Old Town Tavern & Beer Garden — Restaurant in Key West

Ok so we happened to come across this place walking out of the Hemminway house (def recommend if you're a cat person, see my review on that.) it was a Sunday afternoon and the music sounded like our style so we mosey'd in. Let me tell you, I wish I had known about this place sooner. We stopped in right before leaving but the music was amazing and that was just the beginning. The beer menu is phenomenal and has all the ABVs listed for "IPA enthusiasts" like myself. The atmosphere was chill on a Sunday afternoon but I would have loved to experience it on a Friday or Saturday night. The menu was amazing. I really wanted the cauliflower bites but they seemed a bit on the pricey side. We ended up getting them and the chicken banh mi and cauliflower bites. They were both incredibly amazing!!! The cauliflower bites were indescribably delicious. They came with an amazing dipping sauce and just talking about them makes me wish they were in my mouth right this very moment. They had a light breading, an amazing sauce and are served with a bed of greens around an incredible cup of house dipping sauce. I would pay more than whatever they cost had I known how delicious they were!! The chicken banh mi, as I just learned it was called, was equally amazing. We split the sandwich and app between two of us and, along with two drinks each, we were incredibly satiated for the rest of the day. I dipped my half of the sandwich in the sweet chili sauce from the cauliflower bites and it was mouthwatering!!!! Next time we go to Key West (bc we both agreed we absolutely have to go back) this will def be our night time hang. The music was incredible! The Kooks, Last Shadow Puppets, they even played my all time favorite obsession Twenty One Pilots (Tear in my heart) in which my bf actually enjoyed!!! (I think maybe I talk about them too much on the daily but he was happy to hear them as a 'blend of his and my music together.' The server was incredibly sweet, my IPAs and my bfs old fashion were deliciously served. This is one of the reasons we'll be going back to Key...

Don’t get me wrong, Fourth of July weekend is murder for the service industry, especially in Key West, but this place is special, for all the wrong reasons. First you will have to cut in an unofficial line to get a table, you literally have to walk in there and grab the first free spot you can get, no host/hostess will seat you (I guess we just got lucky, judging by the experiences the subsequent patrons were having after we were sat down). The wait time for drinks will definitely have you beg a nearby table for a sip of their water, it literally took the waitress over an hour and twenty minutes to bring the WRONG DRINKS, and that was just the beginning. After asking to have the drink order corrected, the waitress switched to defensive mode, she offered my wife a spoonful of sugar for her unsweetened iced tea (that she didn’t order), while she angrily took the order. 1 hour and 12 minutes later the drink never arrived, but one of the flatbreads did. The runner looked confused coming in and out of the backdoor with one plate at a time. Since our waitress disappeared, I decided to ask the runner if he knew about the whereabouts of our second flatbread, needless to say, he replied, I’ll ask your waitress. 40 minutes later, the second flatbread arrived, charred and burned to a crisp.

Here comes the crescendo, once we asked one of the other servers for a manager, the waitress suddenly appeared, like summoned by a spell, she complained about the service levels and excused the manager as she could not come to the table. Why??? She was playing cook and host at the same time.

They decided to voluntarily take the charred flatbread off the check, along with the non-existent drink. If management cannot get their act together for one of the big holidays on a well known tourist destination, I’d hate to see how they operate on a regular basis.

The atmosphere is nice, but it isn’t anything that you can’t get at any of the other establishments around. Save your money and don’t waste neurons on this place. Go to one of the hotdog carts around or maybe...

Well, on my other account I left an awesome review. And I am very displeased to be recanting that review. After living here in Key West for a month. I’ve been into this establishment multiple times. Each time being phenomenal. I’ve brought my family, and have recommended this place multiple of times in this past month of June. I spent $65 on 06/21 on food, beer, and dessert for myself. Tonight 6/22 I was denied service because I didn’t have my ID. So I tried reasoning with the bartender named James. He said without an id he won’t serve me. I told him I was there last night and have been in the establishment multiple of times this month. He proceeded to tell me if the manager is ok with it, that he would serve me. So I find the manager, i tell her about everything listed above, pulled up a pic of my ID, and also my bank statement showing I was in the establishment last night. I even went as far as showing the previous review I left three weeks ago complimenting the place. She asked me how old I was, and asked for my birthday. She said Ok, you’re good. At that time she went to the bartender, told him I was good. He still refused. He went back on his word. And so did the manager. She said her job is on the line and she couldn’t do it. Out of the 6 times I’ve been there, NOT ONCE have I been ID’. I have a full grown beard, and I’m bald, I also am a larger gentleman. All indicators showing I am of age. There was no logic, and poor discretion. I’ll be sure to let everybody know of the experience I have had. So much for being my favorite place. THIS PLACE DOESNT CARE ABOUT...