The Brunswick Tavern

Okay I am going to caveat this by saying we went out on Christmas night for dinner as a last minute decision. Since I was a server for over 10 years at the most magical place on earth, our expectations were in check and we were just happy to be together and having a nice dinner.
We got there a few minutes early and they were clearing our table so we only waited a moment. We were sat and greeted by Hugo who was delightful and prompt for the most part. We ordered our wine and waited awhile for him to come back to take our order. We didn’t mind since the wine was delicious! There was a couple next to us who had been seated well before we were and they seemed to still be looking around for someone to serve them. They finally had to get up and ask the hostess if they had a waitress. From then on their dinner seemed to be as much of a disaster as ours was. We were in a good mood and they just weren’t lol.
Our salads came and they were fresh and delicious. We noticed everyone around us had fresh bread so we just figured we would ask rather than wait and not receive. I’m glad we asked because the bread was yummy too. And then it went downhill fast. While waiting for dinner we heard the chef in the kitchen SCREAMING a few times. Each time all of us diners would look at each other with that uh oh look and a awkward giggle.
While waiting for our dinners we also noticed at least 2 customers send back their meals and the woman next to us got barely a ¼ of a slice of turkey in her roulade. Finally our dinner came and if we weren’t having a nice conversation together I would have taken photos to show you how bad it looked.
I had the Seafood Newburg with asparagus and roasted fingerlings. The Newburg sauce was actually really tasty but the seafood in the dish was so incredibly over cooked I only ate the one big claw of rubbery lobster and a few tiny tough bay scallops. The asparagus was so overcooked it was the consistency of oily baby food. And how do you mess up a roasted fingerling potato? You burn them and dry them out and fail to season them with salt.
My husband got the surf and turf. He is a polite southern boy who was really hungry so he ate the majority of his dinner but it was not good. To start off it was cold. The shrimp was so overcooked it could have bounced. The meat was supposed to be medium rare but it was a cold dry medium and his sides were the same as mine and just as bad.
Hugo came over when we had put our plates to the side and asked me if everything was okay. I said its Christmas and we are enjoying ourselves so I don’t want to complain so let’s just say it wasn’t very good. He said he would let the chef know and I said oh please don’t he does not sound like he is in the mood for feedback. Then I said We are really okay. I smiled and told him no worries. We ordered our desserts and some more wine.
I ordered the chocolate mousse cake. It is such an amazing cake and they RUINED the whole piece by covering it in what tasted like Hershey’s chocolate sauce. Don’t get me wrong I love me some Hershey’s but why ruin an AMAZING chocolate mousse cake with not a drizzle but COVERING it with sauce.
My hubby got the apple crisp. The apples were way under cooked and it was cold. Come on Apple Crisp needs to be served warm!!!
The KICKER of dinner was when the angry chef comes storming out of the kitchen and makes eye contact with me while doing the classic service industry «drive by» to see who dare complain. What’s funnier is he wasn’t even good at it!!! Not only did he make eye contact with me he made it obvious by walking into the middle of the hostess area ignoring the hostess and just turning around and going back into the kitchen.
I am a fair Unilocaler and love to give credit where credit is due. If I have a bad experience at a place I won’t typically write a bad review until after a second visit unless it was really bad or very uncomfortable. This experience was both.

Food is good. Portion size leaves some to be desired though. Service is very hit or miss depending on the waiter or waitress you get.

Nasty room, bad customer service, I just want a cup of hot water, they refused to provide, won’t come back again, swear to god!!!

We live a couple of towns south of Brunswick and visit often. The Brunswick Tavern is very handy for us in the summer when we come up for the Maine State Music Theater. We usually plan on having an early lunch and catch a matinée performance, the food is always good but the staff is lacking in attentiveness. We’ve been there maybe a dozen times and I would say that 90% of the time we are left waiting at the door even if the restaurant is only half full before someone comes to seat us. After we’re seated it takes quite awhile for someone to come back and take our order, the orders are alway delivered quickly so nothing is cold. But like I said the food is good so we always plan for the slowness of the staff. When I say the food is good it is, it’s just not outstanding.
Every thing is a couple of dollars more than it should be, I guess it’s because the décor is nice and the building is new. We keep coming because it is just across the street from Bowdoin College and the theater. This place could be a great dining destination with a properly trained staff and a more inspired chef.
Don’t bother eating breakfast there are dives and diners in town that do a better job for a fraction of the cost.

