Earl’s Beer & Cheese

Food is average but giving one star mostly because of the service. Super rude. I said thank you and didn’t get a response, yet everyone else got superb service. Guess I’m not part of the club. No tip for you homegirl.

Now the place is even better since its expanded. I do miss the cool bar and doughnut place next door, but Earl’s still has a very chill and feel good ambiance. It’s self service, you order at the counter and pay at the counter when you leave. No frills, hipster kind of vibe that does have some funky stuff on its menu like the Bloody Beer during brunch which was a little too much to acquire to. The Beer Cheese was excellent, but then again anything with cheese is great. I had the Huevos Rancheros which was pretty good. It’s a nice neighborhood place to hang out at that also serves up seasonal drafts that are nice to enjoy while catching up with friends. Go by all means. It’s like Williamsburg in Upper Eastside, plus he L train won’t be in service anymore so this is a good alternative if you need a hipster fix.

My favorite neighborhood bar– and so much bigger now! Awesome food, fun décor, good beer selection. Overall it’s a great spot for, well, beer and cheese. Can’t go wrong!

Every time I come here, I’m blown away! So far I’ve had the beer cheese and bread (will always start with this), the mac-​and-​cheese (probably the best I’ve ever had), and different types of tacos (all are scrumptious)!
The staff is very friendly and always up to offering suggestions on what to try. The atmosphere is fun (they have jenga!!!) and offers lots of opportunities to meet new people! The establishment is kept very clean and well kept.
I will be bringing all my visitors to this place!

My friend lived nearby and kept talking up Earl’s and before she moved we had to, had to, HAD TO come by. I showed up early and it was a surprisingly laid back, quiet place. Granted I showed up before the after work crowd but it was a nice place to chill out. The beer selection is small but it’s definitely well selected with something for almost everyone. There’s a picture of me posing next to their goose lamp around somewhere and the bartender even turned it on for a better picture.
Aside from the buffalo chicken sandwich, which was kind of a mess there’s really not much you can go wrong with here.

Came here on a weekday to catch up with old friends, and found the place to be pretty good (and crowded). Overall it was a nice place, if a little tucked away and small.
Pros: drinkable house wine, great beer cheese, cozy and warm atmosphere, generally good food (grilled cheeses especially).
Cons: A little too small: there isn’t a lot of space sometimes and one of the booths is actually partially blocked by a pipe. The beer selection, while adequate, wasn’t very large.

Everyone that works there was so nice. It is quiet, except for the great music. I was there today in the middle of the week for lunch. People were enjoying lunch. Couples, single men relaxing and socializing. Great place for lunch, brunch, and to drink beer after work!
The atmosphere is rustic. It reminds me of a hunting lodge, or ski resort. I was carried away to another place for a while. It was very relaxing. At the time I was there the noise level was low. I imagine at night it may be different. I was there early afternoon.
The food is prepared to order. A least it was in my case. it was hot and delicious. Lots of napkins needed. They didn’t have any problem leaving off the kimchi for me. I had the Grilled Beer Cheese with egg, cheese, and pork belly. I understand why the basket of extra napkins is on the table.
I’m allergic to tomatoes. They didn’t know and brought me complimentary bowl of tomato soup. It looked so good! It will not go to waste at my house!
I ordered the macaroni and cheese. It was so delicious. The mac and cheese would make a meal in itself. I had to take all it home except for a few bites. It is a huge portion. i needed someone to share it with.
The best part was the bread pudding! Oh my, was it good! I definitely ate the whole thing! The portion was just right. It was sweet, but not too sickening sweet for my taste. The cream on top was a nice touch. It was really hot right from the oven. I enjoyed it on this cool windy day.
After having this experience I’m sure I’ll be back. My daughter is already to come with me now that she saw my pictures. Tonight she’ll taste the soup and mac/​cheese and give me her final word!
If you’re living in the neighborhood, or work nearby, you should give Earl’s a try. I was not disappointed. I’m so stuffed I may not eat for a few days! YUM!

