Oh, wow. This kitschy historic tavern exceeded my expectations tenfold. I saw it was rated highly here and my mom's friend had also recommended it, so we stopped in for an early dinner. It's right in the heart of Old New Castle (near the Delaware River/Battery Park) and offers a large menu of old-timey fare. I didn't have the biggest appetite so I ordered the caesar salad. My mom contrasted with the Pilgrim's Feast, and my friend chose the middle ground with the pulled pork sandwich. Once the food arrived, my appetite jumped quite a bit, and I ended up stealing sweet potato fries (so good!), pieces of pork (so good!), mashed potatoes in gravy (so so soooo good!), turkey (ugh so good), and stuffing (yep, you got it -- so good!). My salad paled in comparison...but was still delicious. For dessert, I ordered the chocolate lava cake. My mom and friend got ice cream. The cake was incredible beyond words, so I'd say I won the dessert round. Not to forget, I didn't plan to drink anything here until I noticed de Garre on tap. Like, what? How? I was just in Bruges and it was the best tripel of my LIFE. I didn't expect to be able to try it again so soon! But be warned: Since it's imported, it's not exactly like the Bruges version. There was minimal head and the pour was much more generous. As an 11% beer, that can be good or bad depending on your preferred state of mind. Beyond de Garre (which you really should try; $12), they have a massive Bible of Belgian beers, plus some locals and even an exclusive Brambleberry (which was too sweet for me). Wine and cocktails are also available but beer is the star. So basically, not only is Jessop's a kitschy tavern, but it's also a hidden Belgian beer mecca and a great place for a top-quality meal. New Castle is close enough that I can safely say I'll be returning...and hopefully soon. read more

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Five stars for food, service and ambience. Jessop's is nestled in Old New Castle with all its charm. The selection of hand crafted beers are the best around. read more

I had the special- seafood chowder. It was pretty good, but needed more favor. I put pepper in it to improve it. For my main course, I ordered a grilled cheese, which was delicious. The cheese was a great favor. It came with a small serving size of tasty coleslaw. Sweet potato fries were served on the side. They were fair. I would have made better. The service was great! I was seated right away, and the waitress was very friendly. The inside of the restaurant was phenomenal. It was very old. I like old places. I would come here again, get the grilled cheese again, leave off the fries and get a dessert. They have ice cream from Woodside Farm, which is homemade and delicious. Also, I would take my son, and he would play Pokémon Go afterwards. Second review- I took my son here and he had the Shepard's pie. I had the pot roast. Both of the dishes were a 5/5 for Delaware standards. I upgraded the restaurant to a 5 stars- if the restaurant was in Philly, I would rate it at 4 stars. We had the same waitress, and she was still a great waitress. read more

Jessop's Tavern - Pot roast with mashed potatoes and broccoli. - American Near Me - New Castle, Delaware

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The beer menu is endless and to die for. Many choices and delicious food. Good sized portions at a great price. Love the attire worn by staff and the colonial cozy feel. I ordered the chicken chesapeake with green beans and mashed potatoes. It was heavenly, the mash potatoes were bland but the lump crab meat smothered with cheese on chicken did not dissapoint read more

Enjoyed a lovely dinner here tonight. We love the atmosphere and the beer selection is like no other restaurant I've ever been to. Food and service were phenomenal! And did I mention the bread pudding?? Yum. Everyone we eat here, we have a really good experience. Highly recommend Jessop's. read more

Stopped in for a snack on our way home after a Thanksgiving Weekend in Laurel, MD. This place is a gem and is not to be missed! As I have said on many previous reviews, the food is very good and the beer selection is epic. We shared the Smorgas-Bord (their spelling, not mine), a good-sized selection of meats, cheeses, fruit and bread. My Ommegang Draft was perfect. We plan on coming in for dinner at the end of the month. read more

Fantastic fish & chips and maple walnut ice cream to die for, in an old English pub setting.