Met old friends for brunch. Sat outside on a gorgeous fall day. If that were my entire review — 5 stars. But then the food came. This is institutional food at best. Based on their website (photos) I hoped for better. I had the regular Benedict. I asked for «eggs medium». They were hard. They were also covered in a shell like bright yellow substance that was not hollandaise made fresh. It resembled the dip coating on a soft serve at DQ. I added the $ 7 fresh fruit cup to my order and received a 3 inch round little tall ramekin with a bit of melon and a few blueberries. DO NOT get the fruit cup. My wife had a chx salad croissant which she said was good. I would not go back again and given all the good food in Brunswick, would go elsewhere to eat if staying at this hotel.

Breakfast review only.
Stayed the night here for a wedding.
Crab Cake Benedict $ 18: Crab cakes were amazing, homefries were eh, the «butter» on the toast tasted like oil, eggs were overcooked and not runny at all.
My sister got the Western Omelette which had no cheese… and randomly came with mushrooms. We think they got the order mixed up but didn’t really say anything.
My mother and sister’s BF loved their eggs and ate it all.
Nothing too special on the breakfast menu that you won’t find at a diner but everything was reasonably priced.
3 stars because it wasn’t anything too spectacular — typical hotel breakfast.
Service was accommodating and super friendly!

My wife and I have had a room here for a week and a half. So we’ve had numerous breakfast’s and occasional dinners. The food and service have been good and worth a try even if you are not staying in a room.

I really liked bring outside and the homemade chips are wonderful. I also know from past experience that the mix drinks change and they keep a lot of local brews on tap. I do find things take a while to get to you and I think the food is over prices for its quality and lack of local fare.

It was an ok experience. The food wasn’t amazing but it was definitely decent. Customer service is awkward; like another reviewer said, there is no one there to greet you, so you sort of have to walk through this long hotel and then seat yourself. Found it hard to get a refill since the servers were on the other side of the room.

Had Sunday brunch here. Setting is somewhat dark, off hotel lobby, like a bar. Decent menu selection, and fare was adequate, but nothing to write home about. Given the excellent food available in town, this only gets 3 stars.

The atmosphere and live music was superb on the Monday night I dined there.
I ordered the mussels in coconut curry sauce that is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I have to say I have ordered this dish several times in recent history and this order was really not that special. The mussels were fine but the sauce was rather uninspired and the 2 small crusts of bread that arrived with it were nearly rock hard.
I ordered for my main the braised short rib. It was very good and the vegetables were also quite good.
I was mostly pleased so I ordered the strawberry shortcake that was a house specialty and coffee.
The cake was like the earlier crusts of bread. Like «Hard Tack» that sailors ate on transatlantic voyages. I looked out at some of the older patrons of the restaurant and wondered how they could cope.
Well, despite excellent service up to this point getting another excellent cup of coffee proved quite difficult. I sat there with my check and credit card and waited quite q while. When the waitress finally came I gave her my card and asked that another coffee be poured. I told her I was going to the restroom.
I returned to a bussed table and no coffee or even my credit card back. It got worked out and I don’t want to dwell. Service was otherwise fine.
The stale bread and shortcake brought this down to a 3. The otherwise talented the chef should rethink the mussels, they could be way better and ditch the stale breads.

The epitome of casual fine dining. The charcuterie plate is a revelation of house made pâté. The local mussels are handled with delicate care and offered in a light and innovative curry sauce. The fish n chips features local hake in a crisp beer batter. Local beers on tap. Lunch prices reasonable for high quality of food. The waitresses have the trademark Maine charm.

Nice atmosphere… only reason why 4 star instead of 5 is… no staff was around when we arrived and it said wait to be seated. UHHH, we waited… uhhhh…ok yeah HELLO here we are.
Not bad. A basic breakfast. I had a BYO omelet. So did hubby. the two waitresses we had didn’t know what to make of us. Hubby kept them laughing. One was a new girl and her co-​worker, well, she, the co-​worker and hubby had a common love for scooters. So the conversation was all about scooters and they still scooted along to get breakfast for us and we all laughed. We got there early, only a few tables full, but I have walked in to take a look before and the tables are pretty full.
OH and they know how to toast toast! Not warm bread… not charcoal, just right!!!

I recently had dinner at the tavern, mainly because I was staying at the Inn and also because I noticed they had many vegetarian selections on their menu. The food was very good. I had the portabella sandwich and I opted for an Allegash white beer which was a delicious accompaniment. They call it a «tavern», but it definitely has an upscale feel to it, yet it is casual and the prices are reasonable. A perfect combination in my book.
The atmosphere is very nice and there was a very good jazz trio which also added to an all around delightful evening. The crowd was a nice mix of locals and people staying at the Inn and our server Laurel was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful with making recommendations.
We also had breakfast, which was very delicious. I had a BYO omelet that came with home fries and really great whole wheat toast.
I would definitely recommend the tavern and I look forward to returning on my next visit to Maine.

The best Double Happy Hours 4 – 6 & 8 – 10!
They also have Baxter iPA
Great place for a Business Meeting