The Dirty Truth

The truth about the Dirty Truth is that there are many good beers to choose from here! If you like craft beers this is a good spot for you. If you like beer but don’t know much about it or craft beers you can totally go to school at the Dirty Truth.
I have read some negatives about out of staters being carded here … I am one and have not had problems. I have read about attitudes by the staff but I have never had anything but solid, reliable but no frills service.
It’s definitely got a hipster vibe to it. I have always listened to great but trendy music here. Those tunes range from Chill/​Deep House music to the best of the latest Alt Rock. Lucky for me I love those genres!
I have never had a bad beer here. But I am not sure I have met a beer I didn’t like! The beer here is most definitely tier 1. On the food side I have only had a few things and all were solid. I will say that the burgers are probably tied with Packards for the best bar burgers in town (maybe all burgers for Noho — but Local Burger would need to be in the mix).
My advice is to check it out. The younger you are the more likely you will like it. I am not young but am I fan. I wish they had more places like this when I was a 20 or 30 something. ;-)

Went with my family (a large group, about 12 people) for brunch. We ordered and waited an hour for our food that never came before we had to leave out of dire hunger. We went next door to Fitzwillys (very delicious and we were served in a timely manor by very nice staff). You also cannot change or substitute any of the meals on the menu (my cousin asked for a side of tomato jam but was rudely told that that was not an option).

Let’s talk about brunch.
Dirty Truth is the best bar restaurant spot in northampton. Food is great. Brunch service though. brunch service is as hungover as I am. I still come here for brunch all the time though, don’t get me wrong. But there are some serious flaws I feel like I have to share with the owner operators of this fine establishment.
You may not order a side of an egg. you may not ask the cook to leave the mushrooms out of your omelette.
Poached eggs are always hard on the florentine. (three separate occasions I’ve tried this!) the hollandaise though is soooo good.
I just left the restaurant for brunch, we were the only table in the restaurant. One of the guests in my party didn’t get her waffle. We reminded 2 different people. After offering her all pieces of our meals, we finished our meals, and her waffle came. (to be fair, she was offered a free mimosa as consolation! and then comp’d one of the waffles) Another one of us got an egg on a burger and it got forgotten as well. Again I say, we were the only table in the restaurant.
It’s 2016, you can’t offer separate checks? come on!
I can’t even leave a bad tip because I’d be fucking over someone’s minimum wage.
Just coming here to say: dirty truth you are a wonderful place, but your brunch is hungover.

Good craft beer selection. Nice staff. The chalkboard with the available beers is hard to read. Came here on Tuesday night. The crowd was kinda ehhhh… A lot of people talking about the art on the walls… loudly…
I don’t really have much to compare it to… So four stars… It’s a cute place with good beers, and the lady working was nice.

Just meh. Good beer selection, average food, nice four walls.
But the service was beyond indifferent. Our server just stood off to the side of the room at the end of the bar and looked at the room — forever. I don’t know what she was seeing, but it must have been incredible. She wasn’t even talking on her phone or whatever, she was just standing there. Looking at all the tables full of people waiting to order food and beer.
Also, I don’t love the communal table thing here. While this set up works really well at other places, the set up of this place and the tables themselves are wrong.
It was okay but not great. Veggie burgers aren’t vegan, but the falafel was okay.

I have a complicated relationship with the DT. But let’s start with what I love about it:
— They have an interesting draft list, with some hard to find beers.
— It’s a great, versatile set up for gathering, whether you have a small group or a larger function.
— In warm weather they open their front windows and it’s a really cool vibe.
— It’s definitely not a college bar — you’ll find hipstery, artsy types here.
— Their food is actually really good! And– little known fact– they have a great brunch menu with little to no wait time. Hidden brunch gem!
Now I’ll tell you where it gets complicated with me and the DT:
I came in one time and ordered a Reissdorf kolsch and the server came back a few minutes later to tell me that the keg had just kicked. Alright, it happens. I ordered a different beer and forgot about it. The next time I came in, I was still craving that Reissdorf kolsch, so I ordered it again. This is where it starts to get weird: the server again came back a couple minutes later and told me that the keg had JUST kicked. This went on for the next couple months. Every time I would go to the DT (once a week or more) I would order a Reissdorf kolsch, and without fail every time the server or bartender would tell me that it had just kicked.
I’m not one to make wild accusations, but I do wonder what is up. Throughout this time, they never took the kolsch off the chalkboard menu. Do they leave things on the menu, even when they’re out? Do they train their staff to always say that their keg has just kicked? Was this all just an insane coincidence? Or was it a conspiracy to prevent me from drinking that sweet sweet kolsch? WHY OH WHY, DIRTY TRUTH?
Next time I’m in town, I’m sure I’ll go back to the DT. But, fellow Valley beer drinkers, I will never stop seeking the dirty truth about the Dirty Truth.

