ordered were okay. A few ordered the breaded chicken sandwich, it was another hit. We'll be back for sure. read more

Let me preface this by saying that this is actually my first Yelp review and it's long-winded. I guess I've never been so moved (negatively) by an experience before that I needed to spend time writing it down for the world to see (or maybe I'm just in a bad mood, but hey, I'm going with it). We found ourselves in Mystic (cough *tourist trap*) Connecticut for the night after a great week in Maine and Boston, and wanted a solid meal after being on the road for a long time. OF COURSE, I did my research and thought the Engine Room menu looked pretty appealing. I mean, that's what the people were saying, so it has to be true, right? The problem is that this restaurant is trying so hard to be so hip and original, but maybe not realizing they're doing it at the cost of the quality of the food they are serving and realizing how oddly their staff interacts with people. I dunno, but here are my observations: 1) We were served lukewarm tap water in old(looking) whiskey bottles. Oh yeah, there was a piece of paper floating in it, so we didn't finish it. I didn't say anything because I wasn't going to drink warm water anyways. 2) I ordered an iced tea. Another lady (other than our waitress) brought it over and set it down with no sugar or sweetener. So, I asked her for sugar, and she returned carrying a small glass bowl filled with that stupid Sugar in the Raw that never dissolves. I asked if she had any other sweeteners, and she returned with Stevia, then went back to her friends at the end of the "bar" and sipped on a beer that one of them was holding. The sugar thing must have been pretty taxing for her and I felt guilty. 3) We ordered the hush puppies. We weren't super in love with the jalapeno mayo that went with them, but the hush puppies themselves were pretty delicious (ps - these would be awesome with the maple butter they served with the corn bread). I split the last one with my husband and put his half back on the plate, but in the minute that it sat there, a guy came over and grabbed our plates without saying a word. I snatched the hush puppy before he left with everything and he was taken aback. He was apologetic, and he seemed like he was working hard and maybe in a rhythm, but c'mon man, just communicate. 4) I decided to go for a caesar salad with chicken and a side of cornbread. I mean, how can you screw that up? My caesar salad was kind of bland, and the ingredients didn't really seem to go together. They used sharp cheddar for the cheese and the croutons were made out of cornbread, so they were sweet. It had a good deal of dressing on it, but it wasn't super flavorful. The chicken was ok, but it was cold so you could tell it had been cooked (maybe baked, but definitely not grilled) and pulled from the fridge. Oh, and it was ridiculously massive. The cornbread that I ordered as a side was stale and cold. I love good cornbread, so I felt really let down. 5) My husband ordered the fried local catch of the day. His was ok, but nothing special. It came with fries that were, again, just ok, but also with the saltiest cole slaw ever. We were surprised at how salty it was. He didn't take more than two bites out of it. 6) Our waitress was good, but she really didn't have to do much but take our order and check in with us. Other people took our dishes and brought our food and drinks for us. Hopefully she shared the tip with all of them. The worst part is that this place didn't suck to the point that food was inedible, but it just doesn't live up to it's hype of being one of the best restaurants in Mystic. I guess my advice for this restaurant would be to take the pretentious stick out of your butt and stop trying to be so trendy that you sacrifice the quality of the food you put out of your kitchen. Also, train your Millennial-aged staff to pay attention to the details and to communicate better with customers instead of being so damned apathetic to the point it's irritating. read more

Return? Probably not, okay not special. This is the 2nd time we've stopped in mystic on the way home from the cape. Food options in this town are pretty limited - Atmosphere 4: Cool conversion of an old old manufacturing plant - Service 4: Very friendly - Food 3+: beef ribs (3- too fatty for my taste but I realize most people like this style so others may rate higher), cobb salad (4) - Drinks: soda - Cost: $33 before tax/tip read more

