Restaurants in and around Merrick: Savoy Tavern
Last Saturday night, my friends and I decided to try Savoy Tavern. We had heard that they have a band there on the weekends and that the food was pretty good. I made a reservation on OpenTable and when we arrived at 7 pm, the place was packed — every table was taken and every bar stool was accounted for.
We didn’t have to wait long to be seated. My friends followed the hostess while my husband and I paid for our bar bill. After that, we walked toward the back but didn’t see our friends, so I walked upstairs. They weren’t there but the couple seated closest to the staircase told me that the service was better downstairs. When I finally found my friends, I relayed that message to them.
“That’s good,” Stacy, my friend, said.
We looked at the menu. It was a typical “bar” menu with a few entrees, salads, burgers, mussels and some pastas. We decided quickly but the waitress was nowhere to be found. The place was extremely busy and they obviously didn’t have the right help on a Saturday night to get the job done right. It was dreadfully slow. I just have to say that if we didn’t go with this other couple, we would have picked ourselves up and left, it was that slow. But we didn’t. We sat there and just enjoyed each other’s company.
A couple next to us got their appetizers and then entrees. We were confused. They came in after we did, why are they receiving their meals before us?
My friend, Jimmy, asked the waitress to try out beers while we waited. She brought over a half a dozen shot glasses of beers to test to see which one he liked best. I thought that was awesome. Nice service. But, still no food!
The food finally arrived. Stacy and I had Butternut squash soup, it was yummy! I liked the thickness of it. Funny, Stacy said she preferred it to be thinner. Brian, my husband, had a salad and Jimmy had the short rib appetizer.
After that, Stacy and I split a filet mignon steak, which came with sweet mashed potatoes and string beans. It was excellent but with the soup, the half portion was enough food. I actually couldn’t finish the half portion.
The food was okay and had a nice flavor, but the service was incredibly slow. The Savoy Tavern wasn’t the cheapest place either. Although it was a bar/restaurant, it cost us $100 a couple and that’s with my friend and me sharing a meal. We didn’t get coffee or dessert and had limited alcohol.
Would I recommend? If you don’t mind the noise and you want a happening place that is a little overpriced but nice atmosphere, it may be a good place to frequent.
