I'm in agreement.

Excellent, unique food, too.

sorry i didnt see the link. i got it now

Hey Duncan,
This sounds terrific, maybe a good spot for an upcoming mixer? :) Speaking of which, I've never been, do you usually have a good turn-out and do you switch locations monthly?
Thx,
Stace

Looks awesome Alec and Sherry. Can't wait to make my way through as many of the bottles as possible....

(And, I have to concede to Alec...he told me the pizza would be one of the best artisan crafted I've had, if not the best. It's damn good, especially with the fresh basil.)

I can't believe I missed the opening. I can't believe I missed the announcement that last night would be the opening. I'm so oblivious sometimes. :(

There are actually two cheese plates. :)

Good food in downtown 7 days a week from lunch until late night?

Scandalous!

We had a great time Saturday night. The place is a keeper. All previous comments apply. I woiuld like to add that the music system was great. Selections could have been straight off my ipod. Old Trafic, BB King, Muddy W.. Much more that I don't recall. After three Smutty Nose Brown Dog ales...things got a bit fuzzy.

I have certainly thought about the Abbey since I went there on Saturday night and would like to offer my review.

Walking inside the establishment one gets a feeling I was immediately struck how the place seems empty, like something else was needed. Oh, there were many people there, but the walls were bare, screaming for some artwork. I think the owners should have forgone a soft opening and waited until the decor was a little more finished.

I am not a fan of the "craft beers" but I was impressed with the menu of beers. The coolers behind the bar looked very nice stocked with foreign libations and people seemed to be enjoying what they were drinking. I opted for a something-Cross (can't remember the name) scotch that was very tasty and SERVED IN THE PROPER GLASS. Something that 90% of the bars in Worcester get wrong.

I had problems while sitting at the bar like there were too many chairs and they don't swivel so getting out of my seat was a real hassle because I had to push my chair straight out, instead of sliding off the side, but this could easily be solved by less chairs.

It also took a little asking then hunting to find the bathroom. You have to go out a door that resembles an emergency exit (when I pushed through I was waitng for the alarm) then to a hallway and then the adventure to the toilet. Not a main bitch, but something that begs for better signage.

I did not eat there but the two plates saw come out of the kitchen looked very good. The first was a cheese plate with bread and salami (I think) and a few different kinds of cheese. The second was a small pizza that appeared very different from what we are used to in the Woo. It's a little bigger than a 45 record (remember those?) and the one I saw had tomato slices with basil and cheese. HMMMMMMMMM, can't wait to go back for one of those.

The background music was great, but overall I think the place was a little too noisy and echo-y and I kept having to have people repeat themselves when they were talking to me.

The Armsby Abbey needs some work, but I think that this may be one of the better places in the city to go and have some fine cocktails and beers and get a bite to eat.

I really enjoyed Alec's excitement as he told me about the next steps in the decor, his enthusiasm was catching. Although it took me a minute to understand what he meant by Iris curtains, but then I got it :) I can't wait to see how it all progresses.

Does the Abbey take credit cards, or is it cash-only like the Dive?

It's great that the city will have a place like this.
Congratulations to Alec and Sherry.
I look forward to stopping in.

I humbly exhort the Rich People of Worcester to give me some money so we can sell my beer there.

site is in the process, just needs a little attention before it goes live. Beer geeks should calm down ;)

A bunch of us stopped in after the clothing swap Tuesday night and the place was super busy. Crystal was raving about the chocolate beer, so I had to try it...Delicious. The place looks great, we will be back this weekend (someone save me a window seat).

I finally got a chance to eat at the Abby last night, and I was honestly very pleased. I am one of those people who thinks that I am the only one who can make a decent salad, and am often let down by the salads I get when eating out, well not last night. I love bitter greens, and the arugula salad with goat cheese and walnuts was fantastic! My sassy date and I decided to split 2 pizzas, we had the special green goddess pie that was covered in fresh basil, with a pesto base . . .yum! The second pizza was adapted, as we removed the meat. It was a blue cheese base, with more bitter greens and pears(I'm guessing on the pears, they don't seem to be on my leftover slices, but I think they were there). Both of these pizzas were fresh, crispy and full of flavor. Next time I want to try the pizza that has a curry base and veggies and the carrot wrap. I tried the Iris cosmo, which was very good but I found my drink of choice, and for the life of me I can't think of the name right now. It is vodka and grapefruit, with another ingredient(Alec, maybe you can let us know what it is called) just lovely, lastly we split a lavender and basil martini, another hit! I think I might not ever drink a glass of wine at the Abby, because the mixed drinks are interesting and awesome. The new beer blackboard has been installed and it looks great, the bar now has a hand forged, iron footrest that makes the bar a comfy place to sit. The crowd was good sized and eclectic, not too noisy, all in all a good vibe and a good time.

It's called a Getaway.

=yum!

Stopped in to the Abbey tonight after dinner at Baba just for a drink and dessert. I will only add my accolades. The place is beautiful, and I had the Mayflower Cask ale which was delicious. We sampled both desserts on the menu, and both were excellent.

Congrats and thanks to the Abbey for supporting both environmentally friendly farming practices and the local economy--and for making it so delicious for patrons to do so as well!

It seems that if they doubt you are a rock star you should always be able to gain entrance by simply yelling "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

Even better would be for whoever is with you to yell "DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?" Which you definitely should have done in the case of the Snow Ghost, who is absolutely a rock star.

My friend was telling me about a blueberry martini she had there that was made with muddled blueberry's.
How fresh is that (pun intended).
I need to try it.

My wife and I made our first visit last night and we were both very impressed. Cool atmosphere, the staff was great (we sat at the bar) and the food that we had (tomato/mozzarella salad and a pizza) was delicious. I love the approach with the local, seasonal ingredients. I had a lovely Mayflower IPA and Sharon had an Allagash White. Unfortunately, we could only stay for a short bit as we were heading over to Tammany to see my nephew play his first real club gig, but we shall return to sample more of the goodies.

My only complaint is that I couldn't read the menus, which is partially a function of the small type, me forgetting my "little old man reading glasses" and the lighting level. No biggie as Sharon read them to me. After perusing the complete list of selections, Sharon (who is a very tough sell) has now declared it her"new favorite place".

Congratulations to Alec and the staff, and keep up the great work.