Matthew Caffrey recently became a new owner of Chambers Bar & Bistro in Doylestown.

Formerly the general manager of The Sumney Tavern in Upper Gwynedd, where he worked for eight years, Caffrey is a culinary graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.

“I’ve been working in the restaurant business since I was 16 years old,” said Caffrey.

“I’ve wanted my own business for a long time, so this is pretty exciting.”

Chambers Bar & Bistro is located in downtown Doylestown, within walking distance to the local theatre, county courthouse and in the middle of a busy shopping district.

Since becoming a new owner in late March, Caffrey has already made several changes to the restaurant, including initiating an all-new lunch and dinner menu and updating the bar.

“Chambers is a great place to own,” said Caffrey.

“it is a restaurant that has been around for more than 15 years.  It has a good reputation among locals and tourists, and we’re hoping to further that reputation by serving quality food at reasonable prices with great service.”

Chambers offers a friendly, comfortable atmosphere with a many unique dishes to suit a variety of tastes.  The restaurant features items for light eater, such as a signature pear salad with goat cheese and pear vinaigrette, petite filet with roasted red peppers and provolone cheese.The jury is back. The verdict is in. After working feverishly to restore its reputation as one of Doylestown’s premier dining havens, the new management team is happy to report that all is well. Since co-owners Dave and Carol Moore invited Executive Chef Matt Caffrey to partner up with them last April, Chambers 19 Bistro and Bar has quietly evolved into just what its patrons want it to be – an American regional restaurant offering everything from burgers and salads to filet mignon and pistachio-encrusted veal.

If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Chambers has been serving the courthouse nearby and local community since 1987. Prior to that, the site had been home to a cheese shop and a cafeteria-style restaurant. The Moores, who call themselves “accidental restaurateurs,” took over in August 2002 and began the renovations.
But things really started taking off when Caffrey came aboard. That’s when the “19” was added to the name. Caffrey, who earned his master’s degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University, had served The Sumney as general manager for eight years. Before that, he was banquet manager at William Penn Inn.

As much as he enjoyed working the front of the house, Caffrey welcomed the opportunity to return to the kitchen full-time, as Dave Moore tends barn and mans the front and Carole serves as the bookkeeper, a position she formerly held at Hamilton’s Grill Room in Lambertville, N.J.

So why did the partners decide on a regional American menu? Caffrey says, “I think it’s what the area needed. We wanted Chambers to be the local favorite it used to be. People who came in kept requesting burgers, turkey clubs, comfort food. We roast turkey fresh each day, make soup from scratch every day, and we offer some really good seasonal specials to keep thing interesting.” On the day of our visit, for example, Chambers featured a Hearty Vegetable and a Butternut Squash Soup (both $3.50).

One of the restaurant’s most popular and appealing dishes (besides Chambers Maryland-style Crab Cakes with remoulade sauce, $18.95) is Crabbread ($9.95 as a lunchtime entrée, $8.95 as a dinner appetizer), a grilled baguette topped with lump crabmeat and a creamy three-cheese sauce.
Other enticing dinnertime starters include Chambers Pate ($6.95), a chicken liver pate served with crostini, black olives, minced onions and chopped tomato; Steamer ($7.95), a dozen littleneck clams steamed to open in a garlic wine broth, served with crostini; and Shrimp Cocktail ($7.95), served with a homemade remoulade sauce.

On the Lighter Fare menu (favored by the County Theater movie crowd) are items such as Crab Cake Sandwich ($8.95); Petit Filet ($9.95), served open-faced on toast points and topped with sautéed onions and peppers and roasted garlic cream sauce” Buffalo Burger ($8.95), topped with hot sauce and blue cheese dressing; and Chambers Turkey Special ($8.95), fresh roasted turkey topped with red onions, roasted red peppers, provolone cheese and a “zipped-up” mayonnaise.

Super salads include house specialties like Pear Salad ($6.95), made with spring field greens, fresh pears, goat cheese and walnuts in a pear vinaigrette ( topped with duck breast, add $4), and Fresh Strawberry Salad ($6.95), made with crisp romaine lettuce, fresh strawberries and red onion in a poppy seed balsamic vinaigrette.Among the most popular entrees are Grilled Boneless Breast of Duck ($18.95); Vegetable Moussaka ($14.95), Chambers’ homemade veggie lasagna, with layers of grilled eggplant, zucchini, squash, Portobello mushrooms and roasted red peppers, baked in a creamy nutmeg cheese sauce; Chicken Bartlett DiSarona cream sauce; and Pistachio-encrusted Veal ($17.95), with pistachio on the outside and roasted red peppers and ricotta cheese on the inside, lightly fried and finished with a cilantro, lime cream sauce.

Caffrey’s special entrees range from Grilled Swordfish topped with Crenshaw melon sauce and Chicken Tarragon to Crab Imperial Stuffed Flounder.
And do leave room for Chamber’s changing array of desserts, which include Tiramisu, Bread Pudding, Chocolate Mousse, French vanilla ice cream with caramelized apples, and the chef’s personal favorite (it comes from an old family recipe) – Pumpkin Chiffon Pie.

Frequent visitors to Chambers 19 are the fourth partner, Caffrey’s wife Adrienne, a former writer for the North Penn Reporter who handles public relations for the bistro, and their four children – Julia, 11; Aiden, 8; Sophie, 5; and Eva, 3 – whose preferences range from chicken fingers to burgers.

Guests enjoy their meals in the charming Old World lounge, with its popular Main Street alcove framed by bamboo and other plants, or the booth-lined back room, just beyond the boat-like base of the open kitchen.
Caffrey says that he knows why Chambers has built such a short time. “The one ingredient we put into every dish, and the reason no one goes away unsatisfied, is love.”