Brome Modern Eatery

After a couple of really nice experiences three years ago, we were extremely disappointed with Brome after dining there earlier this evening.

I'm not sure whether it was because of the remodel, or simply because the restaurant was very busy, but it felt much more chaotic and cramped than during our previous visit. As we were waiting to order there were several customers standing around the register either waiting to pick up to-go orders, or talking on the phone immediately next to us, making even the experience of ordering loud and jarring.

We ordered a Vegamami Burger, an Impossible Burger, and a Double-Stack Burger with drinks and fries. The drink machine was overflowing with water, and there was water all over the ground near the machine.

All the booths were taken, seemingly by parties of one or two, so we sat at one of the long communal tables in the middle. Another very-large party nearby had four families and 7-8 kids all kind of screaming and loudly watching videos on tablets and phones. It was chaotic and not a pleasant experience. After another group left we moved to one of the longer tables in the back, which was a bit better.

It took nearly a half hour before our burgers came out, and they were cold and underwhelming. Everyone agreed that the burgers looked like something you'd get at a fast-food chain like McDonald's - a burger you'd be glad to pay $5 for but not $12-16 as we did. At that price we all expected higher quality and more careful preparation than seemed to be taken by whoever was preparing our food.

Additionally, the fries we ordered came out roughly 20+ minutes after the burgers, meaning everyone was done with their burgers by the time the fries came out. We got both the kennebec (normal) fries and the sweet potato fries. Both types of fries were excellent, but because were already done with the burgers we had a few fries and took the rest to go.

This seems like the kind of place where you'd have to know the right time to go in order to avoid crowds, and where you'd need to know exactly what to order off the menu to get the right kind of meal. I suspect if the restaurant had been half as full it might have been cleaner, quieter, we might have gotten our food sooner, it might have been hot when served, and we might have gotten all of the food at the same time. Unfortunately tonight none of those things were true.

This was a favorite spot of ours in Dearborn a few years ago, especially considering the availability of vegan and vegetarian options, but we'd probably take pause before coming back again soon. Maybe in the summer when the patio is open again. And maybe just for fries and some drinks.