There are bars with more beers in Northampton, but none exceed the curatorial ability of the staff of the Dirty Truth. With 40 beers on tap, there is always something fresh from both near and afar, and from hoppy to sour.
The staff knows beer too, so recommendations are always on offer too.
This is not a place to ask for a Bud, but if you do, you are likely to get a large German or Czech lager in its stead.
One of my favorites!

I absolutely love this place! When I am in town my family and I always be sure to stop by. It is a great place to go to with a group. We love the large pretzels, fresh cut fries, veggie burger, and brunch items. The beer selection is great.
I do not understand the low reviews. I read through them & saw that most had to do with their ID double-​carding for out of state licenses. It seems too bad for a restaurant to be given low stars for that.
My friends and I really love the place.

Hands-​down one of the best bars in Northampton. Awesome beer selection, and staff is great with recos so don’t hesitate to ask for one if you’re stumped — I discovered one of my favorite pints thanks to a johnny-​on-​the-​spot DT server. The vibe is a comfy form of urban/​hip/​chill and all of the food is fantastic! It’s not cheap, but it’s delicious, thoughtfully sourced, properly prepared, and priced accordingly. PERFECT place to meet up with friends after work or on a weekend afternoon… weekend eves are nuts and best left to the tourists (or the young) ;-) When the weather’s nice, the front wall of windows disappears for fresh air and people watching from a large communal table.
My only bad experience here was several years ago when a woman in our party caught way too much attitude from the server… she admitted that she’s not much of a beer drinker, described her taste as «bud light,» and asked for help picking a beer. He brought her a snifter of sludge. Real funny, dude. So when other reviewers complain about snobbery from the staff, I remember that night and think «yeah, it’s possible»…but for the most part I think they try to be helpful servers and responsible pourers.

Incredibly rude Management. Like out of a bad made-​for-​TV movie. You can’t believe these pathetic people. I overheard him tearing into some other people at the table near by. The manager was totally provoking these people. Couldn’t believe what I witnessed. I will never step foot in this place again. I almost called the cops on him. Instead, we just all left the dump. Bad Vibe!!!

Ok so once you get through showing multiple forms of IDs and wresting with the drinking age dilemma, this place is awesome (for any of you from states that don’t touch Massachusetts).
The relatively small menu contains lots of amazing food. Duck nachos are to die for. Also the burgers exceed burger expectations. Good service (tonight at least) and phenomenal, however a bit pricey, beers on tap. But you know, it’s Northampton! This place is great.

Stopped in here for a quick beer before City & Colour at The Calvin Theater. I need to come back to get a complete experience as we were literally in — down a beer — and out, but love it so far! Dark, comfy little beer bar with friendly and attentive bartenders. Be forewarned though when I say ‘beer bar’ — this place doesn’t appear to have a liquor license, though I could see them kicking ass with a craft cocktail list. They also seemed to have a great wine selection along with some tasty looking small plates. Can’t wait to come back!

It smelled like the morning after a keg party in here. The bar top was dirty and the bartender never cleaned it off, even after we sat down. The beers on tap are written about one inch tall on a small chalkboard right when you walk in, you can barely see it and there are no descriptions. I let the bartender choose and she did a good job based on what I asked for. We tried the hummus plate which was awesome! The pitas were soft and think, the tomatoes were ripe and the hummus was perfect. I would go back just for that plate… if they decided to mop and wipe down the bar.

