Restaurant Review: The Half Door European Gastropub

Amanda Scopelliti ’21
Features Editor 
The Half Door is a “European Gastropub,” a term that according to their website describes, “a combination of pub and gastronomy which is dedicated to high-quality foods in a relaxed setting,” that is marked by, “a shift from formal dining to more informal local pub dining with moderate prices for the type of dishes being served.”
The Half Door is locate at 270 Sisson Avenue (about a ten-minute drive from Trinity’s campus), and offers an extensive dinner menu seven days a week, as well as brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The dinner menu includes a variety of dishes including Bavarian pretzels and buffalo chicken dip appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and entrees such as strip steak and fish and chips.
My roommate and I went to the Half Door at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning to sample their brunch menu before she headed home for the weekend. When we walked in, there were a few early-risers drinking beers and watching sports at the bar, as well as a group of twenty-somethings ordering food and drinks at one of the tables. Although my roommate and I were excited by the food choices on the menu, we thought that the dimly-lit pub decorated in dark wood furniture was not the best atmosphere for a weekend brunch, and we would’ve preferred a livelier setting.
The brunch menu boasts a variety of options including breakfast dishes such as a roasted tomato benedict, a steak and eggs wrap, and French toast, as well as lunch dishes including macaroni and cheese and a harvest salad. I ordered a frittata, an egg dish served with spinach, mushrooms, arugula, goat cheese, and balsamic reduction, and my roommate ordered two eggs with smoked bacon, rye toast, and home fries. The service was quick, and both dishes were delicious. My frittata was fresh and flavorful, and my roommate’s food was cooked to perfection. However, although we enjoyed the taste of our meals, we both thought that the portions felt more like breakfast than brunch.
The Half Door describes their prices as “moderate,” and we each paid a little under $15 for our meals. Although I would be satisfied with this price for brunch, I thought that the portions were a little too small to be paying so much.
Although we did not order drinks during brunch, we were both impressed by the Half Door’s extensive drink menu. The restaurant offers a variety of draft beers, beers from around the world, ciders, cocktails, wines, and mixed drinks, and they host many social events. On Mondays they have Happy Hour all night long, on Tuesday nights they have trivia, on Wednesdays they host live music and offer $3 Irish pints, and on Saturdays they have a D.J. The Half Door also offers Happy Hour deals seven days a week from 3 to 6 p.m.
Additional information about the Half Door’s menus, Happy Hour deals, and events can be found on their website, thehalfdoor.com. Trinity students can venture to their Sisson Ave location to sample their food and drink menus or try their food without leaving campus via Grubhub delivery.