T. J. Buckley's — Restaurant in Brattleboro

I am difficult to disappoint, TJ Buckley’s succeeded. The food is okay but far too expensive for such small, ordinary and plainly flavored portions. The cruise ship vegetable flourishes just make this experience grating. The salad is insultingly small, a few crumbs of blue cheese and “flower” beets which don’t match. Was it dressed? There weren’t enough greens to tell. The hanger steak (supposedly Wagyu, hard to believe) was undercooked chewy flesh when I requested medium rare with a dollop of flavorless mashed potatoes and just a few pieces of vegetable. My wife’s scallops had a lot of sand in them which is … cheap scallops. The burrata was small and quite plain, I didn’t even taste the honey. The tiny dining room is what’s left of an old train car, ok, but that makes for a cramped space and a view of the chef eating food he prepares (not tasting, eating). The desserts come from another place, pass.

They are really trying here but missing the mark, it’s just lackluster. They need more complex flavors and/or substantial plates for the prices. The space only makes this worse not better. All the positive reviews here are from people who have not been out of Brattleboro.

The prices here compete with a major city, the food does not. This place was disappointing and despite being close I will...

The place is what prior reviews have said. The food is absolutely amazing. I went through the whole deal, appetizer, main course and dessert, coffee and drink. The crab cake is very much "crab". There is no doubt there is crab in that cake, unlike other places where you wondering how much crab they put in. I chose their fish dish, bass over rice, which might not have been the best choice. No, it tasted excellent, but being preceded by the crab cake, I felt it could have been spiced up some more. I had a chocolate cake as dessert and it was nice and rich, in stile with the rest of the meal. The coffee was OK, better than "Diner coffee" but I make better myself (I consider myself to be a coffee expert, so that can be an unfair comparation). I have to write something about the ginger ale I ordered. This was something extra. Not the usual cornsyrup larden stuff you buy in the supermarket but, I guess, made by some local brewery. Tasted just great. I could return just for that soda. The only negative, only so little; it's on the higher side on the price range. My bill was ~$93 (+tip) without any alcohol. You be the judge. I will be back and I will send my friends. A final advise is to call ahead. The place is small and can...

July 2025: Back to the rabbit this time, always great

May 2025: Did something different this time, had the wagyu hanger steak which is new on the menu. Terrific but the portion size is small.

June 8 2024: Still spectacular. Had the salad, crab cake and as usual the rabbit. Everything was terrific.

This is the best restaurant in the Brattleboro area. It's in a diner building but don't let that fool you, its a supurb restaurant. This is the place we go when we attend concerts in Marlboro (about 30 minutes away). The rabbit is terrific.

Update: We've eaten here every July for several years and we've never been disappointed.

2019: Here again for the Marlboro festival. I usually have the rabbit which is always great but this year a family of rabbits is living in my yard so I decided to have the beef instead, it was delicious.

2023: Back for the first time since COVID. Had the duck, it's excellent an different from any...