Tavern On South — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Just not good service and they ruined the dining experience. We came in for a bite while we were in town for the FFA event. We chose this place due to it being close to the convention center and Lucas Oil Field and said "Family Friendly" . Upon entering we were stared at by the hostess and what I guess what the owner or a GM. Our server was pushy and rude to the point where I was ready to leave. I undertsand that servers are in high demand these days as i;m still in the industry for over 25 years and somethimes you keep what you can get just to have a warm body on the floor. I'm in over 40 establishments per week for my job and while the food was okay it was our server that just ruined everything.1st thing he said was " Lets get these orders in fast cause we are going to fill up" We didn't even have a chance to look at menu. I was ready to leave after he 1st came to the table but the kids were ready to eat? Yes Kids 4 and 8 years old. I went to the hostess stand to ask for a kids menu. Was informed that they didn't have one printed but our server could tell us what was offered. Then the server came and took our drink order and asked what we wanted and my wife asked about kids meals. This is where it got fun. Listen I understand that during peak times you streamline the menu to help with the crowds that are in town to make it easier on the overworked kitchen staff but really he had no idea what was offerered . We asked for Mac and cheese he said they didn;t have it but online it was offered, he said we have kids personal pizzas. Fine that would work, but then another table went by with mac and cheese on a tray. My kids saw it and asked what happened, I asked the lady who looked like a floor manager or bar manager and she said yeah we have Mac & Cheese. We then found out that they didn't have kids pizza and only a "Spicy Flatbread " pizza. Not sure that spicy goes well for kids.She said oh its not spicy at all, well we got it and guess what? They wouldn;t touch it cause it was spicy. Point is parents go where kids want to go, and a good fun kids menu drives traffic. My issue is this guy was huffing and puffing like we were taking his time. His section was not that busy as the other two servers had bigger sections that him. His his delivery of drinks and food was just rushed and not cool. When you in town and want to enjoy the city this place did not do a great job. I watched the other servers and saw how they smiled , laughed and joked with the tables they had. Our server was a guy with a man bun whi had a bunch of tattoos which is cool cause I'm covered as well. But I didn;t catch his name but the X-man tattoo is what I remember. Just not a good dining experience at all. The folks need to remember that they are the face of the restaurant and that is what the customer rememebers . Maybe he was working a 3rd double in a row or something but as a dad with kids I wish we could ha veelsewhere were we were not rushed to get in and out. At the end he came by and dropped the check and left. But it's cool , they will never see us again as we wee just in town just wanted to warn others with...

Ate here after a busy day visiting Indianapolis. Myself and my business associates had an "ok" meal. The Kettle chip appetizer was sub par, expected warm fresh chips but got cold oily bland chips instead, no salt or pepper. The chili aoli dipping sauce was bland and had no body. Tasted like olive oil that had been emulsified (only olive oil has more flavor). I had it replaced with the "sweet chili gochujang" sauce , much better sauce, nice spice and balanced sweetness and good body that would cling to the chip. My associate got the "chips and salsa" appetizer.... Please don't waste your money, the chips were borderline stale, and not salted at all, so very bland, the queso was WAY too thick and as it cooled from it's luke warm state, after arrival at the table, it only got thicker. It also included something that looked like pico de gallo but tasted like a mixture of cucumbers, tomatoes, and canned white northern beans. No salt, no black pepper, no onion, no chilis, and NO FLAVOR. For my entree I got a simple Caesar salad with a medium rare yellow fin tuna. It was ok. Too much powdered parmesan cheese, which was very salty. I would have preferred more of the flaked parmesan which is nuttier and a much better compliment to the tuna. The dressing was also too salty and lacked depth of flavor. The two croutons would have benefited from some light butter or spice or something. Tasted like crunchy stale bread and not a crouton. I personally would've liked them thicker and larger too, (close to the size of a medium size baget cut on the bias). My associate got the pork chops, I don't think they were the best because he left a third of them on the plate. If not for the Server, this place would have...

Visited 4/23/22

The name “tavern” is misleading but also has similarities of a tavern.

They try to portray a higher class of food than “bar food” but lack the follow thru of a higher end restaurant making “tavern” apply.

The place wasn’t very busy. Yet we was there over an hour.

The macaroni and cheese was delicious! The pretzel was soft but had loads of salt. We always forget to ask for pretzels without salt. The cheese was warm and went well with the pretzel.

I ordered the fish n chips, I asked for the fish to be grilled rather than deep fried. The “chef” said no problem. When it came out it was satisfying to the eyes.

It was when I started eating the fish when I realized I made a huge mistake. The overwhelming amount of salt ruined the flavor. It was perfectly cooked too! The slaw wasn’t overbearing with liquid, it was good. Same with the fries, soft, seasoned well.

Don’t let the above skew your decision of ordering the Fish and chips without breading. You might mention to use no salt or less salt.

Some chefs like to over season food… the one cooking tonight did!

Wrapping up our evening we debated on dessert but the waitress didn’t upsell or ask if we wanted dessert.

The desserts wasn’t on the menu but they had about 6 different ones.

Carrot cake, tiramisu, cheesecake, chocolate mousse cake, to name a few.

The place needs a bit of cleaning around the plants. Lots of dust. The areas the servers worked (pictured) was cluttered, drinks set next to chemicals, and just messy. They need more area to work. The closet next to the station is also disarrayed and disorganized.

Overall for the location and the food, it was good. I was going with a 3 star but the wife said 4.

We’d...