The Brunswick

We went for just drinks. It looks like an empty banquet hall at first but the bar is nice and clean. The music was nice and the drinks werent bad at all. I had the mango one and the Jimmie which were both good but I don’t know if I would go back.

Disclaimer: This is a biased opinion as I have been coming to OOB my whole life and have a place down the beach so this is kind of an institution for us lifers. I am from Boston but vacation here throughout the Summer and I am in the nightlife industry so I see my fair share of funny and wild things… I will say this place takes the cake for best people watching establishment of all time. If you are someone who is not really used to the kind of people that vacation in OOB you will probably be horrified but as some who is used to it I just find the people who frequent here to be absolutely hilarious.
I can’t really comment on the food as I have never been interested in eating here but for people watching and cheap beers on the beach this is probably one of the better bets in OOB.
The music can be a hit or miss depending on your taste. I typically find the sunset acts to be a little more up my alley. mostly is solo guitar players… There’s a girl named MB Patfield (sp?) that frequents who I would recommend checking out when she is there… The late night bands are usually pretty cheesy playing a mix of terrible 80s hairband music and top 40 stuff but like I said given my bias to this place I just kind of suck it up and enjoy it for what it is

Walked the 16 minutes from my hotel to get here at 9:49 only to have the bartender tell me they were closing even though hours say open until 1. Won’t be coming back here.

I truly don’t doubt previous posters’ experiences with rude/​indifferent bartenders and servers. And I am confident that, if one hits this place at the wrong time, it certainly could be a douche-​fest. All I can comment on are our 4 visits to the Brunswick bar…3 on outside deck during summer, and one just last weekend during torrential winter downpour. In all cases, ûservice has been very efficient and friendly… no issues at all. Crowd on deck in mid afternoon was, of course, touristy… but well behaved with a nice mix of young and old. Pleasant beach cover band was nice too. Great views of course. Last weekend found a bar full of mellow locals… mostly older… watching playoff football. Plus had a tremendously dramatic panaoramic view of a RAGING Atlantic Ocean from the warm safety of our barstools. Really enjoyed it. Can’t comment on food though… guessing it’s bad… but that’s not fair until I try it… we will see about that…
UPDATE…did finally eat here last weekend… wife had a serviceable BLT… I had a vey nice hot roast beef sandwich… both very overpriced for what we got though, but good nonetheless… service again was lovely… crowd local, calm and cool watching Pats game… we are moving to a place just a couple minutes away, and this will definitely be on our regular rotation… at least for drinks…

Not impressed at all! Ordered buffalo wings and a couple drinks at the bar. Girls behind bar and waitresses were far more interested in dancing with each other than to make sure customers were taken care of. Wings were rubbery and undercooked. They asked for a card to put down to start a tab… we did, then paid in cash. Next day we see our card was charged! Called asked for manager and they told me they were too busy and i’d have to call back later… thumbs down!

Gay male. Walked to the water from the bar with my boyfriend and when we returned we were told we were not welcome back in. Hadn’t had more than a couple drinks, it was 6pm. Asked why we were not welcome back. No reason given. The bouncer said not to make a big deal out of it. I said it was because we were gay. He told us the owner «said so». We found out later from workers there that the owner was blacked out drunk and saw us. It ruined our final night in Maine. Disgusted.

Four stars for the GREAT atmosphere. I loved walking down the stairs from the hotel, into what seemed like a beach party. Live bands play here, and the view is gorgeous.
Due to the scorching sun that summer day, we opted to sit in a covered area outside. There’s huge windows towards the beach that still give you the outdoor feel without the direct sunlight.
The waitress was attentive and funny. The piña colada tasted amazing in the heat of the day.
The lobster roll was good, not great. Lacked the hearty flavor that other ones have. The bacon wrapped scallops were also good but I almost burned my tongue off… my own fault. :)
All in all, I will definitely come back to this place. We all had a great time!

Buckets of liquor for $ 15 are pretty good. Mudslide was $ 12, it was delicious but way overpriced. Band music appealed to an older crowd with newer DJ music in between sets. Right on the beach which is cool but not my favorite place.

Nice place to have a drink and listen to music. Not a fan of the food for dinner. High priced and can’t believe they have you eating with plastic forks :). Come for a drink and go eat somewhere else.

My boyfriend, his son and I went here for lunch on a Sunday. We sat inside and were told to seat ourselves, which we did. It was not crowded inside, yet it took almost 40 minutes to even be acknowledged that we were there (and that was ONLY after I got up and told someone). Another 20 – 30 minutes to get our food, which was sub-​par and bland. People around us were leaving because they weren’t being acknowledged or served. There was no organization at all. Our bill was much higher than it should’ve been for the amount & quality of food we got. As we were leaving, my boyfriend politely suggested to a manager that more staff or a better system would be helpful. He was completely ignored — no response at all.
I realize this is Old Orchard Beach and many restaurants are going to serve mediocre food for insane amounts of money. But this whole experience was ridiculous & frustrating. Service was terrible, food wasn’t good, drunk & obnoxious people were coming inside to use the restrooms. We had plenty of good meals at reasonable prices elsewhere while staying in OOB. This was definitely not one of them.

