I made it back for trivia night! We had an AWESOME time!…read more The two bartenders were so attentive and friendly for the entirety of the night, we were never in need of anything. The mule is definitely my favorite drink here, it's been made perfectly each time I had it. We had a big group, so we ordered a variety of bar bites and I'm thoroughly impressed with the quality of all the food. Especially the garlic bread, wow!!! It was piping hot, fresh and fluffy and just perfect. The host for trivia did a fantastic job and created a super fun event for us. The questions were general-knowledge enough that mostly anyone could have participated. Somehow our team won and the prizes were so fun!! More people need to know about this place!!

Went to Spelunkers back on March 22 to check out some live music that they had that night. Good…read morelive music in Southington is hard to come by in the area. I used to go down the street, but the music selection there changed. For those of you frequent to Southington, Spelunkers took over the old Dial 9 speakeasy location. It's a competitive food area and I didn't know what to expect. I'm happy to say that for being marketed as strictly a dive bar, Spelunkers hit all the marks and some. It also was surprisingly large inside compared to what it looked like from the outside (Which was great because some of the other bars nearby are cramped). Their burgers were good and my friends felt the same way about the food that they ordered as wll. They have ample seating (and a variety of it) as well as a pool table and some arcade games to do while listening to music. Prices for drinks were also fair. The interaction that I had with staff, although brief was very friendly. The band they had that night was excellent. Glad I came to see them. They played an eclectic mix of both genres and decades. They were energetic, their song choice were great and they were refreshing to see compared to the typical Southington fare. If they come back to Spelunkers, I'll free my schedule up to come and see. Been watching the socials . Happy to have a fun bar experience again around here and look forward to my next trip.

An incredible facility that even offers courses for a wide range of music and video techniques. The…read moreinstructors very welcoming and create a comfortable learning environment from the moment you arrive. They offer courses for all skill levels and even provide laboratory hours--perfect for those like me without a home studio setup. I highly recommend their audio engineering course for anyone looking to elevate their skills!

I had a terrible experience at the Factory Underground Open Mic. What was advertised as a "free,"…read moresupportive community event turned out to be an exhausting, $15, 4-hour ordeal. The overall vibes were messy and horrible. Between a rowdy, disrespectful crowd, incompetent management, and bad sets dragging on for way too long, the energy was completely wrong. The tone was set right at the beginning when the host introducing the show admitted she had no idea what food the venue was serving, which was a perfect preview of how disorganized the night would be. First, the hidden costs were very disappointing. This event is advertised as "free" with "paid parking available." I traveled all the way to the venue with my instrument, only to be surprised with a mandatory and very expensive $15 flat-rate parking charge. This feels highly misleading and is an exorbitant amount to pay for parking that no attendee going to a "free" event would have anticipated. I would have been happy to pay that amount if it were an upfront admission ticket instead of an unexpected, mandatory parking toll. The physical setup of the venue made things even worse. The seating layout consists of tables and couches scattered around inconsistently, making the room incredibly awkward and cramped. Because it is so poorly laid out, a large portion of the audience was forced to stand blocking the entrance the entire night. The time management was also incredibly unfair. The event advertised 6-minute slots, which management honored to performers for the first half of the show. However, once they reached the second half, they abruptly cut our slots down to 3 minutes. What made it worse was that even after enforcing this 3-minute restriction on us, management still allowed select performers to go overtime and completely disregard the rules. They let certain acts, including ones the audience clearly disliked, drag on for over 5 minutes without cutting them off. They also showed clear favoritism to students who take paid classes there, letting them combine their sets to hog the stage for 20 minutes. This inherently defeats the purpose of an open mic, makes the audience restless, and prevents different voices from shining. Allowing these specific acts to run significantly over schedule directly penalized the artists left at the end of the night, pushing the entire event way past its intended end time. Because management refused to enforce the rules, the show ran late and 90% of the audience left. I waited over three hours and paid over $15 just to play a single 3-minute song to an empty, exhausted room. To top it off, when people were actually there, the crowd was loud and disruptive. Audience members were loudly taking phone calls and talking over performances while management did absolutely nothing to maintain basic etiquette. I left feeling disappointed, exhausted, and completely unappreciated as an artist. If you are looking for a welcoming and well-run open mic, I highly recommend looking elsewhere. Furthermore, seeing how unprofessionally this event was managed makes it hard to recommend the business as a whole. If they cannot handle basic scheduling or treat outside artists fairly, it calls into question the quality of their paid music lessons and recording services. I suggest saving your time and money and finding a venue that actually values musicians.

