Addams Tavern — Restaurant in Westfield

My overall experience in 2 visits to Addams Tavern is that it has a great ambience and 'scene' however food and service is lacking. I'll start with saying that I'm the type of person that really is into food and its preparation, and I don't value ambience over food quality and service. Other people dine for different reasons, so take my review with a grain of salt knowing where I'm coming from.

Here's my take on the main areas...

Service - overall I don't think the service matches the pricetag and implied quality of the restaurant. What I didn't like: We waited 30-45 minutes for a table after our reservation time (8:15 pm reservation, seated around 8:45) We waited at least 10 minutes to put in a drink order. The cocktail I ordered took at least 15 minutes to come. When it did, it was tasteless, had no garnish to complement the drink, and was lacking in the critical ingredient (vodka). Disappointing when ordering a $13 cocktail. I asked for a new cocktail that was 'stronger' and had to wait another 5-10 minutes. What I liked: The wait staff was very nice, and fixed all of our issues..of which we had many as I'll get into.

Food. Overall I found the food preparation to be pretty lacking, and it did not showcase the quality of food you'd expect in a farm-to-table establishment. Here's a summary of what I've eaten there and what I think: Calamari. Overbattered, overfried, and tasteless. Most pieces didn't even taste like there was calamari inside. Very little aioli type sauce to dress it up. Pork Belly flatbread. I honestly never knew I was eating pork belly. Every bite I had to ask myself, is there pork belly in this bite? I would recommend big unctuous pieces of pork belly that are crisped on the outside Mozzarella and Tomato flatbread. Entirely too much topping. The flatbread was soggy as a result Fried Chicken. I love fried chicken, its one of my favorite dishes. What I didn't like about Addam's Tavern was that they didn't say on the menu that it was a boneless chicken breast that was fried. I wouldn't have ordered it otherwise as I enjoy meat on the bone, and prefer dark meat (or both white and dark). It was pretty bland and had to be eaten with the accompanying sauce. Strip Steak. I asked for it medium rare, and it was medium well. It came 'smoked potatoes' however I could not taste any smokiness from the potato. It also was accompanied with a tomato condiment that resembled homemade ketchup. I didn't care for it because I don't like ketchup with my steak, so I left it alone on the plate Salmon. My wife ordered this. She asked for it closer to well done. It came rare, not even medium rare, but rare. It had to go back. The replacement was rather bland and the accompanying salad was pretty boring and lacking in flavor. Bread pudding. I'm a massive bread pudding fan. I was super psyched to see it on the menu. It was pretty average however, and the coffee caramel sauce was too much and too overpowering. It tasted like melted toffee which was a bit too much for the bread pudding which was much less flavorful. We asked for the coffee caramel to be on the side, however the server poured it over the dessert so we had to request a new one. Sundae. Very little ice cream in this one. Mostly there are chunks of 'stuff' like caramel. So the ice cream to topping, syrup, and peanut butter sauce ratios were off. Effectively it was eating mostly toppings.

We nevertheless had fantastic company for dinner, so we had a great time nonetheless. Unfortunately the restaurant food and service did not meet our...

They’ve captured the atmosphere of an old city tavern and fused it with a trendy SoHo restaurant to make for an excellent dining experience right here in Westfield. From the second you walk in you smell the deep woodsy ambience emulating from their grand wood burning fireplace. It instantly takes me back to memories from my childhood, sitting around a campfire, roasting smores, and telling stories with my family. And that’s exactly what Addams Tavern has become to us, a place where we feel like family and get to make new memories together.

This is a great spot for; Date Nights, Special Occasions, and Sunday Brunch. Actually, it’s become our go to for Sunday brunch. Right after church, we get here around 11:30 AM and quickly get a seat by the fireplace on the first floor or at the bar.

We always order the same things from the menu at brunch: Breakfast Quesadillas and the Black Forest Ham & Cheese Farmers Omelette. The food comes quickly, and the service is very accommodating.

We came here for New Years Eve this past year and really got a chance to dive into their entire menu. There was a group of 6 of us and we started off by trying almost every appetizer they had on the dinner menu. Seriously though we had:

• The Kobe Beef Sliders – Excellent, small enough to not fill you up, cooked medium rare, excellent balance and taste with the Havarti Cheese melted on top (Must Try) • Tuna Tartare – I’m not really a tuna person but it was incredibly fresh and the contrast with the wontons was welcomed. • Fried Calamari – My wife and I are super particular about our Calamari! It has to be perfectly cooked, not too rubbery, and extra tentacles is a plus. Addams did a fair job with their Calamari. The biggest plus was the Siracha Aioli dipping sauce. That stuff can make anything taste amazing! • Shrimp Spring Rolls – Nothing to write home about. Expertly cooked and prepared though. I would skip this one in favor of the Beef Sliders. • Burrata & Tomatoes – And the award goes too….. This is by far our staple every time we go to Addams. They give you an ample amount of Burrata and the bread has a toasty crunch to it, but soft enough to allow the Burrata to melt inside...giving your taste buds a trip to paradise! (This should be the first thing you order!)

For our Main Course we had: • Black Pepper Crusted Salmon – This was amazing. The fish was cooked and seasoned to perfection. The portion is a little more than 8 ounces and definitely enough for left overs. • Harvest Pork Chop – Easily the best pork chop I’ve ever had. Cooked perfectly and served with Mustard Chive Potatoes. IF you’re in the mood for pork, this is a safe bet to be the best meal you’ve had in a long time! • Fried Chicken Rice Bowl – My wife had this and was not impressed. The rice has a really sweet taste to it which threw off the taste of the chicken and veggies. • Duck? – I couldn’t find it on their menu any more, but I’m pretty sure my father in law had Duck and he said it was amazing!

We had the Sweet & Salty Sundae and shared it between a few of us. It was ok, nothing special. My wife doesn’t like chocolate, so the options were kind of limited as to what she could get.

All in all, this restaurant is so good that you’ll come back again and again. If you come for Sunday Brunch you’ll probably see my wife and I! Stop...

Where to begin, oh I know.. Yikes. I’ll start with the positive, the service was excellent. The waitress was very kind and prompt. The drinks were good, great cocktails. The atmosphere was nice but a little loud and crowded inside. Definitely not the place for an intimate dinner or somewhere for conversation to be held if you’re there on a weekend night. The vibe/decor is tastefully done incorporating elements of the Adams Family. Now for the bad stuff -the food. So beyond awful. No one in my party finished their meal. More than half was wasted. They even messed up the fires! While the menu is certainly impressive, unique, and diverse in its own way, it just doesn’t meet expectations. If you’re a seafood lover, this is not the place for you. They don’t claim to be but given the amount of seafood on the menu, it’s worth mentioning. The fish, lobster, and shrimp itself are not seasoned giving it that overly fishy taste. Instead the flavors and taste is heavily reliant on the sauce or other elements in the dish like the sides whether that be vegetables or whatever the case is. The food was so overwhelming under seasoned and lacked flavor in all aspects. The fries were so overcooked, they were a little burnt crunchy and if I didn’t read it on the menu I would not have known they were supposed to be old bay seasoned. The biscuits were also overcooked and dry, it became a crumbly mess. I could go on and on, but I think my point has been made. If you’re someone who has a simple pallet and just popping in for a drink, sure this place works. Definitely don’t go here for the food whether that be the meat or seafood. To sum it up- This is the spot for the folks who think black pepper is spicy, those who think salt and pepper is adequate. At least there’s...