Brookville Hotel At Abilene

Although I don’t get to Abilene often, when I do this is a MUST stop for lunch or dinner. They just serve one thing — the best ever fried chicken and sides! Yummers!

I should have checked their web site before we went, as I did not realize reservations were recommended, and I felt like they were quick to make excuses about how busy they were and being told they would try to squeeze us in. We were seated in less than 10 minutes, so again I don’t understand the we are busy excuse, but…
After being seated, the menu was explained to us. We were then presented with a relish plate, a large bowl of cole slaw, and a large bowl of cottage cheese along with butter and jam, no rolls or biscuits though, they come later. We also got water, but it had a rather heavy chlorine taste to it.
Next came the entrée’. Now I have heard of Brookville chicken for most of my life, and I have to say, it was nothing special! It was fried chicken! The chicken was juicy, and not too oily, but I did not find anything spectacular about it. The sides had a decent flavor, but the whole dinner was knocked down a notch when we realized they had served us instant mashed potatoes. They told us they were dehydrated. Really? I thought that is what instant potatoes were! For the money, they could serve real, fresh mashed potatoes.
Overall it was a pleasant dining experience, though they serve just a bit too much food, so there is a lot of waste. The food was decent and our waitress was very courteous, just nothing to write home about.

We always stop for delicious family style fried chicken when we are through Abilene. It is ALWAYS DELICIOUS and this Sunday was no exception. Great friendly staff too. Don’t miss the chance eat here.

This place is great. Went for a day trip the the Eisenhower library and this place will probably be what I remember most about the day. The service was excellent and the food was even better. The fried chicken was perfect. Not dry but not too moist. It also was not super saturated with the grease. The biscuits had to made out of pure love. That or lard, but I’m pretty sure they are the same thing. The mashed potatoes and gravy were better then homemade (I sure hope my wife doesn’t read this review).
It goes without saying this place is worth a drive and an excellent place for a family meal.

Great Restaurant. I live close by, so I get to eat at Brookville or take it home for carry out.
Mmmm good ! Brookville Restaurant in Abilene Kansas is definitely worth the drive.

Right off the bat I’d like to say– Check the restaurant Business Hours. They’re a little wonky so make sure you plan ahead!!!
Now on to my review!
I love fried chicken. This place has probably the second best Fried Chicken I’ve ever had! It’s perfect– crispy, juicy, and delicious! You won’t have to worry about oiliness or the chicken being too dry– these people know their fried chicken.
I loved all the sides– even the coleslaw– which I’m not usually a fan of was wiped clean! And don’t get me started on the Baking Soda Biscuits! I can’t believe how fluffy they are– they practically melt in your mouth! This is one of the places that just knows what good old fashioned comfort food is– and boy do they do it right.
The portion sizes are VERY generous! Each adult gets half a chicken (Breast, Thigh, Wing, Drumstick) We ended up bringing two large containers home– and they were just as good the next night.
Service was very good, quick, and friendly. I’d suggest this to anyone who likes fried chicken/​comfort food! The place is definitely a time warp– Everything from the food, decoration, and even the waitress’s attire is a throwback! Definitely a unique one of a kind restaurant you won’t find anywhere else.

We had the worst experience at this place. The waitress yelled out us because one person in our reservation did not make it. From the time we showed up the manager was extremely rude. They tried to force us out the door and charged our child an adult meal because we didn’t specify in our reservation his age. I will never go back. The owner must replace this manager. She is bad news.

This place is pretty awesome you get half a chicken per person and free refills on everything else so it’s great to take home and you get a scoop of ice cream for dessert. I drive about 30 minutes to come eat here but make it a special occasion as well I took my mom here for her birthday. The owner has always came and greeted us about every single time we go too.

Everything was absolutely delicious. Food and drinks were consistently full. I loved visiting this place and will come back again in the future when I come back to Kansas.

Delicious home cooked fried chicken and all the fixings! Great service and lovely atmosphere. Gotta try it!

Nice family style dinner. We went as a large group, welcomed by the current owners.
This establishment has been around since the 1800’s, they had another location, close by to the one here .
Famous for their chicken & sides, very good

Wonderful home style chicken dinner! Served family style. If you ever pass through here, you need to stop.

if you are a person who does not like spice, this place is for you. the chicken was crispy, not too much oil and juicy. The side dishes was pretty good. the colraw was a little sweet, the mash potatoes was creamy and good.
As a runner, I thought the food needs a little bit of salt. the customer service was awesomeness. one other thing, it is in an old hotel that has character and classic with beautiful ceiling tiles.

Fun place we always bring visitors to. The meal is delicious, the service is great and the atmosphere inviting and homey.

The Brookville Hotel is a fine establishment with amazing fried chicken, however, the rest was lacking.
Starting off the fried chicken is incredible. The other sides unfortunately were not what I would have hoped for from a restaurant with such an amazing lineage. We felt left down by the mashed potatoes and creamed corn. The ice cream and biscuits were also nice, but I have certainly had better in a Classic American restaurant.
Overall I think the Brookville is certainly a better choice than any chain restaurant in the area and would recommend to others. It was not earth shattering and I think that is why this review is on the lower end.