What's behind the Green Door?…read more Well, I remember a song from my childhood called "Green Door" -it had a honky-tonk piano sound and I kind of remember it got some radio play in the early '60s. I also remember there was a porno movie named "Behind the Green Door". It was a big deal in 1972 and "starred" Marilyn Chambers -the Ivory Snow girl. Fast Forward to today. What's Behind the Green Door up in Collinsville, CT? A very nice restaurant known as the Green Door Restaurant. It's the house restaurant at Bridge Street Live - a music and entertainment venue on the Farmington River in the funky little town of Collinsville. We had dinner at the Green Door tonight and had a pretty favorable experience. We sat outside on the deck and enjoyed a pretty view of the River and enjoyed a singer and his acoustic guitar. So what kind of food might one find behind their Green Door? The menu had seven appetizers ranging from a $6 soup to an $18 Charcuterie Board, three salads ranging from $10 to $14 with a protein add-on between $8-$10 more, five sandwiches with a side for $13 or $14, six personal pizzas ($10-$15), and eight entrees ranging from $14 - $34. We shared a Hummus platter ($10) served with pita wedges, grape tomatoes, carrot and celery sticks, and broccoli florets. The hummus with Roasted Red Pepper was very good, the veggies were cold and crisp, and the pita bread was soft and warm. Not a bad value for ten bucks, but the actual amount of hummus wasn't very generous. I ordered one of the entrees - a Seared Sesame Ahi Tuna Bowl for $18. It was a big serving of six tuna slices with red quinoa & buckwheat, maybe two dozen crispy chickpeas, shaved carrots, sliced avocado, and arugula with a herb lemon dressing. The dish tasted great and was a pretty good value, considering the large serving. We also ordered a Reuben Sandwich ($14) of shaved corned beef, Thousand Island dressing, house made sauerkraut, and Fontina cheese, on Marbled Rye. The sandwich tasted great (especially the bread) but the weak link was the quantity of corned beef - not nearly enough. My Diet Coke $3 and that price speaks for itself -it was high. Our modest dinner ran around $47 (after tax) and I didn't really feel our overall value was there. Yes, the view was nice, the service was friendly, and the menu was varied. If you're attending a show at Bridge Street, it does make a lot of sense to eat here as a convenience. Otherwise, I'm not really convinced to go through that Green Door again.

Great place to watch a concert. Down side is that the beer…read moresection is very dated. No craft beers, just your basic Bud, seasonal Sam Adams, etc.

I've been the "The O Bar" countless times and this visit was enjoying their Friday happy hour…read more They do put out free wings and usually pizza Stromboli slices, but neither are much better than edible, so we don't bother (Request: PLEASE cook the wings more - they are terribly soggy, & even maybe boiled?). Anyway, we enjoy the lively atmosphere and the simple yet appreciated beer/drink specials. We typically order food off the expansive George's food menu - this time a chicken parm sub. From my experiences, ervice from the wait staff is always excellent.

Met up with some girlfriends before I head back home... and we arrived just after Happy Hour…read more.. Admittedly, we tortured our waitress with special order espresso martinis and our food order but she took it in stride and was great! Totally enjoyed my Chicken francaise over angel hair pasta... I love that they offered a soup or salad... and that they included the French Onion... for a small upcharge... which I was happy to pay! It was awesome! Might meet my sister there later. Yum.

The vibe in this place was great! The staff were so helpful to explain their menu and drinks…read more The food options are all shareable/Tapas. We ordered a few to try and it was plenty of food. The drink menu was awesome. Creative combos but also very good. They also have a full bar of the ones listed don't hit the spot for you. It's an intimate settling with limited tables. You are definitely encouraged to sit back and enjoy the food and company as you listen to the piano player. It was a great dining experience for sure. If drinks and vibe are what you are looking for this is the place.

A new spot in the Watertown night scene, several friends suggested it would be the kind of place I…read morewould enjoy, considering my jazz background. I found myself with a hole in my social calendar one Thursday night the second week they were open, and decided to see what the buzz was all about. Their website and facebook page suggested to "dress to impress", so I dug out one of my bespoke Italian suits and found the perfect silk tie to match (lots of orange, because it was nearly Halloween) and hopped in the car to arrive early enough for the first show (they have two shows per night, 7pm and 9pm, both roughly 90 minutes). Picturing a bar-full of women in swanky gowns and men attired similarly to me, I was disappointed in finding out that substituting heels for sneakers with jeans was the norm for women, and throwing on a blazer over jeans was the standard for men. This is more a reflection of the area, than the business, and there were some couples who took this suggestion seriously, with some people dressed to the nines. The inside is gorgeous, with the lounge area filled with comfortable-looking seating areas, and a couple of tables for diners (not a lot of those, however). Paintings of legendary singers lined the walls. The bar area is sparsely decorated, and a bit too starkly lit for my taste, picturing the smoky jazz joints of my misspent youth. Lots of stools, and a beautiful stone bar top completed the look. I found a seat at the bar, and ordered a martini. No Stolichnaya available (except for raspberry) so I settled for Grey Goose instead. It was perfectly mixed, and I awaited for the piano show to begin. As they were new and starting to fill their entertainment ranks, that night they had a pianist who was auditioning. He was acceptable, with a decent voice, but lacked a lot of the spark of other performers I've seen. I have to go back another night to hear some of their other performers they have lined up. There's a menu of small plates that will fit nicely with cocktails, which is the main attraction there, with a list of seasonal offerings. Since I had already eaten, I didn't order any food, but what I saw presented to others looked good. Something for my next trip. All in all, this is someplace I will probably frequent, since it's close by, and in time, I'm sure the concept will catch on and become very popular. I'd suggest giving 88Keys a try for a special date night, or someplace to go if you're looking for a different vibe than the other entertainment venues in the area.