This place really surpasses every single bar in the area, clearly working hard to achieve the goal of being recognized as the «#1The Worst Sh*thole In All of Maine.» That isn’t to say that Jimmy The Greeks down the road isn’t working hard to be worse… but clearly The Brunswick is a cut above (or below, depending on how you look at it). What’s not to hate about this place? The blaring, distorted music coming out of a stereo system that sounds like it came out of a ’72 Pinto? The white trash, trying to outdo each other at being loud and obnoxious? The tiny, tiny overpriced drinks? The filth? The waitstaff that gives new meaning to the word «wait»? If you do go here, just try not to stick to anything…

Not sure about the food​.BUT​.an absolute blast to go here and see a band out back any night of the week during the Summer! LOOOVE this place. Will not miss it every Summer we’re here!

have spent the odd Sunday afternoon here in the sun on the patio with live music and a cold beverage, and that to me is what summer in old orchard is all about. I f%&$ing love the place.

I was here after the Beach Raid obstacle course race. They were a little overwhelmed by racers turning in free beer tickets. Most of those people had no cash or cards and so weren’t buying anything else or evening tipping, so the staff could have been quite apathetic to those of us wearing race bibs. My team and I did order some appetizers and drinks not covered by the bib tickets. The drinks came fairly quickly, but there was a long wait for the food. Even so, the waitress was good about checking in on us and finally went back to the kitchen to make sure we got our food. It was a wait, but she did a good job under the circumstances. I’d be willing to go back because she was so good about everything.

Looking for a fun fabulous great time outside? Then this is the spot for you.
Two outdoor bars. Dance floor. Live music outside and a dj inside;huge inside. Looks out to the ocean and you walk right in from the beach w sand in your toes and have some cold drinks.
Good times!

Not you bad of a place. Mostly live bands that play. I really recommend the outdoor patio can’t beat the outdoors & ocean! Not a very big dance floor kinda crowded. The drink are sooooooo expensive and kinda weak. Def. Pre game prior to catch a buzz.

I had heard mixed reviews… but because late night eating is limited in Maine I was stuck trying this place. I made several critical errors.
1. I ordered take out.
2. I drove over to the place to get the take out.
3. Ordered their famous claim chowda.
4. Expected them to have a clue.
When I showed up there was absolutely no parking, so I parked in a tow zone. *gasp*. I went up to the door and the staff had no idea where I would go to pick up the takeout. Really? You work here!
After checking the upper and lower bar I finally found my food. But that was not before a 6 minute wait of standing at the bar with three bartenders NOT serving people basically ignoring the person standing there who clearly was not in clubbing clothes.
Got the food and headed home, not before fighting with the newly established parking lot dude who tried to scold me on my parking choice.
Got home and cringed. The soup was loaded with stuff but it was so watery I was leary of it. No where near what I would consider decent chowda. My girlfriend ordered the chicken teriyaki sticks. She took one bite and spit it out. They were so salty I was thinking about hanging them outside for salt licks. The chicken parm sandwich was sad. The sauce looked like it had been sitting all day and the ‘chicken’ was a slab of a frozen disaster. Now to the salads. The house was decent, but it’s hard to jack up a salad. The Greek was ok… but as I got to the bottom of the salad the lettuce was not fresh by any standard.
All in all… don’t go there for the food.

Where to begin. I suppose since it was winter I can give a little leniency but really, this place was terrible… because of the employees! I just checked my bank statement and see they charged me $ 15.50 for 1 drink! Unbenonced to me, when I paid with my debit card they are allowed to add whatever tip they like on it ($ 3.00)? For one drink! I would have never given that much… especially since the bartender was rude and didn’t say one word to me. The bouncers were also not very friendly considering it was winter and there was hardly anyone there. We were there for a bachelorette party and let me tell you, do not go there if you want to have any kind of bachelorette party fun! They stare at you like you are crazy… no thank you! They had a band which was fun… but that was it. F–

If all the Québécois in OOB can be found on the beaches rockin’ their speedos and knee-​high socks, then all the loud and pushy Masshole’s can be found drinking at The Brunswick.
But The Brunswick’s patio scene is so much more than that. It’s also the meeting grounds for every leathery-​faced, sex-​deprived cougar and — on the flipside — every overeager and desperate young twenty-​something in the area. The cover bands VERY LOUDLY play everything from AC/​DC to Maroon 5; the bartenders are rude and inattentive (unless, that is, you’re a male Masshole paying by cash); the drinks are weak and expensive; the food is bland and overly fried; the crowd is sometimes so thick, you can’t even walk through it unless you’re craving an elbow to the face or ribcage by shirtless bros or divas with too much eye make-​up upset you’re pushing past them; and the parking is a million times worst than Boston and Portland combined.
(Seriously, watch an episode of MTV’s Jersey Shore… that’s 100% what this place is like).
But the view here rocks.
And the experience is one of a kind (I do mean that sincerely; I’m glad I’ve had the chance to check this place out a few times, but truthfully the only time it was bearable was when I was completely hammered off pink-​colored rum drinks).
But if you’re in the area for vacation and coming to this OOB «destination», this is everything you either a) already know or b) want to be a part of. After all: what happens in the Oooohb, stays in the Oooohb. Right?

This is a meat market for all ages. If you’re looking for good looking women, good live music and an overall great time, then this is the place. Don’t waste your time at any other bars in OOB, maybe the end of the pier is ok, but this place is a guaranteed good time.
Parking is a problem, so getting someone to either drop you off or pay for parking would be the ideal situation. Staff are helpful enough and the place is run well. The bartenders don’t really no how to make drinks but the owner employs hot chicks to pour drinks, not bartenders. Plus, you won’t need good drinks to have a good time at this place.