Elliott’s at the Blackburn

Very confused as to why you still list a place that’s closed and someone has told you. Please remove.

Out of business, now an Italian/​pizza place.

Went here with my 2 kids and the hubby in search of the best burger. We definitely liked our hamburgers, although my 11 yr old didn’t like the blackened effect. Burger got an 8, the fries got a 1. They were dry, unsalted, with the peels still on, and overdone. And what’s with the mound of lettuce on the plate? That’s a salad? Throw a tomato on it at least. The kids liked the mousse with chocolate chunks in it. We’ll have to keep looking for the best burger, fries, beer joint in the Northshore. Maybe next time we’ll leave the kids at home so we can enjoy the bar.

Check Plus to The Blackburn for having great atmosphere and a huge beer/​wine/​alcohol selection.
Check Minus for the slow service and mediocre food.
My friends and I will go here for Jazz Brunch and I love the music, but the food is just «eh» and I’ve definitely had better. The only thing I like on the brunch menu is the Banana’s Foster French Toast. Everything else is just «eh». I DO like being able to order a Mimosa or a Kir Royale with breakfast though.
I wouldn’t really recommend this place as OMG THE BEST PLACE EVER, but definitely check out the music and have a drink.

I still refer to this as the Blackburn, even though they’ve attached «Elliot’s at» to the title.
They do brunch on Sundays with live jazz. The atmosphere is the best part — it’s comfortable and casual without being dumpy. There are TVs for enjoying whatever game is on and a nice fireplace which is especially inviting when you stumble in from a snowy, blustery Main Street.
The food, however, is much less inviting. This is the type of food that would send Gordon Ramsay into a tirade. Everything has to have a «twist» to it. I appreciate the creativity, but the execution is poor. If you can’t make something simple well, don’t try to make something fancy.
I’ve eaten there at least a dozen times and have yet to be really satisfied with the food. The pancakes I had for brunch were flat and rubbery, with maple syrup straight from Mrs. Butterworth (or Aunt Jemima, I can never tell which is which). The fried chicken and waffles had so much potential, but the chicken was completely raw on the inside. I thought I was picking something fool-​proof when I ordered chicken wings, but was I ever wrong. The chicken wings were stuffed (WHY try to put stuffing in a chicken wing?), and the «spicy orange sauce» they were served with was marmalade. The chicken wing/​stuffing combo had clearly come straight from the freezer and the stuffing was just unappealing all around.
I will definitely end up here again for drinks. But if I can help it, I will not be eating here again anytime soon. 12 strikes, you’re out.
Oh, a word about drinking here: When they have live music, it’s hard to hear yourself think. If you are looking for a place to go where you can sit with your friends and have a few laughs, then this isn’t the place when there’s a live band.

Who’s an Elliott? What’s an Elliott? My main man Howard B. must be rolling in his grave at the thought of his name being paired with this hack’s.
Ah, The Blackburn Tavern. This place has a schooner’s load of potential but only fills it with about a dory’s worth of execution. The location is ultra-​prime, at the terminus of Main Street’s West End at its convergence with Washington Street.
The atmosphere is solid. Dim but not dark. A very attractive bar. Generous seating including several sturdy booths. Most nights, there are half-​talented, relatively-​local musicians performing.
That’s about it for the good. The primary detraction remains the staff. The bartenders are slow and not knowledgeable. The bouncers are unrelenting jackasses. There’s reliably one douchebag — whether he’s the owner, manager or an overzealous bar-​back, I couldn’t say — who struggles to accept that the establishment is a tavern and not a restaurant. This crisis manifests itself as a poorly-​concealed loathing of folks who wander in to drink and not eat.
Tut, tut, sir. Discouraging boozehounds is not good for your business and just a bit contrary to the tavern spirit.