I have had this placed booked for a while so when I decided to make the trip to the far ends of the Upper East Side to visit the Guggenheim I decided that this was the time for Earl’s Beer & Cheese.
The joint is a complete «gentrified» dive so when I first walked in I thought I was going to love it. You order at the small bar area and then you can sit at one of the two large beer hall tables or at one of the side tables for a party of 4. The place has board games so you can play games while waiting for your food. Seriously, this could be such an awesome neighborhood joint… if only…
I ordered the Kimchi Grilled Cheese while my friend ordered the beer cheese plate. We both were disappointed by our meals. The Kimchi Grilled Cheese with pork belly doesn’t even taste like a grilled cheese. Come on now, grilled cheeses ooze cheese out of every end and I could barely even taste the cheese – just the pork belly and kimchi. The bread also overwhelmed the sandwich. What a huge disappointment.
My friend ordered the beer cheese. I will say the beer cheese was tasty, but again the bread served with the cheese was overwhelming.
I cannot comment on the beer part of the restaurant’s name as I didn’t consume any alcohol.
Earl’s Beer & Cheese, you can be oh so much more.

I found this place a little bit overrated.
Me and my friend had «brunch» there and it wasn’t like described by many.
I got their famous «beer cheese plate,» which consists in 8 pieces of toasted oily tick bread, and a scoop of spicy beer cheese. No salad, nothing with it, for $ 7.50.
When I asked for some drinks that are not beer (at 11 am I am not always in the mood for alcohol), they answer me they have just few sodas or tap water. Seriously?! What kind of brunch is this?
The place is cute thou, and I guess if you are hungry for spicy bread-​based meals you should give it a try.

Tasty — delicious!
We had the «Beer Cheese» as a starter — bread had the perfect crust, nice butter flavour, the «cheddar cheese spread» was very spicy — it reminded me of the bavarian «Obazda» — perfect dip for the toasted bread.
As a main dish we had «EARL’S TACO» and «TORPEDO».
Both were oozing with the intense sauces which fit perfectly to the meat. The meat was tender and tasteful.
Service very kind and fast. Cosy and stylish location — very casual.

Overrated. The only reason this place gets positive reviews is because it’s in a part of town that has few other nightlife options.
The Upper East Side (actually this is East Harlem but I’ll humor the folks that think they live in the UES) is a place that’s hard to find quality, affordable options for 20-something’s to hang out. You’re likely to only find Murray Hill style college bars and pretentious options near here so this seems like a logical in between, right?
Wrong. It’s overpriced and underperforming. At upwards of $ 8 for a grilled cheese I’m wondering why I don’t go to the corner store to buy a ¼ pound of cheese and a package of buns and grill up my own concoction.
It’s not a «meal», it’s something you eat when you drink. It’s drunk food. You eat it because the beer makes you hungry, then the beer clouds your judgement. You could eat Tupperware and it would taste good if you’re drunk. Not worth the money.
The beer is $ 7 at minimum, and for that you can get yourself a 6-​pack at any corner store.
In short, you’ll spend $ 20 on a small, subpar sandwich and a beer. Stay home. Go downtown. Do whatever. But don’t pretend that this is some incredible place. Save your money, you’re not missing anything.

There is only one thing you need to know about New York City. It’s Earl’s Beer and Cheese on 97^th & Park on the Upper East Side.
Beer and cheese, beer cheese, beers, cheese, cheesy beery cheese and beer, cheesy cheesy beer and cheese and beer and macaroni and cheese and beer with fried bread and cheese and beer cheese. With pigs on the wall and beer with cheese and beer and…
That is all, like I said, Earl’s is the one place in NYC you need to visit. Beer cheese. Love.

