Blue Tavern — Restaurant in Tallahassee

On Friday- March 17th. 2023, my husband and I were excited to seek out the best venue in town to celebrate St. Patty's Day (sans the crazy college crowd), yet with traditional Irish fare, perhaps some green beer and a pleasant/festive atmosphere. We researched quite a few places & decided to meet @ the Blue Tavern after work, as their website listed everything we were looking for, & we had never been there before. My husband arrived first, he went inside and read the daily specials to me via telephone, as I was finishing up one last task at work. Thankfully, my office was only (5) minutes away & I quickly ventured to meet my husband for what I was hoping would be a lovely evening. Unfortunately, in the (5) minutes it took me to arrive right after work @ approximately 5:30PM, the specials were all gone, and staff hadn't taken a moment to update the small whiteboard over the bar area to indicate the few remaining items left on the menu! We decided to stay anyway, as there was an awesome traditional Irish band playing traditional gaelic music & the place seemed most quaint. The bartender, seemed very aloof, and not personable or welcoming at all! She went out of her way (not) to make eye contact with us, or most patrons for that matter and was very curt with everyone's inquiries. Despite her rough demeanor, we were already there and hungry and decided on the St. Valance St. soup and a simple grilled ham & cheese on rye. The soup was utter perfection, as was the sammie, & we promptly thanked the cook (when he took a break from the kitchen), for the delicacies we had thoroughly enjoyed! Unfortunately, for the first time in 30+years of celebrating this joyous holiday of our people/homeland, there was no green beer, corned beef w/cabbage & potatoes, no Irish stew, soda bread or Shepard's pie to be had, until we celebrated a "do over" at home the next day, and we won't soon return to the Tavern unless the bartender is gone, as she seemed green, she was a terrible representation of what a "cozy Irish pub" should be, nor does she have any business in the service industry, as she was incapable of smiling or being friendly w/anyone, or offer any semblance of genuine customer service! Infact, she was down right rude & made our experience quite uncomfortable &...

I had been looking for a Jazz spot when I found the Blue Tavern. And while it's a nice place, I came away slightly disappointed. First off, the service was excellent. The bartender served as both drink maker and waitress. Attentive, friendly and personable. Even the band that night was very friendly and willing to talk during their intermission between songs. This part of my experience was very pleasurable and IMO makes this a nice location as a watering hole. Now for the bad. The restaurant is extremely small. Which makes for a great environment for intimacy. But leaves a lot to be desired for enough space to move, dance or not feel claustrophobic. Furthermore, the drink and food selection was a little limited. While there was a nice variety of beers and spirits (and even wine) to be had, nothing really stuck out as a plus to drink. Also, if you have a taste for any food aside from salads and sandwiches, look elsewhere. While it's understandable that such a small venue would only offer such a limited selection, it leaves few options to get excited about. Lastly was the music. While it was very early during my visit, I was looking for a nice, smooth jazz band to enjoy (considering Google recommended it as such). Yet I was met with a Folksy, Country, 2 man offering. Again they were nice and played well. But that was NOT my desired music fair and kind of let me down. All in all, if you are looking for a cool, pre party watering hole, or just a nice "hang out" spot to unwind alone or gather with maybe a couple of friends over drinks, Blue Tavern is the spot for you. However, if you're looking for a place for a romantic date, or a music selection that goes beyond the Southern Niche of country music; you're better off...

[edit in January 2024]: Went here for takeout of a Ukrainian food special on a Saturday. I was very disappointed not to be able to order ahead of time or in any way other than walking in, standing in line, and then waiting, maybe especially because they were out of almost everything before 7pm, but the pierogi, brown bread that was like really good dense pumpernickel with raisins, and layered chocolate "Ukraine cake" were all excellent. Staff were very efficient and friendly dealing with what was apparently much more of a slamming than anticipated. Definitely going back soon!

Awesome bartender. Limited but very good/diverse beer selection. Food was a good bit better than what I think of as bar food, with a tasty gumbo, a decent but mustard-deficient Cuban sandwich, classic but small-for-the-price grilled cheese, and a tasty tomato soup. Tomato soup and one other item were vegan, which is impressive for a 7 item menu. Small, but comfortable/cozy place atmosphere-wise that was great for talking early on and then good local music. I can't believe that I drove past it almost every weekday for two years and had no idea it was there til a week ago, but they apparently just put up a good sized sign. If it was primarily a restaurant or a larger bar, I would give it 3-4 stars, but for a small comfy bar with better than average food, it was really good and I'm...