The Tavern Grille

Decent place for lunch.  Not very memorable, but decent.

Located in downtown Cottonwood we stopped by here for lunch on the way to Tuzigoot National Monument.  It's a small bar/restaurant with a nice, modern tavern feel.  We sat at the bar and ordered:

Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich, $10.99
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Prime Rib Melt, $10.99
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Deschuttes Pale Ale, $4
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Butte Porter, $4
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The Pale Ale and Porter was perfect since it was blazing hot outside...it was very refreshing and tasty.  The Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich is huge and stacked with toppings...very messy, but good.  The Au Jus that comes with it adds a lot of flavor to an already good Sandwich.  The Prime Rib Melt is even better....actually, it's pretty amazing.  I'm surprised more restaurants haven't developed this Sandwich....it's so simple and tasty.

The bartender who served us was very friendly and on point.  We only had time for 1 drink, but if we come back to Cottonwood, we'll definitely come back to hangout a while longer.

Return Factor - 90%

I was tempted to come here for dinner during a recent visit to Cottonwood.  Tavern Grille is located smack in the middle of Old Town Cottonwood and it's a very nice location.  Most restaurants in Cottonwood have patio for outside dining during the nicer months in AZ - anywhere between Oct and April - and Tavern Grille has a patio right to the side of the building as well as one right of the curb in front of the establishment.  This restaurant is connected to the Tavern Hotel, which is next door.  It's an old building that had been completely rehab'ed with modern decor on the inside.

After a hot day of driving and walking around, the raspberry lemonade and the salad that preceded my dinner were exactly what the doctor ordered.  I had high hope for the main entree based on mini breadsticks served with herb infused whipped butter. I ordered the grilled salmon with cream artichoke topping and cheddar mashed potatoes on the side.  Yes, that does sound very nice.  However, upon arrival, the food was just average and a bit on the salty side.  Very anti-climatic for what I had just experienced minutes ago ...  I supposed Tavern Grille does put up a decent effort, but obviously not aiming high enough.  Definitely worth another visit with a different entree order to really rate this establishment.  Since I don't live in Cottonwood, I guess the next update for Tavern Grille is not going to be any time soon.  But for now, a solid 3-star is all I can truly rate.