What a hidden gem! Who knew such an excellent bar and grilled cheese joint existed in the UES along Park. Earl’s has a funky «duck hunt» aesthetic and a rotating list of top-​notch craft brews. The place is a little cramped, and you need to order the right dishes, but overall this place is SUCH a blast.
First, killer playlist: Fleetwood Mac, various indiestream artists, and 80’s hits. As for food, we started with the beer cheese spread: !!! Garlic-​accented beer Cheddar spread across thick slabs of toasted bread. Wow what a great snack to have with brews. And the grilled cheese was killer — cheddar, fried egg, kimchi, and pork belly. Indulgent, but in all the right ways. I’d avoid the forgettable looking buffalo chicken sandwich, but stick with these and you’ll be in cloud nine. Excellent bar!

Have you ever thought to yourself, I need me some beer cheese? If so, this is the place, obviously. I like how this place is very cozy (not to mention the Parks & Rec backdrop they have in the front room). Jenga kind of bar with 6 beers on tap. I really enjoyed the beer cheese — extremely garlic-​y with crunchy toasted sourdough. The front room gets a bit congested in the busier hours. They’ve also got football playing here in Sundays.

I am annoyed with EB&C. I wanted to love Earl’s Beer & Cheese. I mean my two favorite things, beer & cheese, being the focal point of a dive bar should equal the pinnacle of dining. Yet Earl’s disappointed me on several fronts.
First, the set-​up is a disaster. That isn’t an over-​statement. I repeat their set-​up is terrible. They have decided to run every order through the poor bartender. This may have worked on nights of like 10 patrons, but when you have 30+ like last night, it absolutely doesn’t work. The bartender is trying to take orders, pour beers, and close checks. It led to people waiting 10+ minutes to get a beer or close a check. It is a bad (BAD) set-​up.
Second, they ran out of glasses (like the whole time). I mean if you are bar that serves beer, have enough glasses. Not only that, but they were advertising the ounces you get with each beer, but because they had run out of 14 ounce glasses, they were serving beers in smaller mugs or you could wait. I ordered six beers and two came in the right glass. So I essentially was overpaying for my beer because I didn’t want to wait longer for a 14-​ounce mug. Again, this is not the poor bartenders fault and is an easy fix. Just terrible execution.
Third, the bar is a HUGE bottleneck. The layout of the restaurant is clearly one that started off small and then added a back room, as nobody would ever decide to put their bar in the middle where the walls close in and leaves two inches for people to order a beer or walk by. It is so poorly laid out that I don’t know how they haven’t decided to change things up at this point.
Overall I was really pissed after my experience because the food was so good. I loved the mac & cheese and the tomato soup was da’ bomb (90’s lingo). I want to give the concept & food five stars and the execution one star (zero stars actually).
I will definitely be back for the food and the beer, but hopefully they take my advice and add another point of sale and buy more glasses.

If you happen to be in this area, do yourself a favor and stop by Earls! Awesome selection of beers and drunk food?! I tried the Mac and cheese, the buffalo chicken with cheese, the taco and the beer cheese!
Each dish was great, really filling but I guess we wanted a sample of everything with cheese!
The only annoying thing was the lack of proper seating… had to sit at the wall and the table was literally six inches deep.
However the deer taxidermy made me smile.

I really love Earl’s Beer and Cheese; it’s such a great spot for this area. Straddling the Upper East Side and East Harlem, Earl’s gets bonus points in my book for its proximity to the Metro North underground/​above ground transition. Transit nerd pro-​tip: If you wait to watch a southbound train go by, you can wave to the conductor, and he’ll most likely wave back! I was way too excited about this interchange.
So the latest big news is that they have EXPANDED! This tremendously popular place is no longer the size of a thimble. There is now an open back room with I think 5 more large tables, so I no longer have to restrict my visits to summer off-​hours.
I’ve tried a few things on the creative menu, but have settled on the mac and cheese, which always allures with its creamy decadence and sprinkles of rosemary. I also like Earl’s Taco, which combines slow cooked meat with flecks of Mexican cheese, a cabbage slaw, and a delicious hot sauce. The taco comes on a scallion pancake, which I think is brilliant, and lends a uniquely satisfying texture and thickness to the dish.
There are a lot of faux-​hipster/​creative/​foodie restaurants (Supply House, I’m looking at you) on the Upper East Side that don’t deliver, and are merely trying to cash in on a trend, but Earl’s Beer and Cheese is the real deal.

