Village Tavern

Not a place to have a catered event. Not very impressed with the private party event. The cheese tray looked like I could have gone to Costco and bought a bag of square cheese and put it on a platter. There were only 2 kinds of little square block cheese and carrotts and celery, they called that a veggie tray and they charge $10.00 a person for that! Are you kidding me! The patio is nice.…

Good food but GREAT atmosphere and service. My wife and I went to Village Tavern last night for our first "date" night since our newest addition was born 4 weeks ago. I have been to it numerous times in the past and this experience is fairly typical.

I had some great wine and our appetizer was very good (Spinach Tortilla Dip). My wife had the Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad and said it was pretty good. I had the BBQ pizza - always very good.

But what made the night so great was sitting out on the patio on (what has become a rarity) a nice fairly cool night and we had a wonderful server (named "Brittany" I think). She was conversational but not overly talkative or intrusive, met our every need and was right there with drinks and advice (when needed). It was a wonderful experience...…

Great Outdoor Seating, Mediocre Food. Had dinner on Friday evening at the Village Tavern in Southpark. I have dined here dozens of times over the past couple of years and every time nothing stands out to me. We had made reservation for inside at 7pm, because they do not take reservations for outdoor seating. Not to blamed for as people take their time when sitting outside and they cannot guarantee a table at certain times. Upon arriving, we checked with the outdoor hostess and she said that there should be a table ready shortly. Ten minutes later, we were seated.

For an appetizer we ordered the fried calamari which is always fantastic. It comes with a tangy and spicy glaze for dipping which is a nice contrast from the light flavor and texture of the calamari rings.

For main course my girlfriend ordered the Greek flatbread. She said she thought it was OK, but when I tried a piece it was very bland and dry. I know that chicken and feta on a piece of bread with an olive compote is not the most thrilling of culinary adventures, but it just seemed like something was missing all around. I had ordered the shrimp risotto which was just "O.K." as well. The risotto came with 6 medium shrimp which was a fair portion. It was cooked with sauteed spinach and roma tomato slices. The main problem I had with the risotto was that it was basically a soup being that there was way too much liquid in the bowl it was served in. Aside from being a soupy consistency, the flavor and portions were on mark.

The problem with Village Tavern in my opinion is that they suffer from "large menu syndrome". Cheesecake factory is huge victim to this as well. Restaurants try to make a menu so diverse and large so they can draw in more people, but the quality of the food goes down because they have so much to prepare. The ingredients are not as fresh, portions of meals are prepared way ahead of time and just loses quality immediately.

The patio is a great place for summer drinks and a casual dinner with friends and/or family. Inside dining is nice but small area so make reservations or you could be waiting for a while. Drink specials are always pretty good for a restaurant, especially on Thursdays for 1/2 off all liquor drinks.…