The Marsh Tavern — Restaurant in Manchester

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. We were so looking forward to this visit. This was the first stop on our five day vacation in Vermont that we have been waiting for all year. We had been enticed by the menu and the positive reviews online, so we decided to make our first stop lunch at the Marsh Tavern. We were seated by a very friendly hostess but unfortunately, that was the last positive experience we had during our visit. The second my husband sat down, he recoiled in horror and came away with adhesive all over his arms from the slipcover. He excused himself to the restroom and furiously tried to scrub it off(it was there for another day). I then used the restroom(which was very clean) and while I was gone, our server approached my husband and said "Do you know what you want?" No hello, how are you, no introduction or even a smile. We haven't even seen a menu? My wife isn't even here? He was so taken aback, he stammered something about me being in the restroom, but ordered a drink. At the same time as I sat back down, our server re-approached and looked blankly at me for a second, then, "Did you want a drink too?" The food came quickly, and quite frankly, while the bread box was a nice touch, that was the best of what we ate. To say that the food was incredibly disappointing would be an understatement.

Nothing had flavor.

I couldn't believe they're charging that much for a dish that my 4 year old nephew could've made. When we vacation, we seek out fine dining. I photograph/document our travels through our meals and I took no pictures here.

The tomato soup was cold and literally tasted like marinara sauce. My "artisan grilled cheese" was nothing more than two thin slices of bread, barely toasted, with a single piece of cheese in the middle. My husband's flatbread was bland, and soggy on the bottom. We were never checked in with, never had our waters refilled and was never asked if my husband would like another drink. Despite us leaving more than 50% of our meals on our plates, our server never acknowledged it; we had to ask for the check.

As we were leaving, I overheard another guest telling the hostess that their coffee was cold and then watched her search for and relay the message to our server. Guys, you can not run a business this way. Twenty years in customer service had me itching to ask for the manager, but refrained. We paid our bill and gratuity, and left with bad tastes in our mouths; figuratively and literally. Will, never...

The menu looked fantastic, but the food did not deliver. I had the charcuterie, the French onion soup, and the duck breast with heirloom carrots. My wife had the fettuccine with clam sauce. Charcuterie was ok. The 4 tiny, tiny slices of duck prosciutto on the plate had an off taste to them, almost as though it had spoiled. The merguez sausage was tasty, and the chorizo was ok. The soup was pretty bland. Needed salt and pepper. The lack of seasoning continued into my entree. My duck breast was undercooked, but tasty. The skin was flacid and the fat wasn't rendered very well. I was told it is served medium rare, but it was very rare. Despite that, the flavor was good. The carrots looked cooked, but were still very crunchy. I tried cutting one with a fork and could not get through it. They should have been blanched before roasting. The duck had a "foie gras duck sauce" that was under reduced and bland. It had the same off taste that the duck prosciutto had. It definitely didnt taste like foie. Honestly, i couldnt tell you what it tasted like, it almost had no flavor. The wild rice and wheatberries on the dish were cooked nicely, but again lacked seasonings and flavor. My wife's fettuccine smelled fantastic, but was under seasoned and we both felt the sauce to pasta ratio was way off. Needed more pasta and less sauce. The desserts were both very good, but presentation was lacking. Being a chef and a lover of fine dining, I was just disappointed. The menu seems ambitious, but not executed properly. If I had to guess, the chef was off last night and I got an underling without proper training. I think they should either step up their game to meet the expectations that the menu gives diners, or drop the prices to reflect the level of food being served. For what I paid, I should have been blown away by my food, not leaving...

I had high hopes for the Marsh Tavern however when we arrived the hostess stand was empty so we walked in after waiting a few minutes to be seated. We found the hostess who was neither friendly or helpful.

When seating us she was very curt and when I asked for a paper menu because I did not have my cell phone on me the host is proceeded to go do multiple other tasks until I asked 10 minutes later for the menu again. The next family also had the same experience as we did being seated. The mother had to asks the customers who were eating if we sat ourselves after she waited patiently over ten minutes for the hostess.

The food was lackluster and certainly not worth the price tag that came with it.

The only good experience we had at the Marsh tavern was with our waitress who was knowledgeable and very attentive.

Hopefully this was a bad day for them but overall, we wish we...