Brooks Tavern

Called to ask about hours and was told that if we arrived right away, they would seat is. This was a couple years ago. I arrived with my friend and the manager, a woman, said «no, they could not seat or serve us ». She was very rude. Even though I told her that over the phone we were told to come there and that they would serve us, she said emphatically no! Also the time before in which I ate there I felt the food was good but not worth the high cost, so not really a good value.
I’m not sorry this restaurant is giving way to a wonderful Japanese place whose other location has only treated me the way customers should be treated. Welcome, café Sado!

I was very disapointed. I had heard that they had the best hamburgers anywhere around. Went to check it out with my family on a Friday afternoon only to find that they don’t make burgers on the weekends and that Thursdays was burger night. Who knew?
We ended up getting three cups of soup and one bowl of soup, as well as soft drinks. Bill was almost $ 45. My cream of crab soup tasted like something from a can with a little extra crab on the top.
Just way overpriced for what you get. Certainly not kid friendly as a few other people have said in their reviews. We will not be back.

We enjoyed our dinner at Brooks Tavern immensely. Even though they don’t take reservations for parties of less than 6, if you call an hour or so before you plan to be there you can get a sense of the best time to arrive. We had the table in the alcove by the bar, which was cozy and relatively quiet. We tried a little bit of everything, and most of it was excellent. Don’t miss the tempura scallops, or the home-​made sausage of the day. Both the cod and the trout were fabulous, as was the gazpacho. And the lemon ice-​box pie is an outstanding first cousin to a key lime pie! Wine lovers, take note: the short wine list is well-​selected, and the prices are MUCH lower than most restaurants. Management’s policy is to mark up every bottle only $X over cost (so you don’t see the usual 200% — 300% mark-​up). They may close soon, so don’t miss your chance with these well-​established Chestertown restaurateurs.

SO refreshing to find a decent place to eat while in Chestertown, Maryland. The only edible food for MILES! I absolutely LOVE their lunch selection… and dinner! I could go on and on about all of their menu items they are so delicious and I’ve tried a lot of things because my family goes here often. They do an excellent job with EVERYTHING! They also source a lot of local items which is always a plus.
This is literally the only place my family will dine at when we are in Chestertown Maryland (we go to brook’s every weekend and probably would go twice if they were open sundays). Make sure to get reservations because it can get busy on the weekends.
There is always a nice selection of lunch options, the grilled cheese and tomato soup is actually to die for, their burger meat is from local farms and you can taste the freshness, we also love their cheesesteak, they also have healthy choices like quiche of the day and excellent salads. For dinner be sure to try the carolina crêpe, romaine au gratin, calamari piccolo, and their fish dishes are always fresh and on point, DONT forget about dessert! lemon ice box pie and ice cream sandwiches are regular choices. I did almost forget about the bread they serve at dinner!!! I would go just for that to be honest, it’s that good. Their menu changes seasonally so their are different things and they are always amazing! The staff is always friendly and knowledgeable. It’s a great atmosphere for an excellent meal! DO NOT MISS BROOK’S TAVERN!

Great place to stop in for lunch after a beautiful ride through the countryside. Service was friendly and prompt. And the food was just right. Great atmosphere with an older crowd. Will certainly stop here again!

Warm and cosy atmosphere, great service and the food… what can I say about the food. Fantastic. Wife and I were visiting chestertown for Thanksgiving and the Innkeeper at our B&B recommended this Tavern. We were blown away by everything, the service, the price and the food. I had duck and my wife had lamb. Everything was tasty. Had a bottle of wine, dessert, apéritif and main course all for less than $ 100. In DC that meal would have easily come up to more than $ 150 no doubt about it. Highly recommended whenever you are in the lovely town of Chestertown.

Was in Chestertown and a local resident recommended the Brooks Tavern. I was terribly disppointed. The dinner menu was limited and much more expensive than what was recommended. They also offer small plates, but we ordered the regular dinner fare. I thought that a mistake was made. I ordered the crabcakes, but only got one! It came with a small dollop of bland mashed potatoes and corn and mixed vegetables. One member of our party, just asked for the corn, thinking that not getting the mixed vegetables, they would get more corn-​WRONG! Also, as a native Marylander, the crab cake was overwhelmed by some type of lemon sauce. The menu also states «bread service» What that actually means is that one person comes out and gives you one (1) small piece of bread. We left feeling underfed and overpaid. Bill was over $ 80.00 for three (3) people and only one of us ordered a drink which was only an unsweetened iced tea (1.95). I think that the $$ sign needs to be adjusted.

