The Bent Elbow: A Hidden Gem for Craft Beer and Seasonal Cuisine in Kitchener

Awesome under the radar local gem; food is excellent quality (food menu rotates seasonally); beer is next level with eclectic variety and 39 taps, atmosphere? BB King was playing... The Bent elbow has my highest recommendation

What a nice place to enjoy unique craft beers. Staff are friendly and make you feel at home. Seems like they have many regulars and they don't mind outsiders. Impressed with their draft, can, bottle beer menu that covers local to world beers. Next time I will try the food menu

Absolutely amazing! From start to finish, everything exceeded our expectations. The food was incredibly flavorful and presented, and the service was warm, attentive, and genuine. One of the things we really appreciated is that they cook only with beef tallow, lard, and olive oil — no seed oils whatsoever. It’s rare to find a place that cares this much about quality and ingredients. Far beyond just good or great — it was truly exceptional. We’ll definitely be back!

Food, service, atmosphere were all terrific. We ordered the chicken wings and nachos. The high quality of ingredients stood out and caught us off guard. They also had a long list of curated beer options, unlikely to be found elsewhere. Also just the overall feel of the establishment was cozy, welcoming & local. Service was above standard - shout out to our server, he did a great job! We will be back!

Huge selection of beer! The southwest wrap and potato/bacon soup were amazing

This is a hidden gem! We've adopted it as "our local" even though we live in Cambridge. The food is great! Simple but well prepared and delicious! It never disappoints. If you can't find a beer here that you like you aren't a beer lover!

After years of being told about this place I finally had the chance to pop my head in yesterday. Honestly I wish I would have had more time to stick around. I was greeted very kindly at the door, by a man I found out later was the owner. It definitely looked like "regulars hour", so it was obvious I was a newcomer. That didn't stop the staff and the folks at the bar from being super welcoming. Since I was on my own I decided to sit at the bar, was shown the Beer "Bible", which for a place like this, is necessary. They have a huge selection both on tap and in cans/bottles. It was great to see a mix of Ontario (shout out Farm League and Blood Brothers! among others) and imports from around the world. Nothing boring and generic like Coors Light. Both bartenders serviced me, asked at exactly the right time if I was ready for another beer (which I was), and were friendly and easy to joke around with. The regulars were really welcoming as well, and one Gentleman actually offered to buy me a pint, since it was my first time there. Totally unnecessary, but much appreciated. Had an opportunity to speak more with Harold, the owner, before I left. Incredibly generous and genuine man. This is a quaint and unpretentious bar with a small town feel (in the best way possible), like Cheers, where everybody knows your name! I didn't have a chance to order food, but I will next time I'm in. I will definitely be back to support this spot.

Surprisingly, there seem to be few pubs in Kitchener, and it's also surprising how early everyone seems to shut down. However, If you like beer, then The Bent Elbow is for you. What a great find. They have such a great variety of beers that they provide a little book for options and descriptors. It is a real beer place that I solidly recommend.