On Tap Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Essex Junction

We’ve eaten here many times in the past so took my Dad here with our larger family for Father’s Day. Not sure what’s happened to the place but we’ll never be back. Out of milk- so no white Russian for my dad and no chocolate milk for the kids, not a big deal, but then it took about 12 years for our drinks and food to arrive despite that they had just opened, it was Father’s Day weekend and it wasn’t actually busy the entire time we were there- also our “drinks” were water and fountain sodas. But again, alright whatever shit happens; however, the last straw was how it was handled when I simply told them to take my Dad’s meal off the bill when he couldn’t eat it because there was plastic in it and it was stale looking, like they had microwaved his nachos 2 hours before the rest of our food was done. Our server I think was inexperienced and needed either better training or more power to make decisions because the bartender that was in charge was so rude to us about it and said because he had eat a few bites they have to charge half. He ate a few bites because that’s how he realized there was plastic in it for goodness sakes. We also had ordered a quesadilla and were OFFERED additional veggies in it without being told there would be an up-charge for it. I was a waitress for many years and I am sad to say that their bartender really needs to learn customer services kills. She literally is costing you a lot of lost business as long standing customers we won’t be back. Had there just been some accountability and doing the right thing, I wouldn’t be writing this, we understand mistakes and things happen but the attitude and fighting us on it by the bartender- nope, that is not how you run a business or...

This is a bar with bar food and bar service. We made a reservation, when we arrived they asked if we had a reservation. We said yes but staff seemed confused and didn’t seem to know we had a reservation. We sat down. Waited about 10-15 minutes before waitress came over. We ordered all our food and drinks at once not knowing when we would see waitress again. Apps were great and came out relatively fast. We finished those but no one cleared the table. Not did we see the waitress for 20 minutes or more. We had no napkins or silverware til we found some. We tried to signal the manager but he seemed to ignore us. Entree’s came out in good time. Entrees were okay. Buffalo wrap was hot but had no blue cheese and came out with honey mustard. Burgers were bland. Philly cheese steak was good and sweet potato fries were good. The girl bringing the food out was busting her but delivering all the good to customers. Waitress was absent for the most part but nice other than that. We waited 30 minutes plus to see waitress and ask for check. Asked the manger at one point and he said sure. He must have said nothing cause we waited another ten minutes to see waiter. Paid the check and left. I understand they were likely short staffed but we were clearly not a priority. The people drinking around the bar were priority. Do not expect a good sit down meal with family or friends. It’s A bar with bar food and bar service. Band is loud like others...

On Tap has been around for a long time. Located at Five Corners in Essex Junction in the former Lincoln Inn building along with El Gato, On Tap is definitely going for the local pub vibe, and they do well at achieving it.

The food here has always been rock solid, with some of the best burgers in the area, possibly in the State. One of the very few places who always deliver the burger at the level of doneness that you ordered it in. Excellent quality beef and bread as well. The new mozzarella sticks are also fantastic.

Service degree on who you get on that particular visit. Usually reliable but we've definitely had a couple of misses.

For weekend visits on the nights that they have a band, expect it to be loud. I love live music, but it's frequently a bit too loud here, to the point where you have to strain to hear conversation, or yell at the people you're talking to in order to be heard. If you're looking to chill quietly, there aren't really any quiet corners to escape to on weekend nights other than Sunday.

Drinks are also good, but cocktails can be inconsistent depending on who's behind the bar. If I'm paying $10+ for a cocktail, I expect to be able to tell that there's a healthy, fair pour of liquor present.

Prices are moderate, in the range that...