Abe Erb Brewing Company

Never stepping foot in this place ever again. They act like they’re better than their customers and don’t know how to deal with complaints. The food is average to poor (WORST chicken tenders I’ve ever had the misfortune of trying, and they made me order a double portion — couldn’t even finish them), their beers are typical, and wait staff is arrogant.
Additionally they really need to be more careful with allergens. Went in a work group, and they put out chicken wings in a peanut sauce, without telling anyone that it was a peanut sauce. I’m deathly allergic to peanuts and only avoided it because I noticed on the menu that one of the sauce options was peanuts and had my coworker try one first to find out what it was.
I will never go here again.

Came here on the recommendation of a good friend. Located in the heart of uptown Waterloo, this place serves a large variety of purposes — weekend breakfast and brunches, from lunch to dinner and finally becoming a bar or pub-​like place to hang and chill.
First of all it’s a very hipster and trendy environment, they have really high like 20 feet ceilings and on the upper level they have all the brewing equipment and you can see how it connects with the taps in the bar. It’s pretty neat because not only do they brew it in house, but almost in reach of customers.
Since we only came here for breakfast /​brunch, this review will be mainly based off my experience with the brunch menu.
It was quiet and the servers were very polite. We had the breakfast burrito and the spinach eggs benedict. It was an alright meal, both came with home fried potatoes, you can tell they made it from scratch and attempted to bake them just long enough to keep them wet on the inside, but some of the potatoes weren’t cooked fully and it was very obvious when it wasn’t. The burrito I liked more than the eggs benedict, the burrito was decently tasty. But you can tell it wasn’t their strong suit. The eggs benedict wasn’t made that well, with the egg being overcooked and it was kind of soggy when it was served to us. Also pretty bland, and felt like there was no flavouring on the eggs benedict.
One bonus was they have free coffee!
I’d like to come back and try either the lunch, dinner, or the fresh brewed lager they serve at nights!

Came here for brunch on a Saturday morning and we were one of the first ones here. It’s not surprising though because breweries tend to be more popular later on in the day.
The waitress was really nice and the décor of this place is beautiful as well (bonus star for the décor).
As for the food itself, breakfast selections are limited to the usual eggs, home fries and meat styled breakfasts. We decided to get the Eggs Benedict and the Breakfast Burrito which were $ 12 and $ 12.50. This is pretty expensive compared to other breakfast places, but it comes with unlimited coffee that you can make yourself. Unfortunately, I don’t drink coffee, so this was not an added bonus for me.
I got the eggs benedict and the size of the eggs benedict was perfect size served on half of an English muffin with a thick juicy tomato. When I cut into the egg, I was a little dissapointed because it was fully cooked. The home fries were seasoned very well, but they were cut a little too large for me to enjoy. Out of both plates of home fries, I think one of the home fries weren’t cooked completely, though most of them were done well.

I’m not a hipster, or a hip, young professional so to be fair I’m not in their target market. I thought the place had a cool atmosphere but the service was meh and the lunch menu is very small. A bit too pricey for me. I was treated here by my work, I would never come here if I were paying myself.

Great Atmosphere and exceptional wait staff. We came with a group of 10 on a Friday and some of the people in our group weren’t initially happy with their drinks but the wait staff went above and beyond to make sure they were satisfied.
I ordered wings and another person in our group order the ribs. Both were ok and weren’t that great to be honest. I’ve had the wings here before and they were awesome so I just had to get them again but least to say they didn’t suffice this time.
The salads were really great according to other people in our group
Food menu does seem really limited and would do well to offer some more options
Overall grey experience just not that satisfied

Great beer! Not so great food. Ribs were luke warm and burgers were without flavour. Fries were the best part of the meal.

Best beer in town! Great service and good burgers as well. The interior is industrial-​hip and there’s also some live hair that’s usually really good on Fridays.

