Barrows House Restaurant & Tap Room

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Historic Estate with a Living Story

Barrows House traces its origins to 1804, when the six-acre property was built as the private residence of Reverend William Jackson, pastor of the Dorset Church. Nearly a century later, in 1900, Experience and Theresa Barrows transformed it into a farm and country inn, welcoming local residents, travelers, and long-term summer boarders — many of them writers and artists escaping New York City's summer heat. That layered history is still visible today: guests can peer behind hinged panels in the living room and lobby to glimpse original wall stenciling painted by an itinerant artisan, preserved beneath the inn's more recent renovations.

The Restaurant and Tap Room

When the owners of The Dorset Inn acquired Barrows House in 2012 and reopened it in summer 2013, the restaurant was reimagined from the ground up. The space now features a local marble bar, a tap room, and a large outdoor dining terrace — a setting that balances the building's Greek revival facade with a relaxed, contemporary feel. The kitchen turns out inventive farm-to-table American cuisine, with the broader property's philosophy rooted in connecting guests to the Vermont landscape around them.

The wine program earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, a recognition that speaks to the care behind the list — curated to complement the seasonal, produce-driven cooking rather than overshadow it. Craft cocktails round out the drinks offering at the tap room, giving the space a convivial energy that works equally well for a quiet dinner or a gathering with friends.

Setting and Experience

Outdoor seating on the terrace makes the most of the Vermont countryside, and the inn's grounds — gardens, a heated saltwater pool, lawn games, and a fire pit — create an atmosphere where a meal can easily extend into an evening. The restaurant accommodates private parties and catering, and breakfast is served to inn guests as part of most stays, either on-site or at the nearby Dorset Bakery.

For those seeking straightforward, well-sourced American cuisine in a setting with genuine history behind it, Barrows House delivers without pretense.