The Republic Pub

We have been going here since they opened. In the beginning, it seemed they took the idea of a gastro-​pub very seriously. The food was interesting and several notches up from standard bar food. But each time we return the service and menu continues to decline. The waitress/​waiter is often the bartender who is usually too busy tending to the clients at the bar to regularly service the 10 or so tables. More than once we have gone in for a bite and waited a half hour without being acknowledged. (We have walked out, on more than one occasion lest we starve to death.) When the bartender is waiting tables, little requests are quickly forgotten (extra sauce, napkins, a drink or what have you) it almost feels as if you are intruding when you sit at a table — like your presence is a nuisance. As for the food: Our most recent visit, we all ordered burgers medium rare, they were served medium well. Not really a good sign when most of your menu is specialty burgers. The buns were burnt — literally black and rock hard — we each had to sacrifice half of our buns because they were inedible. They forgot the sour cream and cheese sauce on the «Ugly» burger, and by the time we got the bartenders attention everyone was more than half finished. The bartender repeatedly forgot to bring us what we needed because she was too busy socializing with the guests and pouring drinks. The macaroni salad has gone from a pleasant, creamy surprise with a hint of mustard to COMPLETELY overrun with super hot spicy mustard that you can barely eat without having a coughing fit (OR BREATHING FIRE.). At the end of our last visit, the bartender came to collect our bill and waltzed off with our beers that were still half full! We called after her to get them back, but she didn’t hear us and told us to have a good night. First rule bartending is: «don’t EVER take a glass off the bar if it’s still got alcohol in it» Needless to say we were petty annoyed because, well — I mean, those were $ 10 beers! SIGHHHH — I could go on but will stop here. We won’t be back. Too many chances and they just can’t get it right.

For bar/​pub food these guys definitely go well above the mark. Great mac and cheese and sandwiches. Try their steak sandwiches!
The beer is nice, wide variety, tasty and staff that know these brews in and out.
The place was a little bit too dark and it is a bit of a weight to get your food but well worth it!

Nice atmosphere. Good crowd but not too crowded. Attended Santacon here. Nice beer selection. Good music but at a level where you can hear your freinds. Nice bartenders.

Ah the republic, so many people *love* this bar, it’s alright. Not my top pick for Farmingdale. Whenever I come the service is «eh» and not that friendly. Food is not that great and was highly talked up by a few friends of mine. Their sweet potato tots however are delicious. Nachos? Weird. And they got soggy, they put them in a bowl which made them hard to eat and they just didn’t taste right (pretty sure they had black refried beans on them) Pretzel twist was dry and the cheese sauce that came to dunk in was so thick it was the consistency of butter. They also have a limited selection of beers on tap. Place gets packed and very hot. Had an organic beer (peak white nitro) it was ok, very light not much flavor. Prices aren’t that bad. Basically an ok bar that I won’t go out of my way to go to. (I prefer dark horse and Croxleys over here)

We came here about a month ago for my friends 25^th birthday. We had a great time and had no complaints. They have a great beer menu with tons of choices
We ordered a few items from the menu as our night went on and the chef prepared them quickly and they arrived at our table hot and delicious
Anthony was working the bar and he was very accommodating and entertaining. He made sure we were all taken care of and even put the Patriots game on for me (which is a hard thing to get in a state where most people hate Boston… haha) Even when the bar was closing he did not make us feel pressured of rushed to leave which we really appreciated
We will definitely be back when he is working!

Came here for a quick lunch. I had the pot stickers which were really good, but the sauce was very salty, which is saying a lot because I love salt.
Bartender was nice and attentive with everything. It was definitely a nice little spot to have a drink and some lunch.

Service: I went to the Republic Pub on a Saturday afternoon for lunch. There wasn’t really anyone in there at that time so the place only had a bartender who also served as the waitress for the tables. Although the waitress was extremely nice she continued to turn her back to the customers at the bar and us at the table to text on her cell phone next to the cash register. She also used the soda gun to fill up her previously used water bottle by sticking the nozzle of the soda gun into the bottle which is unsanitary.
Food: we ordered corn fritters which were excellent, my pulled pork Mac n cheese was just okay and tasted like a cheese sauce instead of Mac n cheese, the chicken pot pie was just okay, and when I asked for the dessert menu I was told they didn’t have any.
I felt like although my experience today was subpar I would be willing to give this place a second chance.

