Briar Lea Inn & Jolly Drayman Pub

We came here and the food was very good. I got a pork chop. It was cooked perfect. It went well with Riesling wine. My friend got a lemonade and complained it was very sweet. Nice staff. Pretty quick. Great restaurant!

Just tried to get dinner here. Plenty of seats at the bar, which seemed a good sign. But the proprietor never acknowledged us and despite our efforts to get his attention we couldn’t even get a beer, let alone any food.

The atmosphere is just so cozy and authentically British, the beer list is fantastic, and the food is delicious. One of our favorite places to dine when we’re at Sunday River. Highly, highly recommended

Casual, very friendly English-​style pub set inside a small, quaint Inn with six rooms. Enjoyed our time there thoroughly. We brought our kids and they had a nice kid’s menu as well. Be prepared for large portion sizes. My fish and chips was HUGE. My daughter ordered «Little Fishy» and that was a large portion (more like a normal portion for adult’s at other restaurants.) Waitress was very friendly. Definitely recommend.

We spend about 5 – 6 weekends per year at Sunday River and have eaten here probably 20 – 25 times. Hands down our favorite restaurant in the area and consistently delicious food.
Tips:
–They’re small so plan on it taking awhile if you have a larger party.
–The Indian dishes come out very hot (temperature not spice)
–Solid craft beer and hard cider menu, ask for suggestions or samples

Neat atmosphere… Very quaint. Food was decent. Standard pub far along with some Britt Indian dishes. We came on a Friday night at peak time… There were able to squeeze us in. Drink svs was slow at first but picked up. Food was served very promptly.
We’ll be returning. Gets 4 stars because it stands out in Bethel (three stars anywhere else$

This place was awesome. Very cozy, intimate pub/​restaurant with lots of very cool posters and decorations. Felt very traditionally British. Had an outstanding meal of Chicken Pasty with Bass Ale. Our favorite place in the Bethel area.

My wife, kids and I visit the Jolly Drayman multiple times every summer while vacationing in the Bethel area. We have never had a bad dish. Our favorite is the Cottage Pie, while the kids love pretty much everything from their kids menu. But the highlight is their blueberry pie. It is the best dessert I have ever had! The owners are great and always friendly and attentive.

Good food. Good service.

We had a really nice meal at the Jolly Drayman Pub. The food was good and the service was efficient and friendly. I can’t wait to go back!

Jamais mon conjoint et moi n’aurions cru pouvoir manger aussi bien dans une si petite bourgade que Bethel dans le Maine. Bien que nous soyons arrivés à peine 10 minutes avant la fermeture, nous avons eu droit à un excellent service. Vraiment la nourriture est exceptionnelle, le décor est digne d’un vrai pub anglais et l’amabilité du personnel en font un endroit qu’il est digne de visiter et de revisiter encore et encore.

We had dinner here the other night while staying at the Norseman next door. We opted for some British fare, a cottage pie and chicken pasty. Both were good, nice warm meal on a frigid night. Maybe not huge, but an extensive beer selection. The man who seems to be owner/​manager or both highly recommended reservations as some guests were turned away. Cool atmosphere too.

Made reservations for 7 pm many days in advance. Upon arrival we discovered that there was not enough room for the size group we had and we’re offered to «eat four at the bar and the rest in the entranceway» this meant eating the food on our laps while sitting on couches. They were not personable whatsoever and almost seemed offended that we did not want to eat in the lobby area. I would not recommend unless you have a group of 2 – 3.

Great pub. Amazing food. Mix of classic English and Indian food. Personable owners. Been here 5 times of the years– highly recommended.

This review is for both the Briar Lea Inn, which is their bed and breakfast business, and the Jolly Drayman, which is their restaurant/​pub. They are connected in the same building, but guests have privacy (the Briar Lea rooms are upstairs and restaurant/​pub patrons are not permitted up there).
My fiancée and I stayed at the Briar Lea three nights to go skiing at Sunday River. We both highly recommend this establishment. We hadn’t stayed at a bed and breakfast in a very long time, so we were a bit nervous heading in as we are more used to the generic feel of a hotel chain. But we were warmly greeted by Cindy and Fred, the owners of the establishment. The rooms were very nice. They had an antique feel, but was very clean at the same time. It was nice to stay in a room that felt more like a home, rather than a bland hotel room. The beds were comfortable and the shower pressure was plenty (something that’s very important for me). There is a bit of light coming into the rooms where we stayed and the shades are thin, so you may want to consider an eye mask as the rooms are bright when the sun rises. A neat feature is they have a book full of DVD players and a DVD player in each room. They rooms have flat screen TVs with cable as well. Two of the days we stayed up there, Sunday River lifts closed due to wind. Bethel is a pretty remote town, not much to do. But we made do in the comfort of our rooms and DVDs! The modern and clean private bathrooms were a nice feature as well, something not all B&B’s offer.
The Jolly Drayman was absolutely excellent. I consider myself a bit of a food aficionado. The Jolly Drayman has mastered English-​style cooking. I know the English are not known for their cooking, but if you go, try either the 1) Cottage Pie — similar to Shepard’s pie. I’m not usually a big fan of Shepard’s pie, but this was delicious! The portions are hearty and the beef is so tender. 2) Chicken pasty– much like a chicken pot pie, but without the pot. Absolutely delicious. Nice flaky crust with tender chicken and delicious gravy! The Jolly Drayman also has a full service bar with an excellent choice of beers.
We highly recommend this establishment!

