The Board and Brew

Great coffee, food, and service. Definitely a place to check out when you’re in the area and need a good pick me up. On the days I work from home, I bring my laptop to Board and Brew and work there. They also serve breakfast food all day, which is always a plus.

It was my husband’s idea for us to go to this College Park Maryland the Board and Brew place, but I’m glad that we did. This board and brewery gives you the option of also purchasing your choice of the game with the food (they serve both dessert and regular meal items). My husband and I got some hot drinks and I remember getting a tasty mocha latte. My husband chose some palatable min cinnamon sugar donut bites while I chose a toothsome pastry item that had pistachios and honey in it. The waiter that was serving our items was polite as well, and gave informative details about the game options at the Board and Brew.

Awesome place to start your morning or to chill during a rainy day and play some board games. Great music and a fun menu that is very good. Recommend the homemade oatmeal and breakfast sandwiches, make sure to get your sandwich on a scallion/​cheddar biscuit. Definitely recommend for groups or just trying to kill time. Walking distance to Maryland’s athletic venues.

This is a great place to come and play board games, drink coffee and eat food. Everything on their menu is delicious, I have tried a bunch of stuff and have not yet been disappointed. The coffee is great and their regular coffee is one of the best around. The idea here is awesome; come in with a group and spend all day playing games. The only major negative I have to say is that it’s $ 5 to play board games. If you only play one it’s kind of a waste of money, however if you plan to spend hours there, it’s great. The sound is also not the best. If there is any large group, which I was there when a large party showed up (not board and brews fault by any means), it was impossible to hear the people at my table– which makes playing board games really hard. I definitely recommend coming in to try out some news game, they have SO many, and grab some food and drink.
I also forgot to mention that they have a decent beer list that is reasonably priced if you don’t want coffee.
Also, the staff is usually excellent. Once in a while they can be slow, but they are also super friendly.

This place gets like…7 stars for the game selection and entry price, 4 stars for the food, and 2 stars for the service. The servers are always polite and friendly, but it’s nearly impossible to flag one down — and once you do, bringing out the food and drinks takes a very long time. I’ve only been there for dinner events, so I’m unsure how it is earlier on.
Trivia night is a lot of fun. Their alcohol selection is a bit wanting, but not terrible. It’s generally fairly noisy, so I wouldn’t recommend it for an intimate night out. It’s a great place to relax and play with a group of friends, though.

While it’s the gaming that sets them apart, one should not overlook the coffee here, which is fantastic — this is easily the best place to get coffee within walking distance of the University. I had a delicious cappuccino with nice, creamy foam (and good latte art). As others have noted, they are supplied by Vigilante Coffee down the road in Hyattsville.

3.5 stars
This review is only for the food. We wanted a quick bite in college park and Bobby’s & Vegan food wasn’t cutting it for me. Decided to try out board and brew with the awesome reviews…
Service was very friendly but the food took quite a while. We started with the fried pickles & sliders for the little one… Not bad, fried pickles used a cornmeal batter which wasn’t bad but not great. Sliders were a little on the dry side.
I got the chicken pesto panini which was good, bacon not necessary. The pickled onions was a nice touch to the sandwich. Boyfriend got the bbq beef sandwich — a little spicy but that’s how he likes it.
Everything was OKAY, not amazing. I was slightly dissatisfied that my sweet fries didn’t come how they looked in everyone’s photos/​I think they lacked either sugar or salt!

I love this place! There’s plenty of parking, but yes, you need to pay. At least not DC parking prices.
I had a tasty Caramel latte that is regularly $ 4.79. However, it was free to me, thanks to a Unilocal Check-​in. The Sour Cherry Scone I bought to accompany it was Huge! I took part of it home. That was $ 3.99, not exactly college student cheap.
I had a comfy leather sofa to myself. It was relaxing, and Alice, my server was the best!

