Tavern Law review (from opening night)
The following my 4 star Yelp review for Tavern Law on opening night.
After months of buzz & hype, Tavern Law finally opened and I decided to check it out with my friends. The place is straight up awesome; great vibe! The décor is really cool- great bookshelf, a TV hidden behind a mirror and super-cool secret upstairs lunge (accessible only by picking up the phone and getting buzzed in). I can go on and on about the space- but you should just check out these professional photos available here to get the idea.
Onto the food! We decided to try each dish on the menu; there are eight, ranging in price from $7 to $15, making Tavern Law great for a little snack or a full dinner (on a empty stomach, I'd probably need 3-4 dishes). The food gets full stars for creativity, originality, presentation & taste. Simply put, the food is amazing.
Photo Desctiptions:
- Outside Tavern Law- waiting for the Grand Opening
- Cocktail at the bar.
- Lolla Rossa Lettuces- Chevre. Cucumber. Picholine Olive ($7)
Simple and nice salad. - Braised Pork Belly- Cabbage. Granny Smith Apple. Mustard ($14)
Yum- tender! - Foie Gras Terrine- Angostura Bitter Gelee ($15)
Very good- the angostura bitter jelly top was amazing and complemented the foie gras very well. My only complaint is that the ratio of toasted baguette to foie gras was way off; they need 3x as much baguette. - Poached Sockeye Salmon- Escarole. Arugula Pesto. Radish ($14)
Cooked to perfection, subtle flavors let you fully enjoy the wonderful salmon taste. - Grilled Padron Peppers- Goat Cheese Vinaigrette. Parsley ($9)
I loved this dish, but, I love very spicy food. Others in the group found it way too spicy. I don't think it was the actual padron peppers that were hot, but rather some chopped peppers garnished on top (jalapeno, perhaps). The dressing really worked with the spice! - Grilled Chicken Leg & Thigh- New Potato. English Pees. Granache Vinegar ($15)
I hardly ever order chicken in restaurants! This chicken was by far my favorite dish on the menu: cooked to perfection, seasoned brilliantly and so MOIST! - (some drink, forget the name)
- Fried Pacific Oysters- Horseradish Aioli. Beefsteak Tomato ($9)
Cooked perfectly. Nice and crunchy on the outside but not overcooked! Love the horseradish aioli. - Carnaroli Risotto- Summer Squash. Parmesan. Basil ($12)
Nice! As far as risottos go, this is on the less rich side! - Kold Draft Ice Cube
- Dover Tea
- (some drink, forget the name)
- Calvados Crusta
Ok- so at this point you might be wondering why I didn't give all 5 stars given my RAVE review: the mixology was really lacking, I was VERY disappointed with the drinks. My first drink was at the bar while I was waiting for my friends to arrive. Before I browsed the comprehensive list of cocktails, I first looked at their liquor list: a bad gin selection could be a dealbreaker for me. I was pretty excited to see that the gin selection was awesome (more gins than vodka- take that vodka drinkers!), they even had my favorite Martin Miller's (including the hard-to-find, Westbourne strength edition). So to start, I order a gin martini up with a twist. Yep- they did twist right, but FUCK- I think the bartender put more vermouth than gin. Normally, I would have said something- but the bar had just opened for the first time and they were already quite busy, so I was nice.
For the rest of the evening, I ordered drinks from the cocktail menu and and sampled some of my friends'. Tavern Law is one of only about 4 places in Seattle to have a Kold Draft Ice machine (http://www.kold-draft....). The menu is comprehensive with a table of contents & glossary! Drinks divided into the following categories:
- Cocktails
- Sours
- Flips
- From Highballs to Fizzes
- Juleps, Slings & Toddies
- Punches, Cups & Swizzles
- Champagne
- Vodka
- Teetotalers
Most of the drinks were underwhelming. The "Bourbon Swizzle" (bourbon, lemon, falernum, yellow chartreuse) tasted like straight bourbon on ice in a Collins glass. The "Dover Tea" was a hot drink, but arrived at room temperature. One drink, the name escapes my memory, was supposed to have gin, rosemary, mint- the drink came with no rosemary, and I'm convinced it was made with rum, it tasted like a mojito (yuk!). One of my friends ordered the "Boston Milk Punch" (rum, bourbon, nutmeg, milk)- the waitress came back a few minutes later and told us they were out of milk. Weird- the bar had been open no longer than an hour, why not just have one of the staff members run a block away and pick up a gallon! Due to the so-so drinks, I remove 1 star.
Under normal circumstances I would have knocked off another star (making it a 3-star review) for a few quirks and annoyances (bathroom locked with nobody inside it for half hour, slow service, forgotten drink orders, etc...) But I truly believe that these were just symptomatic of it being opening night- I have no doubt that Tavern Law will strike it's groove. This bar has full 5-star potential I just really hope they nail the drinks!
