A couple weekends ago we decided to venture out to Chardon, Ohio to try the Brown Barn Tavern on Mayfield Rd. I say venture out but from where my friend lives it was only a 20 min drive. Depending on where you live it can be a bit of a drive though but it is worth it and the drive from where we were located was gorgeous. I can only imagine what it will look like in the fall with all the leaves changing. We were there on a Saturday around lunchtime. They have a normal everyday menu plus a brunch menu on the weekends.
We pulled up to this adorable building that really does look like a huge brown barn. There is dining room seating throughout the building and a nice size bar inside. The patio is off the back of the building and overlooks some trees and some other buildings. The patio is average size which is perfect so that it does not get too busy.
We started with some drinks, which when trying a new place, I always try their house drinks. In this case they do have a good list of them and a couple I would like to go back and try. For this visit I tried their seasonal mule, which had a berry vodka in it. This drink comes out in a blue Moscow Mule glass with the fruit on top. My fruit consisted of an orange and a cherry. I am not typically a vodka drinker but this mule had good flavor to it and the right amount of vodka in it. I really enjoyed the flavor and it was very refreshing. I realized I did not get a picture of it but my husband tried their BBT Old Fashioned and seemed to really like it.
For appetizers the Brussels sprouts were a must try and the French onion soup. The Brussels were so flavorful and cooked with just the right amount of crisp. The Brussels came with a lemon honey thyme vinaigrette that paired nicely with them. The vinaigrette was a nice light dipping sauce. As for the French onion soup my husband ate it so fast I did not get a chance to try it. The soup seemed to be made with a lighter broth then I am typically use to, as you can see from the picture it appears light in color, which could just be from the cheese as well. My husband seemed to have no complaints as he didn’t leave one drop.
Now on to the entrees! This was my favorite part and what was even better is that I had multiple people with me so we all tried something different. For starters everyone seemed very pleased with their meal, as there were no complaints just some meals that were okay. Not everything on a menu can stand out, but everything was good. All of our food came out hot and at the same time.
The first option was the Sassy shrimp and French fries. The shrimp comes in a buttermilk marinade with some seasoning. My friend said they were fine just not as flavorful as we were thinking they would be by the description and name. The French fries were cooked perfect and was the perfect choice to go with the shrimp.
My friend and her husband both got the BBT Mac and cheese, which you can either get by itself or with one of two options. We tried both of the options the barn buffalo chicken and the pulled pork. They add a good portion of either meat on top of a huge portion of Mac and cheese. The Mac and cheese is a white cheddar with roasted garlic and parmesan herbs. It was really creamy, not too rich and had very good flavor. These are always things I compare to other Mac and cheese dishes. Both of these options were really good.
Three of us tried sandwiches on their menu. I got the Barn Honey Chicken sandwich. I really enjoyed the house honey mustard combined with the chicken and bacon. The bacon was cooked crispy, which is another must for me. The only thing that really didn’t work for me on this sandwich was the avocado. I could have done without it as it did not really add anything to the sandwich for me. I also choose the Mac and cheese as my side. The other two sandwiches were the BBT Classic burgers. When I asked for opinions I was told the burgers were cooked just how they both liked and the burger had good flavor to it.
The last entree that we tried was the grilled fish tacos. They use mahi mahi for the fish. The tacos then have cowboy caviar, pickled red onion, wasabi unfused avocado creme, and cilantro lime rice. I was looking for brighter color with these tacos but they were okay. Not my favorite thing we had while there.
Everyone seemed to like their picks for lunch. I would say the food is good and if you are traveling out that way you should stop by and give it a try. There are a couple golf courses out that way as well, so you could always make a day out of it. I love the look of the building and the patio. I also like that they have different options on their menu. Something for everyone and their prices are very good.
If you have been there let me know your thoughts.