Kutztown Tavern — Restaurant in Kutztown

This is actually more like two reviews in one, with my first experience awesome and the second not so much.....

The first time we had the pretzels, a beer sampler, and I had the bacon meatloaf followed by a homemade dessert. All of these were awesome and well presented, with the timing prefect. Our server was attentive and professional and we were greeted when we arrived and thanked when we left......I would definitely come back.

The second time we had the crab dip,and I had the Sheppards Pie which came with a couch of salad. I also had a beer which was still awesome and refreshing. The crab dip was served hot but the chips were on Thier way to becoming stale. The dip itself was OK had a strong fishy taste. Now I'm from the gulf Coast so I was totally turned off by it, but the likely frozen or canned crab meat has to be rinsed before it's used.....my salad was a Ceasar which arrived before the appetizer. It was mostly ok, but the lettuce was a little soft and wilted and not as freash as it could have been. Our meals arrived before we were even half way done with the appetizer, which is bothersome and slightly aggrivating. My Shepherds pie had good flavor but very poor presentation. It's usually served with a ground meat base topped with veggies, cheese and fluffy mashed potatoes. This was beef tips with a mushroom gravey which was tasty and topped with vegetables, but there was no cheese and the mashed potatoes were soupy. They should have made the mashed more stiff and fluffy and applied it with a pasty bag and star tip to give a better presentation and allow the edges to brown slightly in the oven. Don't forget to garnish the dish to add some color and depth. As we left we weren't thanked for our patronage or asked to come back. This is one of the most important subtle things that can be done to intise customers to return. It's psychology and it works...

We were here for a banquet, I am not aware of the prices so I can't give input on that. We went on a Saturday night and it looked busy so the parking wasn't great, but we did find a space close to the door because we got there as someone was leaving.

We had a buffet style meal which included appetizers of soft pretzels and corn nuggets, salad and broccoli and cheese soup, entrees were chicken cordon bleu, prime rib, fish (not sure what it was, maybe cod?), sides were mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes, dessert was cheesecake with different sauces to put on (chocolate, caramel, raspberry.) The apps were average+, the soup was very good, the chicken and beef were very good (although when I got through the line, the beef was low and wasn't really even warm although shortly after I left the line they replaced it with a new batch), the fish I didn't try but my husband said it was ok but bland, the mashed potatoes were pretty good and the veggies were average. The cheesecake was good (not amazing, but not bad), it was nice having the variety of sauces. However, I did find eggshell in my cheesecake. Mistakes happen and had I paid for that particular slice I would have said something, but it was buffet and I could have gotten another slice.

The wait staff was very polite and friendly as was the bartender and the hostess. The place looked clean and well kept, the ambiance was nice.

Not knowing the prices, I can't say if I'd return, however I did enjoy my evening...

It was our first time here. We happened to come to visit our friends in town, and this is where our friends took us to. We heard burgers are very good here. Instead of trying their burgers since I had burger and fries on the previous day, I opted for a meatloaf entree with baked potato as the side. I was not disappointed. My meatloaf itself was quite decent (alas not the best I had in terms of flavoring), and it came with a very generous serving of steamed broccoli that was very tasty. Around our table, Cowboy Burger looked delicious and tasted very good per my friend. Mediterranean Salad had a split vote, the down side was unusually hard broccoli. Perhaps it needed to be blanched before serving. Another one was the lack of feta cheese as a substitute for blue cheese (since we were informed they had all kinds of cheeses initially). The spinach was nice and fresh, but tomatoes and nuts were proportionately small. Our server was very pleasant, attentive and friendly. The atmosphere was very good in this place. Overall, it was a very good dining experience with friends. I'll be back if I ever come back...