Tavern in The Square — Restaurant in West Hartford

We were with a group of 6 later a 7th. Four of us earlybirds sat at the bar ... then 2 young men/coworkers joined and huddled around us and unknowingly sat partially at a table against the bar ... that had a reserved sign on it. Well a man behind the bar rushed over in a fervor ... " you can't sit there ... its reserved ... Obviously! Very gruff and seemed quite angry about 2 young men sitting down. Now yes it was reserved but as our friends came in and were excited... they didn't look or notice. Then he kept looking back glaring & disgusted. Well I am older and much more experienced than my younger friends ... who immediately moved ... no problem. I opened my mouth to let them know I did not appreciate his tone or comment. These were brand new customers ...Obviously. A simple sorry fellas that table is reserved. He also pointed the to 3 chairs completely the furthest away from us, for them to sit at. I said they are with us they're not going over there. Besides they had moved & were fine with standing. Not a word as they complied. But he glared and spoke to them like they were punks. If this is a manager ... he needs managing & customer service skills . If he is an employee he needs training . Nobody refused his wishes, no body complained other than me - the tough old lady . What was his problem, I won't judge but it made me think. We all felt a damper thrown over our party. It was an unkind attitude to take from the get go. He did not like me voicing my distaste either . But buddy boy you met your match. The rest of the evening was fine some food and service very good... some ok. Everything is expensive but I thought this was a bit higher than it needed to be especially throwing in the reprimand. Try it, I'm sure you'll find something you'll enjoy ... like Bang Bang Broccoli. But sadly I started out with a bad taste...

In a word: horrible!

To elaborate: I was here tonight with a group of 7 other people, I'm the only one with (non-classical/non-GI symptom) Celiacs Disease (gluten causes an autoimmune response in my body). I would never recommend those with any food sensitivities or allergies eat here! The fault was definitely not with our waitress, it was definitely the MANAGER. First my plate came out with a piece of pasta on it, but then others at our table were brought dishes with a gluten allergy flags on them. Whaaat??! We pointed this out to the waitress, who alerted the manager. We could see her talking to him as he was brushing off her concerns as they walked past our table without taking my plate. Again, hellooo, whaaat is going on here? They had an animated conversation in the back of the restaurant that left her almost in tears! Then he took my plate, came back again with a flag on it with the piece of pasta STILL on the plate! We pointed that out yet again, then he came back with my plate with the pasta off and flagged, but the food was totally cold. All he did was take that piece off or maybe replate it, nothing more. He never apologized for any mix-up (Who knows why everyone else was brought wrong dishes? The waitress apologized profusely for the kitchen confusion and replaced theirs.) and he wouldn't even look at any of us in the face. Horrible experience, my sympathies to the staff as well. I'd rate ZERO if I could. I get it that no restaurant can 100% guarantee no exposure to allergens -- it's a working kitchen. But the MANAGER didn't care AND obviously lied to us, open disregard. Employee practices and attitudes are top-down. Again, not the waitress' fault, she's got my sympathy. IMO: steer clear...

I'd like to start off by saying this establishment is very cute and very clean.

Definitely a laid back vibe in regards to reservations- can call or make reservations through (open table) which makes it an easy seamless process.

I went to this establishment with a group of 9.

Seating the party before all members arriving is definitely a plus! - great that they do it this way here because some places won't seat you until everyone has arrived!

All staff seemed very nice and pleasant.

My group ordered 2 mimosa towers- excellent

Although the experience was good - the food was lacking in flavor.

The best food item I tried was from the starters menu- cornflake tenders! (Honey mustard sauce)

Also, the cups received on the table looked a little dirty so we did ask for those to be replaced; and they were with no issues.

I'd like to say that the food was genuine very bland- overall

I ordered the tavern burger specifically and can honestly say that the burger was very tasteless in flavor.

Other group members who ordered different things said the same about their meals ( being bland).

We did have to send two meals back as one person asked for over hard eggs but received runny eggs instead and another received a croissant with bacon on it which the person asked the waiter to have removed when placing the order.

This restaurant would've receive more stars had the food been up to par. as the overall experience was good. There is definitely a lot of room for this...