They now have two menus: Â one for people with <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fretaurant.com&s=315f51330ae18674548f66cf7ff8eaea613cef5cd3461d4f68100257bb420c35" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://retaurant.com</a> vouches (that are bought btw, not given out) and one for regular customers.
I don't care for limited "special menus" so we won't be back until we hear they've changed this new policy. Â BTW, we visited twice twice before I wrote this review just to be sure of what I'm reporting.. Â
The special menu is like a shorthand version of a meal, so you aren't entitled to their salad with your entree and don't expect a vegetable with it either.
Frankly I don't care for this new turn because I like little salads and the option of a cup of soup sometimes, and I am fond of veggies with my meat. Â This isn't a high end restaurant where I am expected to order everything a la carte. Â
When I asked our server if they had any fish, I was told it wasn't available for customers using the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> voucher. Â And btw you can't use those vouchers for the specials either.
To start your meal off with a bang there's a disclaimer ON the menu about the coupon menu RULES. Â So you start off reading a couple of paragraphs about what you can't have and what you can. Â Basically, what it really is is an extended excuse to not give you the customer the option to order what someone else at the next table is ordering. Â
IMO, this is stupid. NO ONE wants to be treated differently, especially people who use coupons. Â If we ate out ONLY to save money, we'd eat cheaper food. Â We invest in these coupons way in advance so when we want to eat out, it's partially paid for.
My message to HRC management: Â STOP THE CHARADE - either RAISE YOUR PRICES. OR DON"T BUY INTO <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRESTAURANT.COM&s=795d54df2b56c4c52f296435efa2e968696e365d44de9ab42f0ca48a4580a938" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://RESTAURANT.COM</a> VOUCHERS. Â
FOODWISE my husband's ribs were dry, my pot roast came with too much fatty gristly meat. Â No salad (we could BUY one). Â No vegetables. Â I assume we could buy those too. Â I'm surprised we got a piece of bread. Â No water although I asked. Â So we definitely got the feeling they're giving the shaft to the "discounters" . Apparantly if you want their regular normal good food, next time don't use a coupon. Â
This all is going over with us like a lead sinker. Â We ended up paying quite a lot for one appetizer, two entrees and drinks (minus the $25 coupon WE PAID FOR, plus tip is factored in at 20%.) Â So we won't be back which is kind of sad because we considered it a decent local place to eat. Â
oh well...
Came here after a day in Manchester geocaching & flying kites with the kids. Â We were famished and in search of pizza. Â When the place we tried to go to had a 30 minute wait, we ventured to <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> and ended up here.
From the outside appearance, I wasn't sure if this place would be appropriate for kids, and after 9pm it's probably not, but at 6pm it was fine and the inside was actually nicely appointed for a meal.
We were sat, and immediately the host asked if we were using a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate (they must get alot), i replied, "Yes", and we were handed "coupon menus". Â Coupon menus?? WTF. Â
I asked my brother-in-law to reach behind him and get me a "regular" menu, as i suspected they were raising the prices or something. Â They weren't, phew! Â But they were restricting some of the higher priced dishes, like Filet Mignon. Â If one were to use a $25 GC from <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a>, and order the filet, and 2 beers, you could walk out w/ tax & tip for about $16 (that's a steal).
So we settled on shared apps for the table. Â Buffalo wings, nachos & sausage grinder.
Everything was pretty delicious. Â The wings were perfectly spicy and crispy, but still tender & juicy on the inside. Â The sausage grinder had great flavor, and the sauce was really good. Â
The nachos were exactly how nachos should be, piled high, still crispy and not drowned in toppings, but not skimped either.
Service wasn't exactly outgoing, but was prompt & courteous.
$33 w/ tax & tip after our $25 GC, not a bad deal. Â If i'm in the area i would return.
When will I find a Rest. that I'll want to re visit!!! Foil Butter!! How long does it take to whip butter and pipe it into small ramikins, bread (cold) chewy and dull. Ordered Cod, bland, with!!! a field green salad, canned mandarin oranges on the same hot plate as my fish!!! Should not set my expectations so high?? anymore.
