First & Last Tavern

What a surprise. The sauteed broccoli rabe appetizer was seriously perfect. As good as, no wait better than anything ice had in NYC. Hot, garlicky goodness, not mushy.
The Greek salad was fresh, big and interesting. Anchovies and olives and cold ripe tomatoes and super crispy croutons.
Service was provided by the delightful Emily and team.
Reasonable prices and delicious food. Next time I’ll try the pizzaand save room for dessert.

first time to this location. ordered boneless wings — these were great. ordered the clam pie for the not-​so-​low price of 26.95. worst pizza I’ve had in years. the pizza itself had a good crispy crust but the topping was terrible — chopped canned clams with no flavor whatsoever. I admit I was duped by the claim that these were «fresh clams» — you don’t make a proper clam chowder with chopped flavorless clams from a can, and the same goes with a «fresh clam pizza».
to make matters worse, we ended up taking the rest of the pizza back in the hopes of salvaging it with cheese, lemon, and garlic. waitress stacked slices on top of each other in the box, absolutely absurd. ended up with a box full of bad pizza with clams everywhere, I guess I should have just left it at the restaurant and had them throw it out there. lesson learned: won’t be coming back here, and won’t order another clam pie unless it’s from Pepe’s (which was absolutely fantastic, as good as this was terrible)

Mediocre cuisine not worth the price of admission and amongst the rudest service I and my family ever endured. Years ago this was a decent place to bring the family for a meal, with pleasant staff and good food. This last visit the food was over cooked, we were ignored by staff and nothing was done about the vile obnoxious behavior of others around my children. Not a place that will see any of my money again.

Best linguine in red clam sauce. Whole clams just the right amount spice. Bar great place to eat, wonderful service. House salad very good! Will def be back!

I have to say, First and Last was our favorite restaurant to go for a very good pizza. Their pepperoni was top quality and it showed. My past two visits were disappointing. The pepperoni is still high end but sparse now. The crust used to be chewy and moist. The cheese sweated a nice oil. But all this is now gone. Their recipe seems very different. So sad to see this change. We gave it two last tries. I think we’re done here. So sad.

Love the tavern. Food good nice and relaxed and the staff friendly and helpful. Oh and the beers not bad either. Recommended
Craig Burley
ESPN

Got seated in the very back, across from the kitchen. Not only was it super hot, but it was extremely loud and distracting. Many of the servers were congregating around the line, talking about tables and what not. Our server specifically got double-​sat with a big top so we saw her maybe twice the entire meal. The service really set the tone for the meal. I was hoping for some olive oil with the bread but did not get any. That made me sad.
The saving grace for me was the shrimp scampi. The shrimp had good flavor, the sauce had substance, and the fresh Italian parsley made this dish bright and colorful. I may return for some beer and pizza and sit at the bar, so I’m hopeful that I can update this review soon.

Went here a couple nights ago for dinner. Not our first time visiting, but we’d forgotten that the biggest issue here is the service which can be hit or miss.
Walked in about 6:30 on a Wednesday evening. Place wasn’t crowded at all, yet we stood at the hostess stand for a good 5 minutes before anyone appeared and greeted us (and the party that walked in after us). After a lukewarm reception, and no acknowledgement of having kept us waiting, we were asked if we wanted to sit in the bar or upstairs. Forgive my sarcasm, but if we had wanted to sit in the bar we could have taken the four steps to the left and sat ourselves.
Our server was great. Attentive, personable and very sweet. Food was meh at best. Chopped salad and a panini were forgettable.
As we left, same hostess was now seated with her back to us playing on her phone. No acknowledgement or thank you as we left. We figured she must be related to someone, as she was surely not cut out for that role.
Probably would not return, as food and lack of service skills just not up to par.

The food was tasteless!!!
The worst calamari ever!
The worst ravioli I could even imagine.

Meh… Some good and some bad and some ugly.
The burgers were good, blue cheese and meat is hard to screw up. Parmesan fries are a nice touch and savory delicious.
Fried Mozz was pretty bad. It came late so I wonder if it had been sitting under the heat lamp. Soggy and limp.
Great service with a tiny bit of snark just the right amount not too much.
In general lost a star for that bad fries cheese which in a bar type setting should be a no brainer. Lost a star for being terribly boring.