I guess some reviews are older and they recently did renovation because they have a second room in the back with long tables similar to those in a middle school cafeteria, only classier. I had the beer and cheese regular size which was more than enough for two people; the torpedo, and the NY state cheddar.
The food was tasty and unique but there was just too much oil in the food for my liking.
Definitely recommend getting here before 5:30P to beat the ensuing crowds.
PS. Order at the bar.

Six of us were lucky enough to score seats around the one small communal table (max seating eight or ten rather small individuals). Post rock climbing at Steep Rock, we were starving and it was rainy and there were fewer things that could have brought more joy and anticipation than the warmth, gooeyness, flavor, satisfaction (and more) promised by the fare at Earl’s Beer & Cheese.
Almost everyone went with the NY State Cheddar Grilled Cheese. Read the ingredients: Pork belly, kimchi, fried egg on sourdough. Can you manage to go wrong with this? Lest you are vegetarian, the combination of juicy pork belly and kimchi is nearly irresistible.
I only resisted because I knew I could try someone else’s grilled cheese, and curiosity is a powerful motivator. Earl’s taco utilizes scallion pancake as the «taco shell», and is stuffed with braised pork shoulder, queso fresco, and a combination of Asian-​style vegetables including cabbage and radish. I might have also gotten the tomato soup, because after two plus hours of climbing, I genuinely felt as though I could have eaten the world.
Impossible to regret my decision, or any decision made here. The bite of grilled cheese that I tried, with flavorful savory bits of pork belly, was absolutely delicious. Could I have eaten a whole grilled cheese? Actually doubtful. The bread slices were thick and soaked in butter (or perhaps just pork belly juices). This is not a problem, except from the perspective of finishing the thing. Did I mention it comes with chips?
My taco may have won the grilled-​cheese lovers over. Each bite was surprisingly complex — savory, sweet, hint of tangy. Texture in each bite, and the scallion pancake shell was nothing short of genius. It was fairly large and dense, more than enough for me to share bites with everyone.
The bread pudding was, in fact, stupid good. As difficult as it was to face a hearty, warm dessert after such a satisfying meal, we found the courage to do so and shared two orders. Far more moist than your usual bread pudding, this was served in a very hot cast iron baby skillet, which kept it warm for the several minutes it took to dig in. There were chunks of fruit throughout and fresh cream atop the bread pudding. Decadent, rich, fulfilling. All things you might want from life, in this little skillet.
A delightfully gluttonous meal in which we replenished all calories spent climbing walls. I hope to be back soon.

«How do you feel about grilled cheese and beer?» This is what my friend asked me Friday morning. Work was going to be pretty chill today, and heck, it’s Friday, so why not?
The place is pretty small, use Google maps to find your way there because there’s no big sign indicating its existence. There’s one counter-​top by the windows for 3 people, a long table that looks like it used to be a bowling lane, and the bar area by the cashier that seats 3 people.
It was our first time there, so we ordered what other Unilocalers suggested, the NY State Cheddar grilled cheese. I had heard that it has pork belly in it, so imagine my surprise when I found that it also comes with a fried egg and kimchi. Kimchi of all things! I’m Korean and haven’t had kimchi in forever, so it was a fantastic surprise. The pork is a little salty, but overall the sandwich was pretty bomb. And it only cost $ 8. For all of that, plus a side of potato chips, to cost only $ 8 in NYC, it’s a great deal.
We are definitely coming here again, next time to try their other grilled cheeses as well. My friend has her eyes set on the blue cheese one.