When we got there the waiter told us that we could use board games for 6 per person while he watched my buddy pull a game out of his bag. He did not say anything about my buddy’s game OR a “gaming fee.” When we left we were charged 18 dollars (6 per person) for a “gaming fee.” It would not have been a problem at all if they were honest about their overpriced “gaming fee,” but it felt very shady.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Raghav Govind Jha
Quick coffee! Seemed like a nice place.
Matt Ro
Really enjoyed the food and vibe of this place. The staff was friendly, and the service was great. The center of the restaurant has shelves adorned by 100s of board games. I ordered the most basic breakfast and it was really good. The Americano was bold with chocolate and dark cherry notes. Delicious!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Wes S
Great place to pickup a game and try it out, or stay and delve into something complex. Flat fee for unlimited games is $6 per adult - kids are free!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brew
Brandon Newman
I always feel a little iffy about these kinds of restaurants. The atmosphere is cool because of the games and the modern style, but how well does it work with the dining? The Banana-Brown Sugar Latte was great, highly recommend. For some reason, maybe because it had oat milk, my latte was the only one that didn’t get a design. Anyways, this is a place that’s perfect for just having a latte and playing some games. I also tried some appetizers. The meatballs were good but had some taste that oddly reminded me of bologna. The hush puppies were great but require being dipped in a sauce or else you’ll get a very dry bite. The pretzel bites were reliable as usual. I’d say that the appetizers weren’t necessary, but I wasn’t there for a full meal when I went. Next time, I will be trying another beverage and getting an entree. Stay tuned, but for now I give The Board and Brew 4 Stars!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Cierra David
The food is delicious and includes a number of options for vegan, vegetarian, and for those who dont eat pork. A great variety of games and support for if you dont know how to play. Can be a little crowded but comfy/cozy with great local art on the walls. I suggest the tea or the chai milkshake.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Tom E.
Fast service great food and neat decor would definitely suggest stopping in there and enjoy the atmosphere
Monique Tillman
I enjoy coming to Board and Brew. They have so many interesting menu items. Especially the drinks. I love that I can play games with my friends and I don't feel rushed. The seasoned potatoes and dirty chai are two of my favorite items.Parking: Parking is located behind the building. Parking I believe is less than five dollars.Kid-friendliness: They have a section of kids games.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Home Fries, Brew
Rachel L.
i was visiting my friend at UMD and she brought me here as it's a UMD staple. we arrived around 1 pm on saturday for lunch and waited ~20 minutes for a table. the wait wasn't too bad as we were able to look at the board games and menu while waiting. the board game policy isn't super clear (we had to ask) - playing board games is $6/person. you don't need to tell the staff that you'll be playing, they'll just add to your tab if they see you playing. our server was patient with us while we asked lots of questions about the menu and his recommendations. the food took a while to come out and we had to ask another server for a status update. we realized that we could've played a board game in the time that we were waiting. we ordered the pretzel bites to share, and we both ordered our own korean pulled pork sandwich. i liked the pretzel bites. my sandwich was good, but it was practically dripping with sauce while my friend's was dry even though we ordered the same thing. i ordered old bay fries as my side and really liked them. the portions were pretty large - i was barely able to finish my half of the pretzel bites, the sandwich, and half of the fries. i don't think we needed to order an appetizer at all but i'm glad i did anyway just to try new things. we didn't end up playing any games, but the board game shelves seemed to be well organized by type of game. i learned about game categories that i had never heard of before. the organization was impressive as i hadn't seen that level of organization at any other board game cafe i've been to. if i get the chance, i would love to come here to play some board games!
Jeremy Liu
Had an unwelcoming experience as an Asian male at this restaurant. Staff ignored me until I asked for a seat and remarked 'finally out' as I left. Felt disregarded and uncomfortable
This place is really freaking cool and the staff is really nice. Our server was Alex today and he was so sweet and attentive. The falafel salad was amazing, I ended up ordering more falafels to-go. Our drinks were prepared by the manager Randy and they were delicious. The latte was the best I've ever had and don't get me started on the Frozen Mint Lemonade cocktail.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Karina Gallivan
When I was entering this restaurant, my friend warned me that the staff guy with the mohawk was incredibly rude and had a terrible attitude. I didn't believe her at first and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but boy did this mohawk guy prove me wrong.I had my school tote bag rested on the leg of my chair beside me with my headphones hooked around the handles. It's a leather tote, high quality and very sturdy so I've never encountered an issue with it before. The guy with the mohawk very abruptly pulled a chair to sit with the people at the table beside us. His obnoxious lack of care for the other customers in the surroundings meant his sweaty back was shoved up against my side and I had to deliberately lean forward on the table to get out of his way while dining. He also knocked my bag until it fell flat on the ground, which I didn't notice at first, until he got up and said, "can you move your bag?" I noticed my bag (and my headphones!) had fallen onto the floor and started to take it while saying, "sorry about that," and he responded, "I don't care about kicking your headphones around but I'm pretty sure YOU do." I was so shocked by this it left me speechless. Every person I told this story to was absolutely appalled by his behavior and I'm not surprised at all to see that he already has a bad reputation with being aggressive on other reviews here. He's notorious for being extremely rude and having no decorum even with his own customers and their personal belongings. I hope that he is taught some manners and good service etiquette, because I left the restaurant feeling extremely disrespected.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Zachary M.
Very cute local place. Fantastic for fellow college students who want to spend a little more money on a nicer meal, and yet not burn an egregious hole in their pocket. Very nice staff, and haven't had a meal that I wouldn't happily eat again
Angela B.
Very cool place with countless of game options. However, we waited an hour to get a table on a Friday night. The food is okay but over priced for just American food.
