Tavern Yerevan — Restaurant in Yerevan

I honestly had high expectations going here, but the service truly disappointed me. I walked in around 9:30 pm and was seated quite quickly, and I was lucky enough to get seats right in front of the live performance they do every night (around 10 pm). The restaurant itself was also quite cozy, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the place.

My main issue was the horrible attitude from the waitstaff (I believe my server's name was Karen). I was given the 40-something page menu and he came back very quickly asking if I was ready to order. I said I needed a few minutes and he left again for a bit. He came back, and I tried ordering something, but it turns out the listed price was for a minimum order of meat and it would be too much for one person, so I had to choose something else. But at that point, it felt like he was rushing me to make a decision. (Mind you, it was 9 pm and the restaurant was not extremely busy). With a bit of pressure from him hovering over me, I hastily choose the Harisa and Veal Khashlama, he writes it down silently, and rushes off, as if I've annoyed him. From sitting down to ordering, I think it had only been 5-7 minutes, so I don't think I did anything wrong. Also, it's a 40 page menu of unfamiliar food items - is it that weird to need some time to look it over?

Upon serving me my wine to taste, he poured about half of the wine into my glass and kept the rest of the container at the corner of the table, which is normal. But after a few minutes, he came back and very abruptly poured the rest of the wine into my glass, which was jarring and weird. Were they short on wine containers? Is this normal protocol?

For the rest of the dinner, he was absolutely silent. When dropping off my dishes, he would plop it in front of me without any words or gestures and just walk off. Not once did he check in with me or ask me how the food was tasting. I am not picky with service, but the way he was acting, it felt like I had personally wronged him. Even upon payment, no words were exchanged, not even a "Thank you" or "Goodbye". Very unpleasant and dismissive.

As for the food, the harisa was quite flavourful and hearty, although the veal khashlama was a slight miss for me because the meat was a bit tough. It did take around half an hour for the food to come out, but I wasn't in any rush so I didn't mind that. Honestly though, the inattentive and rude service soured my mood for the entire meal and I didn't even feel like enjoying my food; I just wanted to get...

The restaurant has a charming and cozy ambiance with an authentic vibe that sets high expectations. Unfortunately, the food and service didn’t quite match the atmosphere. We tried several dishes, including the chicken barbecue, which was disappointingly dry, and the lamb barbecue, which had good flavor but was tough and difficult to chew. The salad was fresh and delicious, but the stuffed eggplants were overly oily.

As for the service, while the waiters looked professional and well-dressed, their demeanor felt cold and unapproachable. They silently placed and cleared dishes without a smile or even a simple friendly gesture. No one checked on us during the meal to ask if everything was okay, and when it came time to pay, it was simply a transaction—no follow-up, no farewell, just “paid and bye.”

Before leaving, we decided to address our concerns directly with the manager because it wouldn’t feel fair to share feedback publicly without giving them a chance to respond. The manager listened and attempted to justify the quality of the food, assuring us they’d do better “next time.” But honestly, how could they even remember us next time?

While we appreciated the chance to share our feedback in person, the overall experience left us feeling that both the food and service need significant...

The only dishes that we ordered that were good were the water and the hummus. Not even the bread basket was all that great. They served us very hard and tough bread. We ordered a beef, tomato, onion, and spices dish that resembled stew (I think the name was Jakarta, or something like that). While the flavor was good, they put too much salt in it. It was too salty to continue eating. Another dish we ordered was Kufta or something. This dish we did not enjoy at all, and left it on our plates mostly untouched after the first bite. The menu said beef, but the texture was like a boiled meat paste. It was rubbery and very off-putting. Also tasted very cheap, and reminded me of school cafeteria mystery meat in the USA. Something I had an issue with was the smoking. They allow indoor smoking at the tables. The place is already underground, so there is no wind or air to take the smoke away, and everyone around you has to breathe in the same smoke. I left the restaurant hungry and very disappointed. The service was decent, though. And the speed that the food arrived at your table was reasonable. I just didn't enjoy the atmosphere sitting there breathing in all of the smoke and I was terribly disappointed...