Kevin AdamsReview ofThe City Tavern
Overpriced food, mediocre service. Our group was 5...
Overpriced food, mediocre service. Our group was 5 people. We arrived on time for our reservation but were told we'd have to wait maybe 15 minutes. No problem, we'll have a drink at the bar. The cramped bar area had only unclean tables. After a couple of awkward minutes, a waitress cleaned an area for us and we were able to sit down. Not 10 seconds after sitting, we were told our table was ready. Good news, but disorganized.
We waited about 5 minutes for water and to place drink orders, then another 5 minutes for drinks to arrive. We placed appetizer and entree orders. The appetizers took about 30 minutes to arrive. I had the crab cakes. Two cakes ($12) came, looking quite burnt. The crust was fried and too thin, providing no crunch and little texture. The filling was quite good, with adequate crab meat, but little contrasting flavor. It was a bit of a shaped mushy thing.
I ordered the venison. I was asked how I'd like it cooked, and I replied as rare as possible. My colleague who ordered the same said well done. After waiting for 30 minutes for the appetizers, the mains came out relatively quickly. But they were a disappointment. First, both venisons came at the same time, but without regard to who ordered their meat, obviously no regard to temperature preferences. Both were obviously overcooked, even for well done and I had wanted rare. The serving sizes were small, with 3 or 4 small bits of venison ($34), some zucchini, mushrooms, and cooked barley. While the accompaniments were tasty, they plus overcooked tasteless venison wasn't worth $10, much less 3.5 times as much.
Really the only thing I very much enjoyed was the beer. Stay away from the food!!

Comments: