Been here a few times but won't go back. Sat at the bar, ordered a salad and glass of wine. The wineglass was chipped so I brought it to the bartender's attention, she offered to replace it and I declined. Didn't comp it on the bill and I'm pretty sure she put it in the dishwasher to go back into circulation. And all the bartenders are slow and inattentive, given that they're mostly just pulling beers. read more

Recently tried an order to go, got the new NY Strip Steak with loaded mashed potato and was very disappointed. Asked for medium rare and steak was overcooked, dry and tough as shoe leather. Loaded mash potatoes were gross, had a tough outer skin as they seemed reheated and overcooked. My wife got the Ahi seared tuna and asked that tuna to be cooked rare, only way Ahi Tuna should be cooked, but was way overcooked and dry as tuna was ruined. This particular cook had serious problem with degree of doneness on both entrees. Just when I think this place looking up I get two abject disaster entrees that chase me away for foreseeable future read more

We were out driving around on the first nice sunny warm day we've had in a long time. Happened upon downtown Wakefield and in turn, Public Kitchen for a late lunch. Highly recommend. Chill environment, lots of great boozy beverages. Friendly staff. FOOD: Gorgonzola Steak Salad was really good. Don't skip the Poutine - I'm not usually a fan but this version is tops. It had Chinese five spice duck in it and the graveyard tied it all together. Bon Mi was tasty. Side of vegetables is always a good call and these were cooked yet crisp and vibrant. BOOZE I had the No Vacancy (blueberry vodka, lemon, basil) and the Aviation (Gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon). TASTY AF. read more

Service is excellent but the food is so-so. Nachos were good. But the salmon cake appetizer special was probably the worst salmon cake I've had. Made with mashed potatoes. Mushy texture and no flavor. Fries are greasy and limp. Very disappointing. read more

Stopped in on a Saturday as I'd heard some great things .. there were all true! Waitress was was friendly and nice.. accommodating to switching order around and making it a different one as I have some allergies and kind of picky . The Nashville hot chicken sandwich was amazing and huge! Come hungry as it's the size of your face. the sauce were so good I had to steal my bf's honey mustard and I don't even like it normally! They were just starting to get more busy from a festival nearby but so accommodating and food came out quickly . We'll definitely be back soon to try more things as everything coming out looked so good!! read more

The food was great and the service exceptional. Would highly recommend to family and friends

Wakefield has the great vibe and great food. Flatbread pizza is outstanding. Pretty much all the food is terrific and the local draft beers are always changing which is nice. read more

We usually love the food here. The young man that answered the phone to take our order was pleasant and pu went smoothly. The food was great until my daughter got halfway through her flatbread and found a huge dark hair entwined in her pizza. I tried to contact restaurant but didn't receive a response. I saw another review here also with hair in their food. Hopefully the owners see these and try to correct the problem because their food is usually really good. read more

Public Kitchen - Baked potato flat bread with big hair embedded in it. - Gastropubs Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

It is indeed very loud here... perhaps everyone is talking about the food. I was told in advance of dining here that I would find everything delicious, and I did indeed. They have a fun list of both interesting and traditional cocktails and an equally interesting list of appetizers, but this time we went directly for the food. Half our party had variations on a Public Burger - the burgers are supposedly made from grass-fed beef. They had no problem adjusting the toppings on the burgers for those who wanted changes, and I ordered mine as is. It came out cooked to order and was a big part of what I said above. The fries, hand-cut, probably tasted the closest to fries I've made at home than any other restaurant at which I've dined. I also got to sample the fish tacos (haddock). I liked these almost as well, though I was not a fan of the fish being battered and fried as fish nuggets in the tacos. For it being a busy evening, the food came out pretty quickly. If you do want to try to have a more quiet dinner experience, you can try asking for a table in the back. But also, based on the number and arrangements of tables, I think if you came here with a group of more than 6 people, you'd likely have quite a bit of a wait for a table, and there's not really a lot of space in the restaurant to actually wait for one. read more

Public Kitchen - A Public Burger, cooked exactly to order, with interesting toppings and equally good fries. - Gastropubs Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

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First off maple chipotle wings are incredible. Service was great . My wife had wine spritzer which was very good. I had espresso martini which was great. Ice wedge salad was good blue cheese dressing very good. Gluten-free options are available and great. Highly recommend the truffles fries. This place is a must try. I had to add another review of this place. I got a bacon cheese burger to go because I was in a rush. All I can say is BEST BURGER EVER!!! read more

Public Kitchen - Best ever - Gastropubs Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

Great local place with tasty comfort food. Casual and very family friendly! The buffalo cauliflower was delicious.

