The Barnstable Restaurant and Tavern

Very nice tavern in a cute town!
Food was nice, simple and quick. Waitress was very friendly, and explained the menu in detail. Was happy to assist my friend and myself in selecting what to get.
Menu has a lot of options, including fish (this is Cape Cod after all). So, keeping it local is good!

Just don’t do it! Every time I’ve gone here it has been a disappointment. We’ve taken our kids, had dinner outside, and had takeout. Somehow every experience has been terrible. Bad food, horrible service. The takeout experience is mind-​numbingly inefficient. It is in a good location. Tourists come by the busload. Just don’t do it!

Great place to go if you enjoy food poisoning. If you want to spend your evening throwing up a mediocre spinach salad then run, don’t walk, to the Tavern! I would’ve posted this review sooner, but I’ve been busy barfing.

Food is good. Service is horrible… Never got my bread. Main course come before appetizer. Take so long for waitress get desert menu. I think she basically spacing out. Don’t want to give her zero tip on my vacation. But she is trying my limits…
I talked to the owner, she covered our bill.

What are they doing here? I mean, WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!
I’ve been coming here for about 5 years now since my pops retired up here, and it’s literally gotten worse each year (somehow). We used to LOVE the clam chowder and clam pizza offerings (Cape clam fix), but the product is literally different each time we come … and not in a good way. Chowder this week was bland and watery as all hell, and the pizza was a barely-​cooked mess.
We always do take out, so I can’t vouch for the dine-​in experience, but I can’t imagine it’s much better. Speaking of take-​out, they have the worst system EVER here. Here’s a quick breakdown of how it usually goes down:
Me: «hey I’m here to pick up an order»
Hostess: «ok, just walk up to the bar»
Me: *battle my way thru 50 drunken idiots to the bar*
Bartender: *10 minutes later* «Hey, can I help you?»
Me: «…yeah, just trying to grab my pizza order»
Bartender: «okay, that’ll be ‘insert absurd amount of money here’
Me: «…sure, here ya go. Super awesome»
***10 more minutes elapse****
Bartender: «okay, here ya go» *hands me luke warm pizza*
Me: *head literally explodes*

Ordered chicken wings and got chicken tenders… Like other people have mentioned you do not get what is on the menu description. The rolls were stale. If tasted cheap. Maybe it’s because we were a bus tour? Certainly not what I expected.

ONLY go here if you don’t care about good service, accurate menu descriptions and fresh ingredients and you need a place that takes reservations. Watery clam chowder, a hockey puck of a swordfish, and cold mash potatoes that probably were from a powder mixture. After the damage had been done the manager did her best to correct what had happened but by then it was too late. Last time I will visiting this place.

I’ve been here several times over several years and, once again made the mistake of giving it another chance. What am I, stupid? If you go and notice patio tables open but not yet cleaned, napkins on the patio floor, no waitresses in sight, people quietly waiting with morose looks for drinks or food, you’re heading for disappointment. It’s consistently poor in service, quality and attitude and continues to reflect very poor management. It’s tired. The owners should sell this to someone who cares. It appeals to locals and tourists because it’s quaint, in a great village setting, and has patio dining out front. The difference is the locals learn not to go back. The tourists can put up with it once a year apparently. I can’t figure how they stay open.

First time at the BT for brunch today.
Greeters were very pleasant and we were seated immediately. Two adults and our son (2 ½) who requires a high chair.
Started off with soup. Clam chowder was standard Cape faire but done well, tasty. The butternut squash bisque was very good. Nice consistency and sweet yet savory flavor.
My son had some French toast and bacon. Nothing groundbreaking, but good. After consuming most of my wife’s chowder I don’t think he was that hungry.
My wife and I both had the smoked salmon Benedict. Excellent! I would look forward to having it again. Poached eggs were a bit over… But the lightly sautéed spinach along with the salmon and their version of hollandaise was a winner. Hollandaise was lighter than most I have had, with an extra touch of lemon which went very well with the fish.
Nice that the whole menu was available along with the special brunch items.
Waitstaff was attentive and worked together to ensure that we and others were taken care of .
Little noisy, as they were hosting a baby shower for twins nearby, but with a two year old we were happy to have a little background noise.

The Barnstable tavern was a wonderful place to eat and I have been there several times and loved it. The food is very good and the waiters and waitresses are very polite.

Fantastic experience! This restaurant turned around a tiring day around for my family and me and we left in good moods. The menu selection is amazingly large, my family member got her Italian craving satisfied with their great lasagna while another got the best dish, the baked scrod. My crab cakes were fresh and mouth-​watering but if I had to choose again I’d love to get the baked scrod dish, I was a huge fan of it. All in all, the food was incredible and it was complimented with friendly service.