They sure know how to market colonial America. If you are the historic center of New Castle and want a colonial experience then east here. The building itself is over 300 yrs old and tavern staff dress the part. The menu does have typical colonial food items along with local seafood. read more

It's Octoberfest at Jessop's Tavern in Historic New Castle! The Beer specials, appetizers and Weinerschnitzel was amazing! read more

Jessop's Tavern - Weinerschnitzel - American Near Me - New Castle, Delaware

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So I've always wanted to go to Delaware simply because it was the first state, and wanted to visit something first state-y while there. I searched for the oldest bar in Delaware, and found Jessop's Tavern. While it is not the oldest bar/restaurant in the state, the building itself was built in the 1600's, so I really wanted to check it out. The whole town brings you back to some awesome history, and the interior of Jessop's Tavern keeps a lot of the ambience of colonial times. I wasn't particularly starving when we got here, so we just ordered a beer and the crab dip. The red ale I ordered was very good, but unfortunately neither of us liked the crab dip. It had almost a gravy-like taste to it. The bread it came with was rock hard which I'm not a huge fan of. The dip itself was served in a bread bowl, which was a neat little touch. They give you a hefty knife with it, so I preferred to cut up the bowl from the bread and eat it with the dip because it was softer. I would come back and try some of the sandwiches on the menu, though, they looked pretty delicious. read more

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The food was very good at the Jessup Tavern for lunch on a Saturday in June and the service was excellent.

This place is really cool. Colonial American and all that. But, they serve a proper pint of Guinness. My waitress (dresses in colonial attire) was really pleasant and helpful. Food choices are limited but the food is well prepared and tasty. I personally didn't love the shepherds pie. It was very different from others I've had. Not bad different just different. The beer menu was extensive with many choices I've not seen elsewhere. There were several regulars (greeted by name) there the night I was in. Bartender was friendly and engaged. I will return and try some other specials. It's a cool place to hang and have a few beers. read more

I was excited to eat in this historic restaurant. I made a reservation 4 weeks in advance knowing I would have family in town. Our waitress Brianna was beyond awful. I've never had such terrible service at a restaurant. It took 1 hour to get an order of peel and eat shrimp as an appetizer. She admitted that she forgot to order it. Other tables that sat down after us with different waiters had gotten their meals AND paid the check before we even got the app. Our dinners took another hour to arrive. She ignored us the whole time so we could not even ask where our food was until we flagged down another server. When the food finally came, it was partly cold! I'm just flabbergasted at this point. Don't even ask about our drinks. We had to go to the bar and order and pay for them ourselves. I think she had a big party in the back...but she should had not taken our table if she was too busy! I was beyond embarrassed to bring my out of town guests here. To top off the horrid evening, my mother in law and I both had upset stomachs from the seafood pot pie we ordered. This place should be avoided at all costs! read more

Shepherds pie was weak. Basically dried hamburger meat and microwaved mashed potatoes. There were Absolutely no veggies in it. Smothered in gravy. Gross. Crab dip was basically cream of mushroom and some canned crab in a bread bowl. Beer selection was overall good. Service was good. My brother likes this place for some reason. Has a decent scene. Could be so much more. read more

Great atmosphere. Sat in the corner, which was awkward, because my SO sat with his back facing the entrance amd the whole restaurant. I'm cute but I wouldn't want to look at me the whole night lol. My salad was good, can't complain. Thebshepard's pie was good but not as good as the hype made it out to be. For me anyway, I feel that the beef could have used more flavor, but that's just me. All in all a good experience and good food. read more

Their crab pot pie was good. I would definitely recommend it. The jalapeño cheddar beer soup was alright, my wife liked it more then myself. We will definitely be back to try other things on the menu. read more

Amazing beer selection; colonial inspired menu and some great ice cream. Old New Castle is a wonderful part of Delaware's history you can interact with including Jessop's tavern read more

Love this place good food, service and ambience. Love the old school look and feel. Have had 6/7 different things on the menu and always enjoyed them. Really good beers too read more

Great spot for pint and hearty food at reasonable price. There's a reason why it's still going strong.