Ed M, CIA, '81
our very own neighborhood bar! Â my husband and I recently moved to manchester and we were happy to realize that we are just a few turns away from here! Â
good selection of beer on tap. Â friendly bartenders and waitstaff. Â we love the big fire place!! Â we went last night to try out the food. Â i ordered the french onion soup which was delicious!! a big crock of it full of cheese and onions and bread! Â it was delicious!! Â for dinner i ordered the pot roast. Â not something i would normally order, but it seemed like a good idea for a cold night. Â and i was right, it was really good!! pot roast was cooked perfectly and it was served with mash potatoes and broccoli. Â i was so full from the soup i had to bring most of it home! Â my husband ordered a chicken pasta dish which was also delicious. Â our waitress was nice and efficent and the beers were great!!
we definetly plan on going back and bringing friends!! i cant wait for the warm weather and the patio to open!! Â
order more kegs of  lagunitas!!
The Hartford Road Cafe is kind of a biker bar... just know that ahead of time.
This usually means the priority goes to the beer, and not the food. The meal served to us was decent, but it was really nothing special. I had a buffalo chicken wrap with some fries, very basic indeed.
And of course, the crowd stinks. Mostly consisting of smelly old men and smelly young softball teams, The Hartford Road cafe is not exactly the place to host your wedding reception. Additionally, this place is way too dark. Don't get me wrong, I like mood lighting and all, but when you can't see your food, it becomes an issue.
Our waitress was super nice, and the meal was cheap, so there is some redeeming value there, but on more occasions than not, I'd pick another place.
I went here on a second date with my, now, girlfriend. Â She raved about their wings (the current main photo for the restaurant is actually one she posted), though we didn't eat. Â We had a couple drinks and everything was okay. Â Nice selection of beers and reasonably priced (I got an Arrogant Bastard and I think it was only $5... not bad). Â If I'd never gone back it would probably have gotten at least 3 stars from me (again, food untested). Â
Unfortunately I went back a second time a few months later, again for just a quick drink. Â
The drinks came out quickly but it took forever to get the bill. Â I think we waited about half an hour with empty glasses before my impatience became somewhat more vocal and the bill finally arrived. Â A loss of stars for poor service.
Our waitress was beyond rude. Service was incredibly slow. Our request to evenly split the bill three ways was received with the response "well that's new." This challenge took her over 20 minutes to complete.
The food was mediocre. Wings were good.
Outdoor ambiance was ruined by the less-than-charming neighbors and busy road.
Living in Manchester for a year renting a place off of East Center St (I now own a house in East Hartford, CT), I frequented Hartford Road (the street) for DQ and Hartford Road Pizza. I never thought of going into the Hartford Road Cafe because outside it looked like a 'local dive/biker bar' where you get starred at when you walk in if they don't know you. But this image couldn't be farther from the truth.
Before a CT Whale game with my brother, I went here for dinner and drinks. After parking in the back of the restaurant, I noticed a lot of cut wood stacked up against the fence maybe thinking they did some kind of wood oven for bread or pizza. We entered the restaurant through the front door and were greeted with a choice of dining room or bar area. We turned left and found two seats at the end of the bar available. After looking around the place for a couple minutes, it's a very cozy little spot that you could take a date or go with the family. The owner was putting the split logs I mentioned earlier into the fireplace which was a nice touch. We sat down and were greeted by the bartender, her name slips my mind.
I grabbed a couple Otter Creek: Copper Ales (love the VT microbrews) and a menu. Not knowing what kind of food to expect at this restaurant, I was very pleased to see old school italian favorites on the menu. For an appetizer we ordered fried calamari and caesar salads. The calamari was very tender and cooked perfectly with sliced cherry peppers and served with marinara sauce. The caesar salad was a caesar salad, it's hard to mess those up.
For dinner, I ordered Linguine White with Clams and my brother ordered Chicken Marsala. Having enjoyed this meal several hundred times over the years in the famed Little Italy district of Franklin Avenue in Hartford, CT I was pleased to find out that there actually was an experienced Chef behind the line in the kitchen who had worked in the same restaurants I enjoyed this meal many times before.
The clams in the dish I received were fresh, tender and cooked perfectly. The pasta was al dente which shows me that the pasta is cooked to order instead of ahead of time before service. The chicken in my brothers dish was juicy and accompanied by a delicious marsala sauce and mushrooms. After having finished dinner, we were offered a couple free drinks by the owner but regretfully and thankfully declined as we were running late for the hockey game.
