Glenn’s & Cool Bar

Such an ongoing disappointment at their new location. I’ve heard the staff say «we’re still getting the kinks out» to me directly and other patrons for waaaay too long. Food so substandard and it used to be excellent. It feels like their energy is mostly focused on drinks instead of their menu. And I LOVE fish, but there were hardly any meat options. I still love the music Sunday nights!

What happened to the old Glenn’s that we use to love? Food doesn’t even compare. We have tried 3 times at the new location. Mediocre at best. Won’t be back

We wanted to try the new location, so we went there for my birthday treat. I don’t eat fish/​seafood at all and so checked the menu first on the website. It looked fine for me, but it must have been the old menu because there were only TWO non-​fish entrees, both a form of beef (one of which cost $ 39 –in Newburyport!) and ONE non-​fish appetizer. Not even a chicken or pork dish for variety. The atmosphere is much nicer in the Tannery than in the old space, and we had a pleasant server who was most embarrassed when she couldn’t produce our dessert after half-​an-​hour and had no idea how long it would be. We left. If you are pescatarian, you will love it. Meat-​eaters and vegetarians, not so much.

Glenn’s has been at it for long, long time and they get it right. We called late, looking for a table for 7. Hostess was exceptionally accommodating (given it was a jammin Saturday night) and though full, they somehow squeezed us in after less than a 5 minute wait. Great looking (refreshed) room, comfortable tables and a sincere recommendation from Glenn himself, giving the grilled Halibut an edge above other menu options. We wound-​up ordering up and down them menu anyway; outstanding Cider Glazed Pork Chop (a monster) w tasty mashed, etc. Not a whole lot of «re-​inventing the wheel» here and they don’t need to; they’ve got the ‘All-​Stars” down solid.
Hostess: 5 Stars-​Awesome.
Room: 5 Stars
Service: 4 Stars (not for lack of trying, just a little light on menu/​wine knowledge)
Food: 5 Stars. Having a party of 7 leave all agreeing that Glenn’s is a unanimous hit, not easy.
*Glenn: Always present-​fantastic.
Looking forward to returning.

Horrible! Went on their web site clicked the link that reads RESERVATIONS, requested reservations and received a confirmation back from Charlene who apparently is the owner. When we arrived to celebrate a friends birthday we were told by the most unpleasant host that they didn’t have our reservation and would have to wait a half hour for a table and they sent us upstairs to wait. I than went back down to show them our reservation confirmation direct from Charlene. Once again the miserable hostess didn’t really care and told us we would have a table soon. I would assume that the older lady lurking on the sidelines was the owner who also never once batted an eye let alone an apology. It does appear they did discuss it with the waitress we had upstairs who tried to fight the battle and told us they don’t take reservations online — I proceeded to show her our confirmation email — she said that must be an automatic reply. Well if that was the case than everyone who emails them receives the same confirming email back from Charlene’s comcast email complete with typo and all! We continued to sit upstairs waiting for our table, one would think that maybe they would at least bought our round of drinks but NOPE! Forty five minutes later we received a table. Very nice waitress who informed us at 8:15 on a Saturday night they were out of 2 of the specials — seriously! We tried not to let this dampen our celebration. We promptly ordered appetizers and since we have been waiting she said she will just bring them out as they are done… totally unprofessional. We finally received our meals around 9:30. Not much to report on the food it was not special. I did happen to speak to a few customers who had heard us complaining about our reservation issue they were also not pleased and like us will not return! As the night was winding down and we were getting ready to end the night our waitress let us know that Charlene would like to buy us a round of drinks and dessert — it was very clear that we were not having any more drinks and we had already ordered the dessert! In reality all we wanted was a «Oh Gosh our mistake we are so sorry». Not only did we not get that Charlene never once made an appearance. Oh well, I have already told numerous friends who live in the area and like us they will not be gracing Glen’s with their presence.

I have enjoyed Glenn’s way back to the days they were in the boatyard. The food, service and ambiance has always been so outstanding. Keeping a very fussy eater happy for 25 years says a lot. Do yourself a favor and stop in at their new FABULOUS location. 50 Water St Newburyport

A local yokel, I first dined when it was the Galley in the boatyard. We had our first date at the Merrimack St location in 2004. I remember the food being better back then. It seemed less casual too, but maybe I was younger and more easily impressed. The food is ok, not innovative, but well presented. I liked the boullaibasse but haven’t seen it in recent visits. Now waiting for the opening at the new location in the Tannery.

