Captain Benders Tavern

Came here with a group of friends for dinner. Waitress service was fine, no issues. I had the crab cake sandwich with onion rings and a side salad. Salad was basic but fresh, sandwich was average, and onion rings were tasty. Decent basic bar food. Overall, no complaints. Bar is divey but even for a dive bar, it could still use a little cleaning and updating.

First tried this back in Feb 2014 for a family member’s birthday and their bacon cheese fries were spectacular as well as the drink called the Crazy Captain. Tried it again in Feb 2015 we got carry out from them while there were 6 inches of snow on the ground (yes they were open and its walking distance from my house!!) Food was amazing, got carryout over the months since then however we noticed a decline in their quality of food, such as the french fries were never done all the way. We havent been back since summer of 2015 but maybe in the future we will try them again.

Had the burnside panini and definitely got food poisoning off of it probably won’t be getting food if I ever come back

Did the Friday prime rib special for the first time and wasn’t impressed. Strongly suggest they abandon that and replace with $ 5 burger night. I think it would rival wing night.

Laid back local watering hole. The only real restaurant in Sharpsburg they fill a much needed gap. They do dine in and carry-​out. Menu is full of solid bar food that never disappoints. My favorites are: fried pickle chips, Burnside panini, black & bleu burger, & hub city salad.
You can sit down at tables to dine, sit in the beer-​garden out back if it’s warm, watch the game on tv at the bar, or go over into the game-​room to play pool, corn hole, darts etc. Pub trivia happens here regularly as well as special events: whiskey tastings, wine tastings, special dinners. Wait-​staff and owner are friendly and always available.
Some of the other commenters seemed to not have an understanding of what a local tavern is. Not a dive and not particularly fancy, Bender’s is a pretty good representation of what the people living in Sharpsburg and the surrounding area are looking for from their local bar.

You come to Sharpsburg to walk the undulating fields where America experienced its most bloody day. After pondering the 154-​year-​old true «High Watermark» of the Confederacy (my opinion is humble) go to Benders. Fried pickle spears and canal water shots/​drinks. ‘Nuff said. Staff is awesome, too.

I was disappointed when they started hanging confederate flags outside of the restaurant. I will no longer be going there because of this.

This is our local bar and eatery, so this to some might be a biased opinion but to each his own. My husband and I have eaten here often over the 15 years we have lived in this quaint historic town of ours, and NOT once can I say we have ever gotten a bad meal. Always walk away full and satisfied. Service is fast, and friendly.

It was a very great place to stop for Lunch. The staff was outstanding and so very friendly. Over all the food was good. The Fried Pickles and the dressings/​sauces were outstanding. check it out.

Great food. Friendly staff. Good ambiance. A pleasant place to stop, especially if in town looking at Antietam.

We love this place. FAMILY RUN. NICE NICE PEOPLE. The ambience is sports bar complete with several TVS on different sports channels, but at least at the times we have visited. .noon to late afternoon/​early evenibg… it’s pleasantly subdued.
We almost always order the excellent fish and chips. Hubs likes the variety of brews.

We are in town for a Geocaching event and we’re looking for a bite to eat after a busy day. This place was an excellent choice. We had the crab dip to start and it was fantastic. Then I had the French onion soup and the fish and chips which were also very good. My boyfriend had the Ragin’ Cajun pasta which he said was delicious but it looked too spicy for me. The kid had chicken tenders, and he said they were ok. He’s 6 though, and it’s hard to get him to sit down and eat.
In addition to the food being good, the service was excellent. The waiter was attentive without being overbearing and he was extremely kind with my little one. This isn’t always the case when we go to restaurants and I was especially surprised to come across this in a pub.

Captain Bender’s is a fabulous place — Mom and I ate a late lunch for $ 21 and change — We are full and happy! Only reason it’s not 5 stars for me is it could use some aesthetic updates. I get that it’s a pub, just sayin’. Got a wonderful burger — 8oz angus with cheddar, bacon and BBQ — amazing fries, a really good pickle (that totally matters) and our server was sweet — top notch. You know it’s good when the server asks how you want your burger cooked! And in all my years of eating food, I’ve never seen beef jerky listed as a side dish. So — a great, tasty, friendly, affordable meal to refresh us after a battlefield tour. Do it.

