Brad R
Google
TLDR: Excellent Italian eats in a casual bistro setting. Come for the brick oven pizza and generously portioned sandwiches.
Vibe: 5/5. Located right on Jarretsville Pike, Brookside Market is a counter service Italian Bistro and beer/wine store all in one. When you walk in, the place is nicely laid out with the wine/beer on the left side of the market, dining room on the right and the main counter dead ahead. The ordering process is simple, you grab a menu at the counter and directly order with the staff at the register and they give you a number card for your table. The staff will then bring the food out to your table and will bus when you are finished. Fountain and chilled cooler drinks are located on the left. Decor is fitting for the restaurant, as Brookside uses your standard modern Italian wall art as well as TVs located all throughout the dining room. The building appears to have been renovated somewhat recently, as everything shows little wear and is nicely appointed. Table wise, it is first come first serve, however there are roughly a dozen + 4 tops in the dining room, so seating should not be an issue for groups both large and small.
Service: 5/5. Even with this being a counter service restaurant, we received excellent service from start to finish. My party of 3 went for Saturday lunch around 2pm. The dining room was at half occupancy when we arrived, so we had no problem securing a table. The staff gave us the rundown of how the ordering system works and we're easy to work with. Food turnaround from the time of order was impressively quick. We ordered a half dozen items ranging from pizza to apps and everything was brought out to our table at the same time in about 15 minutes from when entered into the system. They obviously have their service down pact here, which is always a breath of fresh air.
Food: 5/5. Loved everything we ordered! For lunch, my party of 3 ordered the cream of crab fries, fried mozzarella, fried pickles, the buffalo chicken pizza, a Greek salad, their blackened chicken sandwich as well as the spicy Italian hoagie. As mentioned above, everything came out quickly and all together. Porion sizes across the board were solid, especially with the sandwiches and salad. The apps, especially the fried mozzarella and pickles could have used 1-2 more pieces at their $8-9 price points, but the flavor made up for it. The cream of crab fries were excellent. The crispy fries had an entire cup of their homemade cream of crab soup poured over the top before serving. The taste of both together is a fun combo for any Marylander. The buffalo chicken pizza was also a slam dunk. Using blackened chicken, the ratio of chicken to Bleu cheese to hot sauce was balanced to the point where you could taste every ingredient. The brick oven pizza, though a little on the floppy side, had a nice chew to the dough and the great taste from the brick oven. The spicy Italian and blackened chicken sandwiches also did not disappoint. Generous portions of meats were toppled high on both which played nice with the respective accoutrements of each sando. In a last minute decision, our table decided to split one of their homemade desserts they have on display at the counter. We opted for the Italian almond cake, which has a chocolate outside encapsulating a soft, almondy rainbow layered cake interior. Soft, fudgy and loaded with almond flavor, this was the perfect ending to a great meal. Our entire meal cost us around $100, which for the amount of food ordered I found to be very reasonable. Overall, if you find yourself in the area, Brookside Market is a great choice for both lunch and dinner!