Great place too eat! The food is excellent and the service is prompt and friendly! A unique place too try at least once! Doreen

This was my first visit to this lovely historic gem. We had made reservations for Thanksgiving on a recommendation. I was a bit nervous at first but was so glad we took the advice. We made reservations at 4:00 pm and was seated promptly. The food came out quickly. and it was excellent. The Thanksgiving prices were great as well. The cost pp was $28.00 which consisted of salad, bread, entree (choice of 4 items) and dessert. I definitely will be returning and I highly recommend you give this restaurant a try. read more

One of my favorite little spots! My advice is to go for anything that involves a stew or gravy-like element haha I've had the crab pot pie the last two visits and I'll get it again next time! read more

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Walking through the doors of this colonial themed restaurant with accurate-ish hsitorical decor makes you feel as though you stepped back in time. Except for the fact that there are tons of other people dressed in 21st century clothes... and... there's electricity, and a full bar. But I digress. The decor and ambiance were lovely, and the colonial-era table decor and plating completed the feel. Shortly after being seated, we were given fresh complimentary breads which came with a delicious strawberry butter my family and I were all fighting over. The highlight of the night, for me, was the massive shepherds pie. It was a big, beautiful heap of meat and mashed potatoes, drenched in an incredibly thick beef gravy, which was rich and complex. They warned us that it was too big for one person... but they hadn't met the likes of me. The runner up in my opinion was the beef and ale pot pie, which looked wonderful, and was equally as delicious - the flavor of the ale was completely balanced with the rich gravy, neither being lost nor over-powered, which is tricky when cooking with beer; I've learned from experience. The final dish we ordered was the New Sweden Meatloaf, covered in vodka cream sauce and lingonberry preserves, served with zucchini and red skin potatoes. This was the only dish I wasnt thrilled with. The vodka cream sauce was light in flavor, which allowed it to work with the lingonberries - however there wasn't much sauce, and the meatloaf was kind of on the dry side and a bit bland. As for the desserts, we got butter pecan, chocolate, and "motor oil" ice cream, as well as an order of the bread pudding. No complaints there, although I wasn't particularly wowed by the desserts. The one I enjoyed the most, however - was the "motor oil" ice cream, which is coffee flavored with green caramel and fudge swirls. Jessop's Tavern is a cute little gem in the heart of New Castle, Delaware, and if you want to feel like you jumped in a Tardis and got whammied back in time, stop in for a visit. read more

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Great food, service and Old English ambiance with Irish music playing!! The guys loved the vast unique beer selection, we gals tried the ciders and they were great!! We forgot to take pics of the food but it was very good!! read more

Took 45 min to get food & the food was cold Presentation Terrible. Cold stuffing mashed potatoes turkey gravy barely warm. When we told waitress she said we should have told her to warm . She was no where to be found & God knows how long that would have taken. Love the building won't be going back. read more

Great menu, Excellent food and service in a historic tavern! It doesn't get much better than that. The prime rib was excellent!

Loud and crowded. Good food but overworked staff or kitchen - our appetizer appeared when were halfway through entrees.

I give this place 4 stars for service, friendliness, Belgian beer selection, and cleanliness. My fifth category, food could be improved. I expected real British style fish 'n chips, but the cod was a small portion, over battered and rather dry. A sparse, unusual cole slaw recipe accompanied the dish in a sample-sized serving, along with a similar-sized thimble of half ketchup and half tartar sauce. Still, this colonial period tavern is cozy and worth a trip, if only for the beer and a walk on the cobblestone streets by colonial buildings and the river front park. I might try the pot roast or a dinner special on another visit, but no repeat on the fish 'n chips. read more