I was visiting Waterloo for business and I was recommended to try this place by a local… and wow was I thankful! For one this place was really cool inside. I sat at the bar and the bartender from New Zealand (Srry did not get his name) told me some of the history about the displays inside. I sat at the bar and enjoyed some nice (non work related) conversation that I had really missed. The beers were great, I tried a blueberry blonde and an IPA and got the BBQ chicken for dinner. That was delicious! I missed this place when I left and I wished I had this at home.

Stopped by here on Friday evening around 8:30pm for a drink — it was very busy and we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. Once we were seated, our server came by to ask what we’d like to drink. I had the four 7oz. guest brews for $ 11.50. The pumpkin ale and blueberry blonde were interesting, and I did not like Pommie’s cider at all, but the Pilsner was definitely the best one. My friends also got food — burger and pork belly poutine. Their food selection is very minimal, the basic burgers and such, but considerably overpriced for what it is. The live music was a nice touch, but it was very loud and hard to hear in there. Overall an ok experience — the craft beers are pretty good, but quite pricey for what it is — probably won’t be back.

This is one of those brewpubs that looks like it’s trying to look like a hipster coffee house. Great place to come and sit for hours with your Macbook and a pint, or three. I assume happy hour and weekends get louder and more crowded, in which case your Macbook might get slopped on (better just bring the iPhone).
Other reviewers to bang on about the food, but really – you can get a gourmet burger almost anywhere (Red Robin, for example). I don’t know about you, but I go to brewpubs for the beer. And the beer here was excellent. I particularly liked their amber ale (yeah, it’s got a special name, but it’s really amber ale), and their second tier IPA (not the fancy one that you can’t get with the sampler. the *other* IPA).
I can’t envision ever returning to Waterloo, ON, but if for some reason I must, I will be camping out at Abe Erb Brewing Co.

This is THE spot to go for food and beer. The Gem of waterloo. Great environment, food and craft beer selection. I recommend the house Kolch beer and the Abe burger. They change up the guest taps seasonally so you’re always on your beer game. It does get busy and there is no patio. I enjoy a good Caesar and I found theirs a little disappointing. Make sure you check this place out!

Stopped in for a beverage after a seminar. Great vibe. Packed at 7:30 on a Thursday evening.
Had the Krolsch and will definitely come back for another.
Had already had dinner so we didn’t eat (but we checked out the menu). A bit eclectic and expensive, but the food I saw at the near by tables certainly looked enticing.
My only complaint was that the seating was very crowded so the noise level made it hard to hear the person sitting across the table.

The food here is pretty good :) Their lunch menu is the Abe burger ($ 16), sandwiches (all $ 13), and a daily special. I got the pork belly grilled cheese and I really enjoyed the combination of their pears & brie. But the bread was overly grilled. The fries were pretty good.
Also, their service was really not the best. I went during lunch so it was not that busy, yet it took them forever to do everything. I came with a group of nine people and it took them around 45 minutes for all our food to come out. :(I was so hungry.

We have been here a couple times for beers and enjoyed the experience. We love microbrews and high end cocktails, and really liked the beers we tasted previously.
Today, however, I came in alone and just wanted a vodka soda. The waitress, polite though she was, told me I was out of luck on the vodka soda as they «specialize in craft beers and specialty cocktails» and opened the menu to physically show me the list. Though they did indeed have vodka in various cocktails (and one would assume sparkling water/​seltzer/​club soda), I was told that I could not have a vodka soda. I asked if they couldn’t just make me a mixed drink, and she said no. I thanked her and left.
Whether it was a rogue bartender who turned her down or a manager who told her to say that, I can’t blame the server. However, this is a bar and I’ve asked for the simplest possible drink. Look, I get why a dive bar can’t make me a passionfruit and goji berry mojito, sure, but you literally have the two ingredients I want and you’re saying it would be beneath you to put them together and sell them to me. Laughably pretentious for a beer joint in Waterloo of all places. They lost my business today and in future.

