First and Last Tavern Hartford — Restaurant in Hartford

First and Last Tavern Hartford Connecticut is a landmark. First went there in the 90s and it was already established as a local landmark then.

Went there recently in a group had a great time. started with a bread basket with a variety of excellent breads.

Appetizers and salad We ordered the arugula and lemon salad as well as the calamari appetizer. Both were excellent.

Pizzas The entire group was in the mood for pizzas so we shared three different pies:

Broccoli pie This is a white pie with broccoli mozzarella and ricotta cheese. The crust was perfect 👍. Crisp and Crunchy on the outside, thin, light yet firm. (New Haven style). This is a very good pie.

Tomato pie This excellent pie does not come with mozzarella. It has grated cheese to complement the crust and the sauce. This is a very sophisticated pie, flavorful, texturally Complex, yet utilizing minimalist. This was a very good pie – no leftovers/no “To go” packaging required.

Margarita Their interpretation of the margarita is also very good. We got this in a large which is a little harder to execute but this was done flawlessly. The crust was ultra thin, crispy, crunchy, and chewy. The sauce was flavorful. The cheese was perfectly done to complement the sauce and the cost not to compete. Overall well done 👍

Service The service was top-notch. Hadn’t been here for over a decade so didn’t know what to expect but it was exactly as I remembered. The ladies upfront where great. Everybody was professional and on their game. Our waitress was outstanding. She explained the menu very well. She was attentive make sure we had enough plates to share, drinks – just wonderful.

Atmosphere This has a Pleasant and rich atmosphere. It has an old world/old school charm but it is evergreen. Brick walls, unique hand-painted tiles, actual Black and white historical pictures on the wall. It’s a very cozy, warm, pleasant experience.

Conclusion This is one of the best pizzerias in Hartford county, Connecticut. Everything about this place is first class. We made the right choice going here for a wonderful evening and recommend you...

Okay place with some highlights. For a place that tries to deliver an Italian home-cooked meal experience it falls a bit short of the real deal.

The food: Outstanding bread and pizza. Artichoke was decent but nothing out of the ordinary, wouldn't order again. The roasted peppers were a bit blend, needed seasoning. The hot roasted peppers were also blend and not the freshest, there were all sorts of blemishes on them that come with old age. The spaghetti and meatballs were decent, but again nothing to get excited about; the meatballs were very soft which usually indicated there was a lot of bread added. Eggplant was sliced thickly so it was more steamed than fried. Desserts were good. There was a bit of a wait for the food, which seemed odd as the place wasn't packed when we arrived (however it was packed when we left).

The staff: Our waiter was an older gentleman who was HILARIOUS, he was very helpful with ordering, friendly, and made chit chat with us. He was fast yet still paid attention to us and gave us the feeling of importance.

The atmosphere: The booths were well secluded and gave the feeling of privacy, the floor was noisy as the place was packed by the time we left. There is a bar section around the corner from the main dinning room, but we did not visit it so I can't say much about it.

The price: Can't say confidently as we were treated to dinner, but on the menu the prices were typical as expected. Maybe a bit on the higher end of things.

I would come back to this place if I was in the area as I'm torn between...

I recently dined at this restaurant and had an extremely disappointing experience. The quality of the food was subpar—the sauce and cheese on the pizza tasted cheap, and the pasta was clearly from a low-quality box brand, not fresh at all. The pasta also had an unpleasant taste and smell, likely due to strong vegetable oil. The wings were incredibly bland, seasoned only with herbs and lacking basic salt and pepper.

From my seat, I witnessed the man making the pizza exhibiting unhygienic behavior with his nose, which was quite off-putting. The wait staff appeared to be miserable and disinterested, reflecting their unhappiness in their work. The entire place had a foul odor, probably emanating from the carpet, and the overall atmosphere was unpleasant.

The biggest shock came when I saw what I believe was a rat running by, which was alarming. To add insult to injury, my encounter with the manager was unhelpful and rude.

Given the restaurant's history and reputation, I was expecting a much better experience. However, it seems like many of the positive reviews might be biased, considering the apparent personal relationships between the staff and some customers.

Additionally, there was a man outside passing out flyers with a mug shot, claiming they were hiring child protectors. This added to the overall bizarre and unsettling experience.

I don't usually write reviews, but this experience was so bad that I felt compelled to share it. I would not recommend this place and will certainly not...