The food and the staff were awesome! We reserved the tavern's private room for a small wedding reception (14 people). The food was incredible. Everyone commented on how delicious the food was. While eating, our group used words like "delicious", "amazing", and "so good". The staff were so helpful from our initial call to set an appointment to view the room, to the emails from Justin to make sure they were preparing the event exactly as we wanted it, to the evening of the event. Jessop's Tavern provided a perfect evening for our special event. Thank you! read more

Happy Valentine's Day lunch with my favorite guy. Delicious chicken pot pies served in a pewter crock, the crust was light and flaky and the dish was served hot. If you've never been, get ready to step back into the early 1800's. The floors, walls, fireplace and bar all original. Our server today was Emily. She was personable, kind and very attentive. I highly recommend this spot. read more

So my husband and I were looking to try somewhere new because we are new to Delaware and want to experience what this small State has to offer. We found "Jessops Tavern" here on yelp and decided to give this place a try. When we arrived it's located in an older but quaint part of Delaware lots of History there, the sidewalk was cobblestone and the buildings looked like back in the 18 century. It truly opens up your imagination, you can easily see what it would be like to live or exist back then just by being in Old New Castle. This would be a nice place to stroll during the spring and summer time. Back to Jessops Tavern, when we arrived we were told that the tables were all reserved and I could see that it's an easy place to be booked out because it's very small and cosy inside. SEE PICTURES... However the host told us there were 2 spots that just opened up at the bar where we could order food and drinks there as well. I was just glad we could stay so we took the spots, the bartender was not at first very welcoming but she was polite. My husband started to feel out of place because we weren't being attended to as we expected we were kind of being overlooked for a while. My husband wanted to leave. I said "let give it a chance we're already here, maybe the bartender need to warm up to us" I had to call her to tell her we were ready to order she didn't look very happy but I said maybe she was tired. We placed our orders then waited and waited and waited LOL. I didn't get her name BUT this was after 5:30pm on a Saturday so I figured she was tired because even the person next to us said he ordered something a while ago and was still waiting. A few minutes later a Blonde sweet smiling face walked in behind the bar and she was moving around getting business done setting up her glasses and just so full of energy.. While we were waiting for our drinks she NOTICED we were drink less at the bar so she came over and ASKED "can I get you guys something to drink" her smile and just that question gave me a different feel about the place because I can tell by her approach she knew how to make you feel welcome. We told her we already placed the order with the other bartender lady then a few minutes later we had our drinks. The other lady left and the smiling Blonde which I later asked her name JESS was our bartender for the night. I must say JESS was AMAZING, she asked if it was our first time there, where we were visiting from and have I ever tried the various beers they had? She was so engaging and took care of the other people as if they were all her only guests at the bar. She made us feel so wonderful and my husband decided he wanted to stay and have dinner we ordered food and more drinks. The atmosphere, the service was ALL worth it after JESS stepped in with her warm welcoming smile and exceptional service. I RECOMMEND not only because of the service but the atmosphere the food and the drinks were AMAZING. SEE PICTURES BELOW. THANK YOU Jess for turning our experience around and making it all worth it. read more

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It's a old building converted into a tavern, not a old tavern. They do have one of the best beer selections you can ask for, Belgium beer is my favorite. The service was good the food was ok. Not what I expected but the beer was great. read more

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Came here after touring around first state national historical park. I really loved the historic setting. It takes you back to the colonial era. The food was okay. Maybe i just didnt pick the famous ones. read more

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What is the hype all about? Sure, it's located in historic New Castle, walking distance from the wharf, but the food is not great. I had the Pilgrim's Feast. The turkey was closer to deli meat than fresh turkey which I was expecting. In fact, the entire plate was not fresh and definitely didn't come out hot. The green beans were fine. My wife ordered the Beef and Ale Pot Pie. Great crust, but the ale flavor was overwhelming. We had the peach cobbler for dessert. It was absolutely terrible. Worst cobbler I've ever had. The ice cream was decent though. Our server was complacent. Never got a refill on my water and took forever to take our order. Only reason for 3 stars was because it was a fun, new experience. I suppose if I ordered the chicken pot pie, the review may have been more positive. read more