Good beer, fantastic staff, and amazing blueberry pie.
This is a great pub. It has a great atmosphere. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. I strongly recommend.

I ate at the Jolly Drayman Pub this summer during the Sunday River Tough Mountain Challenge weekend and had a decent but not overwhelming experience. The food is British Indian pub grub, and from the moment you walk in you are made to feel like you are in an old British pub. It is small but cozy and has a really cool vibe to the dining room. The menu is printed on newspaper which is also unique. Simone I started with an order of potato pancakes, and the size of the portion was huge. It was at least half a bags worth of little fried patties. I say bags worth because that’s what they are, frozen patties from a bag that you can get down the road at the store. Satisfying and crispy, and addictive but not fresh or homemade. For our entrees, Simone got a salad with two large wedges of (kinda) local Vermont Cabot cheddar cheese, crusty rolls, spicy mango chutney and a good sized pickled onion. I have never tried a pickled onion before but it was surprisingly sweet and tender and it almost tasted like an
went great with the sharpbess of the cheese and It was the highlight of the salad. Unlike my wife, I opted for a real meal and went with Chicken Korma. This creamy almond and saffron coconut Chicken dish rivaled any that I have had at any Indian restaurant. It was rich, well balanced and full of flavor in every bite. It came with a traditional thin and crispy Poppadom cracker and for an up charge I ordered Naan Bread also. The Naan Bread was good but (again) came from the local grocery store… and in fact looked like the same exact brand I currently have in my own freezer. It was served with good refreshing cool Raita and some burn your ass chutney on the side. For dessert I had an excellent Chocolate Mousse cup that I would keep coming back for. Simone decided on a liquid dessert in the form of a very strong knock your clothes off Chocolate Martini that went down easy and made her smile for hours after. Overall the Jolly Drayman gets mixed reviews. Some items blew me away and others could have had alot more effort put into them. One point off for not authentic frozen store bought foods. Three stars.

We had a very nice dinner here last week. Good, fresh ingredients well seasoned and well prepared with generous portions. I had the mixed grill, which was very good, though the lamb chops were somewhat over done. The beer selection was very good and the owner is quite the beer enthusiast, willing to pour samples of everything and share information about the beers and brewers at length. The beers were served in a somewhat odd glass that was a little off-​putting in a pub-​like setting.

Cozy, authentic Brit pub. Lots of local and UK beers and good chow with an obvious nod to the foggy isle. Good selection of Indian dishes as well. All you can eat beer battered fish and chips on Thur and Sat nights. Good shepard’s pie.

Even far away in Boston I crave the hearty dishes of this popular Maine ski town favorite. This intimate and warm English pub has not yet disappointed me over several winter and summer visits. Awesome beer list and hearty, delicious British dishes like Fish N’ Chips and Shepard’s Pie (just beef, no lamb).
My most recent experience at the Drayman involved a hefty bottle of Piraat Ale and the Shepard’s Pie. Whether or not you believe this place is an «authentic English pub», there is no doubt that the food is consistently good and the atmosphere always welcoming. It’s nice to come up to Bethel for a weekend visit and know there is a place like the Jolly Drayman to look forward to, especially after a solid day at Sunday River.

We have never stayed at the Inn — the Jolly Drayman Pub is one of our favorite end-​of-​day places to grab a drink or two along with some snacks.
When we go we tend to go early — right when the pub opens at 5pm. A few times last year when we stopped in closer to 8pm it was jam packed and standing room only with a post-​ski crowd.
The pub is small, food is great and the bar staff are friendly. They get extra points for having cask conditioned ale and some non-​standard hard cider choices like an organic «Scrumpys» cider.
Good choice for beer fans in the Bethel area.