The Tavern Downtown
A few nights ago, I went to dinner with my sisters at the Tavern Downtown in Hartford. Located on Allyn Street, the Tavern provides a sophisticated, comfortable atmosphere and serves an extensive menu of American bar/grill food– your typical wings, sliders, gourmet burgers, sandwiches- and a range of salads and tasty looking entrees (lobster mac n’ cheese, steaks, “New England clambake”, that sort of thing)- ultimately, a fantastic selection.
I hate to say that I have mixed feelings about the Tavern, only because I seem to have made the wrong entrée choice. I decided on the mushroom risotto ($16.95) slow cooked Arborio rice with mushrooms, mixed fresh herbs, peas, shaved parmesan cheese and truffle oil…sounds incredible. And I was a little bummed- because, you see, I absolutely love mushroom risotto. And although the dish looked gorgeous, it was much blander than I expected. Of all my descriptors, I’ll have to call it “meh”. Ah well. I’ll still probably return one of these days to try something else on the menu.
However, the bright side: sisters chose the lighter sandwiches/wraps and were incredibly impressed- both were delicious!
So, we’ll go ahead and recommend the Summer Harvest: grilled portabella mushroom, zucchini, roasted peppers, cucumber, fresh mozzarella topped with pesto & served on grilled focaccia.
The New England Melt was another hit: flaked salmon with onion and celery on grilled country bread with tomato and cheddar, toasted under the broiler (both sandwiches $7.95).
Service was wonderful. The tavern also features an impressive variety of domestic and imported beers bottled and on tap, daily food and drink specials, an excellent happy hour (so I’ve heard) and live music.
100 Allyn Street
Hartford, CT 06107
(860) 524-9990
