Frederick has a severely underrated restaurant and bar scene, and despite being tricky to locate, the White Rabbit Gastropub in Frederick is one of the must tries. With an ingenious invention (that I’ve never seen at any other restaurant), it just became a top priority visit in the Frederick restaurant scene.
The White Rabbit is a Gem in the Frederick Restaurant Scene
Nicole and I discovered this place not long after we moved to Frederick and have been regulars ever since. Whether you are looking for a cool bar or a trendy casual restaurant, the White Rabbit in Frederick is perfect.
The biggest problem you will likely have is finding it. Besides being right in downtown Frederick, its location is tricky because its not on a main avenue but rather tucked away behind several buildings and the Church Street Garage (perfect place to park).
So What is A Gastropub Anyway?
You first should probably understand the common definition of a gastropub. I’ve also spent lots of time in London, and LOVE the pub scene in all of the UK.
Many people don’t realize that in the UK, one of the most common places to eat is a ‘pub’. If you are ever in the UK and ask some locals for suggestions on where to eat, you are likely to get directed to the one of the local pubs.
The food in pubs can be quite good and over the years has become more upscale and fancy. The term ‘gastropub’ now is used to emphasize a pub that puts a strong emphasis on its food.
The White Rabbit Gastropub fits this description perfectly as it a super interesting place for beer, cocktails, and drinks. But you will also come here for great food.
The Bar Scene at White Rabbit in Frederick
Entering the White Rabbit you get a feeling of being partly in an English pub but also a speakeasy. There are bars both downstairs and upstairs, and while the downstairs bar is cozy and cool, we’d recommend heading upstairs. The upstairs bar at White Rabbit is one of the best bars in Frederick MD.
The back bar upstairs has a classy mellow vibe, comfy chairs, backlit bottles, and hard working bartenders. In fact, you can come here just for drinks and its fun outing. Or do what we often do and order food at the back bar and spend your entire evening here.
The Drink Menu at White Rabbit
There is beer, cider, wine, and cocktails on the menu at White Rabbit, but the most interesting category of drinks is definitely the beer. This is not the place to roll in and order your normal favorite lager.
The White Rabbit beer menu is an extensive, rotating set of interesting choices, and you will have fun perusing options. The emphasis is on local, but you’ll be able to chose from lagers, ales, IPAs, and seasonals from around the country and world.
Most beers comes on draft in cool glasses, you’ll probably want to take a picture. This is a pub after all.
The cocktail list is interesting as well, and these are made before your eyes by the friendly bartenders who choose from a huge selection of spirits. In fact if you came to White Rabbit for whisky alone, the experience would be well worth it. There’s wine and cider as well.
The Food that Makes White Rabbit a Gastropub
While a bar crawl visit to White Rabbit is well worth venturing to its tucked away location, this is a gastropub with some really delicious food. The options are varied and delightful, with tons of great small plates and starters.
We often go for the Crab Poutine (after all one of us is Canadian), but the Truffle Fries hit the spot as well. Sandwiches are a hit, I’ve had the burger and the BLT. But very highly rated is the White Rabbit classic Chicken Biscuit.
This is all great bar food, but slightly more elegant and quality than you are used to are your neighborhood sports bar.
The Star of the Food Menu at White Rabbit
If you see people posting about White Rabbit on social media or read their reviews, there’s one item that gets talked about more than anything at White Rabbit: the Detroit Style Pizza.
Again definitions are in order here, as Detroit Pizza is fairly well-known but new to many. Detroit pizza is generally thick crust, square-pieced pizza, that focuses on the cheese. Its somewhat hard to describe, but I always think of flacky light crust with slightly burnt cheese bread corners that give it unique texture.
White Rabbit does a fabulous Detroit pizza, with a variety of combinations and toppings. You can go traditional and cheese and sauce, but there are creative combos to try including Martha Stewart’s Prison Pizza (sausage, chili peppers, and broccoli), Elote Pizza (Mexican theme with corn, picamas, cotija cheese), or Crab Pizza.
However the White Rabbit’s recent invention has turned a pizza and beer trip to this establishment next level: Pizza Flights.
Pizza Flights: Why Have I Never Seen This Before?
Its likely that everything I’ve described so far already has you planning your visit to White Rabbit (and FYI they don’t take reservations). But the invention of the Pizza Flight has now established White Rabbitt as one of the best restaurants in Frederick and a priority place to visit if in town.
When Nicole and I visited recently (sitting outside on a beautiful September Saturday), we learned of the Pizza Flight addition to the menu. The concept is simple, order a ‘flight’ of pizza just like you would trials of wine or beer.
White Rabbit Pizza Flights come in groups of 3 slices, and let you try pre-selected groups of 3 types of pizza, or build your own. FYI they have a mobile phone ordering system that is common now (some love and some hate), but we found it very efficient and easy.
Nicole and I each ordered a flight, and this gave us an delectable 6 types of Detroit Pizza to try at one delicious and interesting meal. My favorite ended up being the fairly standard ‘Veronica Vaughn’ (pepperoni, red sauce, ricotta, honey). Nicole loves the unorthodox combos like Kung Pao and Smashburger.
What Else to Know About The White Rabbit Gastropub in Frederick
As mentioned, there are no reservations so be prepared to wait on weekend nights. Sitting at the bar while you wait mitigates this problem, and we often just end up eating there.
Its also amazing how much takeout we see coming out of this place.
Regardless, this is Frederick culinary gem, and the Pizza Flights make it all the more unique and enjoyable, so just go!