We went for lunch today, Wednesday school vacation week. There was only 1 server and 1 bus boy. The place was busy for only one server. She was pleasant but very busy. No manager was seen around. The two of them did there best but this isn't the first time I have dealt with bad service here. I think it is due to a total lack of management presence. The food's great but if you can't get drinks before your food is served or at all, it's not a pleasant experience. I give all the props to the server, she stayed so pleasant even under all that pressure. Poor thing, even my daughter wanted to get up and help her! You really need to work on the front of the house. Oh and the kicker the bartender had maybe 10 people at the bar and they were bringing out his food, too. Run your own food! Most of the time he was behind the bar with his arms crossed! Again, poor management! read more

Husband and I are big fans of local restaurants and this place really surprised us with the food and service. The ambiance is pretty good, makes it a great place for date nights, family dinners or even a catch up with friends. We ate here Friday and the place was jam packed. We got here around 6 and were able to get a table right away but the place got really busy soon after. The service was very good and our server was attentive. The menu is very good and they even have dairy free/gluten free options on the menu. I had the veggie burger on gluten free bun and it was delicious. You can tell the veggie patty was made in house, which is great as it is super hard to find restaurants that make their own; it had great texture and was not dry at all. The gluten free bun to my surprise was very good, but if your DF, it will not work for you as it has dairy in it. For my husband who wasn't sure what to get, the server recommended Asian Short rib and oh man! what a great reco. The dish was spectacular and the sauce from the ribs was was to die for. He substituted rice for mashed potatoes and let me tell you, those potatoes were really good. If you eat meat, I highly recommend ordering this dish. Amazing flavors and it comes together so well. I deducted one star because of the fries we got with the burger. They were crumbly, tiny, a little too crunchy and totally tasted like the leftover fries from the bottom of the fried lot. Not a single piece of full length fries. Will we still go back? Absolutely! But hopefully this time they will serve us proper fries. read more

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We had a great first experience at Public Kitchen - I think we finally found our go-to spot in the Stoneham/Wakefield area. We stopped in for a Friday night dinner; there was a 25-30 minute wait for 2 (totally reasonable), and we were actually seated in about 20 minutes. The restaurant is pretty loud -- not in a bad way, more of a social, fun way -- but we have a newborn and were unsure how it would go. Our hostess realized this though and sat us in a quieter part of the restaurant towards the back. This seemed like more of a "family" section and was much appreciated. Some other reviewers clearly don't like the noisiness though, so keep that in mind if it's an issue for you. We ordered fried pickles as an appetizer and the short rib banh mi and short rib tacos as entrees. The fried pickles were possibly the best I've ever had - lightly dusted so they didn't feel too greasy, but still hot and juicy from the deep fryer. Both the short rib banh mi and the short rib tacos were also fantastic - the short rib was tender and flavorful. The hidden gem though is the fries that came with the banh mi. These were perfect - crisp on the outside but melted in your mouth with a ton of flavor. I would go back just to order these. For drinks, there is an interesting beer list with a lot of unique things I hadn't seen before. It's not going to blow you away with variety, but there were a bunch of different choices that sounded great. There was also a solid cocktail list and the bartenders were very friendly. Besides the bartenders, our waitress was also great. She had good recommendations and knew just when to stop in to take a new drink order or check in on how we were doing. Prices are reasonable and in-line with what you'd expect for a "gastropub". The decor is modern, city-like, and feels very open despite a huge bar and lots of tables. It's pretty common knowledge that good sit-down restaurants are hard to find in Stoneham/Wakefield. Thankfully, Public Kitchen nails it and adds some much-needed variety to the area. We will definitely be heading back. read more

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Bad first experience. Nachos had minimal Toppings. Only good part was deviled eggs. Take out packaged without condiment. Only go there if you want to drink a lot. read more

