The Tavern Restaurant

Frozen food gone bad.  Sub-par service, no reason to return on my next trip to state college.  Most of the patrons seemed to be older Penn staters re-living their youth.

My wife and i ate dinner at the Tavern during a recent new student orientation for our youngest son.  We had very low expectations for the evening and we were not disappointed.

The restaurant, in appearance and in menu, appears to be stuck in a time warp.  I have no problem with nostalgia and character in a restaurant but this place's menu and food appears to be stuck back in 1970.

My wife ordered the orange roughy and I had a NY strip steak.  The steak was of very poor quality, overcooked, and appeared to be marinated (since 1970) in a vinegar and oil salad dressing.

My wife's fish was anything but fresh.  Frozen and prepared like I remember orange roughy was in the 70's.  The plates even had what looked like an old baked apple slice garnish - quaint?

The meal comes with unlimited sides.  My wife ordered a baked potato with her fish.  While it was not listed on the menu they did bring something out that appeared to be a baked potato - it was extremely hard and unappetizing.  My green beans and almonds were overcooked and soggy.

All in all this place was a disappointment.  Can't see coming back ever.  I am amazed that this place gets away with such poor quality food.  It would never survive in Northern VA.

I ate at The Tavern for the first time last week before the Bob Seger concert. My group had the first seating at 5PM on a Thursday night during Penn State's commencement week, so we beat the rush. Once I was able to find the entrance (it's not in the front, but down an alley to the left if you're looking at the place), things looked good. We were seated immediately by a nice host who helped us find a couple of stragglers (the restaurant is quite large), and were seated by the windows in a smaller room. The server was great, and the unlimited sides were a hit with everyone (you can get as many as you like and then get refills). My steak was good, and my friend's veal parmesan was great. I must've ate at least three servings of their rice pilaf, which was delicious. The Oreo cheesecake that I had for desert was also very good. We all had to drive to our hotels after dinner, so we didn't really try any drinks. The Tavern isn't cheap, but we were looking for someplace nice. The food was good, and the staff was excellent.