Ezekiel Avit
It took an hour just for them to not give me my food
When we got there the waiter told us that we could use board games for 6 per person while he watched my buddy pull a game out of his bag. He did not say anything about my buddy’s game OR a “gaming fee.” When we left we were charged 18 dollars (6 per person) for a “gaming fee.” It would not have been a problem at all if they were honest about their overpriced “gaming fee,” but it felt very shady.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Quick coffee! Seemed like a nice place.
Really enjoyed the food and vibe of this place. The staff was friendly, and the service was great. The center of the restaurant has shelves adorned by 100s of board games. I ordered the most basic breakfast and it was really good. The Americano was bold with chocolate and dark cherry notes. Delicious!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great place to pickup a game and try it out, or stay and delve into something complex. Flat fee for unlimited games is $6 per adult - kids are free!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brew
I always feel a little iffy about these kinds of restaurants. The atmosphere is cool because of the games and the modern style, but how well does it work with the dining? The Banana-Brown Sugar Latte was great, highly recommend. For some reason, maybe because it had oat milk, my latte was the only one that didn’t get a design. Anyways, this is a place that’s perfect for just having a latte and playing some games. I also tried some appetizers. The meatballs were good but had some taste that oddly reminded me of bologna. The hush puppies were great but require being dipped in a sauce or else you’ll get a very dry bite. The pretzel bites were reliable as usual. I’d say that the appetizers weren’t necessary, but I wasn’t there for a full meal when I went. Next time, I will be trying another beverage and getting an entree. Stay tuned, but for now I give The Board and Brew 4 Stars!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
The food is delicious and includes a number of options for vegan, vegetarian, and for those who dont eat pork. A great variety of games and support for if you dont know how to play. Can be a little crowded but comfy/cozy with great local art on the walls. I suggest the tea or the chai milkshake.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Fast service great food and neat decor would definitely suggest stopping in there and enjoy the atmosphere
I enjoy coming to Board and Brew. They have so many interesting menu items. Especially the drinks. I love that I can play games with my friends and I don't feel rushed. The seasoned potatoes and dirty chai are two of my favorite items.Parking: Parking is located behind the building. Parking I believe is less than five dollars.Kid-friendliness: They have a section of kids games.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Home Fries, Brew
i was visiting my friend at UMD and she brought me here as it's a UMD staple. we arrived around 1 pm on saturday for lunch and waited ~20 minutes for a table. the wait wasn't too bad as we were able to look at the board games and menu while waiting. the board game policy isn't super clear (we had to ask) - playing board games is $6/person. you don't need to tell the staff that you'll be playing, they'll just add to your tab if they see you playing. our server was patient with us while we asked lots of questions about the menu and his recommendations. the food took a while to come out and we had to ask another server for a status update. we realized that we could've played a board game in the time that we were waiting. we ordered the pretzel bites to share, and we both ordered our own korean pulled pork sandwich. i liked the pretzel bites. my sandwich was good, but it was practically dripping with sauce while my friend's was dry even though we ordered the same thing. i ordered old bay fries as my side and really liked them. the portions were pretty large - i was barely able to finish my half of the pretzel bites, the sandwich, and half of the fries. i don't think we needed to order an appetizer at all but i'm glad i did anyway just to try new things. we didn't end up playing any games, but the board game shelves seemed to be well organized by type of game. i learned about game categories that i had never heard of before. the organization was impressive as i hadn't seen that level of organization at any other board game cafe i've been to. if i get the chance, i would love to come here to play some board games!
Had an unwelcoming experience as an Asian male at this restaurant. Staff ignored me until I asked for a seat and remarked 'finally out' as I left. Felt disregarded and uncomfortable
Restaurantji Recommends
This place is really freaking cool and the staff is really nice. Our server was Alex today and he was so sweet and attentive. The falafel salad was amazing, I ended up ordering more falafels to-go. Our drinks were prepared by the manager Randy and they were delicious. The latte was the best I've ever had and don't get me started on the Frozen Mint Lemonade cocktail.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
When I was entering this restaurant, my friend warned me that the staff guy with the mohawk was incredibly rude and had a terrible attitude. I didn't believe her at first and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but boy did this mohawk guy prove me wrong.I had my school tote bag rested on the leg of my chair beside me with my headphones hooked around the handles. It's a leather tote, high quality and very sturdy so I've never encountered an issue with it before. The guy with the mohawk very abruptly pulled a chair to sit with the people at the table beside us. His obnoxious lack of care for the other customers in the surroundings meant his sweaty back was shoved up against my side and I had to deliberately lean forward on the table to get out of his way while dining. He also knocked my bag until it fell flat on the ground, which I didn't notice at first, until he got up and said, "can you move your bag?" I noticed my bag (and my headphones!) had fallen onto the floor and started to take it while saying, "sorry about that," and he responded, "I don't care about kicking your headphones around but I'm pretty sure YOU do." I was so shocked by this it left me speechless. Every person I told this story to was absolutely appalled by his behavior and I'm not surprised at all to see that he already has a bad reputation with being aggressive on other reviews here. He's notorious for being extremely rude and having no decorum even with his own customers and their personal belongings. I hope that he is taught some manners and good service etiquette, because I left the restaurant feeling extremely disrespected.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Very cute local place. Fantastic for fellow college students who want to spend a little more money on a nicer meal, and yet not burn an egregious hole in their pocket. Very nice staff, and haven't had a meal that I wouldn't happily eat again
Very cool place with countless of game options. However, we waited an hour to get a table on a Friday night. The food is okay but over priced for just American food.
It took an hour just for them to not give me my food