My boyfriend and I live in the neighborhood and we love supporting local businesses. When we saw the Atwater Village Tavern was opening up, we thought, "Perfect! The neighborhood needs a great new bar!" I haven't even been here yet and my experience has already been horrible.
We have walked to the Tavern 4 different occasions, because YELP and their voicemail said they were open for business. All 4 times, it has been closed. If you are not open when you say you are, please change your hours accordingly. It doesn't set a precedence of consistency or care for your neighborhood. We want to support you, but so far, you have only given us a reason to go elsewhere.
Awesome bar. Great beer selection, really great variety. My boy likes brown ales and I like fruity beers and we both found beers that we LOVE, big plus. The atmosphere hits the perfect balance of laid back but still a nice looking place. I'm not a dive lover or for the fancy places. I also love that there are a variety of seating options (1) in the front, semi-outside nice for fresh air (2) inside at the bar or across from the bar with good views of the TV (3) towards the back where its a little quieter and they have a chalk board wall. Good service too. For food, we just had the avocado fries, which were deep-fried pieces of avocado, which I don't think worked so well, but I'll try something else next time. Its also in a good location. Its on a cute street that's nice to walk around with other cafes/restaurants. Parking is easy. I love that this place isn't trying to hard. All in all I would definitely go back for the beer and good atmosphere.
Review Source:Did the area need another gastropub/tavern? YES. Because that means people will stay away from my usual hangouts.
It's a small space, but it definitely looks nice in there. They have a great selection on tap and the service was great too. The speakers were acting up, which is the only sign I saw of their recent opening. Their food menu was pretty limited. Mostly Mexican - tacos, quesadillas, nachos, a few good selections for snacks (avocado fries, potato strings, grilled corn). Their tacos come in orders of three, so I asked if one could be substituted for veggies but they said no substitutions. Boo. Luckily, Hugo's is just down the street so I got to have my veggie taco after all. =)
Was excited to see a new place open up in Atwater. Â It has all the trappings of a cool gastropub - great location, atmosphere, and solid beer selection. Â The food is a bit low brow however. Â The tacos were tasteless but edible, the fries were cold. Â The chicken wings were tasty but the meat was medium quality at best. Â I have hope that they will turn it around on the food because it's a really great environment to chill with friends. Â
Oh, and to those worried about gentrification of the neighborhood, A it's already happened so stop whining, and B. I don't think this place is to blame...there's a place down the street where you pay $4 for a drip coffee - and it's always packed...so blame them.
Finally They opened. Our Run club Group has been anxiously been waiting for this place to open ever since they wrote the word "Tavern" outside. They havent officially had their Grand Opening but the fact that they finally opened is a BIG relief and they didn't Disappoint! The Owners of Metro Fitness and Stop, Guac n' Roll provided a great place to hang out and have have choice brew! Brought about 30 friends from the local running store, A Runner's Circle to "rehydrate" from our weekly run. Staff and Management were very accommodating  and friendly. For a place that hasn't really marketed and had a Grand Opening this place is buzzing. As far as the gastro treats they are fabulous! Can you say $5 PBR with El Jimador shot? or Golden Road Kolsch and Whiskey for $9? Enough said. Food is fantastic , and most of their menu is geared towards healthy but tasty!  Can't wait for the Grand Opening. We just hope that we can squeeze in as this place is getting popular FAST..real Fast! Great addition to ATWATER VILLAGE.!!
Review Source:Fun new place to grab a drink in the neighborhood. Â They still have some kinks to work out re: the food, i.e. refusal to cook burgers under medium - came out med-well even, cold fries, and a web menu that doesn't match the paper one. Â But this sort of thing can be expected from a newly established restaurant. Â Good pulled pork burrito. Â Interesting take on modern california fresh-mex (read: hipster-mex).
Nice to see another full-bar hang out spot open up walking distance from the house.
Well I have always said it will be interesting to see what restaurant convinces me to join Yelp. Unfortunately it was because of a terrible first experience.
Just a helpful bit, when you open a place and there is a process to order such as this where it is at the counter, a greeter is important. Another way around this is telling staff to politely tell people the process when entering. Also, put menus in a visible place, not tossed around an ordering counter.