After a visit to Toronto’s Snakes and Lattes (the granddaddy of board game cafes), I realized I’d never left a review for The Board and Brew. My biggest surprise upon visiting S&L was I actually like TBB better! The game selection here is fantastic, and the games are in excellent shape (surprising given all the messy food being eaten). The food here is much better than S&L, with the Old Bay fries as a stand out. Spending $ 5 for an evening of board gaming, with no pressure to order food or vacate your space, is an excellent value. I only wish I lived closer, or that there was a location in NoVA.

My review is based on the day I went. The business was «offline» for some reason and it sent the young college staff into a tizzy. Being offline meant that they had to hand write all the orders, use a calculator for the bills, and generally interact with the cook and patrons more often (I was asked what my order was about 5 times from 3 different servers). It was quite an experience and not at all enjoyable. I waited more than 10 minutes for a cup of tea. I had chosen my tea bag, so I was just waiting for a cup of hot water. When I finally got my tea, the tea bag was already in the hot water and brewing — odd. I do not like my tea strong, so it was almost past my liking. I ordered the pancake breakfast — 2 over medium eggs, sausage, and pancakes. I wanted turkey sausage, and three staffers had to be consulted to confirm whether any of the meat choices were not pork. The menu did not specify this, but isn’t that something you should know off the top of your head as a server?
One waiter did try to help my dining experience by offering me several games to play (for free) while I waited for my food. After a looong wait (and several apologies from the most senior waiter), I finally got my meal. The eggs were definitely not over medium; they were super runny like over easy. I was starving by then and just sopped it up with my pancakes. The rest of the meal was good.
But I couldn’t fully enjoy my experience because in the background, there were frantic waitresses trying to figure out tax for patrons’ bills, and how to survive in a universe without the internet. Kinda haha funny, kinda sad. I know other people who have been to this restaurant (when the internet was working) and they had a much better experience. I think I would give this place another chance, but no time soon.
Saving grace — #YelpHiddenGems

Went to this place on a weeknight and found parking in the back of the building in what seemed to be a shared parking area with Varsity apartments and other spots within the block. It was a parking garage with some spots. You park your car; remember your parking spot and then walk to a nearby machine. You have to enter your parking space number and pay the machine based on the estimated time you think you will be there (it accepted cash, coins and credit card). Once paid, you can then head to your destination.
In this café, I ordered some hot chocolate, which was just basic and also got some sweet potato fries (came with its own sauce) and an order of soft pretzel bites (with sauce). The pretzel bites with the sauce was actually pretty good — soft and quite tasty. The sweet potato fries were hot, so I had to wait for it to cool down before eating it and when I did, it was good as well.
As I sat with a few friends enjoying my bites, one of the owners came over and introduced himself and told a little about the place. I thought that was nice of him and I also got to know a little more about The Board and Brew as well. It is in a perfect location — right next to the University (UMCP) and also a spot for gamers to play all sorts of games (the non-​electronic kind). They certainly made the place comfortable for folks in providing couches as well.
Tip
Cost for parking in the garage is 15 cents for 15 minutes; $ 1 per hour for the first 2 hours; $ 14 for max time of 8 hours and it is available 24 hours/​day and 7 days/​week.

This place is AWESOME! Hooow did I not know about it before?! Thank god for Unilocal’s Hidden Gems because this was the third location and I’m so glad I dragged myself out of bed for it! It’s the perfect low key place to grab a bite, sit and study, relax with your friend and of course, play board games! $ 5pp for an unlimited amount of gaming. They have an unbelievable collection of games to choose from, and my personal favorite thing, plenty of people to teach you how to play. In fact, we met Brandon, whose whole job was it to teach people how to play and he was excellent in teaching us. Patrick also taught us how to play Splendor, a games that’s been sitting unwrapped on our shelf for a while, and now we play almost every day!
Furthermore, the food was also great! I really enjoyed the fried pickles. It was my first time having them and I was really curious how they were going to taste, but they were so crunchy and not overwhelmingly sour. The Old Bay fries were really as good as everyone says they are. Crunchy, soft on the inside and full of flavor. The fiancé also had a burger which was pretty delicious as well. The mocha was very rich and flavorful, but I thought the caramel Latte was a little on the watery side. I enjoyed the little patterns they made into the foam.
The seating arrangement is spacious and perfect for spreading out with games. I will definitely be back here for a day of gaming!