Public Kitchen - Gastropubs Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

It's popped up on my hot and new for a while. I finally came around to checking this place out. Right in wakefield center, it's unfortunately only street parking. I came on a Thursday night and it was packed. The hostess made me feel unwelcome and informed me about a 45 minute wait. She almost seemed irritated that it was so packed. But I was happy to wait. Once seated, the waitress wasn't any step above initial customer service. She rushed us to order and didn't write our order down (but I had faith in her remembering the order). We ordered the public burger and I requested no tomatoes and onions. The burger came with a tomato and onion but it was quickly switched out. The waitress seemed annoyed when I asked for extra ketchup and was quick to send the bill over. I am aware that it was extremely packed but I was patient to wait and had hoped for a great dinner. The food was great; the burger was extremely juicy and the fries were delicious. The customer service however refrains me from coming back anytime soon. I felt as if I was bothering the staff and not there to enjoy a local restaurant. read more

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Akin to a local Friday's, has a good number of options on the menu. Tried the spicy peanut butter burger but its rather light on the peanut butter -- it's overpowered by the jalapenos. Still enjoyable but unbalanced. Can see someone else easily giving this spot a full five. read more

If I could, I would give this restaurant negative stars. The workers here are full of themselves and do not care about the customers best interest. I ordered a cheeseburger with no cheese because I am vegan. After 45 minutes, my food finally arrived and I was met with a slice of cheddar on my burger. read more

I don't have kids, but if I did, a gastropub wouldn't be where I'd think to take them. There were more families with small children (running around and/or screaming) than there were guests without, and the place was pretty busy. A few tables behind us there was a couple with two children under the age of 3 that were crying/screeching most of the time. While this isn't the restaurants fault, it made for a very unpleasant dining experience. Onto the restaurant itself. I like what they've done with the decor. Being new, some of the staff (including the girl hostessing that looked like she was 15) was a bit novice. The draught beer prices were a little higher than I was expecting (~$10). We were there for lunch, they don't have a separate menu. The number of food items was short, with quite a bit of overlap (2-3 short rib items, 2-3 pulled pork items). The portion sizes are a bit small for the price. They just opened a couple weeks ago, so I'll go back in a month to see if things improve. read more

Love the food love the service but I wouldn't come here very day still, a very good spot to eat at.

The ambiance was ok, it's a pub. The waitresses was a crab. Asked her to put Bruins on the TV and she came back half an hour later and said peoplrvarecwat read more

Michelle and her husband went out of their way and helped me, from across the country, to provide a little comfort to my dearest friend and his grieving family with some yummy dishes from their menu. The kindness in the assistance organizing everything alone would be worth 5 stars but the food was reported to be delicious as well. Very grateful for good people and good food at Public Kitchen. Can't wait until I am in the area and can visit myself. read more

Excellent food and service. Sports bar on one side, seating on the other side. Have not had a bad meal there yet.

We ordered from Public Kitchen for the first time in toooo long last week. We've never had take-out from them before, but we certainly will do it again. Everything was delicious. I'm already regretting waiting this long to order from them. My wife got one of their signature drinks with our meal, and it was excellent. And the burger was top-notch, as always. read more

Very good. Opened just 3 weeks ago. Great service though place is almost full. Food is quite good. I'd like to see more salad choices on the menu and perhaps some specials. Medium noise level. Homey comfortable for a casual Sunday late lunch. $30 ish and worth it. Attaching the Korean chick tenders which are half gone and a half of the Poe boy crab cake sandwich w bacon which has a bit of a bite. We like the bottle of water on the table too. Not pretentious or stuffy. Nice. read more

Public Kitchen - Gastropubs Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

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The food was delicious. We order the Sword Fish which came with avocado, crab, zucchini, and asparagus. Also, order the steak tips. Very yummy! Now the service was terrible. I called to make a reservation and I was told is first come first serve. When I get there the restaurant was packed and I had to wait for the table outside as the person that reserved it was not sure if they wanted to seat outside. I was a bit disappointed because again they told me no reservation. We waited about 5 minutes, not big deal as we were excited to try the food. Once we sat a waitress came over introduced herself and went to get us drinks. While she was getting drinks another waitress came over and tossed the menus on our table. I wanted to leave right away but I just ignored and kept calm. No one ever came to check if we needed anything or if we liked the food. I left a tip but was hesitant to do so. Although the food was delicious there are other restaurants that can serve delicious food and provide better service. That been said I will never step in this restaurant again. read more

