10/18/09

Shades of Mediocrity

by comquest

The ambiance and service say Village Tavern is a great restaurant but the kitchen cuts too many corners. On our recent visit, the entree proteins (flank steak, tilapia), two desserts and fresh potato chips were all very good. However, both entrees were accompanied by bland, dried-out garlic mashed potatoes that tasted like they came from a box and a mix of rubbery, tasteless veggies that I would only expect at a low-end hotel banquet. Fried calimari was rubbery textured with a soggy breading and slightly fishy aroma.

Prices seem reasonable, but in this range I expect fresh, quality food for every part of the meal. We did not see that.

• Pros: Comfortable ambiance, good service
• Cons: Spotty food quality

07/02/09

i've had great experiences

by rhphillips

I wanted to comment to the lady below:

i totally understand where your coming from, but have to say, to try & be more understanding, 9:10 on a Weds - regardless of the closing time, usually means that you'll find a place half closed/ in the process of closing. Especially if the place was mostly empty & you were 1 table or maybe 1of a few remaining tables. Not that it's excusing anything & it's a bummer that you're unhappy, I guess I just sympathize w/ the staff, having worked in that industry for most of my life. As long as the food was still good, the service is fixable. Again, I'm not saying that you should be stoked on being treated any other way.. but at leastt look at the whole situation. Them not having bread ready & fresh at 9:30 is pretty normal for most places that close to closing time. Maybe give the place another go- and hopefully they'll be able to make a better impression :) As for me, I've always enjoyed the place but mostly have only been able to make it on a weekend night, so I think they still expect diners after 9. All in all.. I'll totally go back.

• Pros: patio, food, bar, fire place
• Cons: its a trek for me to get there.

06/30/09

Don't dine after 9!

by jennifer56

They should change their closing time to 8:30pm instead of 10pm beacuse if you show up at 9pm prepare yourself to be treated badly. I was so appalled that I am writing this review right after getting home from this meal.

For starters, we arrived at 9:10 pm. Keep in mind, they do not close until 10...one hour from when we arrived. We were seated and told that one of the "closers" would be with us in a minute. They actaully said "closer" instead of server or waiter...seriously?!? Our server arrived and immediately asked us if we were ready to order without bringing us bread, explaining special menus, etc.

We ordered the bacon-wrapped scallops app. and it was pretty good. I then remembered that the last time that we dined there, we were brought/offered bread. I asked our server for bread at approx. 9:30 and was told she was not sure that they still had any due to the time.

Once our dinner arrived we must have each had a bite when one of the employees literally shouted to the kitchen, "the doors are locked." When one of the guys in the kitchen did not hear her, she once again shouted that the doors were locked to the kitchen. We immediately asked for our check. I have never felt so un-welcome or rushed at a restaurant in my life. Our food was good enough but the absolute rudeness displayed by the staff ruined our meal. We are super-laid back people, but this was just unacceptable.

If you close at 10pm, you should show your guests the same service from the minute you open to the minute you close.

• Pros: The food was pretty good.
• Cons: Staff, staff, staff