we have been several times and loved it! last night unfortunately was a different story..... we sat at the bar, which we love doing. the staff were mostly good, except the manager. We ordered drinks, including an expensive one. we ordered an app, which we mentioned wasn't very good.... they offered to take it back and send out a new one, which was nice, but not necessary as our dinner was about to come out. we ordered bolognese which was not quite very good but certainly good. we also ordered swordfish, and were presented a tail piece. i'm sorry, but as someone that eats seafood a lot, getting a tailpiece is just poor in the restaurant world. i don't even cook those at home. they're too tough and have too much blood line. it's really bad in general and then to top that - what was supposed to be grilled swordfish was almost fried and it was so overdone it was dry. we had already had several bites before they came over and were trying to figure out what the heck they did to it. they offered to take it back but again at that point, we already had a few bites and we were ready to leave so didn't want to wait for a new meal. however, being that we'd had 2 drinks each, you'd think at the very least they would have offered to take a drink off of our bill.... but NO. and when i pointed out again how dissappointed we were and pointed out that a manager should have been sent over to discuss our experience, their reply was oh one of the bartenders is the manager (cassie) and she knows what's happening. at that point, she looked over, saw our conversation (and was close enough to hear it) and walked the other way. we appreciate hospitality workers, as we both are in the business. but this manager is way to green to be at a management position and certainly doesn't know how to handle herself as a manager. the chef should be taught about serving fish - and never a tail piece - so cheap and tasteless (figuratively). we were looking forward to a nice meal, as we've had in the past, and what we got was kind of the opposite. the lack of acknowledgement made it worse. i'm not sure we'll go back, but if we do i hope we'll find a new manager.... or a more experienced one that knows how to treat customers.... read more

We came here for our anniversary dinner. The place was trendy; close seating, interesting menu items, and lots of beer options. The food was good, but had a few twists on everyday items. We both ordered milkshakes and they were tasty. My burger had something called happy sauce on it. The sauce was a little bitter, so while the burger itself was good, the sauce made it unappealing. My husband got a spicy chicken sandwich, that was a bit too spicy. The service was good, but I don't think I would would return again. read more

Fucking great. This place has everything. You like barn wood? They have it. You like low wattage mood lighting? Check. You like locally sourced ingredients? Fuck yeah you do. They do too. Into seafood? Plenty of it. Oh, you're a vegan? They've got smoked tofu and sick salads. Everyone there is friendly. The place is sick. Food is great. If you're not eating there, you're fucking up. read more

So my three stars are for the food only. Wich was decent. Nothing special. The clam chowder was filling and the roasted beat salad was good. Just would not call it a roasted beat salad. My daughter had mac in cheese...let's say when a 2 year old finishes your chowder because she thinks the Mac n cheese is gross...she was not wrong it was cold and flavorless...and i was sad because I was excited for her it wasn't kraft mac n cheese. My husbands burger was a burger...... now let's talk about how we sat down at 1:32 and we are now leaving at 3:32. It took us a whole 20 min to eat...the rest of the time was waiting on food. And the restaurant was not full.....we were sat next to were the staff get the water for the tables...they would over fill and shake there hands off all over us, and talk about how they couldn't want for the day to be over and kept taking face masks off and putting them back on and going right out to the dinning room. Food being platted without gloves...that during this time I would just think isnt the best messure. measure. Try to go and support places and go in to eat to support the people working but the people at this place obviously don't want it. They just want to complain about it. read more

Well we stopped for lunch. Sat at bar. Crowded place but not too noisy. Burgers and fried chicken looked good. I wanted something other than meat. Ordered baked oysters. 13 bucks for three small oysters with a few breadcrumbs. That's $4.33 per oyster. Mentioned to server. She gave me a Stepford smile. read more

Being a foodie, I have been to countless restaurants around. However when someone asks me what my favorite food is, I can't help but to say hush puppies from the engine room. I can't express enough how much I love them and love this restaurant. It's in the cute town of mystic. This restaurant has everything down to the T. From the amazing rustic decor to the super friendly service. The food is all local and made from scratch. If you haven't been here, you are missing out on a Rhode Island staple. Consider me a regular here. See you soon. read more

As a vegetarian, I was a little hesitant to eat here but upon arrival I was pleasantly surprised to find out that any of the burgers can be swapped with a tofu patty. Started the meal with elotes and hush puppies. Both awesome. For my entree I had the hot fire burger with a tofu patty, potato salad, and Mac and cheese. My one complaint- the tofu was cut way too thick and took away from the rest of the sandwich. The potato was good, and the mac and cheese was my favorite thing I ate. Good over all, and I will be back. read more

Fantastic dinner! We had the beet salad and scallops which were delicious and the bonus was Grace E. She was a delight and took care of us!!

Fun place - mostly young people drinking beer. Great pub food, quick service. Too cold to eat outside but it must be nice when the weather cooperates. I had a burger and my wife had the fish. Everything was fresh and well prepared. read more

Excellent summer drink options, dog friendly and friendly staff! Food was great too!