My sister and I follow John the violinist on IG. It was my first time at Trinity-On-Main. It used…read moreto be a church. They were serving lite fair for food. But we didn't have any food. The service was excellent at the bar. We did have cocktails. The price was reasonable. When we walked in to sit down. It was so warm and cozy and intimate. All the seats were nice. Everyone was able to take awesome pics and videos. I would return to Trinity-On-Main. Yelpers if you enjoy violin, please follow John the Violinist on IG.

Kereoke on Wednesday. Night terrible All show tunes…read moreWas like gay night Very one sided music Left after only an hour

Easy and friendly atmosphere. The owner is great and you can tell that he loves his business and…read morepatrons. The drinks are well prepared and fairly priced. The service is quick and friendly. This is a great neighborhood bar that you can kick back and relax in.

My friend and I added our names to the song list, as told to do by the DJ. She should have just…read moresaid she was never going to call us--we would have left then. It was ridiculous. We waited for hours, and we watched her call the same people again and again and again. Some of them singing 4-5 times while we were waiting. Very unprofessional DJ. We will never go back there. She even went and sang with some of the regulars during their songs.

My husband and I usually end up here for our Friday night dinner!…read moreAlways delicious ! Service is great! Atmosphere is Amazing

I decided to have my mother's service here and I'm sure glad I did! They were so easy to work with…read moreand the food was terrific! The room was set up to accommodate over 35 people. Our guests were so impressed with the food as well! I used to take my mother here many times and she loved it, so it was a perfect way to honor her passing. Thank you to the restaurant team that made this a special day!

This business has had a lot of publicity in the local press, so we *had* to try it, even though…read moretheir license is only beer and wine. (I'm a lush, if you've not read the rest of our writing on Yelp.) We're always looking for a new place to have a bite -- and several drinks. This place soft-opened a few weeks ago, and is now officially open. One must enter through the front door of Pol-Mart, a good delicatessen and Polish specialty store (I prefer Zieliniak, down the street, but I'll forgive the Pol-Mart people, because they're creative.) Apparently the space upstairs used to be a dusty gift shop. It's a lovely little cafe with a baby grand piano, a stage, and some ambitious lighting effects. They currently offer live entertainment on only Fridays - but have plans for more. The decor is very Old Country, but handsome and clean. The appointments (glassware, cutlery) are of high quality. We love that - we love a professional restaurant that doesn't cut corners. There's a great beer selection - not vast, but good. Wines are limited and cheap, but not very good, but a good value. I bought a glass, then a bottle, of the serviceable Riesling from Zum, in Germany. Best Buddy had his usual Bud Light. We're delighted they have domestics for him, because there are too many places in town (craft breweries, Polish restaurants) which offer only hops-heavy brews. These folks have you covered. The menu is a delight! There are two different cold-cut platters, either for one ($7-$9) or for two ($10-$12), with bread and pickles to accompany. A "French" platter contained only cheeses. It's all gotta be good because they source all the charcuterie from the deli downstairs! A modest offering of the most popular Polish foods appears on the menu (Pierogies, savory and sweet; stuffed cabbage, and the like -- and salads, by themselves or with a grilled chicken breast or a piece of salmon). We didn't try that -- we opted instead for hamburgers. The waitress, who was delightful, actually asked "why are you coming to a Polish restaurant for *hamburgers?*" I told her that our starting-out place on Broad Street in Little Poland, the Belvedere, had begun to close every Wednesday. I left the new People's Bank, and expected to go across the street to have a Scotch or three -- and then recalled that the bartender had lamented that the ownership decided to take a day off on Wednesdays. So this brought us to this little cafe. (I missed the Scotch, but it's okay). Soft music played in the background, and out the window one could view the enormous cathedral that graces the middle of Broad Street. The whole deal, three beers, a glass and a bottle of wine and two very nice burgers was only $50. It was an off-peak time, so I had to get up to summon our server twice, but she was very, very nice and very professional. She encouraged us to visit on a Friday night when they have the live music. Go here - it's a great place, trying hard, and needs to establish itself. There aren't enough places in New Britain to get a drink at lunch, and that's another (selfish) reason why we love the place.