We all call this Blackburn Tavern, a blanket term encompassing the bar/​restaurant and the live music/​theatre venue upstairs.
I had two amazing Guinesses here last night. Really. That may sound silly, but this bartender poured a better Guinness than I’ve ever had. The glass was so full the rich foam on top was actually convex and yet somehow the surface tension kept it from spilling. And I watched them put a brand new keg in while I waited, so clearly it was fresh. So — I had two.
I watched this bartender make other people’s drinks while we were there. Let’s just say you can be pretty sure that there is no watering going on. Someone ordered a vodka and soda, and he poured grey goose to within an inch of the top of an ice filled high ball glass, and like.. waved the soda dispenser over the top. Yeah — good drinks here — and not expensive.
The atmosphere is really fantastic — booths and tables for full meals, plenty of space at the bar, dim but not dark, tunes but not so loud you can’t talk — wood, candles — very nice.
I didn’t have a full meal, but the menu is pretty extensive, with mostly good basic solid stuff, and everything I tried off friends plates was very tasty — and it was all very reasonably priced. This is somewhere I wouldn’t mind spending a whole night.
We went upstairs to hear a local band and that was great too — definitely a place to visit for a night in Gloucester.

Due to my culinary deficiency I end up going out to eat at least a couple times a week in Gloucester. This has quickly become my personal kitchen-​with personal service, amazing food and the best drinks in a town that isn’t known for watering down its alcoholic beverages.
First, the atmosphere is ideal for most occasions. Casual is fine, Dressier is fine. Its a fairly intimate place with above average table spacing and nice acoustics for privacy. Lighting is great.
Second, the wait staff is consistently personable and professional. They make this a comfortable environment to order everything from drinks to full meal/​drinks etc. Other restaurants around here don’t offer that flexibility without a tinge of attitude.
*can be a bit slow at times, but usually its the bars fault and wait staff is aware and attentive
Third, the food is outstanding. I’ve had about half the items on the menu, everything tastes great, cooked perfectly and has been beautifully styled. The bread (when its really fresh) served with oil/​spices/​parm is addicting. While it is ‘American’ there are plenty of unique approaches to a wide-​variety of menu options. The side dishes were a weak point when it opened but are excellent now-​baked sweet potato is my favorite.
Fourth, its a great value. My girlfriend and I can easily have a great meal for $ 30 between the both of us – but usually a couple drinks and maybe app, salad etc… we’re at $ 45−60… my opinion, best value around.
Drinks… I think I mentioned earlier, they are strong, reasonably priced for mid-​top shelf cocktails. I have been impressed with the server’s ability to transport the topped-​off martini glasses. Wine has always been good and again, well portioned.
Dessert… usually not into desserts. I had an interesting champagne/​coconut thing that was great… The coffee, even decaf is INCREDIBLE… not sure anything can match the orange crème caramel at the Franklin.
Elliot’s has made deciding where to dine easy as a downtown-​Gloucester resident. I still like the Franklin just to mix it up a bit and occasionally go to Alchemy to remind myself of why I love the Franklin and Elliot’s.

Formerly the Blackburn Tavern, my crew and I stopped at Elliott’s at the Blackburn for drinks as part of the night out. The place inside is nice and has hardwood floors, a decent bar area with TVs, wood table seating, wood trim, and exposed brick walls. The atmosphere here offers a slight upscale dining and drinking experience with an American bistro menu and full cocktail bar.
The dinner menu offers appetizers, salads, soups, beef, chicken, seafood, house made pasta, and desserts. The food is on the pricey side such as Lobster Bisque ($ 12) and a T-​bone steak dinner ($ 28).
The lunch menu offers appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, and pastas with prices ranging from $ 6 to $ 12 (2007).
The Martini menu has some interesting varieties such as Washington Apple, Blueberry, Lemon Drop, Pomegranate, Triple Orange, and Pineapple Cosmo. However, we can’t say anything about the food since we already had dinner earlier. The Grey Goose Martinis were made very well to our liking (extra dry with olives, not dirty) and the Captain Morgan & Cokes were fine too. The bar service was good.
FOOD HOURS: Lunch is served on Thursdays-​Saturdays: 11:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
Dinner is served on Tuesdays-​Sundays: 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM. The bar stays open later.