eat elsewhere, but come here for drinks. i went here on the recommendation from a friend, and was told to expect amazing food, mac and cheese specifically, and a great beer selection. although their beer selection was pretty good, the beers that made it onto the menu were top notch. however, their food was mediocre, and the service left me feeling like i was being served by a waitress who didn't care about getting tipped.
there were three of us, and we all had the mac and cheese (as the recommendation from our friend was that this place had the best mac and cheese anywhere), and frankly, it was super bland.
the menu described it as "our secret recipe featuring an assortment of our featured artisan cheeses topped with our homemade rustic breadcrumbs" and what we got was something that tasted like a bowl of velveta which they dressed up with one additional type of cheese in order to make it's recipe qualify as secret, and covered it with croutons. the cheese was grainy, almost as if the sauce had curdled from being heated too quickly, and the crutons left much to be desired. actual bread crumbs would have allowed the person enjoying the meal to stir them in, and cut the creamy texture with something more substantial.
i'm not saying was outright bad, as it was certainly edible. it just reminded me of caterer's food, where they were cooking for so many people they wanted to make sure no one of was offended. i was just saddened by the fact that this meal was just not something i couldn't make at home...easily, and certainly not worth $10 for the portion size.
their beer selection, however, did work to overcome the shortcomings in the food and service. their selection of trappist monk ales, belgian triples and quads, and other imported beers was amazing. before the meal, i had a la fin du monde brewed by unibroue in canada, and it was a very good , while a bit simple belgian triple. it was clean and crisp, not quite as smooth or creamy as many belgian triples, all in all an easy to drink very satisfying beer.
with our dressed up velveta, i opted to try their recommendation, the red's rye by founders brewing company in michigan. it was full bodied and bitter enough to cut through anything. this beer was a good pairing to a creamy dish like mac and cheese, but it would have gone equally well with another rich creamy dish. the bitterness and strong flavor really cut through the cheese with no problem at all. i think this would be difficult to drink one after another, but as a single beer with a meal, no problem.
after dinner, i opted to try a koningshoeven quad, brewed by the brouwerij de koningshoeven in the netherlands and it was amazing, much more complex than many other quads i've tried. by far the best beer of the night for me. it was a rich and creamy dark red, with a very complex flavor which started with a very earthy malted flavor, slipping in subtle notes of dark berries and other fruits, and as each sip was finished you were left with an almost peppery finish of spices. amazingly light and drinkable, especially for the very high alcohol content. this is a beer you can get twisted off of without realizing it.
all in all, for armsby abbey in worcester, i say eat somewhere else, as worcester is full of great restaurants, but come here for their masterfully selected choice of beers.