Chestertown is a little small, so you would think finding this place would be fairly easy. Actually off the side of the road there are no signs indicating this restaurant is where it is, and is very easy to miss. I only recognized it because of the red barn photo I saw online and pulled into a business complex that was once an old mill. Entering the restaurant you are seated in what looks like a stripped barn, a nice simple bar, and some non tacky artwork. It’s a very nice cozy simple setting.
I went here for lunch and here is an important tip. THERE IS NO SEAFOOD HERE DURING LUNCH HOURS ONLY DINNER. So I sort of arrived a little disappointed hoping to dive into some clams and such, but I realized I was stuck and probably going to just have a sandwich. A simple bottle of Stone Levitation Ale fixed me up, but I was ravenously hungry.
Glancing over though, I saw someone eating a burger. It looked full, big, rich and made me ravenous. Not the most exotic thing to order, but that’s where I hero went. The lunch menu was very simple, not many items, but the specials hinted that there were things the kitchen made with attention. A cheese and tomato quiche was one of them which my wife ordered. My wife also pointed out something I missed, the meat from the burger was grass fed organic, just like the ground beef we get from our meat CSA.
Something told me there was more to the eye here.
Burger arrives. Cooked med-​rare to perfection. Not an obvious frozen patty. Large full formed, dolloped with grilled onions and swiss (I asked for cheddar but after one bite I didn’t care) that slid off like the perfect grilled cheese. Tomato was BLOOD red and bright. Definitely garden grown, and one bite it was full of flavor. The burger was lean, flavorful and juicy. It also had a bit of seasoning in the mix, giving it a nice soupy taste and texture but not too much. Then what was my side, a real solid made potato salad, with lots of mustard seeds. It’s summer. It’s time for potato salad folks, get with the program. Creamy, super tangy, and a great compliment, why can’t more places serve this???
My wife’s quiche was light, fluffy, a perfect shortening crust, and the egg was full of vegetable rich tomato and most importantly it was NOT GREASY.
Those were 2 simple lunch items which went way beyond what I was expecting.
I did something I normally don’t do, and that was ask for the desert menu. I really just wanted to ask what they had and see what they might have made. I joked to my wife it was peach season, ya know maybe they’ll have peach pie. pfft yeah right.
I ask for the desert menu and the waitress recites it. Right now we have peach pie, peach panna cotta, peach sorbet, peach blah blah.
My wife died and went to heaven right on the spot, knowing that they would make also a fabulous crust considering how the quiche went.
Peach pie it was. Fruity, flaky, topped with REAL WHIP CREAM NOT THE FAKE STUFF, and oozing browned gooey peach juice on the pies edge. Fantastic stuff.
Why can’t restaurants in DC MAKE PIE???
After visiting here, this was a place that gave me the impression that someone in the kitchen is really paying attention and knows what they are doing. I would love to come back here for dinner someday, and see how they knock out the seafood items. If they put that much care into making a simple burger, and decent desert it should be fantastic.

This is a local tavern trying very hard to be a four star restaurant. It missed yhe mark by a mile. The food was not even close to tavern food. I had the sausage. I hope I never taste ass again. We will not be going back.

I brought Mr. Logical here for his birthday, and we both enjoyed ourselves. The food was excellent and the ambiance was lovely. I had the lamb, which was excellent, and Mr. Logical had the lobster roll special. We will return the next time we are looking for a nice evening out.

My wife and I went for dinner, for the first time, this evening. The bread was surprisingly good, and definitely above the average. I had a surf and turf, consisting of a very good crab cake (local crab, I’m told), which had zero filler, and a small, but extremely tender and tasty fillet mignon. Normally, that’s not my favorite cut of meat (more of a ribeye fan, here), but this steak really was something special. My wife had duck, which was perfectly done (cooked medium-​rare, just like she asked) and extremely good. We both had desert, and it was overall a very impressive experience.
We will definitely be back.

What a nice, cozy place. The food was very good, the wine list was interesting and very reasonably priced. The entrees could be shared, were generous even then and very tasty, as well.

Looks like a nice place. The listing says good for kids. NOT good for kids. Also more expensive than I would expect from the $$ listing. I’d like to try with my wife some time when we have babysitter.

Tonight I was in the mood for a burger and a beer. I tried to go to the Fish Whistle, but because of the high tide the Chester River floods their parking lot with at least 6 inches of water or better…
So instead I came to Brooks Tavern. Make no mistake, I made the better choice. This is the second burger special I have had here and tonight’s was absolutely fantastic.
For starters, just like last time: I ordered mixed green salad with blue cheese dressing. First the greens were absolutely fresh, garnished with a few ultra-​thin slices of cucumber and radish, along with julienned carrot and some other crispy colorful veggie. The blue cheese dressing is home-​made and is packed with flavor and cheese crumbles. While the dressing is placed on the salad, they do not drench your salad with the dressing. Served with a slice of crustini made from French bread. ($ 7)
Alright, I am a huge fan of Blue Cheese dressings, especially when they are homemade, just like this Blue Cheese dressing!!!
My burger was a cooked to order (medium RARE), BACON… Yum!!!, chive, and cream cheese mix on top of sautéed Portobello mushroom on a homemade bun served with homemade potato wedges and dill pickle chips. I was in burger heaven once again… this chef knows his meat and how to cook a burger. Tender, juicy, and flavorful. These burgers are worth every penny of the $ 11.00 price tag.
There is nothing like a good cold beer to pair with a burger, and tonight I had two ice cold Yuengling beers enjoy ($ 2.45 ea)
For desert I tried their Lemon Icebox Pie. I was initially worried that this was a mass produced commercial product. Opps, boy was I wrong… LOL!!! This lemon pie had just the right amount of mouth smacking tartness… mm mm good!!! (this not Cambell’s) and went well with a great mug of fresh coffee ($ 6 pie)
Now to top off the food, the service staff are no slackers either, very polite, quick, and anxious for you to enjoy your visit. The bartender, a rather cute blonde named Jennifer was really sweet when I asked what kind of mushrooms were in the cream of mushroom soup, she stopped and ran to find out… letting me know that they were button mushrooms.
To all you who are indeed looking for that perfect burger… look no further, you will find it here!!!

I stumbled upon an awesome little tavern. Homemade chicken broth with cheese ravioli and mozzarella, garden salad with shallot vinaigrette and the best lemon pie quite possibly on Earth!

Went again last night.
Had shrimp, tomato soup and lemon pie.
Brook’s never disappoints. Everytime we try somewhere else we say we should have just gone to the Mill.

It’s finding diamonds in the rough like Brooks Tavern that make business travel almost worth it.
Lamb = Excellent
Crab-​stuffed Trout = Excellent
Fin.

I was a big fan of the Kennedyville inn and was glad to hear I was able to eat similar food again. I had the Price Fix dinner and was pleasantly surprised. The food was perfect sized portions and absolutely delicious. If only the Bowl of Bones were still an option carried over from the Kennedyville.