I loved eating here! I had the absolute best meatloaf I've ever had in my entire life here. The portion sizes and prices were decent. I highly recommend coming here if you're in the area. read more

Your trip to head back in time awaits. Located in New Castle, DE transports you to an "Old City esque" environment. Cobblestone streets, Small businesses just seconds from the Delaware River and New Castle Battery Park. As you enter the Colonial fare restaurant, with its dimmed candle light tables, you're greeted by the hostesses dressed in period clothing. Once seated you're given a massive Belgian Offerings menu, which has something for everyone. The selection of food is killer. I always leave this place satisfied and stuffed. Looking to try something different, check them out. read more

Jessop's Tavern - American Near Me - New Castle, Delaware

When we used to live closer to Jessop's, we always tried to find reasons to go. We can't go as much now, but it's always a great time when we can make it there. We generally sit at the bar and MAN let me tell you, the people watching is great. We always seem to have the same bartender and I feel horrible for never remembering her name, but she's kickass and just always so friendly. The menu isn't huge but it's all hearty, delicious food. My husband and I tend to have our "rotations" as he calls them. His are Meatloaf, Crab Cakes, and then last night he added the Fish & Chips into his rotation. Mine are the Sheperd's Pie, Chicken Pot Pie (though I have had the beef and it's good but I find the chicken far superior) and last night I added in Pilgrim's Feast for when I randomly feel like a thanksgiving dinner. Cause who doesn't crave that in the summer? Beer here is also great. The menu seems to change every once and awhile and the fact that they have different glasses for each one is awesome. We always try to figure out which glass is for which beer because we're easily amused or something. There's also a great Dragon tap at the end of the bar right now for I think Gulden Draak (which is v. tasty go try some) and it's so cool like how do I get one of those for my house? You will probably have some hoity toity nose in the air old people from Old New Castle sit at the bar with you though. That's always fun to listen to/watch. It's like a whole other world, I swear. TO WRAP THIS UP, 10/10. We buy giftcards for people we know with the suggestion that if they don't want to go alone we are always willing to volunteer as tribute to join them at Jessop's. Cause I mean, why not? read more

Went for Dinner Food - 4/5. The starting bread comes with a nice apple butter but they are really cold and hard to spread onto the bread. The bread itself was a bit on the stale side. New Sweden meatloaf had good flavor and was very tender. By itself it is bland but the vodka cream sauce adds creaminess and the lingonberry preserves gives it a touch of tart and sweetness. Green beans had good bite to them and the mashed potato was smooth. Service - 4/5. The service was friendly but the bread came out later than the meal, even though it was room temperature. Value - 4/5. The meatloaf is pretty good but $17 is on the higher price range. The yelp cash back helps but the food quality to price ratio is just above average. Parking - Street (Free) read more

Jessop's Tavern - Bread, Apple Butter - American Near Me - New Castle, Delaware

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We ordered two Seafarer's Catch Chowders and the Olde English Flatbread. Both the Chowder and Flat Bread tasted very good, however there was no seafood to be found in the Seafarer's Chowder. We mentioned this to the waiter and there was no reply from management which was especially disappointing since we enjoyed bringing family and friends to Jessop's over the past couple years. We look forward to trying other restaurants in New Castle on our next visit. read more

This place is great, especially during cold weather! Super cozy interior with lots of comfort foods and an excellent beer selection. The amount of beers to choose from can be overwhelming but the staff is always happy to make recommendations and provide tastings so you get something you enjoy, whether you're a beer drinker or not. Customer service is excellent! The food is great, particularly the pot pies and the ice cream. I take family and friends here when they visit DE and it's always hit, highly recommend. read more