Brinkleys Restaurant & Pub — Restaurant in Boston

Okay, here’s the thing. I was getting on a plane for the first time since February 2020 and flying out of Boston Logan at 7:54am (air travel is actually hypothetical, that plane didn’t actually get airborne until 9:45am…). I live in Vermont. Driving the 2.5 hrs to Logan isn’t bad. Parking at Logan IS bad. But! We have The Dartmouth Coach. Which, for $39, will deliver me, and my luggage, directly to my departure terminal. My problem was I’d have to get on the 3:25am Dartmouth Coach to make my flight and THAT seemed really terrible. So I decided to check out my Marriott app to see about staying at a hotel near the airport the night before.

Which is how I wound up using a Free Night Award to stay at The Courtyard by Marriott near Logan Airport. I cannot imagine why anyone would willingly stay at this hotel without a free night. I also got an upgrade to a suite. I’ll say again, I have NO IDEA why anyone would pay for that suite…

The hotel is OLD. And TIRED. But it’s carrying on! Like the rest of us.

The staff at the hotel was pretty great though. And I do enjoy periodically dipping my toe into the parallel universe of The World of Air Travel. It’s weird.

Before making my reservation at The Courtyard By Marriott I made sure there was a restaurant on site that was open late. Because I would be working my usual day (wake up 5:30am, take care of dogs/animals, cook/prep/schedule/stock/troubleshot at The Hartland Diner 6:30am-4pm, then get on the 5:05pm bus to Boston) and after my 2hrs 45min bus ride to Terminal A and 15 min ride in the hotel shuttle bus (the shocks for which went, entirely, about 10 years ago…WOW) and checking in (when I discovered that I’d made my reservation for the wrong night and the LOVELY front desk guy switched it for me), dropping my bags in the hotel room and stripping off the outer layer of fleecy jammy pants I wanted to get directly to the bar.

Which I did.

And, as I said, it’s weird in there. In kind of a fun way though. This is NOT a young person’s spot. When the bartender (a GROWN woman, like myself) told me I didn’t have to wait to be seated and tapped the bar top like “sit right here honey” I practically hopped up onto that bar stool. I was LOVING the Grown Diner Waitress serving drinks vibes!! And I LOVE seeing we “seasoned” women on the service frontlines.

I ordered a gin and tonic. It was terrible! Because the tonic was entirely flat. Which is the problem with 99.999% of gin and tonics. So I’m gonna chalk that one up to operator error.

I ordered two apps: fried pickles - meh - someone left them in the fryer too long, but not terrible; Buffalo Cauliflower - a little weird, it had been steamed and then kind of “seared”?? And then covered in hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. If I hadn’t been so stubborn and actually cut the cauliflower smaller it would have been easier to eat. I was expecting fried cauliflower. But I got actual cauliflower and just as well. Because! I then ordered the Beer Battered Fish Sandwich. Which comes with either regular fries or sweet potato. I got regular.

I think this might be the best fried fish sandwich I’ve ever had. Fish was fried AMAZINGLY crispy and the batter was delicious! The bun had also been grilled to perfection. The sandwich is served with lettuce and tomato and I didn’t add anything to it. No sauce. Nothing. So when I tell you this was a DELICIOUS, EXCEPTIONAL fish sandwich I’m talking about the actual, unadorned ingredients.

And. The Fries. Some of the best fries I’ve ever had. SO GOOD. Thick cut, with skin, but also crispy. (I don’t like soggy fries). And plenty of them. The only reason I didn’t finish every little scrap of French Fry on my plate was because I was officially feeling uncomfortably full.

Which, honestly, is usually my goal when I’m eating out. I want food so good I stuff myself.

If you find yourself in the vicinity of Logan Airport, or at this Courtyard by Marriott, GET THE FISH SANDWICH. It is a whole,...

We had arrived just after 5pm, when the restaurant opened, so there were not many people dining yet. The man who greeted and sat us down was very pleasant to speak with. We were Immediately met by our server. I would describe our server as experienced and knowledgeable, yet not really in the happiest of spirits. While ordering, she would aggressively interrupt us as if we didn't know how to order and then she would ask again what we wanted. We were extremely polite, and tried to help her transition into her work shift on a happy note. But I get it, not everyone can be their happiest all the time. Anyway, our food came out and it was so good! Hot and fresh food for everyone. Everything was perfectly seasoned and dressed deliciously. There wasn't a single thing out of place. I can say that the attentiveness of the servers could be a little bit better though. I noticed many servers huddled in a corner even after more and more tables were sat. We were not offered refills on our ordered drinks. We actually somehow managed to finish everything we ordered and had wanted to order dessert. However, we waited so long for our server to come back that we changed our mind. By the end of our meal, I would agree that our server was in happier spirits as the restaurant filled up quickly by then. I do think the food was amazing and despite the wait on our server, the atmosphere was nice and comfortable. So overall, I really can't complain too much about the service. Kitchen was spot on...

This restaurant is located downstairs in the lobby area at the Courtyard Marriott Boston Logan Airport. It is a warm and cozy location, and staff are professional and personable.

We stayed at the Courtyard, so it was very convenient to have this restaurant located at the hotel. I figured since the restaurant was located at the hotel that we could order room service, but unfortunately room service was not an option.

We called the restaurant and ordered some food to go then picked it up. We ordered 3 lobster rolls and 3 New England Clam Chowders. We received a call that our order was ready within 15 - 20 minutes after ordering. We were happy that it didn’t take too long because we were starving.

The pick up process was simple. We went to the bar area at the restaurant and found that our order was already packaged and waiting. The attendant quickly rang up our takeout order and processed my payment. They were all friendly and professional.

The New England Clam Chowder was thick and rich just as I like it. It could’ve used a little black pepper and maybe a pinch of salt but otherwise it was good. The lobster roll was fresh, and the lobster was cooked well. The lobster could have definitely used some more seasoning and perhaps some herbs; nevertheless, the texture of the lobster was perfect. There was also a decent portion of lobster. The combination of lobster roll with fries made it a...