We had a bad meal and terrible service over the Thanksgiving holiday. We waited well over an hour and even the appetizers didn’t arrive. Then, they all arrived and weren’t good. It is the second not very good meal we’ve had there recently but this was the worst. We won’t be going back.

Our first time at this restaurant, and it will be our last.
From the time we had to ask for the bread (purchased from the frozen section at Market Basket) to the total disregard to our dining experience.
The focal point was watching an employee walking around the front of the open kitchen with what seemed to be a rag taken straight from the local butchers slaughter house hanging over his shoulder covered in red who knows what. Saying nothing of the disgusting chef jacket he wore covered in what appeared to be an Eboli outbreak. When asked by the server why we were in such a rush to leave, we explained that the sight of this individual within close proximity to the food made us lose our appetite. Only to find out that the said individual was in fact the owner, whom, when I confronted, told him of his appearance, was treated with disdain. This all made us wonder what the standard of the kitchen might be!
It’s no wonder that this place is empty most of the time where as other restaurants in town are packed.
Negative stars.

Great Halibut and Fish Tacos tonight. Really amazing dinner! All the flavors they combined were truly incredible. Service was excellent. We will be back.

I love Glenn’s for its friendly informal atmosphere and greatest chicken wings, lobster mac and cheese– as well as other things I keep discovering. Their clam chowder is the best I have ever eaten with a little hot kick! I like the simplier dishes, but more adventrous eaters will like Glenn’s more innovative cooking & a menu that keeps changing.

We have dined at practically every restaurant in Newburyport, and we continue to find ourselves at Glens. If you are looking for a great meal but maybe not the very best atmosphere then this is the perfect place. Menu changes all the time, they serve what’s fresh off the boat. We’ve not been disappointed in the food yet.

If I could do negative stars, I would. What a colossal disappointment.
My sweetie and I had our first date here some 12 years back, and we had fond memories– over the years, we’ve been a few times, taken my expat brothers there (both of whom gave a ‘thumb’s up’ for their meals, and those guys are accustomed to snooty European service and fare).
Hadn’t been in roughly three years; while walking downtown NBPT last night we tried first to get into State Street restaurants (all of which were full with VERY long wait lists), so we called Glenn’s and asked how long the wait list. There was no wait, if we got there within a few minutes (first red flag– everything else in town with hours’ waits, and you can walk in Glenn’s? Hmmm…)
When we walked in we were asked if we were spillover from the Black Cow, which had a 3 hour wait list (second red flag– this at about 6:30 pm).
Cautiously, with Spidey sense tingling we sat.
We were brought bread, which formerly was its own little bountiful thing at Glenn’s– a variety of crackers, near muffins, seemingly endless choices of breads. This time? Two testicle-sized…things unmemorable but for their contrast in size to testicles (third red flag).
My sweetie ordered haddock, which they were out of (6:30 pm, remember– fourth red flag).
We both ordered the grilled swordfish, and… I have had better food I purchased in desperation in a gas station machine. If it wasn’t tasteless, it was burned, and I can’t even guess what it sat on. We said something to the waitress (she had a rather resigned, apologetic air rather like the cartoon character ‘Droopy’, as if she’d heard this a gazillion times previously), who offered to take it off the bill and give us a free desert, which, instead of being an improvement on things, only hastened our ‘Linda Blair from the Exorcist’ food purges.
It was just awful, horrible– we will never go back, and our fond memories of our first date are now tarnished with whatever the hell it was we attempted to eat last night… I even found myself wishing for the bountiful feast I could have had at ‘Not Your Average Joe’s’ up the street, and that’s a place I won’t go to at gunpoint.
Run. Run away quickly.

Our server recommended the rib eye steak so we ordered it. The steak looked like a chunk of beef the was lopped off a roast. It was so tuff I couldn’t cut it. Sent it back and the replacement was no better. The glaze over the steak tasted nasty. Our friends ordered haddock that was missing onion rings and other sides that came with the meal. They asked our server for them and although she said she would take care of it they never got them. We would not recommend this place. Btw our bill (2 couples) $ 200 what a disappointment

We had a great dinner at Glenn’s last night. We started with oysters, tuna spring rolls, and tempura squash flowers — all superb. Entrees were top shelf, especially the swordfish. Comfortable, spacious (tables not on top of each other), good service. Highly recommended!

Glens is always the go to place in Newburyport. Charlene and Glen work hard to stay fresh and innovative. The menu changes daily which is great if you go there often as we do. Check it out!