I've been here for lunch and dinner before, and just had my first brunch experience. WOW, it did not disappoint. Great sizes, I had their short rib Benedict and the meat was perfectly lean, something that I find as a rarity when having short rib anywhere. Bloody Mary's were amazing, too. Our server was attentive and and efficient. Looking forward to returning in the future. read more

Been here twice. Food is consistently delicious. Nice ambiance and menu. Burgers and salad are really good.

Millennial service, less than average food, my Filipino style ribs with Jasmine rice was stone cold. When the server brought my plate back it was clearly microwaved. I watched one of the line cooks use his fingers to taste some type of sauce. I wish the cool decor matched the food. read more

Delicious burger and fries and garlic aioli, even if a few dollars overpriced. Cutest young bartenders were nice to look at and provided good service. Cool engine in middle of bar and looks like the place to try a brown liquor drink. Super crowded with trendy people read more

Save the turtles! Paper straws! Woohoo! Oh the food came out quick and was good too, if you care about that sorft of thing read more

Was slightly disappointed here. Was a little sad to see that the fried bologna had been removed from the menu but opted for the chicken burger instead. I requested a slice of tomato for my chicken burger and was told by our server that the kitchen staff wouldn't allow her to give me a slice of tomato as the tomatoes were "for the grass fed burgers only". This rubbed me the wrong way, and though the burger was good regardless- it would have been better with a slice of tomato and the assurance that I could personalize my $15 burger to my liking. read more

Best spot we've found in Mystic! The staff is fantastic and they make the best drinks. We are here for a short vacation and have already been twice! read more

Came here on a Thursday evening at 5:30. There is a bar/counter that runs along the windows great for a solo meal or with a friend. Sat promptly & the server was quick to bring water. Had the beet salad (quite sizeable for a "small plate") & the fritters. Salad was DELiCIOUS! Ate every bite. The fritters were ok. A lot of dough & not a lot of clam. It was seasoned well & the dipping sauce was good. Nice ambiance. Eaten there previously & would come back again (though not for the fritters) to try other menu items. Doesn't seem like they have the same offerings as other area restaurants. I'd also say not the best place for kids, but not bad for them either (would need to see the menu). read more

The food was awesome and so was the service. I like their system of leaving water containers on the table so you don't run out.

The food was phenomenal and the overall atmosphere was awesome. The only thing that was subpar was the service. read more

Engine Room - The Big stack and the grilled cheese - Southern Near Me - Mystic, Connecticut

The folks behind one of my favorite restaurants, The Oyster Club in Mystic, just opened their second restaurant, The Engine Room. My husband and I rushed right over for Saturday lunch to give the burgers, beer and bourbon-centric menu a go. Housed in the original home of the JW Lathrop Marine Engine Company, the space is airy, modern/industrial and decidedly cool. Couples and multi-generational families filled the tables and hipsters and locals were hanging out at the bar, feasting on burgers and craft beer. The Engine Room sticks to their farm-to-table roots: the burgers are sourced locally from Beria Lewis Farm in North Stonington, pork is Soetl Farm and those glorious seeded buns are baked by Farm to Hearth. Our Hot Fire Burger, slathered with habanero cheddar sauce and salted onions came with a side of ridiculously addictive beef fat fries. (The tofu and felafel burgers are served with a vegetarian canola version). For the burger-averse there's plenty to choose from: we loved the crispy buttermilk fried squid and roasted beet salad with a shmear of goat cheese. The "In Praise of Katz's Deli" (housemade pastrami sandwich) was sold out, but I'll definitely head back for it. Saturday lunch wasn't too crazy, but I hear Happy Hour is packed. Reservations are a good idea. Kid friendly food, too. Brunch at the Engine Room It's always reassuring to see a place bustling with people straight out of the gate at the start of service. Brunch starts at 10 at the Engine Room. Once seated, my pal and I got right to work on our "Custom Bloody Mary" paperwork and decided we might as well order the house down. We went with the deliciously sweet AND savory Hush Puppies with spicy jalapeno mayo, Kale Caeser Salad with perfect, tender, Spanish anchovies, and a teeny cast iron skillet with Baked Parmesan Eggs, lightly dressed greens and toast on the side. And, oh, we had to try the "Hangover Burger" and decided that had we been hung over, it would definitely be the cure (but please note; we were not) -- topped with slow roasted bacon, a local egg, an onion ring, some crazy pickle, bbq aioli and of course, those insane fries. Thrice fried or something? read more

