The Checkerboard Inn Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Kingston Township

The Checkerboard Inn Bar and Grill had a large crowd when we arrived on a Friday night around 6:30 p.m. Fortunately, a party had just left, and we were seated in one of about ten booths that lined the two walls of the dining room. The bar was in another room, and I overheard there was no seating remaining. Each booth had a hanging ceiling lamp representing an NFL team (and one that displayed Penn State). Pictures of classic pinball scoreboards were posted above a personal TV set so people can watch cable television while they eat, if they choose to do so.

A friendly server took our drink order (water and a Yards Brawler Dark Ale) as we looked over the menu, finally deciding on a soft pretzel as an appetizer, a French dip sandwich, and a chicken cheesesteak sub.

The giant soft pretzel was served promptly. It was piping hot on a wire hanger with two ramekins, one holding white melted Cooper cheese and the other containing a stone ground, IPA mustard. The appetizer was wonderful, and dipping a pretzel piece in each ramekin before tossing it into your mouth is highly recommended.

The French dip sandwich was adequate. Although the sirloin was dry, the bun was fresh and the au jous was flavorful. The shaved chicken cheesesteak was tender and tasty. Each dish came with fresh french fries that didn't become soft and greasy the longer it sat.

The establishment was comfortable enough, but despite the dining room adornments, the dining room lacked a vibrancy, and was more like a diner serving bar food than a restaurant. The menu didn't feature anything original or something that stood out. In the entranceway sat a piano, which was otherwise unnoticeable, and may as well have been hidden if not for a 2-year old banging on the keys while an adult played Mary had a Little Lamb. Fortunately, we had already paid for our meal and having an after dinner conversation before leaving. Our departure was hastened by the clamor, however.

Although I rated this 3 stars, it's a "high 3." This isn't a "date night" restaurant, but if you want something more substantial than fast food but not a full-blown, expensive entree, then one may want to try The Checkerboard Inn Bar...

My husband and I stopped for lunch. We ordered a pizza…1/2 mushroom, 1/2 pepperoni, which is our standard pizza order, and an order of boneless bites. The waitress was writing down our order and asked 1/2 mushroom, 1/2 onion? We said no, 1/2 mushroom and 1/2 pepperoni. Our pizza came and as the waitress was leaving, we noticed that instead of pepperoni there was peppers on 1/2. We said to the girl, excuse me, this is supposed to be pepperoni. She said no, you said peppers and then proceeded to tell us how the conversation went and repeated that we said peppers, not pepperoni. So instead of arguing with her, we said ok….she never offered to fix it for us or even apologized for the mixup. I could then see her through the kitchen door talking about us to her coworkers that we ordered peppers and not pepperoni. She never came back to the table to ask if we needed anything, more drinks, etc. after that. She walked by our table several times, but ignored us. We then asked her for a box and our check and she brought them and in a somewhat snotty manner put them on the table. She never said “thank you”, “have a good day”, nothing. We own a restaurant so we do know how misunderstandings happen. We didn’t cause a scene or anything…..we said ok and scraped the peppers off (neither one of like peppers) so I don’t know why this girl felt the need to act like that. She clearly didn’t hear what we said and OK it happens. Just apologize and offer to fix it! We would’ve paid for it if that’s what was necessary. She was very young and obviously needs some guidance in...

Passed by several times in our travels and finally decided to stop in for dinner. The good: Had a very nice beer selection and food menu. Beer selection included craft brews form local and state. Had soft pretzel with cooper cheese sauce and IPA mustard and chicken wing stromboli. Highly recommend both! Large deck for enjoying a meal and drink outside. Also had a very nice inside area. Staff was very nice and took time to talk to us about selections (food and beer). Wait time wasn't bad either.

The bad: We had a nice seat outside with others enjoying a nice night. A couple came in and was seated at a table next to use. They then proceeded to light up and continued to chain smoke. If you want to smoke fine but I'm not a fan of second hand smoke. We asked the server what the deal was with smoking and they stated that it is allowed on the deck but not inside. That was enough for us and we checked out. There was maybe 30 people or so at tables eating on the deck but only one couple smoking. If we had known smoking was allowed on the dining deck then we would have never sat down to eat. Will not go back if planning to eat outside.

I hate to write negative things but as there is no posting or signs stating smoking is allowed I thought I would make others aware...