We were starving so we decided to eat at the first place we found. The food was disgusting. The poutine was sad. The fries were soggy and cold by the time we got them. The salmon with cauliflower rice was okay. I feel like I could've made something better at home(which I did). I was starving when I got there and starving when I left. The service was awful. I'm surprised there's even good reviews on here. The only good thing I had were the potato croquettes but you can't really mess up deep fried mashed potato balls. I felt bad sending it back so I took the food in a to go container. It never even made it into my car. Straight into the trash can outside. Don't waste your time. Unless you like flavorless soggy sad food. I should've just gone to Wendy's. read more

Disappointing. It took a long time for the hostess to even be at the front of the restaurant. Once we were seated, we barely got service. They use an online menu that forces you to look at an ad for 10 seconds before you can look at menu items. Everything was overpriced. $18-20 for a burger. $2 for each serving of a fountain drink (~12oz), no free refills. Our overconfident waitress got our order wrong. The music was loud and the tables were so close together, I didn't really feel safe (in that were still in a pandemic). The food was decent, but absolutely not worth the price or the bad experience. read more

Very cool vibe to this place. Modern, comfortable and cool. The kitchen was a little on the slow side but worth the wait. Drinks were tops. Entrees we had the crab cake p o boy and gobbler. Both melt in your mouth delicious. Will definitely go back when in the area. read more

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Enjoyed a relaxing meal at the bar. Bar staff was attentive but not imposing. Kudos for service. We shared a Sweet Chili Garlic Shrimp appetizer that was tasty and nicely spicey - the heat built as we consumed. Had 7-8 shrimp and a nice bit of romaine salad. We both had flatbread pizzas as mains - my wife the Fungus Amungus and I the Cheesburger. Both featured fresh toppings and were quite tasty, both of us took half home. The place was full when we arrived and rocking by the time we left. The decor featured a lot of hard surfaces which contributed to a lot of echo and a generally loud noise level. We loved the big wide bar and inviting open front windows. read more

Stopped in to the Public Kitchen in Wakefield Center on a Sunday night and sat at the bar for a quick drink and some appetizers. The menu had a nice variety and we ordered the crabcakes, scallops wrapped in bacon, and chicken tenders (pics below). All apps tasted excellent so we devoured them all! The two ladies behind the bar were very friendly and extremely knowledgeable of both the drink and food menu. Since I had a long drive ahead of me, I ordered from the 'designated driver' section of the drinks menu and got this ginger beer pomegranate juice concoction and she had an IPA. Well two actually and enjoyed them both. It was a nice crowd sitting at the bar, probably about 80% full when we got there at 6pm and half full by the time we left. Definitely will return next time I'm in the area. read more

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I absolutely love going to Public Kitchen after work. Have tried many of the dishes and drinks. First, I love the decor and atmosphere. The rustic look is definitely in currently. Second, love the rotating local draft list. Third, love the food. My favorite is probably the maple chipotle chicken tenders, the brie & pear pizza, and the tacos! I've also tried the tuna poke, nachos w chili, fried pickles, chicken sandwich.... and more. All delicious! Highly recommend checking out. It does get busy for dinner hours. read more

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so so fun, the atmosphere, the food! we love this place! It's on our top 5 restaurants/bars on the north shore. We go at least three times a week and the waitstaff is super friendly and prompt. Highly recommen! read more

Went for a quick bite well over an hour before closing. Walked in and got greeted with an attitude from the hostess on her phone as she walked away before we said anything regarding our party size or anything. After 10 minutes standing there confused, she came back and told us our table was ready although we had intentions of sitting outside. Not wanting to be there close to closing time we let it go and sat inside (which was incredibly hot, not sure if there isn't AC ?) We'd been sitting for 15 minutes and we still haven't been greeted by our waitress or brought water despite how low in customers the dine in section was. I ordered the public burger which was maybe one of the messiest things I ever put my hands on, kind of ruined the taste having to eat it with a fork and knife. My boyfriend got the three way pizza and it was okay, we ended up taking the roast beef off as it was such an overpowering taste compared to the ratio of everything else on it. The fried pickles were nice and hot but we had to ask for extra sauce since they barley give you any. After we got our food the waitress was suddenly quick to check up on us every 5 minutes and ask for any last round drinks even though we hadn't even gotten a water refill since we sat down. Seems like they wanted us out of there ASAP even tho it was no where near to closing and we were eating as fast as possible since we know how hectic closing time can get. The bar was still wicked packed and loud too so not sure why the rushing was happening to us. Lots of staff on their phones and walking around with pissed of faces too. Overall food 3/5, service 2/5, hope to try it again and have a better experience! read more