Foods pretty good not going to lie, it’s really what’s keeping this at 2 stars…
The first star lost was for the bouncer at the door being a bit over ridiculous about checking people in… Checking an ID against 2 different IDs, seeing Open tables and still giving customers crap about having too many people in the place? Cmon now…
The second and third stars were about payment– I came with a group of people, and usually you are able to split a check equally between whoever wants to split… Here, it really should be mentioned openly that a bill within a group can only be split three ways …3?!because of their «piece of $h*! Old Machine» … And on top of it, they cannot split a check into individual checks after the fact… Rude

Glad to always see sour beer on the menu here– nice atmosphere, friendly staff, interesting artwork that changes often– all in all it’s a good place! Food is good too, but a little pricy so I rarely order it. This is definitely my Northampton go-​to spot!

Beyond friendly customer service. Ordering was quick and easy. Their draft beers are a variety to chose from. Their fries are amazing. All around, wonderful experience. VERY PRICY though. A plain burger will cost you a solid $ 13 and if want even tomatoes, you gotta pay an extra $ 1 a topping. Nonetheless, great bar to stop in for a drink. Less of a place for a cheap dinner. P. S.A THEY DO NOT TAKE DISCOVER CARD.

Where are the mussels??? Not on the menu anymore. Nothing better than mussels, french fries with truffle oil, and a fab beer. What are you thinking? You lose a star!

This bar’s selection of beer is on point. Most are on tap, and specials change frequently. There’s limited seating at tables, but on the plus side, the bar is comfortable for grabbing a seat.
Unlike some other joints, the bartenders here know their brew, which was much appreciated by someone who loves craft beer. We felt like trying something new, and after naming a few other brands or styles we liked, our bartedner offered three shot-​sized samples of beers before we committed to a glass, and all of them were excellent.
Simply put: great beer, mostly bar stool seating, and knowledgeable bartenders.

Came in here for the first time and really enjoyed the vibe. The bartender was friendly and after asking a few questions about the stellar IPA selection (they had 6 on tap! 3 Stone!), he gave us a few tasters for free. I enjoyed some white wine and the hubs had the 18^th anniversary Stone IPA– which was a brown IPA, the first ever– as well as a wormtown be hoppy, which is locally made in Worcester.
We didn’t try any of the food, we just had a quick drink at the bar, but I noticed a few items (gluten free and vegeterian) of my liking that would draw me back.

It had probably been 5 years or more since we first visited The Dirty Truth. We’d been through town a number of times since then, but the opportunity never allowed us to stop in on those visits. After visiting the Paradise City Arts Festival on Memorial Day seemed like the perfect time for what I recalled as an excellent choice of beers.
We were not disappointed. There are at least 30 craft brews on tap so I didn’t even think to ask if there was a bottled beer menu. One of the nice things about TDT is they group the list of beers on the chalk board by styles. Our server, Paul, says he’s worked there for about 5 years and it showed in his familiarity with the different brews available. He asked my wife what she had in mind and taking her cues on a beer that was not too hoppy, he had no problem suggesting a pint of Founders Red’s Rye PA ($ 5.75). She was quite pleased with his recommendation. I chose to start with a Sierra Nevada Torpedo ($ 5). Their pints are 16 oz. and served at the perfect temperature to fully appreciate their flavors.
There were two items on their daily specials board that got our attention. My wife ordered the Beer Battered Cod Tacos ($ 14) — 2 soft flour tortillas (actually, two tortillas were used for each taco) filled with the pieces of fish, shredded cabbage and radishes with sides of blueberry mint salsa, sour cream, and French fries. These were delicious, would have been even better if they used corn flour tortillas! The hand-​cut French fries were so good I finished them when my wife asked for a container to take home her leftovers. We all know that fries are never as good reheated.
My eye had been caught by the Maple Coffee Brined Pork Chop Sandwich ($ 14) — slices of the brined pork served over a bed of house-​made potato salad, all inside a brioche roll baked just down the street at the Tart Baking Co. A generous portion of warm black eyed pea salad also came with the sandwich. The pork was tend and nicely flavored. It seemed strange to have the potato salad right inside the sandwich but the mix of textures and flavors worked really well. The black eyed peas had lots of flavor also and were not overcooked.
While we relaxed at our high-​top table with a view of the people passing by on Main Street through the large, opened, glass windows we finished our meals with pints of Founders Porter ($ 7.50) and Jack’s Abby ABCS ($ 5). Both were quite enjoyable.
Service was friendly and helpful. As the place got busier, additional servers appeared and assisted in clearing our table and delivering our check. If you enjoy beer you don’t want to pass by this place. But don’t overlook the food either. It’s quite good.