The Old Stone Tavern — Restaurant in City of Rochester

I have been here three times; twice with as a duo and once in a larger group. Each visit revolved around the pub experience, with entrees or several appetizers constituting the majority of our bill. Service has been expediently amiable--the staff is more than willing to help you find the best food on the menu to suit your appetite, and even exchange a brief pleasantry or two, but always with a focus of getting you served and satiated and keeping all the clientele happy.

During each visit, the place has always been hopping too much for staff to linger over long simply chatting. As a table is cleared, a new party quickly fills the vacancy. That being said, I have never felt rushed to leave a table after eating, even when only a couple of our party ordered a post-meal second round of drinks. The table will be cleared of dishes, leftovers packaged in recycled paper containers, and the check offered, without any hint of exasperation should you choose to sit and chat awhile after your meal.

On my most recent visit, my friend alerted me to the available board games and insisted upon instructing me in the game of Sorry--a lapse in my early life owing to having been an only child who spent more time wandering out of doors than playing in. I found the gregarity of a Friday evening crowd, along with the multiple sports being televised over a half dozen large screens a bit jarring to concentration, but the expeditious service saved me-- our dinner orders were delivered before we could each draw more than 6 cards apiece. My friend wished to continue, but I begged off for conversation claiming the finger food of wings were a poor pair with handling cards and game pieces.

Speaking of food -- it is quite excellent pub fare. I have now had their wings-- the Jamaican jerk sauce is pleasant, slightly complex in spice, but a very mild version-- at least if your introduction to jerk chicken occurred at the age of 14 whilst living in Jamaica eating a street vendor's jerk. Still, quite enjoyable with just a modicum of zing-heat lingering at the end.

The blue cheese is extra, but worth 50 cents. It tastes home made with more creaminess than vinegar and ample chunks of blue. I received 2 small containers with 10 with gas, and my friend ate most of the second with a spoon. The wings ate large, battered, and served so quickly you will find yourself suffering burnt tongue and fingertips or impatiently waiting for them to cool sufficiently for safe consumption.

My friend's fish sandwich was more than a meal with the side of tots large enough to feed 2 or 3: very crispy brown and well done, and not at all greasy. The small perch fillets were battered, looked done to a crispy brown finish, and she set aside the bread to better enjoy them on their own. She gave me the coleslaw, which was heavily sauced with a mild, mayonnaise-creamy sauce. Good if you like that style, though I found it needing salt, or wanting for a hint of vinegar for bite.

On other visits I have had pizza, both vegetarian and with meat. The pizza is a bit more of a wait, but quite good. It was actually better than expected bar pizza to be, and we even "argued" a bit over the an equitable distribution of the leftover slices.

I personally don't imbibe often, but have had a pint of cider which was cold and crisp. My friends all seem pleased with the beer and wine selection, and the free popcorn is salty, flavorful, and fresh. All in all, if you enjoy the noise and hub-bub of a sports bar/pub environment, and want well prepared bar food, then I heartily recommend The Old...

What a mixed experience.

Upon entering the restaurant you'll see a "we're not 'fast-food'" sign. Those who can read between the lines of things, can therefor deduce that the staff has received complaints about long waits and decided to double down on their current practices. Our visit lasted about 80 minutes, but having seen the sign we were at least not surprised. I'd attribute this primarily to there only being one man serving as waiter and bartender both for what started as three tables and two at the bar, and ended as four tables and about ten at the bar.

We started with the garlic grilled cheese bites. They were about $10, and came in a small but very full basket. These were easily the best thing we got by my judgment. They were fluffy, flavorful, and greasy (in the good way). A decidedly good take on the fried-cheese-thing subcategory of appetizers. My only wish is that they came with a marinara sauce rather than ranch.

Now for myself I ordered a "Good for your Seoul" smash burger. I was drawn by the unique toppings, which were garlic, mozzarella, and cream cheese. Now, I'll start with the positives. The BUN! The bread this place uses is absolutely superb. The bread of a burger is often overlooked, but a bun like this can remind you to pay attention. As for the burger itself, it is an actual smash burger. I can't tell you how disappointing it is to order a "smash" burger and get a regular burger. Now for the real fly in the ointment: the patty was far, far too salty. Over salting is such a small, but devastating problem to have with any food. I ended up sitting there picking the bread off of my burger, and eating my wife's fries.

Why was I eating my wife's fries? Well that brings me to my second gripe. My tater tots were just room temperature and overall so-so. My wife's hot and crispy fries just blew them out of the water. Seriously, just take the tots off the menu. They're basically a trap that ends in you enviously picking at the sides of someone who made a better choice.

Anyways, if I'm remembering correctly the total came to $45 and some change. The tip brought us over $50. To sum it all up, there's too many other places to try for people like me who live out of town to want to come back. If you decide to go, whatever you decide to order, get the fries and be ready to...

We came here because this place has great reviews about not only the food but the service to .... From an individual in the industry im COMPLETELY Dissatisfied and almost disgusted¡! .... we walked in . And as the sign said. We waited to me seated ... Then we got put in the corner away from everyone else .. the bartender came off as if she had so many other things/people to take care of ( mind you it maybe was 10 people in the place) to where she just dropped a pitcher of water and. Cups .. maybe this is standard here I'm not sure .. but when we weren't ready to order she never once asked if we had questions or maybe even wanted recommendations which would have been nice because we are from out of town and have never been there before ... Well I guess we didn't order quick enough bc the kitchen man came up and did answer a few questions for us but it was like he was trying to rush off before making sure we were good. so I'm not sure if he was in the kitchen by himself or not. But if that's the case he needed to let her do her job ...server bartender .. .. we finally settled on some smash burgers .. which took almost 35-40 minutes ... To where I had to ask about our food it came out luke warm burgers dry .. he told us the Kevin Bacon smash came with bacon and onions cooked INTO the burger .. but they just had it all thrown up under the top bun .. needless to say we packed it to go .... We felt very unwelcomed and honestly The sheer lack of good customer service ruined our experience here .... I could have saved $60 and went to McDonald's .. highly...