In town for a week. Ordered the lobster roll to go since it was late and glad that I did! So yummy! They put a whole lobster in the roll! Staff was super friendly that I brought my whole group back for dinner and it did not disappoint! Thank you read more

I was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance and heard Public Kitchen had a dedicated fryer for gluten free patrons. Great! They also had dairy free and gluten free menus on request. Service was great. Mocktails were great. Ambiance sucked - I have to agree with Richard K and Mark A's review about there being SO many children in the restaurant roaming freely. It was stressful - there were two tables behind us with four small children total, and the toddlers kept walking up to other people's tables and running around the legs of the food servers. The parents had trouble corralling the kids the whole time and were mostly crouching in the middle of the floor which caused more of a traffic jam. Another two large families with small children came in after the two families left, each child more rambunctious than the last. I had the fried pickles, duck confit poutine with pickled onions and cheddar, and Caesar salad (all gluten free.) My partner had the crab cake po'boy. He did not like it. The fried pickles were ok - mostly all stuck together - and the duck confit poutine was greasy, rich and covered in chicken gravy and cheddar. I was turned off by the hair on it that I saw the minute the plate arrived. I wasn't a huge fan of the cheddar on the poutine and wished that they had squeaky curds, but I know they can be hard to come by around here. Overall, the Caesar salad was my favorite thing I got - lettuce, dressing and shaved parm. I'm definitely not even a salad person. I may try it again in a few months. I wouldn't get any of the stuff I got again besides the Caesar salad. read more

Food was good service was fine but after going the bathroom for no more than 3 minutes they threw away like $14 worth of a $19 dollar Mac and cheese. It was in a to go box. I know it was a mistake but.... that was a lot of Mac and cheese and not super cheap and I was excited to have it for lunch tomorrow. Now I have to buy one. It's a real bummer :( read more

Overall a good experience for our first visit. Service was efficient but not overly friendly. The atmosphere is great for meeting friends but a bit loud as the music is so loud you need to shout at your party. The food came out slow but was amazing. read more

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We stopped in on a Tuesday evening after attending a wake nearby. Decided to sit at the bar (the bartender greeted us on the way in). Draft beer selection covered a lot of bases and I was pleased with Burlington Beer Company's Elaborate Metaphor; also glad to see the beer list in the web site is kept current. For food I very much enjoyed the Short Rib & Mozz Stick Grilled Cheese: sliced brioche (big thick slices), slow braised short rib (really good), huge mozzarella sticks (they do mean huge), roasted tomatoes with fries. The generous helping of mozzarella sticks in the sandwich meant that I took half the sandwich home, but I just reheated it for lunch and I am definitely not sorry. Wish we'd been able to try the fried pickles--the coating on the mozzarella was crispy and tasty and I bet they would have been good. Ladies' restroom was clean and well supplied. I can see how the space might get loud with a full house but it was fine in the early evening. Loved the McDonald's water glasses! read more

Just came into town for a family wedding so we weren't 100% sure where to eat. Once again the combination of Yelp's excellent reviewers and my wife's detective work gave us the right place to go. Food was great, from bacon wrapped scallops to the entrees (were too full from dinner to get dessert), good local beer selection (could have been more but we chose the right ones), and the service was right level of attentiveness (Jennafer; yes, that's how her name was spelled on the ticket). For me, I made a last second, pressure packed choice (everyone else was ready to order and I could not whittle down the choices) to have the grilled mozzarella cheese sandwich with roast beef and tomatoes and a side of fries. Looks like I made a good decision as not only did the server approve but I would have to say that was my favorite grilled cheese sandwich ever. Lucky for me they had just added this when they changed the menu this week. The gods must be smiling on me for some unknown reason (or at least for last night). The only real downside that we found to this place was the noise level, a combination of this place's popularity, all the hard surfaces, and our failing hearing. Nonetheless, I'd go back again. You should go, too. read more

Public Kitchen - Says it all... support your local brewery! - Gastropubs Near Me - Wakefield, Massachusetts

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