dobbin house tavern

1800's tavern atmosphere. dark with candles. this adds to the feel of the tavern. great food and period dress. highly recommended!

we were visiting from texas. this restaurant, in an historic house built in 1776, was excellent. the entres were generous, the waiter great, and the history thick. must try the french onion soup!!

okay food. stopped in to the springhouse tavern for lunch during the gettysburg reenactment. wait time of 20 minutes was worth the atmosphere and history of the tavern, however the food wasn't anything special. i ordered the maryland colony crabcake sandwich which included a decent amount of crab for the price. for dessert, i had the warm colonial gingerbread which had no hint of gingerbread and included a lemon sauce that looked more like lemon jello. wish i'd ordered a yuengling for dessert!

exceptional ambience, good food. grade: b

this is an old favorite. it's like coming home.

for years, trips to gettysburg have included a stop at the springhouse tavern, the informal basement bar and dining room of the dobbin house. as long as you know what to expect, this can be a good idea.

the dobbin house is a stone house dating to 1776. it served as a stop on the underground railroad, and you can see a hiding place used by runaway slaves before the civil war. upstairs is a higher-end restaurant and a gift shop unfortunately filled with vera bradley purses and other holly hobby schlock. you'll probably have to see this while waiting for a table.

downstairs, the springhouse tavern is dim, lit by candle and low overhead light. its stone walls and wooden ceiling beams, combined with rustic furniture and the staff's quasi-19th century clothing give exceptional ambience. on a hot summer day, the cool air is very refreshing.

sandwiches and soups are the mainstay downstairs, although they also offer steaks, chicken, and seafood. the sandwiches, served with chips, slaw, or potato salad, are good, not the least bit skimpy, and very satisfying. a troeg's or yeungling, both pennsylvania beers, go well with the sandwich.

menu-wise, though, the best thing here is the french onion soup. this is made with a rich beef stock that merges nicely with the onion, pieces of beef, and crouton. served in a regular bowl, it is covered with a ton of cheese that is melted to a beautiful golden brown. even if you've been in 100 degree heat all day, this will be the way you want to rehydrate.

note: a couple of things to take into account if you plan to come here. first, if you are coming during tourist season, be prepared for a wait. even around 2 p.m. on a sunday, we were given a vibrating puck to summon us after 25 minutes. you'll be best off stopping for either an early or a late lunch.

dobbin house staff usually do okay with regard to service, but there may be delays because it is so busy. turning out sandwiches with a handful of potato chips ought to be quicker. (late entry: the most recent visit was speedy and efficient. the bartender was a woman who could keep many plates spinning successfully.)

note: verizon cell reception doesn't work in the basement tavern...remember to turn you phone off if you want to save your battery.

if you have a little time and want great atmosphere with a side of lunch, give dobbin house a try.

history buff. speaking as a history buff, i think this is a great old atmosphere kind of place. love the ujndrground railroad exhibit and indoor spring. food is good not great. the waitors are just amazing, we where seated and immidiatly had a waitor at our side. kids had alot of fun, great location for such a historical, and kid friendly.

service is so bad, didn't stay to try the food.

waiters in knickers, oh my!. the dobbin house tavern is one of those places you go to on "having a real american experience" vacations. i was there with my sister, three nephews, and friend. although it was a holiday weekend and the place was jammed, we were able to be seated without a reservation. i truly felt sorry for our knickers and puffy shirt wearing waiter. three kids who were hungry and thirsty after a day of sightseeing in gettysburg are not the ideal customers but he handled them well and kept the sodas flowing (and giving the 9-year-old bathroom inspector reason for his visits). the food purports to be reflective of colonial fare, and the ye-olde-timey menus and the ambiance of the warren of rooms helps pull this over, except that the food was surprisingly good. duck in an apple sauce was crisp with juicy meat. an avocado and limb crab meat app was recommended and did not disappoint, sweet crab folded into a louis sauce was succulent and slightly tart - but where did our colonial foremothers find avocados in central pennsylvania? hamburgers and crabcakes kept some of the boys happy while a sautéed crab in butter was wolfed down by the middle child. veal in a madeira sauce had my sister scraping the sauce from her plate - i barely got any! the dessert that night was a rather good bread pudding with currants. very tasty. that colonial specialty - the margarita made my sister happy too (but tasted like a bad mix to me) and the wines by the glass, while economical, were nothing special. i'm sure the couples at the tables in this candlelit room were relieved when our noisy group left so they could get back to their romantic evening. overall, a very good experience.

group tour success. took a group of 23 to this extremely well accommodating restaurant. our one server handled the entire group with professionalism and remarkable speed and consistency. decorated to the civil war period, it was distinguished (but dark) and served as a great culinary stop after a day touring the battlefield. the food was remarkable in flavor and all walked away satisfied! job well done. in a town of many tourist restaurants, this is a must stop. highly recommended.

drink up hhaha. i love this place we go there everyday we are in gettysburg for drinks they have the best love it

you can skip it. great atmosphere! however, pretty generic menu and quite pricey for what it is. good place for tourists.

historical tavern -- great food. if you're in gettysburg for the history, the dobbin house tavern is the one restaurant you really need to go to. the environment is a bit dark, lit by candles -- the bar looks like it hasn't been updated since the 18th century, except that there's quite an assortment of single malt scotch!

there's a real full-menu restaurant upstairs, and that's where we had reservations. after a drink at the downstairs tavern, we compared the bar menu with the upstairs menu and decided to eat at the bar. it's a bit cheaper, smaller portions, and we really liked the service / ambiance.

food was great -- bar food that included filet mignon, chesapeake bay crabcakes (awesome) and a bunch of other basics. in all we spent around $50 including a couple drinks. much better than the $80-100 we would have spent upstairs. i've heard that the tavern can get loud, but it did not while we were there around 6pm. locals from gettysburg really like the tavern, but they tend to eat earlier in the day for some reason -- according to our innkeeper.

you won't be disappointed by the dobbin house.