A Day at the Iron Rooster: Breakfast Done Right

After years of hearing about the brunch menu at Iron Rooster, we finally got to try it out ourselves.  Was this restaurant worth all the hype?  I had taken what I had been told about the homemade RoosTarts and savory dishes, and used that to tempt my husband into taking me out last week.

It was a rainy, Friday morning in downtown Annapolis and a rare weekday off while the kids were in school….the perfect time to squeeze in a date!  We discussed what to do to take advantage of the day and finally settled on grabbing breakfast somewhere, before getting some early holiday shopping done.  We debated on going to one of our usual breakfast spots like Miss Shirleys or Grumps (both are great, making it sometimes hard to stray away and try something new!) but I mentioned Iron Rooster and the bullet points of what yummy things I have heard about them over the years.  My husband was sold and we took the short drive into downtown.

We arrived relatively early in the morning, so we were lucky enough to be seated right away.  We were whisked upstairs and seated not far from the floor to ceiling windows, where we could see some gorgeous views of the Market House and City Dock.  The atmosphere is super cozy, with exposed brick walls, great natural lighting and roomy table arrangement.

Our waitress arrived quickly to introduce herself and to get our drink orders. While we chose to stick with water, the restaurant offers a great drink selection including mixed drinks and mimosas.  We took some time to look over the menu, which featured so many awesome looking options.  We agreed to share the Buffalo Chicken Bites and one of the RoosTart, which is what Iron Rooster is most known for.  There are some flavors of the RoosTart that are found all year round, like the Mixed Berry and the Brown Sugar, but also seasonal flavors.  Our seasonal options since it is fall, included Pumpkin Pie, Oreo and Apple Pie(which is the one we chose!).

The wait time on the food wasn’t too long at all.  What we weren’t quite prepared for, was how large the RoosTart actually was!  It is big  enough to share or take home for later.  It was less of a filled tart, and more baked, which also made every bite satisfying and full of flavor.  The Buffalo Chicken Bites were also delicious and a great way to balance the sweetness of the RoosTart.

Choosing the entree had been difficult…too many yummy options, which is not a bad problem to have!  We were both drawn to the Crab Hash Bowl, so we decided to split it.  The ingredients were so tempting, with its lump crab meat, asparagus, eggs and hollandaise sauce, all nestled over home fries.  The portion was huge and absolutely enough to split between two people. It was wonderful and savory.  We were both stuffed by the end and glad we had split everything, or we may have been too full to then go get our shopping done.

As great as the food was, the service was equally as impressive. Our waitress did a wonderful job of visiting table side for drink refills and to check in frequently.  Finished plates were cleared quickly and we didn’t have to wait long on the check. 

By the end of our meal, quite a few other rainy day restaurant goers were waiting outside for tables.  Iron Rooster has awnings along the front of the building, so don’t let a rainy day keep you from waiting around for a table.  Quite a few people can be outside while still staying nice and dry!

We were both completely satisfied with our meal and service and would absolutely go back again.  I have already been daydreaming about what to order next time!

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