Wow, a lot of mixed reviews of this place!
I popped in with a friend, although this place is better if you’re on a date or with a small party. Good place to talk and people watch. It’s an open concept; you can see all your fellow diners and the hard working guys in the kitchen. The bar area is rather limited (this is usually where i sit, but not at this visit).
I’m always reluctant to eat at a restaurant whose menu looks as if it was printed in the back room, I’m glad I took the plunge. The prices were competitive with the other restaurants in the area.
I took advantage of the small app menu (everything was $ 6) and had the tiny crab cake sandwiches. They were not the best I’ve ever had but they were good (guys, salt adds flavor… hint…hint). Doing small app menu is a great idea, more restaurants should do this. It gives you a chance to try several things without filling up. Additionally, most apps can be as expensive as the entrée and I usually avoid them.

I had the pot roast with mashed potato. The meat was done perfectly and served with a wine reduction sauce. It reminded me of my Moms!.. good job. The mash potatoes were mezza mezza, too bad it’ so easy make them yummy. The presentation was nice.
The service was decent, I think our waitress had responsibility for too many tables but she was a trooper.
Overall I’d give this place 3.5 stars.

Horrible. Food was not good, I sent it back and the manager some woman tried to convince me that the food was good. The waitress seemed a little embarrassed by how the situation was handled. In the end I sent the meal back and ordered a burger to replace the meal figuring they could not screw that up and they did, it was terrible. I did not complain again because I did not feel like arguing with the manager any loner. The place was dead on a busy night and I should of realized the reason why and walked out. Bad food and poor management will keep a busy night slow every time.

So sad. I went to Glenn’s in the boat yard back in the 80’s and the experience was one I took with me for years. I kind of wish I never went back and let my memories carry me. We went in on a snowy night that everyone else was closed and we just were looking forward to having a few snacks that would rock our world.
Upon approaching the building was very dark other than the OPEN sign, we walked in to see ripped booths and a bar that reminded me of a 1990’s smoking bar. The service by Glenns wife was exceptional and being waved to by Glenn was wonderful but when we ordered the hot dogs «with the works» minus the relish we expected heaven. Nope, amazing links on phenomenal bread but just with onions and mustard. We also ordered spring rolls that paled in comparison to the ones we recently had at Brown Sugar.
They seem like wonderful people, but the location is outdated as is the menu.

I wouldn’t dine here again if it were the only game in town.
First, the tables are so close and it’s so noisy, you can barely have a conversation. Second, the service is worse than bad. We went to eat there on a Saturday at about 7 PM. We were seated promptly but it went downhill from there.
35 minutes after ordering (and advising the waitress of a food allergy to mushrooms) she came to our table with only two of four appetizers (there were 4 of us dining) and told us at that point that the entrée my husband ordered was no longer available (they were out of it — and this was not a special) as was the entrée one of our sons ordered. And she told me at that point that given my allergy, I should eat NOTHING. She said the «chefs are sloppy and there are mushrooms at every cooking station. I can’t guarantee your food won’t be contaminated.» I was horrified — this was said only AFTER my family was already eating, and so what could I do? I asked to speak to the chef personally and I was told that the kitchen was too busy for the chef to come out and anyway, the chef’s never come out to speak to customers.
The meals that my hubby and sons ate were lackluster (none of them finished the meal and none wanted to take any home), very slow in coming, entrees came out at different times, and my husband had to ask repeatedly for more water. The son who had to re-​order because they were out of his entrée never got his dinner until AFTER my husband and other son had finished eating.
When the bill came, it was totally messed up – they had included the charge for the meals they were out of and for things (like a bottle of wine) we had not even ordered! We asked to speak to the head hostess/​maitre and she was completely rude and at first, tried to dispute the bill with us. They only corrected it when the people sitting next to us (and who could hear the entire conversation) said, wait a minute, that is stuff that we ordered!
When I pointed out that we had been there for over two hours and were very frustrated and I had not been able to have anything whatsoever to eat, but had to sit there while my family ate, she snapped at me that she had told the waitress to tell me that I could have a salad, that the chef was willing to make me a special salad. I was astounded. I had ASKED about a salad and in fact, that was the appetizer I had ordered, and she told me it wasn’t safe for me to eat a salad ESPECIALLY as they cut mushrooms at the same place they cut the salads! Then she (the head person) had the unmitigated gall to tell me «You could have had dessert.»
Never ever again will I set foot in their door!