Brazen Open Kitchen | Bar

A favorite of mine! Food is terrific and the service is great.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It’s my favorite place to have dinner! Everything on the menu is DELICIOUS !
The pork belly and the crab cake is my favorite!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Amazingly good fried chicken!

Seriously, this place fed me one of the best fried chicken meals I've had in years. I've long said that my favorite fried chicken comes from Harold's on the south side of Chicago. That still hold true but only because the fried chicken at Brazen is a completely different take on yard bird.

The Brazen version is incredibly juicy and delicious. The breading is a bit lighter in color but offers plenty of those crunchy bits that makes really good fried chicken such a treat. The meat itself is juicy and fork-tender. Chicken in this country can be bland but that's not the case at Brazen. They locally-source just about everything and that includes yummy birds. Of note: the picture may not do the 4-piece chicken justice. It's a lot of food!

The bread and butter was a nice start. Great assortment of adult beverages (I had a McCallan 12 and a Eagle Rare Manhattan) from the bar. Service was impeccable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The atmosphere is the only thing I could give 5 stars. It's clean, the decor is unique, the lighting is just right. The server was nice and welcoming. I am only giving service 4 stars because I was inquiring about non alcoholic options and she didn't seem to know the options they had. She then asked if I wanted a mocktail. I declined and stated that I am not a fan of sweet drinks and decided to stick with water. She again brought up getting a mocktail and they could make it less sweet. I understand that they want to sell/upcharge but sometimes no simply means no. I ordered the amish chicken. First bite of chicken was so dry. Since it is a half chicken and that bite was the breast I figured the leg being dark meat would be better. It was better but still dry. The flavor was nothing to write home about. It was served with smashed potatoes lightly fried with a black garlic vinaigrette. Lacking flavor, and I am unsure if the vinaigrette is supposed to be cold but it was which seems odd to put on something hot. The bread that is served complimentary is cold as well but I did enjoy it. My personal opinion is it should be warmed. My fiance had the 20oz Ribeye. It was cooked to medium as ordered but lacking in flavor. He had mashed potatoes with it and perhaps they prefer to have them overly blended into almost a puree texture that ...simply put, a box of instant mash wouldve tasted 1000x better. Also lacking any flavor. 0/10 there. I got a box for the chicken for my cat. Yes you read that right. I figured we are paying for it and perhaps my cat will eat it. I did not ask for any refund but I will say that the server took initiative because the manager did come over and informed us she comped the chicken. As far as my cat, he did not enjoy the chicken either. At least that made me laugh.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 4

This was one of the best meals I’ve had in my life. I don’t even know what to say beyond the meal is worth the money

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ranks with the best meals I've ever had. The Amish Chicken & Crab Cake were Exceptional. Great cocktails and wine list also.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was downright incredible. Drinks were top notch. John behind the bar is a miracle worker and an absolute master at his craft. We had a wedge salad, soppressata pizza, Dan Dan pasta, and a s’mores dessert. If you’re in Dubuque, this is the one must-go place to eat.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Everything was delicious. Regan our server was amazing, so nice and friendly.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had Saturday night dinner reservations mid-October that we had been looking forward to for a month. The dinner was simply amazing! We started with the leek fondue (so good), then had the orecchiette and the porchetta. We finished with the seasonal (apple) galette. Everything was perfect, staff was wonderful and we can't wait to go back!

Incredible service and very reasonably priced drinks. You should probably make a reservation, even in the middle of the week.

They offered us a small fruit bowl for our 10 month old, which was wholly appreciated and totally unwarranted.

The ribeye was perfectly cooked; as was the pork belly appetizer. We would love to come back and try the other options offered.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food was good but I have had better steak it was cooked the way I like it. But the quality of meat was not the best!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Brazen Open Kitchen is hands down, THE best restaurant in Dubuque. (And in all of northern Illinois) We celebrated our anniversary on a weekend get away. The craft cocktails were amazing - the talent of the mixologists shone thru in every drink. The Lion’s Tail was my favorite. Our waitress was amazing - attentive but not over bearing, friendly and professional. She was also a talent. Food - wow! Carrot soup was amazing as was the harvest salad. We ordered the Pear pizza - now this does sound weird but we were blown away. The crust was cracker thin and perfect. The flavors of the pear and sausage were taste perfection. Our awesome waitress surprised us with a creme brûlée for desert in celebration of our 25th! Highly recommend.

Great place to dine in. The only turn off I had was that the fried chicken still had a lot of oil visiblw on top of it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

We are from the suburbs of Chicago and this was our first time in Dubuque. It was a Friday night and we loved the artistic and rustic feel of the Mill district as we walked toward the restaurant. The restaurant is small but warm. Our server was spot on with her timing. Drinks were wonderfully crafted and the food was unique and delicious. The chef obviously takes pride in their selections of locally sourced fresh ingredients and presenting them with visually satisfying appeal. They tasted delicious as well albeit a touch on the salty side but that may be my personal aversion. Overall we really enjoyed our dinner and it put us in a great mood to enjoy the rest of our stay.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

One of the top restaurants I have been to in years. Everything is fresh they have no freezers. They are very busy though so make reservations. We did not know this but they still got us a spot to eat at the bar. We were there for girls weekend and dressed as Mrs. Roper. The staff had a lot of fun with us and even invited us out to the local pub after they were done with work of course. Looking forward to going back in October of 2026!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5