I'm sorry John R had a bad experience, but I would recommend this place to him and anybody who reads this review. Enjoy!
After seeing a 4 star rating here at Yelp and checking out the menu online, which included such goodies a prime rib and seafood alfredo, we decided to give the Hartford Road Cafe a visit.  We called and got reservations that evening.  When we arrived, the photocopied, stapled together menu we received carried the notification that the kitchen was under reconstruction.  All there was to eat was basically sandwiches, burgers, and similar pub food.  Why the person taking the reservation did not inform us of this is a mystery, but it was unacceptably  fraudulent.  Needing to make a play and without time to go elsewhere, I ordered the chile-cheese nachos and my wife ordered about the only nonpub-food option available, shepherd's pie.  One was blah, the other awful.  The nachos featured bag tortilla chips (Tostitos, I think), not the fresh-made chips offered (at a similar price - $9.95) by  restaurants with pride.  The chile was lacking in both quantity and taste.  I'd rate the dish a C.  Worse yet was the shepherd's pie.  I have a sense that they pan fired a bit of hamburger and a little onion, plopped it in the bottom of a baking dish, dolloped some mashed potatoes that had been sitting around way too long on top, and gave in a quick top brown under a broiler.  The result was dry and tasteless.  My wife wouldn't eat most of it, but in the interest of full disclosure I will admit that we brought it home and our dog liked it just fine.  Only because the mashed potatoes were real and the meat not rancid does the shepherd's pie get a D, not an F.  The one drink we had, a martini, was overpriced and unexceptional.  Maybe this place is better when its kitchen is on line, but they should have shut down the food altogether rather then embarrass themselves or at least had the common courtesy to inform  people before they came of the restaurant's culinary distress.  The only bright spot was the very nice young server who had the good grace to express regret over the numerous shortcomings.
Review Source:I live within walking distance to this cafe and prior to visiting it, I had dubbed it the "biker bar" because there are often motorcycles sitting out front.  Didn't think it would be my kind of place so I never went in.  I finally visited it for the first time a few months ago with a date (who seems to love hole in the wall dive bars so it was perfect for him!) and we have been back a few times since.  It's obviously a local watering hole with tons of regulars who all seem to know each other.  Not just a biker hangout, it seems to be mostly 30-somethings and up.  They have had bands almost every time I've been in - including on the outdoor patio which is the best feature of the place for me as I'm a fan of outdoor seating on beautiful summer nights.  The food is okay.  Nothing spectacular, but  the wings are delicious!  The wait staff is excellent.  Even on our second visit, the waitress remembered us and remembered what we drank.  That's good service.  I would recommend this place to any locals around Manchester or even if you're just passing through and looking for a comfortable, friendly atmosphere where "everybody knows your name".
Review Source:To start, let me say I've always been a fan of this place, though I'm a bit biased since it's so nearby. Â Either way, it can be a good choice if you're looking for a place to hang out with your friends and not be crowded out, or yelling just to hear each other. Â There's a patio too, which will be even nicer once the weather warms up and STAYS that way.
Most recently I've gone in for a couple hours on the weekend, and came to find out they had a live band playing (which is apparently always the case on Fridays/Saturdays?). The last one was really good, particularly the guitarist. Between the two most recent trips I recall hearing covers of Petty, STP, Pearl Jam, Weezer, Jet, etc.
Food:
The loaded nachos are still bangin, and I had a burger recently that was very nicely done and for once a reasonable size, unlike the behemoths at other places. I had the South of the Border burger. The jalapenos on it could have been crisper and hotter, but the rest was perfect.
Insider Info:
Parking behind the building and in front of it on the street can get full quickly, but there's a perpendicular road (like if you walked out the front door, crossed the street and kept going) that you can park on. Â Don't bottom out in one of the driveways though - I just go to the next intersection and pull a U.
Definitely what you would call a 'local's bar'. Â Right off Rt 384 on Hartford Rd. this little bar has surprisingly good food and a very cozy/warm atmosphere. Â Often go in the winter time for some casual drinks w/ a group of friends. Â Fireplace is usually on in the colder months. Â If looking for a 'hole in the wall' to enjoy some laughs with people you most likely grew up with in Manchester, this is the place to run into them. Â I'd compare it to a Manchester version of 'Cheers.'
Review Source:
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