They used to be better. The food takes forever. They have good soups but the pizza and pasta dishes have taken a turn for the worse. Last time we had gotten calamari for an appetizer and it was rubbery and overlooked. Not worth the money.

On her sausage & meatball combo, sausage was dry, was replaced by server with more meatballs which were good. My eggplant grinder lacked taste. 1 wine and 1 water, bill with tip $ 36. Was a piece of bread laying on floor at servers station by kitchen the entire time we were there.

Went here for the first time yesterday with my fiancée, and another couple.
I had never been here before, and this was an attempt to add another restaurant into our rotation after moving to CT from Northampton, MA a year ago (so far that has been tough!)
I found the service to be prompt, we walked right in on a Saturday night (a little on the early side) and were seated. (1 negative-​the bar area had AC-​the restaurant area did not, had we know this we probably would have sat outside! Oh well.)
Our bread basket had both focaccia and raisin bread. I see a lot of previous reviews that people were missing the raisin bread-​but we did not have this issue. Everyone I was with got beer. I got a «girlie» drink-​I will say I didn’t find it to be very tasty, and I think it was over priced at $ 11, for what I got.
We started with bruschetta, then everyone ordered some kind of pasta or risotto. No complaints in the food department. Everything came out very promptly, was hot, and really tasty.
I would also like to note that the menu here is very vegetarian friendly, which I appreciated!
We will certainly be back.

First and Last is one of my favorite restaurants! I prefer the one in Avon to the one in Hartford. There’s never a wait for a party of two or four because it’s huge. I’ve been here probably 15 times. Great place for family dinners and dates.
Décor is pretty plain and the food definitely isn’t gourmet, but it’s like grandma used to make it! The service is always good. The food always comes fast. And the prices are reasonable, especially the sandwiches. They also have a full bar and there are some booths and limited seating in the bar area (and they play games when they’re on).
We always get the eggplant marinara appetizer. And the best part is the bread. No matter the time of the day, you always get a basket of different types of bread they make themselves (raisin is my favorite, but the little spiced Italian bread squares are wonderful too).
I’ve never had a bad experience at First and Last. I will continue to frequent this place.

Disappointing update.
During our year long stay down along the Tennessee/​Alabama border, we often thought about incredible wings that First & Last Tavern in Avon served. Well, the other day we stopped in for a late lunch, and we both felt the quality of the food, as well as the level of service, has gone down a few notches.
Our waitress brought out a basket of bread. No raisin bread (which is always the best bread in their basket) was present. We asked about that, and were told the raisin bread is «only on the weekends». Ok, no problem, we just had been looking forward to having it though.
Then my fiancée had to exchange her iced tea for a diet coke. The tea was nasty, totally undrinkable. I settled for a Sam Adams Boston lager (couldn’t get a seasonal Sam Adams, was told they no longer offer the seasonal Sam Adams).
We sat down by the kitchen area, it’s open, and you get to see the guys in there cooking. There seemed to be A LOT of confusion between the cooks and the waitstaff, but we finally got our wings (we had ordered 20 of the Honey Hot flavor). We felt the wings were a bit overdone, they had a good amount of meat on them, crisp outer coating, but the biggest problem was the way they were seasoned — WAY TOO MUCH SPICE, to the point of almost being inedible. Very disappointing.
Also, our waitress never came back to see how we were doing, my fiancée got up herself to grab some more napkins. Another waitress was sitting in a booth behind us with her friends or family, don’t know which, but the whole thing was unprofessional, just like the exchanges between the kitchen and the waitresses.
Honestly, can’t see coming back to this location anytime soon. Maybe we caught them on a «off» day, I dunno, but if we decide to try another First & Last Tavern, will be the Plainville location.

