Tavern 17

Doesn't Recommend

razhahack

Joined 9 years ago

Worst Food & Worst Service in the City of Philadelphia!. We eat out a lot in Philly and Tavern 17 was the worst experience we've ever had! We arrived on Christmas Eve with a reservation - the place was pretty empty, maybe this should have been our first clue . We were seated right away and given menus and water - the only good part of the evening. Then after being seated for 20 minutes and no waiter even taking a drink order - we polited asked the hostess if we could just sit at the bar so that we could get a drink and order some food - we never received an apology for the poor service (it's not like they were busy). I asked the bartender about two of the specialty martinis on the menu and he suggested "his specialty martini" instead. Hts specialty was a glass of Irish cream with some choclate syrup - not exactly what I'd call a "specialty martini", another bartender did replace this with a cosmo, which was worse - it was all cranberry juice. The Seafood Cocktail Flight had rubbery scallops and a few broken pieces of baby shrimp with very bland sauces - one was just mayo. The Lamb Sheppard's Pie had NO lamb but did have one big chunk of grizzle. We let the bartender know as politely as possible without sounding liking constant complainers but he did nothing, except ask us at the end of the meal if my husband found any meat yet, to which we answered NO. The bartender then commented, "Well, at least I didn't do anyting wrong." Maybe if he had told the chef to give my husband some meat, he would have done something right! My steak was ordered medium rare (the waitress said to let her know if it's too rare and she can always have it done a bit more) but there was no need for that, it was more medium well than even medium and came with soggy mashed potatos and no veggies. Avoid this place at all costs, there are tons of great restaurants in the city - this one should be closed! I could tell you more about how bad the food and service were but I'm out of room.

Doesn't Recommend

crow2012

Joined 6 years ago

****. ******

Doesn't Recommend

ajc1019

Joined 6 years ago

Avoid Avoid Avoid. My bridal shower was on Saturday so we planned Friday night for a bridesmaid dinner. A couple of the girls couldn't go so it was only 5 of us. Where do I begin? I have NEVER in my life had such an awful dining experience. If it weren't for the girls making each other laugh through it, I may have cried. It took 20 minutes for the server to even ask if we wanted a drink. We noticed the wine flights on the menu and thought it was a fun idea. Another 15 minutes and the waiter came over, putting down several flights, mumbling what they were and then walking away. Another 5 minutes and he took our order, never looking up from his notepad. Our appetizers came out about 40 minutes later- with no side plates. He ran by and put a stack of them down after we were done our apps! Our entrees came out AS we were eating the apps. Our flight and drink glasses were NEVER cleared, even though we ordered, or should I say begged for, several more glasses of wine. We asked to see the manager, who said he'd been slammed with restaurant week and would try to help us out with the bill and thanks for telling him. I told him that it wasn't about money and that I wanted him to know what was going on. Not one person, including the manager, said he/she was sorry. He left the table without clearing ONE glass or plate himself. 3 food-runners came over and each took a plate. The rest of the plates and glasses remained piled on the table. We had to go to the restroom and needed a hotel room key to do so, as it was located in the radisson, which the restaurant connects with. The flatbreads and appetizers were good- or maybe we were just starving, as our reservation was for 8 PM and we weren't served until at least 10 PM. The entrees were mediocre. My friend approached the manager for a 2nd time, in which he asked for the bill and took off $100. It was a nice thing to do- but I'd NEVER return. This place will never last and just lost some potentially VERY loyal customers.

Recommends

tabascodan

Joined 6 years ago

good stuff. The food, drinks, ambiance, decor, atmosphere, service and anything else were 2nd to none. Just one more place in Philly that we lucked into and loved everything about it.