The Tavern — Restaurant in Abingdon

Wow' not sure what was going on today??!!! After a Fun day of antique shopping with a good friend Famished; we wen't for Cocktails! Unfortunately the Martha Washington was closed??' So we headed to the Tavern! I ordered a Bloody Mary' & expected well' what most restaurants served?' (Normal sized Glass; all the fixings)

I asked the bartender ahead if they had frozen?' She advised no, only straight! (Usually you would only have frozen or straight = without ice) ???'''''

So I'm Fine go ahead' order! & When the bartender served it?' It was in a small glass' w: aka' All Ice??' I took a sip to what the Ice being so much was a top of the IDK' Shot'??' of mixed drink??' Being perturbed??' & Being Nice??' I asked the bartender if they had regular glasses that they served in?' She advised no?' Then I said nicely, this is all ice' if you don't mind can you make me one with out ice' & you can even strain what is in this to add/ use with it?'

LoL' 😳 She comes back with an even smaller cup' & the strained the juice part out; wich made about two sips' or IDK' laughing in my head' two shots??' of Bloody Mary' & the same cup w/ the same ice she sat' right beside; on the side of it??'

I was so Flabbergasted' that (I didn't know what to do) so I took pictures??'''' You Can't Make This Up!!!'

If your in a business and trying to cut corners!!!! Every restaurant knows hummmm' fill them with ice; on beverages; let them have two sips!!! & We (The Business) will charge the same??'

Wait' this is a actual' supposed to be a Cocktail'/ Drink??' not a soda pop at a convenient store down the road??'

& A place that can charge upscale from 30-50$ a head a meal!!! Ummmm??'

It was quite Rude??' No Worries!! even my friend advised send it back; we'll go somewhere else....' I was polite advised No' I'll still pay??' Awkwardly I had been there before' & ya!! A Dif' Experience!!

I drank; literally my two sips and when I got to the bottom' it was All' Pepper at the bottom of the glass??' IDK' Took a picture of that!?'too??' Yikes!!! I got a Pepper' Ice Drink' I didn't even know existed!!! 🤮

The Most concerning thing was The Owner' whom I've met before was standing in the background & watched & let All of this Unfold & Happen??' More' Ponder??'

Where I Come From' we are Guests' in your establishment, paying for' what we would expect at most establishments' a Fair' easily done' Cocktail/Drink across the board! If You Go to a swankier place' the Standards' of Quality should meet the price; as well as the hospitality & atmosphere! I have to say; I was dismayed!!!

I think the pictures tell the rest of the story; As Is! The last picture' LoL' was at my home' were we wen't back to make a Real' Bloody Mary! LoL' (Quantity' & Quality) Included!

This makes me Sad' as I had a Lot of hope for this business; hearing the owners stories when I first met them; & then Yikes flip being on the Guest/Receiving/Public end, of what the experience included!!!

I would Hope on All Hearts They would treat every patron as a Guest' Serve & Deliver the Best!'

But the fact that the owner did not' Correct' Mitigate' or Right the Situation!!!!' & that tells me' He is training his employees' 'to act & or be (cheap) like that?'

My Stance??' ummm

Never!!! No one' wishes for bad' service' a weird drink which Knock off' bars can get right; by mixing 12 oz' of V8' Juice & a shot of vodka' easy??'

Very Dismayed!!

I hope this is a wake up call' for the Owner & Business to take; wether' well known or not?' the Public & Your Guests' Seriously?' Remember' Your public' is who perceives you' & is your audience to Pay' & Keep you' In Business!! Let's Do Better!!! Cutting Costs like that?' Loses New'..... & Repeat Business!!

I Can't say I will Not' be going back for a meal' much less' a Soda Pop!!! LoL' 💯👏

To Your Response; I Have Given Much Business to The Martha Washington in with stays of family & friends!! As Well' the Peppermill' Excellent!! Please don't speak falsely in or on my behalf! As you do not have my permission! & As' that could open you up to'...

The Tavern is certainly a historic old building in downtown Abingdon. I made reservations at this restaurant from recommendations of the hotel my wife and I stayed at in Damascus. For our anniversary we rode the Creeper Trail and I wanted to take the wife to a nice dinner afterwards.

The special was listed as Prime Rib at $42. I love roasted prime rib and thus ordered. My wife ordered a special pasta dish with chicken as the protein. I was expecting prime rib... tender, thick, juicy cut of meat. What I got resembled a piece of sirloin steak. I asked the waitress if it was a mistake and she said no it was definitely their prime rib. Half of the "prime rib" was too tough to eat. Maybe they do not know what prime rib is in that part of Virginia. My wife's pasta and chicken dish was okay but not something we would pay $30 for. The chocolate peanut butter pie was tasty but a fairly small portion and I doubt home made.

The waitress was pleasant but disappeared for what seemed at least 30 minutes and our glasses of water ran dry. The wife wanted another glass of wine and finally gave up. We asked for our check and left very disappointed.

I do not mind paying good money for a great meal and service but the Tavern is not the place. If you want to see the old building I suggest go in and have a drink. Eat elsewhere. I might also add that parking is difficult. There are no public parking lots and parking is limited to along the main drag of Abingdon. We got lucky.

Two stars only because the waitress was pleasant otherwise one. Total bill, chicken pasta, one glass of wine, "prime rib" and one piece of chocolate peanut pie $133. Draw your own conclusions...

Response from Owner: "Strange that there is no parking for such a mediocre restaurant with such mediocre food that has been around for three decades. But certainly draw your own conclusions. Additionally, people in this area are smart enough to know great food and proper cuts of meat."

LOL maybe not! All relative I guess in ratings. You guys need to get your house in order. Pathetic!

I might add that you guys have no Michelin star. While that may sound snobby I would pursue that if I were your establishment to go beyond Google reviews. Punch me in the nose if you want but you guys can do better.

Edit - The state of Virginia doesn't have Michelin Star restaurants. However, James Beard awards are achievable. I'm not interested in arguing. However, making comments to make it seem like people in Southwest Virginia are uneducated isn't acceptable. Everyone can do better even yourself. Enjoy other restaurants.

Edit in Response: Well Josh I must respond. I did not want to enjoy other restaurants I want to enjoy yours.

The owner is correct. There are not Michelin star restaurants in Virginia so my apology. Tavern could be the first...

I did not mean to imply that folks in that part of Virginia do not know what prime rib is. Better wordsmithing would have let me communicate that their interpretation is perhaps different... roast then throw on grill perhaps.

Get rid of the plastic containers for salad dressing. Send the girls out shopping for something that compliments the pewter salad plates. By the way the salad was good. Do not be so defensive.

Summary to viewers: I hope you all enjoy this bantering between the owner and I concerning the Tavern. Go check it out and be vocal on Google and ask to see the owner for constructive feedback. Feedback on the prime rib gets...

Re-Post from a couple of years ago to remind people about our experience. My complaint was NEVER addressed by management. Guess they don't think it's worth their time to reply to customer complaints online.

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Re-Post from a couple of years ago to remind people about our experience. My complaint was NEVER addressed by management. Guess they don't think it's worth their time to reply to customer complaints online.

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My wife and I ate here the other night. For the most part, the service was good. Our salads and dressing were both good. I had the rib-eye which was tender. I ordered it medium well and it came out just with just a touch of pink, which was perfect.

On the other hand, there were issues with the lamb. My wife asked for lamb to be cooked medium well. When it was served, it was all pink on the outside (obviously rare). My wife told the waiter it was not prepared properly and the waiter told her that it starts with a purple color (which it does when it hasn't been crooked at all). He went on to say the next level is what she saw. NO ONE would look at that and think (1) this is OK to eat, and (2) this is prepared medium well. Not even close. So, she asked to have it sent back. We both thought the waiter seemed a bit annoyed by his mannerisms (but not his tone). When it came back, most of the lamb was cooked correctly. However, there was still one chop that was still pink on the outside, which isn't healthy. Any decent cook should have gotten this right the first time, and definitely corrected it the second time around. Pink on the outside is not even safe to eat (because of possible bacteria).

Another issue was we walked out of there without our ToGo boxes. We called back within 30 minutes to see if they had saved them for us. They checked and said it had already been tossed. During my discussion with who I assumed to be the manager, I expressed my disappointment that our food was thrown out so quickly. He went on to tell me probably 5-6 people a day (or maybe it was a week) forget their food and never come back for it. When I noted that we had just dropped $120 (excluding the tip) and that at least $40 worth of food was thrown away, I asked it he was willing to refund $30. He refused to do that and then proceeded to say "I'm not trying to be rude, but I'd suggest you be more careful and make sure you've got everything before you leave" (not those exact words, but very close). This is not the tone a business should take with a customer (especially one who just dropped $120).

So, if you forget your leftover food, don't expect them to do ANYTHING to hang into it for even 30 minutes. Consider it tossed. Yes, it was on us for forgetting the food, but we literally called back within 30 minutes to let them know.

Because of the issues noted above, I give this a 3-star review. We won't be returning.

We highly recommend a restaurant called Rain Restaurant just 20 yards from The Tavern (on the opposite side of the street). We both had perfectly cooked salmon there. Nice...