WHO’S IN CHARGE Louanne Tremblay and her husband, Ernie, opened the Bradford Tavern in 2010 in the same building in Rowley where they’d operated Sidney & Hampton. (Ernie Tremblay also owns the two Sylvan Street Grilles, in Peabody and Salisbury.) The financial meltdown of 2008 was tough on restaurants, Louanne said, especially upscale places like Sidney & Hampton, which they closed that year.

The Bradford Tavern doesn’t aim as high. She describes the cuisine as comfort food. “You can go out and get a great meal and not spend a fortune.’’ The formula seems to be working, as business has been healthy from the start, she said. “We’ve been very lucky.’’

THE LOCALE Situated in a converted 1880s barn, the Bradford Tavern uses one, two, or three floors, depending on demand. The main dining room, open seven days a week, is in a windowless section of the ground floor. The adjoining bar, in a switch from the usual custom, is the area with all the windows.

The second-floor dining room and bar open on weekends. A third-floor dining room is available for functions.

Arriving without a reservation at 7 on a Friday evening, our party of three was immediately shown to a table. Half an hour later, we noticed, the room had filled up. Wood paneling, low lighting, and oil lamps on the tables gave the dining room a cozy, welcoming vibe.

Louanne Tremblay later described the tavern to us as “very family-friendly. It’s not a barroom.’’

Seated at a table next to us during our visit, in fact, was a young family of four with an extremely well-behaved infant. After a while, we noticed that the model child was actually a doll in a car seat.

ON THE MENU The Bradford Tavern’s menu is long and mostly familiar. It includes seven varieties of burgers, nine dinner salads, and 20 sandwiches. Of the nearly two dozen regular entrees, only the bleu-cheese-encrusted 8-ounce filet mignon ($24) breaks the $20 barrier. Despite the abundance of offerings, Tremblay insisted when we asked that nearly everything here is fresh, not packaged.

We ordered the tropical grilled salmon ($18), which was topped with fresh pineapple salsa and accompanied by mashed potatoes and asparagus. It was a delicious treat, the fish moist and tasty and the potatoes buttery.

Also very good was one of the specials (which change daily), grilled culotte sirloin steak served with sweet potato fries and pattypan squash ($22). The steak arrived as ordered, medium-rare, and the squash, too, was lightly cooked and still firm.

Not as successful was an order of hazelnut-crusted chicken with a black-cherry reduction and vegetables ($15). The chicken was dry and the vegetables mushy. As for the cherry reduction, we expected a tart, intense concoction that would complement the chicken. Instead, it was a sugary compote that put us in mind of chicken with jelly on top. But maybe it’s just us. We’re the kind of people who always check food labels for added sugar.

For dessert, the three of us gobbled up a serving of blackberry-peach crisp ($5), although the taste of the fruit was overwhelmed by the flavor of nutmeg. An order of gluten-free crustless strawberry cheesecake ($5) was more to our liking: rich, creamy, and as sweet as anyone could have asked for. When it comes to dessert, we like it sweet. We’re not about to spoil things by checking any fine print.

The Bradford Tavern, 87 Haverhill St. (Route 133), Rowley, 978-948-3657, www.bradfordtavern.com.

Coco McCabe and Doug Stewart can be reached at dcstewart@verizon.net.