Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    The Bull Run Restaurant

    3.9 (337 reviews)
    Closed 4:00 pm - 10:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    The Bull Run Restaurant Photos

    THE BULL RUN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Live music
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

    You might also consider

    More like The Bull Run Restaurant

    Recommended Reviews - The Bull Run Restaurant

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    David K.

    As a frequent diner here I've waited a long time to write this review, but the verdict is in: it's not very good. This is most disappointing because it's an outstanding venue for the kind of music I like. I guess take your visiting conservative relatives here who want a taste of "Traditional Olde New England Fare" (my words) - it's certainly way better than Wayside Inn for this - but otherwise avoid. There's a moderate selection of traditional entrees like roast turkey, prime rib, shrimp scampi, etc. And for the most part they're decent. However: only a select few items are available at the concert venue. If your first visit to Bull Run is to attend a concert you'll be quite disappointed if you were hoping for a fine meal. It reflects poorly on them as a restaurant and there's just no reason for it. The room is very well staffed, diners are checked on regularly, and the extra time to get food from the kitchen to this other room if any is slight. Last time I got a burger. A $20 "Classic Burger" ought to be pretty good, right? No. I ordered it medium and it was 2 levels past that at well-done: Shriveled to a thin dry disk and hidden in the bun. The bacon was undercooked and unpleasantly chewy. And, they forgot the cheese. I would have sent it back but was enjoying the music too much to bother. $20? No. That's for a plain burger. To add cheese and bacon adds another $4, so $24! You do get fries and a pickle with it but that's totally insane. I know prices have risen but that's more than I've seen anywhere. Before that I started with French Onion Soup which I remember liking on past visits. Nothing like I remembered. The cheese was skimpy and just melted, not browned under the broiler like I remembered. The croutons were insufficient and soggy. And the broth lacked the complexity I remembered. It needed something: sherry? Better stock? There was no table bread provided so I asked. Waitress brought some, a small portion certainly not enough for the table of 8. When my companions arrived they ordered more. Little did we know they would be charging $3 for each serving - we were not told. Note to restaurants: don't make me mad. Table bread should be free. Period. Several times we've ordered reubens for takeout. We've watched them decline in quality since 2020 when they were quite good, then they started occasionally missing the mark, and the last times so disappointing we've stopped getting them. Skimpy portions of corned beef, not hand-carved like it used to be, inconsistent cheese and sauerkraut proportions, sloppy presentation, etc. Back to the dining experience: Our waitress Maddie was awesome. She checked on us frequently, had a friendly attitude, and was easy to interact with. As I was briefly leaving to use the rest room I saw her behind the bar, called to her by name and asked her to bring the cheesecake when she had the time - no hurry. She knew exactly who I was and what table I was at without asking. With the number of tables she was covering and how busy this place was that's amazing and deserving of my 25% tip. Yes that's a very high tip, more than I usually do. There's a reason for that beyond the good service. They recently added an extra "kitchen fee" of 2.5% or so. It goes to back of the house staff. Not much but I resent it. It just tells me you're not paying them enough. So raise your prices 2.5% and don't itemize it! Bizarrely the bill says this charge can be removed "by request". So you want to make me the a-hole by requesting it? No, you are by not paying them enough. Nevertheless I had resolved to do just that this time, so my generous waitress tip was to justify to myself or whomever that I'm not just being a cheapskate. But again, as I was enjoying the music so much I forgot my resolve and the "fee" got paid. So to wrap things up, I'm not eating meals here anymore. I'll continue to go to the amazing concerts (nothing like this anywhere near me) but it will be cocktails and desserts only for me from now on, both of which are quite good.

    Vanilla Rose Cake

    We enjoyed Valentines dinner in the Tap Room by the fire place. Our server "Michael" gave us a warm greeting and made us feel welcome. He did an excellent job taking care of us throughout the entire meal. The food was incredibly delicious and served hot on a very busy evening. I had the 8oz filet mignon cooked to perfection and my wife enjoyed the seafood casserole with large pieces of lobster, scallops and shrimp, also cooked to perfection. There's so much history with this location, the Tap Room is so warm and inviting. There was soft guitar music being played in the room which we enjoyed. We finished the meal with the vanilla rose cake which was an amazing treat. Thank you Michael, the kitchen staff and the hostess for making our dinner special.

    Mango creme brulee
    Andrew W.

    If you didn't give this four stars or above, it's simple don't come here because you do not deserve to eat here. Are go to place for prime rib has shut down, so we found this. Oh my God. I think the word that goes here is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious or shortened scrumdiddlyumptious. We started out with the hummus platter with PETA it was nothing short of amazing. Then we got the main course prime rib. When I say perfectly cooked I mean perfectly cooked. Seriously always trust a big man when it comes to food reviews. You could have basically cut it with a butter knife and a plastic butter knife at that. It came with a horseradish aioli which was delicious. I got the twice baked potato and the asparagus with it. Again absolutely delicious. But for dessert we had the coup de gras. Mango creme brulee. Oh my God I am just so happy I have low cholesterol. We will go back again and again and again Infinity I also have to give props to our server Emily she was one of the most gracious servers I had ever had.

    Andres A.

    What a wonderful spot to grab a meal. We had about a 20 minute wait because we did not have a reservation but it went by quick. The restaurant is a bit on the rustic side but it had a ton of charm. While we waited for our meal we were serenaded by a gentleman playing the piano. For our meals I had the small prime rib served with mashed butternut squash and my girlfriend had the turkey dinner. The prime rib was so flavorful and cooked perfectly. We absolutely loved this place.

    Lobster Bisque

    See all

    30 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    5 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 days ago

    Great ambiance, food, employees the whole shabang! Dessert was amazing as well. Worth the trip if you are passing through.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 3

    5 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Andrew W.
    105
    178
    87

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Bob N.
    0
    23
    7

    7 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ken C.
    0
    15
    0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jeff E.
    14
    38
    0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 1
    Love this 7
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Spud J.
    0
    41
    26

    7 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Amazing food, great service, and a very pleasant atmosphere. You won't be disappointed at all.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    I haven't been here in years, but the time I went, the food was really good and the ambiance was really nice.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    One of the oldest taverns in the country. Atmosphere is antique and charming. Good food and drink. I'm a fan

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Holly B.
    70
    88
    14

    2 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alison T.

    Alison T.

    Helpful 3
    Thanks 1
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    5 months ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alison T.

    Alison T.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Amy D.
    2
    16
    6

    6 months ago

    Always good food. Staff are great as well. We just to brunch today and we were quite happy. The ambiance is nice.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Liz A.
    0
    8
    13

    9 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Ambiance very nice! Date worthy, really yum food! Chowder is exceptional! Just nice New England stop!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Food was great. The lobster bisque had great taste but no chunks of meat. Atmosphere was cool too

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Scotty P.
    0
    105
    24

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    5 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alison T.

    Alison T.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 2
    Photo of Tina J.
    2
    100
    3

    2 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Alison T.

    Alison T.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - The Bull Run Restaurant

    Review Highlights - The Bull Run Restaurant

    The wait staff were walking by with serving trays of healthy portions of fish tacos, bar pizzas and nice cuts of prime rib.

    Mentioned in 55 reviews

    Read more highlights

    You might also consider

    The Bull Run Restaurant - tradamerican - Updated July 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...