First visit to the tavern and we will definitely be back. The service was friendly and quick. As soon as we finished our delicious cream of crab soup, our salads were served. The blackened salmon was spectacular, and the oven baked potatoes were a nice side. My husband had the prime rib which could have been more tender, but overall it was a pleasant meal experience. He said that the local favorite Antietam Ale did not disappoint! Lori was a nice waitress, but so was our Shepherd alumni football left tackle!

The Chicken Milano special is a juicy grilled chicken breast with mozzarella and spinach. It was so delicious and felt healthy. I got a bowl of the beef stew soup. It was spicy and it is soup not a stew. Only one person was working the bar and waiting tables but i felt that she did everything right. Service was great.

I’m afraid my first experience with this venue will also be my last. My wife and I had just come from a work assignment nearby and decided to stop in based on some recommendations from friends. We sat «wherever you like» (it was a Monday and the only other customers there were getting ready to leave).
We were quickly served menus and ordered unsweetened iced tea (which was pretty good, actually). A few minutes later, our menu order was taken. I ordered a reuben panini and my wife ordered a pulled pork sandwich. We both «upgraded» to onion rings. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, and the server was quite hospitable.
My wife enjoyed her lunch, but complained that the cole slaw that accompanied her sandwich tasted like it was made with butter and mayo.
I ate the first half of my sandwich and a couple of onion rings, and then headed immediately to the bathroom. I was sick… and suddenly… needless to say (and with no further detail needed) I did not eat the remainder of that sandwich. I’m unsure if it was the dressing or the sauerkraut that was bad, but something set me off and big time!
The sandwich was taken off the bill, but the damage was done. I just hope nobody else had to endure that spoiled food the way I did.
Like other reviewers have stated, the place smells of old tobacco. The bathroom needs to be cleaned… and I mean cleaned with a power wash and ammonia rinse… it smells awful! The place looks nice enough, but the behind the scenes is pretty shady.

If you’re taking a tour of Antietam, then the closest place to eat is in the city of Sharpsburg. There isn’t really too many options. But this is one of them. This old place has a very local feel where everyone seems to know each other. The menu itself is basic without much fanfare, but the sandwiches are pretty good and large. It’s a small kind of divey place, but those are the places I like to go.

Food is pretty decent — burgers (Black and Bleu is awesome) and fries are both really good, as are their specials typically (including their prime rib) and soups.
Atmosphere is sort of a pool hall/​sports bar (e.g. tacky plastic neon beer signs); unfortunately, the bar is right there with the tables, so you’re intermingled with drinkers, something that’s not always conducive to having kids with you.
Service ranges from good to pretty bad, depending on who your server is. On our last visit, I had to ask multiple times for something I had asked for originally when I placed my order; the server finally plunked it down on my table, not uttering a word, like he was annoyed with ME! And while it wasn’t the end of the world or anything, that’s just one example. We used to be semi-​regulars and expected better and often left the place feeling as though we were strangers. Very weird vibe, though the one server (Lori?) we had on a number of occasions was the exception to the server mentioned above — she is attentive, friendly, and has a great personality; if only we had her every time.
Because of the spotty service, we now go to Dan’s in Boonsboro or Domestic in Shepherdstown, both about five miles away. Both are superior, offering better food, beer selection (Dan’s has 24 beers on tap!), and consistently better service for the same prices. We liked giving this local place our business but it just seemed like they didn’t really value ours very much.

Just stopped in here after seeing reviews and so glad we did. Great burgers and they are huge! Server was very nice. Nice atmosphere.

Wanted to find a casual spot to get some noms during our camping trip in Sharpsburg and came across Captain Benders Tavern. Super dive-​y inside and you can tell that locals make this their go-​to spot. Followed another person’s advice and ordered a cup of their crab soup — it did not disappoint! Creamy with a great depth of flavor that warmed my soul. I had a hankerin’ for a burger that night and got French Onion Burger (bacon, horseradish cream sauce, caramelized onions and Swiss). It totally hit the spot and the horseradish cream sauce was genius; beef and horseradish go great together so how did I not think of adding it to a burger?! My guy ordered the Cajun Chicken Sandwich (a whole, grilled chicken breast with Cajun seasonings and bleu cheese) that was very satisfying and hit the spot.
We were sitting at one of the bar stools and oh my goodness, were those wobbly! The relaxed (but efficient) bartender assured us we’d be fine (we were) but they might want to invest in some new ones. There was a «gaming area» in the back with a dartboard and maybe some other games; you can tell this place is a good spot to watch football since there’s tons of Ravens signage and the football schedule is posted. I’d definitely check out this local, casual spot if you’re strolling through Sharpsburg!