I’ve been here a few times due to the proximity of the restaurant to my hotel when i’m in the area on business.
The service is sub-​par. Each time I came here I was left standing by the door waiting for a hostess to greet and seat me. Have waited upwards of 5 minutes before anyone comes over and then am asked 2 to 3 times if i’d like to sit by the bar. which despite my refusal, I ultimately give in to sitting in that area as it seems the hostess doesn’t want to take me to a table in the actual restaurant.
There is typically 2 people working the bar area with one of those people responsible for making drinks leaving the other to service all the booths and tables which results in very delayed response times. Food is just okay

Pretty disappointing on food quality and price. There’s better choices out there. Don’t want to be a hater but it is what it is.
Pasta sauce is passible. Pasta is out of the box. Spend another dollar or two at briccos… Or even amici and love your meal.

I’ve wanted to come here for quite sometime, as has my boyfriend. We decided to come here on Mother’s Day, as we were kid free and it was a gorgeous day out. The building itself is very charming. very CT. Its a LOT bigger inside than you would think by looking at it from the outside, as many homes in CT seem to be. It wasn’t PACKED like one might have thought for Mother’s Day but it wasn’t empty either.
We sat on the patio and watched as other people were sat. One table of 5 that was sat AFTER us, were already on appetizers before we received our drink order! Are you kidding me? I had the Shrimp and Scallop Risotto and while it ended up being delicious, the presentation was god awful. I honestly am unsure if the drizzle on my plate was supposed to be there or if somehting had spilled accidentally onto my plate before it got to me.(see photo). Im not sure what the sauce was, looked like soy, maybe a balsamic? Whatever it was did not look like it belonged on my plate. In addition, it was kind of pricey. $ 98 for two entrees and 2 drinks!
The whole experience made me irritable? Yeah I guess that’s the best way to describe it. With those prices I would expect the service to be better and the presentation to be flawless.
In the end, the food was good enough to go back and try something else but Im not itching to go back by any means.

Not from the area, but have been here a couple of times. Even had my rehearsal dinner here and they were very accommodating with a great party room upstairs. I loved that it’s a very laid-​back, casual atmosphere. The food is pretty good and the menu has a good selection for a tavern. Definitely recommend the cinnamon raisin bread… it is delicious. We normally ask for a loaf to take home because it is just so yummy.
I have never had the pizza there, but it looks good. The sandwiches, salads, wings have all been very good each time I go.

This review is specifically about a First & Last event experience. Aptly named, I must say.
I arrived at First & Last for a baby shower on Sunday. I was led to a very small space where the event was being held. As I arrived, guests of a different baby shower were being led THROUGH our shower space, to a smaller room. It was so awkward. The space for our shower was set up on a narrow room, with a U-​shaped set up of tables, that people were constantly trying to shimmy through. Once you were seated, you were seated for good, unless you wanted to get all up in everyone’s person space to get out. There was zero room to walk around and socialize with other tables. They crammed us in like proverbial sardines.
I was hoping the experience would take a more positive turn once the food arrived, as the mom-​to-​be touted First & Last as one of her favorite go-​to spots for dinner. However, my very pregnant friend was not very happy with the buffet for several reasons. One, she asked for all the food to be brought out at once as the space was so cramped she just wanted everyone to get up once to eat, but they served the food in courses. Two, both pastas had meat in them, though she specifically requested one to be vegetarian, as she is a vegetarian. Three, grabbing the paninis was more or less like sandwich Jenga. They all toppled and fell apart. Would adding toothpicks really have killed the staff? My food complaints ranged from soggy salad drenched with dressing, to forgettably flavored paninis, to none of the dishes being labeled to indicate vegetarian or non-​vegetarian. When the event is being catered to honor a vegetarian, you’d think more attention to detail would have been paid.
Another bumbling mistake made by the venue was not leaving water pitchers on the table. A server came around every now and then to take drink requests, but even she didn’t just carry a water pitcher to refresh the water glasses. It was individual glasses served, by request only, every time she appeared, which was twice in the three hours I was there. Like, seriously?
Luckily, the mom-to-be’s family handled the beautiful table decorations, treats, and cake, all of which were the highlight of the event.
First & Last, I have to say that was the first and last time I hope I ever have to attend an event at your facility. You seriously need to up your game in that respect.