I’ve been going to The Republic for over a year now and I finally felt compelled to write a review. The food is good, they have a nice selection of constantly rotating craft beers which is really the high point of the place. Sometimes though, the service is really, really lacking. Their sister property doesn’t have that problem but for some reason this property does. The owners seem to think that having one bartender to handle everything by themselves is pretty much a good plan of action most of the time. On the nights there is a server, there is one server. Usually, the seating area is packed when there is a server and service is very, very slow. From drinks to food, it takes a long time.
Food is good, in my opinion, but I only eat a very limited amount of things. I think the burgers are great, I’ve tried 3 different types. I have had the Irish Nachos and the Buffalo and Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese, which have all been good, although others I have went with have not been as pleased with their foods, although no one has complained about their burgers. I really want to like this place a lot more than I do but it’s just not going to happen when it’s a busy Friday night and there is one or two poor bartenders trying to serve bar and hand out food to 30 – 40 people.
More staff would equal better service would equal a much better time. It really sucks to have to wait 10 – 15 minutes to get your check or to get another drink, while standing at the bar, money in hand, waiting and waiting. It could be a lot better with a few tweaks, but I do give the place a recommendation, just pick your times to go carefully.
Update: I went in again, because I forgot about service issues and had one of the worst experiences. It was slow-​ish on a Saturday evening, the food took a long time, and then I was held hostage by my waitress for over 30 minutes waiting for my check. I had to ask her 3 times in 30 minutes. If I knew what the total was I would have left cash and walked out.

Great craft beer selection here and food is awesome, but wait staff can be slow. They usually have only one waitress and it gets pretty busy on a weekend night. Hire some more people! Beware of sitting outside to eat. They didn’t come around too often to check on us and I got attacked by bugs. Inside it’s nice and I appreciate the music. They aren’t blasting club music like some other local places. This is a cool place to come chill with friends.

Ok so upon further evaluation of this spot I will raise my review to 4 stars. Not 5 because they are still continuously out of liquor but anthony has proven to not be a dick.
I don’t know if it’s because his beard has grown past his chin (clearly I enjoy facial hair) or my charm has just worn off on him however he is quite the pleasant fellow to engage in conversation when he wants to.
Since getting him to open up he is sweet and attentive. I suppose some bartenders just need to get comfortable to talk to you.
My burgers continue to taste delicious although unfortunately seldom are they cooked correctly but hey anthonys beard makes up for it.
I believe in second chances and adequate time for hair to grow so here you go. 4 stars.

I’ve come here a total of 3 times, and each time I never got to the try the food, once couldn’t even get a drink, because it was so packed. We seated ourselves at a tiny table and hoped we’d catch the attention of a server, alas it was so noisy and crowded that we couldn’t order anything. The first time I went here, we walked out after being ignored by the bartender and failing to find a server. the next couple of times, it was so packed we had our drinks in a hurry and left. While it’s the same company as The Good Life, which I love, it’s much smaller. I’ll probably come back in the hopes of finally getting to try the food. However, with Good Life right down the road from me, I doubt I’ll be coming back here anytime soon.

This place can be a hit or miss for me for food. When I went I had the pub burger with pasta salad as well as the sweet potato tater tots with mustard. An appetizer I shared was the cup of mac n cheese with mushrooms.
When I bit into the burger, I immediately was hit with many powerful flavors; it was like all the different ingredients were competing for attention and it made for hugely eye opening experience. I am sure there are people that can appreciate the boldness of this mash-​up of ingredients but it didn’t work for me.
The sweet potato tater tots were awesome and paired well with the mustard. The portion they gave with the order was very generous, but they still didn’t last as the table gobbled them up like there was a food shortage.
The mushroom mac n cheese was cooked very well with great tasting cheese and mushrooms. A big issue I have with mac n cheese in most places is that they over cook the pasta, which then leads to the inability to differentiate the cheese from the pasta as you eat it. They got the pasta texture right and I fully enjoyed it.
The service is great here. I never had an issue getting a beer quickly from the bar and the workers are all smiles.
Next time I come here, I’ll just enjoy the nice beer selection they offer with a few of their deliciously proven appetizers.