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We have been to the Engine Room multiple times now and in the past have for the most part been pleased with the food and service. However, today things went downhill. We waited for over one hour for our burgers, and when they finally arrived they were not cooked as requested. My medium rare burger was well done. The french fries seem to have been in a warmer, not fresh out of the fryer. Our server was nice enough, but the order was mixed up with hush puppies coming instead of stuffed cherry peppers. I also suspect she must not have put the order in when it was taken. Many tables that came in after we did, were served before we were, and some had even paid their check and left by the time our food came. I won't be recommending it anymore and it will be a while before we go back. read more

Me, my husband and two daughters came to Engine Room on Sunday for brunch. We we greeted by great hostesses. The inside is full or rustic wood, industrial fixtures, but still warm enough to feel family friendly. Very well thought out design.. I loved everything about it. Everyone was super accommodating to our little girls. My husband got the Benedict, and I got the fish sandwhich. Both were so delicious! I also got a Bloody Mary which was so yummy. I can not wait to go back here read more

Simply the best...great food...friendly staff...hands on ownership...park where ever you can...it's worth the walk... read more

Engine Room - Southern Near Me - Mystic, Connecticut

My wife and I went to the engine room for lunch today. The building itself is historic, really beautiful, and cozy inside. We were working so we had a couple of ginger ales and two salads. Service was friendly, but the server never came back to ask us how anything was. I had the Cobb salad... & it was good not great. It had a fistful of bibb lettuce, onion, cheese, and bacon. I added chicken which brought the price up to $16.00. For two salads and two ginger rail's it cost (with tip) it was almost $50? We may try it again as we are usually really pleased with diners, drive-ins and dives recommendations. read more

Came off our sailboat in Brewers Yacht Yard & headed to the Engine Room for some cocktails and apps. The mussels were fantastic & their fried chicken wings were spectacular! #tommurray read more

After all the great reviews and an in-person good review from a customer in line with us at Sift, we decided to try the Engine Room. We tried the Tikka Masala wings. Crispy wings drizzled with an orange sauce that made them un-crispy. Served with a non-descript yogurt dipping sauce. We hadn't eaten all day and were pretty hungry. We each ordered Sues Famous Rotisserie Chicken. Half chicken each. The chicken was moist. That's about all that can be said for it. It wasn't hot. It was warm. Obviously, the chicken had been taken off the rotisserie and just kept warm for a while. We both got the garlic aioli which was essentially mayonnaise. It comes with two sides. We got the mac and cheese and it was pretty good. At the waitress' suggestion we ordered the cornbread and Onion rings. The cornbread was pretty good with a maple flavor. It was warm and topped with a butter-like blob which never melted. I suspect it was the low-priced spread. The onion rings were extremely greasy as in dripping with grease and absolutely tasteless! Terrible recommendation from our server. The beer is good though! We probably won't go back. Many better offerings in Mystic. Disappointed read more

This place is super cool and trendy. The drinks were great and so was the food. The fish and chips was amazing. The burgers were even better! read more

Trendy/ hipster restaurant in Mystic. Innovative drinks and decent beer list. I've had burgers and salads and the food is pretty darn good. Make a reservation if you can, or at least be prepared for a wait. read more

We came here for Mother's Day and absolutely loved it. All three of us loved our meals. They had everything from meat dishes for my husband, fish entrees for my mom, and vegetarian for me! They had fried options, super healthy options, truly everything. We were amazed at how great and quick the service was especially on such a busy day. And the whole look and feel is just a really fun experience. We'll definitely be back. read more

Stopped Happy Hour. Easy bar sitting, great price bourbon old fashioned and bar snacks. Great atmosphere, taps cool, many interesting beer choices. Actually had dinner somewhere else and returned for a night cap. read more

If heaven was a place on earth and the angels served beer it would be Engine Room. It's almost like poetry. The fluidity of the bartenders is reminiscent of a time past. The culture of Engine Room is liken to the memory of a 1934 Rainbow Room. If there was ever an addition to a person's bucket list. This would be it! read more

Awesome food. Awesome beer. The Chicken Skins are ridiculous! The Hot Fire Burger is delicious as well. I'd definitely stop here if you're in the area. read more