I came here for breakfast on a Friday morning around 9am. Predictably the place was pretty empty. Too early for most college kids! I was greeted when I entered and was offered a seat anywhere. I chose a table instead of one of the comfy sofas or chairs. A waiter brought me a menu and explained about the fancy pour over coffees. I stuck with an espresso, chocolate croissant, and the 2 egg breakfast platter. The eggs were a little overdone but other than that, it was a good meal.
Parking was plentiful in the paid lot behind the building. Only $ 1/​hr so can’t complain too much.
This can be a quiet place to work (free wifi, naturally) or read, or you can play one of their many games. The service was good and the rest of the menu looked enticing. I’m sure I will come back to try the fries and a game or two! Maybe even open mic night?

This place is worth going out of your way for. A café with great coffee, tasty food, and I have the option of buying a craft beer? Yes, please.
They really nailed it when setting up this place. The décor is open and inviting. There are plenty of seating arrangements for people coming there to read a book, people watch the busy street outside, curl up on a comfy couch, and plenty of tables for playing the crazy amount of board games they have available.
Sometimes it’s really hard to find a low key spot to grab a drink with a friend. You don’t quite want a bar and a restaurant is too formal. Problem solved — come here.
Looking for a place to have a game night? A lot of public locations are too noisy, don’t want you there for a long period of time, or are not a fun location to be in with friends. Problem solved — come here.
They have table service that still needs a bit of work but the enthusiasm was there. I grabbed a sandwich and salad while here and it was really tasty.
I really hope this place keeps up the positive attitude, clean comfortable look, and great food/​drink choices. I had such a great time here and hope this place sticks around for a long time!

On a dark and rainy night, three tired Unilocaler’s drove out to College Park, Maryland. In search of the infamous pink gem we traveled to find the location of the latest hidden gem restaurant. I was really glad that we found The Board and The Brew. The concept of a food restaurant that allows you to eat and play a variety of games is very novel. One of the owners, Brian, came out and greeted us. He answered our questions and made himself available for any others we came up with. The hot chocolate was rich and full of chocolate flavor. One member of our group had the pretzel appetizer. It was warm, soft and came with a delicious dipping sauce. The sweet potato fries were crunchy and fresh. The décor was warm and inviting. The wait staff was kind and attentive. I was told they have a professional gamer who will teach you how to play games that you are not familiar with. I am glad that we made the trip. We met another Unilocaler there and got our precious pink gem.

The Board and Brew is a café near University of Maryland College Park campus with a wide selection of card and board games that would appeal to all ages. They serve breakfast, small plates & salads, sandwiches, desserts, and drinks (mainly soda, coffee, or tea). You have a choice of sitting at table with chairs or a coffee table with couches. I like the clean and spacious feel that café gives off. I also like how the café’s walls are decorated with local artwork (that can be purchased). I feel that it would be a great place to gather with friends and /​or study and work productively.
Since my friends and I came from brunch, we only ordered specialty drinks (first one is on the house with check-​in on Unilocal) and desserts. For drinks, we ordered iced water, iced tea, creamsicle latte, earl grey italian soda, and brazil santa ines drip coffee. The Creamsicle Latte consisted of thai tea that was served hot and topped with orange infused whipped cream. It was certainly a interesting combo. Since our waitress said the cookies just came out of the oven, we decided to get three Chocolate Chip Cookies. The chocolate chip cookies were loaded with a generous amount of chocolate chips. I’ll admit that it was a bit messy to eat and play at the same time, not to mention that the game pieces were a bit sticky already. There’s a $ 5 per person to play games for an unlimited amount of time. We had a fun time playing The Settlers of Catan. I like how you have the option to check out the games before you purchase them.