Alright so my experience wasn't wonderful at all and this is why I became so particular. I went up to the order sign where I stood for 5 minutes with the order taker taking 1 persons order. The computer system didn't have an item listed so she had to ask assistance which nobody could help her. Poor girl. Then during this the two bar tenders were literally standing there doing nothing. Seeing two people standing in line with more lining up. Then after a long bit the bar tender goes up to the person behind me and says hey are you ordering food too? The patron responds with yes but he's ahead of me. The bar tender says no I will help you. You have a tab. That guy hasn't ordered anything yet so I am not going to help him. So with the long wait and ride staff you can understand why it was a shit experience. Then ordering tacos there are a variety of fillings and three tacos. Is it that hard to allow a combination? It's not like the meat is made to order. It's prepped and is tossed on a grill. Why not give the option? Then the drinks take a good long time to come to the table. Just a helpful health hint. When a can of beer is accompanied with a glass don't stick the bottom of the beer in the glass. That's where is it sitting on surfaces. Turn the glass upside down on top of the can. Simple fix and rookie mistakes. Next the food comes. Tortilla chips yet no salsa or hot sauce to be found any where? Not only was the burrito I ordered the smallest burrito I have seen, it was way over priced. If you charge that much don't serve a kid size burrito. Or serve that size and charge $8. That's the price point. Also, if you cut a burrito with foil around it. Make sure you use a sharp knife. I had to pick the foil out of my burrito on my second half. This leads me to believe that it was in the first but I didnt think I had to quality check my food. Isnt that what an expediter does? As I said not condiments like hot sauce etc. The tacos were decent but if you have different meats have different flavors to accompany it. You can get much better tacos with unique flavors for cheaper all over town. With all of these mistakes and mishaps it was no shocker to overhear other people complaining.
The setting is great but only for people sitting at the bar and benches. It is a narrow restaurant. You pointed the tables the wrong way. Face them to the front or back so people don't have to crank all the way around to see TVs or what is around them. People like ambiance not looking at a cheap fake brick wall that used tile putty to put it together rather than cement (which would give it an authentic feel). Feels like rookie mistakes all around and somebody just trying to pinch a little more margin of profit out of patrons rather than providing a quality product with good service. Reminds me of an old saying "pinching the Nickel until the buffalo shits."
When leaving the restaurant it was no surprise to see the owner standing outside chatting it up with the security guard because if he was taking an active roll rather than hanging out he might see there are major issues going on.
I'm really excited to hear that the "Stop Guac and Roll" taco truck was opening a full location! I've seen pictures and it looks like its going to be awesome place to have a few brews at! Their tacos were always yummy. Every Friday nights on Magnolia blvd. in Burbank they'd set up post with dozens of other food trucks during the summer. Always had to get at least one!!
Review Source:apparently atwater is the new sherman oaks/studio city. upper middle class white people will like this, as they can (and have been) buying out the working class families here. the village tavern just cements the deal. you'll see a lot of penny loafers with khaki shorts and button down shirts at this place. it's a shame they don't recognize the neighborhood. decent beers on tap. i can't comment on the food.
goodbye atwater character! hello gentrification! (though i'll admit the bikram yoga and outrageously priced "village farm" beat them to it).
Being that I live a block away, I've been eagerly awaiting the opening of this place. Â I've been by a few times to try out the Stop Guac and Roll food truck and just really wanted to pair it with a nice draught beer! Â Finally got to check it out last night during the soft opening. Â The beers on tap are great (plus they have an extensive selection of bottled beers), service was friendly and the food was yummy. Â Got the boneless chicken wings, pulled pork tacos, a Stone Pale Ale and Monkish Oblate for $31. Â Shall be spending the rest of summertime enjoying this place.
Review Source:I've been excitedly waiting for this place to open. I was fortunate enough to attend their soft opening last weekend and it was just as awesome as I had anticipated. Despite how packed it was we were served quickly, food and drink prices were affordable and delicious.
AVT has a really great atmosphere. The owner was there and he seems really cool, and the staff was really friendly. AND OMG THEY HAVE A CHALKBOARD WALL! Great selection of music, as well as a Jukebox/photobooth.
Judging by that first night, I think it's going to be a great addition to Atwater.
It's always lovely when a Yelper who has more time on their hands decides to create a business Yelp for a business that has YET to open. Seems like a lot of words are being thrown out there, words that are not true (c'mon, Costco...really?) and very damaging to an upcoming business's reputation.
So let me sum it up for all the yelpers to come (who can then make their own opinion). I'm a fellow Atwaterian, that has watched this bar blossom - Â a bar that ranked Top 3 on LA.eater's article, "LA's Most Anticipated Spring and Summer Openings". Every time I stopped to grab a bite from the food truck, there is always a crowd of folks asking the owner, Maurice, "WHEN IS THIS PLACING OPENING, F'REAL??" To which I was told, end of June, after they make this place looking like it was always meant to be. Atwater needs a new, chill, modern looking bar to come grab a drink at after work - and this is the new spot for me.
If you love beers from local breweries (to name a few: Golden Road, Angel City, New Belgium, Monkish, and more), if you love awesome artwork, and if you love mouth-watering Mexican and BBQ dishes - along with delicious veggie-friendly dishes - then you'll love Village Tavern. See you there! :)
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