We stopped Saturday for lunch at the Brookville and were greeted and seated quickly. Having been here before my husband and I knew it was served family style and were looking forward to a relaxing meal. The service here is wonderful, and we enjoy the old fashioned style décor and home style food. Our only disappointment was the mashed potatoes, as they tasted like instant. The chicken is crispy and delicious, the corn is fantastic and the gravy is true chicken gravy like grandmas. The icing on the cake is the home style vanilla ice cream, again, like at grandmas house. If you like fried chicken this is a great place to go!

What a letdown. I’d heard about this restaurant from my husband. So we went, finally. The minute I walked in, my head hurt. Seriously. The highly patterned carpet PLUS the highly patterned wallpaper were just TOO MUCH. The park benches where we sat while waiting to be seated were flimsy-​feeling. The loud walkie talkies the staff used gave a cheap, cattle-​call feel to what should have been a more serene dining experience. Plus, we noticed that we were on camera — that was really creepy to me.
I did like the white tablecloth and white cloth napkins. The feel of the whole place, however, is stale, stuffy, fussy, overdone, dated, and stodgy.
The food came and I was underimpressed. I don’t eat cole slaw, cottage cheese, or pickles. That left TWO canned peach halves, which were on the same plate as the pickles (YUCK for those of us who like our flavors SEPARATE). They brought the preserves and butter but not the rolls – who does that??? If you’re bringing butter and preserves, bring the rolls too, especially for someone who’s had only one peach half for God’s sake!
Then the entrees came. Potatoes smelled funny – chemical-​y and fake. I swear they dumped a bunch of sugar in the creamed corn. The gravy tasted icky, bland, and fatty. The skin on the chicken was soggy (those of you who love crispy chicken skin will be highly disappointed). The chicken MEAT itself was juicy and good. The biscuits had a good rich texture but again, were BLAND. I’ve been to other places that have far tastier biscuits.
The dessert of vanilla ice cream was so NOT exciting. I did ask for some cinnamon to mix in with the ice cream, and they did oblige without a problem, so I appreciated that.
So basically, except for maybe the chicken, they opened boxes, cans, and jars, and dumped the stuff onto plates. The couple next to us did not eat any of the sides. They were a younger couple (early 30’s). That should tell them something.
If I had to suggest only one change they could make, it would be to offer a mixed-​greens (with grape tomatoes, carrot shreds, and other veggies) FRESH salad instead of the cottage cheese and coleslaw. I really did not feel that anything I had there was healthy at all, and I sorely missed having something fresh to eat.
I won’t return. There’s simply no reason to.

Great place to eat with a large group! The food is served family style by the waitress bringing out the food in huge bowls. The fried chicken is DELICIOUS and so are the mashed potatoes and gravy as well as the creamed corn. Service was very good and friendly so there’s no problem there. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and will be revisiting for sure.

We had heard about the wonderful Chicken Dinner at the Brookville Hotel for many years. Finally, we took the time to do a weekend in Abilene and started with this incredible lunch!
The cole slaw is so yummy that I purchased the postcard recipe in the lobby before leaving. The chicken was some of the best (and we’ve had other similar meals in Amish and Mennonite country) and you are allowed to take home any leftover chicken pieces. The remaining dishes will be packaged up for you at 50-​cents a container.
We were heading to the Eisenhower museum afterwards and glad that we had some time to stand, walk, and digest.
We’ll be back again!
Be sure and make a reservation if you know what time you’ll be arriving… just to be sure you won’t be disappointed in the wait if it’s a busy day.

I’m not sure what wormhole we walked through to enter this place, but I’ve been in scarier. .. wormhole exits. I’m not sure that made sense.
It was like going somewhere time completely forgot. I’m not sure if that was just the shtick this place was banking on or if it’s just how Abilene is. I’d love to go back to Abilene to find out for sure.
First, don’t eat here more than once a year or so! Please! Seriously, I mean no disrespect to the people that eat here more often, but it’s not healthy! I am in no position to judge, but some of the people eating here shouldn’t be. Really, I am only trying to offer some advice.
You don’t get a choice of what you’re going to eat. You’re going to each half a fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, «biscuits,» coleslaw, and everything else you could possibly imagine having with fried chicken (and a bunch of things you wouldn’t have thought of). Oh, and dessert. Yes, biscuits deserved quotes. They were not biscuits, no matter your definition of biscuits. I’m not sure what here was homemade and what wasn’t (the biscuits made me question all of it), but it was mostly tasty and most of it seemed homemade.
The problem here is that you should only eat here if you’re passing through town for the experience. But, if you are passing through town, you can’t take leftovers home. No one person should eat everything they’re given here. No one. It’s too much, don’t try it.
Hopefully I won’t be back through this area within a year; I know I won’t be able to resist stopping for dinner again.