What a fun place! Big shout out for using Vigilante as their coffee supplier — it’s roasted just down the road in Hyattsville, and is way fresher than *$$. My latte was excellent. I had the spicy pulled beef, which should come with a warning, as it is 3 out of 4 peppers on the Shophouse heat scale. Not a problem for this Thai and Korean fan, but might be for some. Fries were crispy and nicely seasoned. Very good quality, but I was not impressed by the quantity/​price ratio.
The big hurt here is parking, as College Park is almost as evil as DC on supply and enforcement. I don’t know what the reviewer who suggested parking across the street was smoking, as there are tow warning signs galore.

I came to Board and Brew to play some boardgames. This place provided a nice low key Sunday Afternoon with some friends. If you’re looking to get drunk, you can go to Boardroom in Dupont instead for that. They’re only brewing coffee here. So If you’re looking to geek out on boardgames, they have two large shelves with great variety.
While the boardgames are fun, service were great, and the owner friendly, the food was mostly mediocre. I ordered the Green eggs and Hamburger and a side of fried pickles. It sounds like a good concept… bacon, egg, and pesto on a burger. Not saying it wasn’t enjoyable, but it was a bit one-​note. I think that combination could work better with a nicely seasoned turkey burger instead. I tried one of my friend’s pretzel bites and those seemed like one of thr better choices, especially while playing games.
Overall, this is a good hangout spot for boardgames supplemented with food, but its not a foodies’ paradise. Perhaps if someone merged the concept with those Korean bakeries, that would be a good combo.

I secretly like this place a lot! Not unique, not fancy, it doesn’t have a huge menu, food is not super good but not under okay either, I have the feeling that the ingredients were well-​thought, unlike most of the places around here.
Maybe the reason for me to visit this place so much is that I feel very comfortable here, and the staff is really nice. Also I must say that BBQ Beef Sandwich is very good and very spicy! (At least for a non-​indian).
I am thinking they can improve the brownie a lot. Of course, everybody has different tastes, but If I was the cook for this place, I would start by removing the cream from the brownie. It is too much and different flavors of sweet with ice cream. Ice cream is more than enough to me! Also the brownie I would be very happy to eat would have a thin hard cake layer and slowly becomes liquidy from surface to center. Also I think they need to optimize the serving temperature for the brownie after a few experimental trials with some brownie rats.
Yes, I firmly believe that brownie is important for this kind of place. I like this place! No very specific reasons!

As cold tourists we were fulfilled from our dinner however we noticed this café across the street and boy we were sure glad to swing by this gem. I simply feel like they don’t make it like this anymore. Boardgames, food, and occasional live music. This is a necessity that every University needs.
Ambiance:
* Parking | There is garage parking, but could be a pretty packed place since it’s close to the University and other places to dine.
* Seating | We came here on a Saturday evening during a football game and it was not too packed. The place can seat about 70 people and ranged from group settings to pairs.
* Feels | I liked the modern alternative music, the vibes, and the board games. Definitely didn’t imagine a restaurant with games. I just wished I stayed for an open mic session!
Food:
Raspberry Mocha
* Definitely stood out from other coffee shops. Sweet, warm, soothing, and delicious.
Customer Service:
* Subtle high energy complimented with friendliness. They made our stay definitely warm and welcoming.
Overall:
* 5 stars. I’ve been to many Universities (UCLA, Berkeley, Irvine, Washington) but never really seen a signature place like this. If so, it wasn’t as visible and attracting. Any who the drinks were good, boardgames were fun, and the vibes were most warming. Kudos to The Board and Brew for being awesome.
TL; DR Tips:
* $ 5 dollar charge per person for board games, unlimited time & board games