Went with friends for my birthday. First I had their Krolsch on tap and it was a great brew.
For dinner I had the steak frites. Fries were some of the best I’ve had in the area. The steak was cooked so well right to medium that I actually double checked I was surprised. It was well seasoned and delicious. Even the greens served with it had a nice dressing on it.
My only knock is we felt a bit awkward sitting at a communal table. There was six of us and two of them and felt we had to angle our chairs. Small complaint though.

The best thing about this place is the atmosphere. They have a really cool industrial design. The featured beers were nothing special and neither was the food. The abe burger was your typical pub burger and the Korean tacos were kind of gross and I usually like those. Still it’s a great place to meet with friends because the seats are packed so close together and the crowd is pretty young.

Atmosphere is good, the menu has a nice variety — for the vegetarian and the meat lovers. The staff was friendly, but the wait was long.
The food was nothing all that special, their burgers were good, but nothing I would be craving or wanting to eat more of.

I have a mixed review:
— customer service is outstanding. Really friendly, will come talk to you. They engaged with our kids. That is fantastic
— duplo for my kids was wicked.
— beer selection is outstanding. This time they actually had their beer available which was the primary reason we came. My husband is a huge craft beer fan and was disappointed they run out so quickly. They seem to be remedying that as they have been open for a few months now.
— the food I find under whelming. I don’t feel the vibe of the place as a breakfast/​brunch place. They seem weirdly obsessed with serving only breakfast until 3 on Saturdays. I don’t get beer with brunch? Maybe that’s just me. I will just not buy food here from now on.
— they don’t serve dessert — if you’re going on a date that make be a deal breaker. I understand it is probably healthier this way but I would have bought dessert today had they had it. Maybe I’ll go next door afterwards.

It’s not bad. When I went though, they were completely out of the Founder’s Brews, so I was left selecting from the guest taps. It’s probably a sign of success but I don’t understand why I would go here except to try their house beers. I could have walked down the street to the LCBO and gotten more beer for the money.
The atmosphere is nice, which is probably the main reason to come. The service is a bit hit or miss. I didn’t try the food.

I heard about this place from friends in Waterloo, they passed along a video abut the place and after seeing it, I knew this was the place I had to be for dinner on my visit to the ‘loo this past weekend.
Entering in, it has that industrial style aesthetic that I’ve come to love and that’s become so popular recently in bars and restaurants. One previous reviewer described it as almost «steampunk» in likeness and I would have to agree. The place is gorgeous. Add to the design the fact that there are kegs brewing beer all around you and you’ve got a recipe for amazing.
The wait time gets long later in the evening but we arrived early and were seated within 15 minutes.
Once seated I found the service to be spotty, understandably as they were getting busier and that the place is new, but here is where I found the inconsistencies during my visit:
— There is a great, and I mean GREAT story here about the history of Abe Erb one of the founders of the K-​W area, the servers weren’t excited about this story, didn’t show pride in the place they worked, just took orders and disappeared
— Server never offered water as part of the service
— Server was hard to reach and seldom around
— Those orders were taken with inaccuracies and mistakes were made, no big deal. Just needs to worked on
— Beers were completely sold out except for their IPA
— Caesar (Kale and romaine mix) was mostly lettuce and the kale was indistinguishable/​non-​existent and the salad was dripping with dressing
*The Good*
— Pork belly Korean taco appetizer was very good
— The IPA was very good. My recommendation was to have it as a pre-​dinner pint, as I found it didn’t mix well with the food we ordered
— The Abe Burger (which had chorizo mixed in with the beef) was VERY tasty and could stand on it’s own without any toppings. My one criticism would be that they’ve gone THIS far to create a unique and delicious burger, simply serving with with raw lettuce, tomato and red onion like some diner burger does it an injustice, I think a little more originality with the toppings and this burger would be perfect bun to bun.
Final word, this place is experiencing some growing pains in it’s early days. There is a lot of excitement from folks, as there should be, as it’s totally a unique spot for the KW region. The good spots are bright shining stars and signs that this place is going to be AMAZING. The concept is one of kind for the KW-​C area and one you definitely need to check out.
Eatcrest out!