Sigh. I so want to love The Republic. But unfortunately the past couple of times I’ve been there, it just hasn’t been that great. Given the quality of food at its sister bar, The Good Life in Massapequa Park, I have really been surprised at the mediocre quality of food at The Republic. Watery shepard’s pie, burnt bacon on a wedge salad, lettuce wraps that were served on pieces that were very difficult to actually wrap and eat. The tap list is, of course, great, but I can’t just drink myself out of hunger!
And let’s talk about service. There are nights where it is near impossible to get table service and it’s not just because the bartender is tending bar and running over to wait on the little table area. One person would be okay, if that person cared even a little about the customers. The polite consistent look of expectation doesn’t work. The partially raised hand doesn’t work. The following with your whole head as a clear indication that you are following his every move doesn’t work. Heck, waving my arm over head (which I *hate* doing to waitstaff) didn’t work. Yet other tables got service, so it’s not like it’s not his job…
I’m not sure what’s going on, but I hope things get better. The place has serious potential, but until they get better waitstaff (or just remind the current ones about general customer service) and maybe adjust the cooking protocols… it’s honestly just «meh».

I’ve passed this place by multiple times, my favorite wings place is next door so I’d always see the busy atmosphere and make note that I’d like to try it some time. Well some time finally came this weekend when my girlfriend and I decided to stop in for a late lunch/​early dinner.
We came in and noticed immediately that the bar and tables immediately near the bar were already packed which is surprising but a sign of a successful spot usually. The music was playing, the tvs blaring and the people conversing making for a lively atmosphere that makes pubs so interesting. The bartender greeted us when we walked in and told us we could sit anywhere and so we a table slightly off the bar and then a few minutes later we received out menus.
Now when I say this bar was busy for a late afternoon I mean it. There was not an empty chair at the long bar and several tables of people ordering food to boot. But the only person working the floor was this one very friendly bartender, I wish i had caught her name. She was being superwoman; pouring drinks, taking orders and delivering food without a moment of reprieve and the wait times were still terrible. For such a busy place there should definitely be at least one if not two more people to help get people their drinks/​food. We ordered and then it took about 30 minutes for our food to arrive.
I’ll give them one thing, their food photographs very well but I wish it tasted half as good. The baked traditional macaroni and cheese had almost no cheese. It tasted very dry and way too much bread crumbs for what it was. The grilled cheese was good, but not great, with very thick slices of bread but a poor ratio of cheese to match. My girlfriend enjoyed the chicken wings though, saying they were a good balance of sauce and meat.
Overall an A-​OK experience. I just wish that the service was better and that the food was more flavorful. Not my best pub experience but not my worse for sure.

This place has great food. Can’t go wrong with the pulled pork mac and cheese. My other favorite is the Crackpot, sweet potato tater tots topped with pulled pork and a chipoltle ranch mayo. The atmosphere is great too. Not a big drinker so I can’t comment on that, but it looks like they have a decent selection. The food is worth the trip to this place alone for me!

I love this place. My only complaint it is pretty dark which sets a certain type of mood. They do offer a nice roomy outdoor area in the back which is perfect for the summer though. I’ve had great experience with the service, drinks, and food. I’ve always gotten a healthy amount of buy backs, no complaints there. The burgers are A+, the mac and cheese is the best I’ve ever had (tried the pulled pork which was my fav and the buffalo,) I have even had the wedge salad which I was surprised to really enjoy. This is the spot I go if I’m meeting a friend for a drink or if I wanna grab some lunch with a beer. Try coming here for the first time away from the weekend, its small so it gets very crowded.