First time to the restaurant and pleasantly surprised that the food was very tasty. The scrod fish that I had was done perfect, I don’t like when fish is over cooked. The servers was very friendly and helpful. I would definitely come again when I visit the Cape.

I was very impressed my by first visit. My mother and I sat Inside and had a nice waitress who’s name was Ashly I believe. She was very knowledgable about the menu which is good. I had the sautéed scallops which would have came with mashed potatoes but she recommended I try it over linguini and I’m so glad I did because it was amazing! Overall no complaints I had a great time. Also heard that the place is haunted which is kind of cool!

I went to this little tavern earlier this evening for one of their wine dinners — and also for my friend’s birthday dinner.
The rate was $ 55 per person for a 5 course dinner (all paired with their own wine) so it came out to be $ 69.50 for the wine dinner. The meal is prix-​fixed, but they were very accommodating for the non-​drinkers and vegetarians in our party.
The wine was all delicious. The whites were my favorite, but of course that all depends on your personal taste in wine. The last wine, the moscato, was far too sweet for me (but the other guests enjoyed it thoroughly).
Each course was plated with care alongside its wine partner. The bread pudding (as delicious as it was) could have been plated a bit better. For something created with such a delicately sweet flair, it almost seemed a sin to be plopped onto the plate the way it was.
As each course was being served, you heard a chiming of glasses and were given a brief speech about the wine that was chosen for this course. I found this to be a bit interruptive even though it was informative.
The staff of young girls were all very polite and helpful. I arrived an hour early (didn’t know how traffic was going to be since I was coming from out-​of-​state) and was directed to the bar while I waited. Once some of my party arrived, the hostess came into the bar to let me know that I could join them at our table.
To knit-​pick, it seemed a bit odd that the plates didn’t all match, as well as the wine glasses. Also, even though this was a wine-​tasting style dinner — the sheets of paper describing what you were about to consume under the glass table top at each setting was a bit much. Since we an audible introduction to each wine was being made, it ruined the elegance of the plate setting to have a typed-​up ‘prix-​fixed’ menu under each plate.
I did enjoy my meal. The bacon-​wrapped beef was cooked perfectly. I was impressed that every piece I saw seemed to be cooked to the same level, a nice medium-​rare. The scallops were paired deliciously, I only wish they were a bit less chewy. Since they were being served to a large group of people, I’m assuming they may have been out too long during the plating. The salsa served with the scallops was a brilliant choice.
All in all, this was an enjoyable dining experience and I would go back again. Next time I would like to experience the restaurant with access to the full menu.

40 minutes to closing and won’t take a take out order?
Just change your hours or don’t bother opening. Another waste.

Tourists are guaranteed to love this place. Nestled in picturesque Barnstable Village, the Tavern just oozes traditional New England atmosphere. And it’s a great place for a warm, inviting reasonably-​priced meal after battling another Cape Cod tradition — all that maddening beach traffic.
On my recent visit, I found the food to be hit or miss. My colleagues raved about the crab cakes, lamb and shrimp — and I will personally vouch for the savory whole bellied fried clams deep fried in a traditional, golden New England light batter. Terrific! But the clam chowder was scandalously thin and watery, and the french fries pre-​fab frozen and mushy at best.
Overall, a good experience. It just feels like with a bit more attention, it could have been great.

A friend and I decided to do a girls weekend down the Cape. We were driving around because we didn’t know what to have to lunch and drove by this place and took a quick turn into the drive way to park. We were impressed as the experience could have gone in a totally different direction.
We chose to sit outside since it was so nice! I had the CapeCod Red beer and my friend had the Cape Cod Blonde. They were both great beers for a local beer. The service was fine for lunch on the patio. I never actually went inside the restaurant.
The menu is extensive and they had specials. I opted for the mussels in EVOO and white wine (on the appetizer list) and a cup of clam chowder. The mussels were cook to perfection and I even ate the a bit of the broth like a soup. It was very good. The clam chowder was incredible! I kinda wished I got a bowl. It was perfect in consistency and the taste was so good. I kept saying how good the chowder was.
My friend got the clam roll. It was a decent portion for the price. I tried one and they were not rubbery and the batter was just right.
Needless to say, I would definitely be heading back there again the next time I am around there!

Al fresco dining, basically in a rustic countryside setting, basically on the Cape. Basically.
There’s nothing outstanding about Barnstable Restaurant and Tavern, yet nothing dissuasive. It’s innocuous — an everytavern catered to olde thymey tastes and bayside expectations. The beer is brewed locally, with a loose, neither sweet, neither bitter, Cape Cop Amber that proved to be non-​craft drinkable and fairly inexpensive.
The chowder (is it clam on the menu?) is mostly krab, yes Krab, but it’s got a solid balance of cream, sherry and briny bits. Edible, somewhat enjoyable, just not memorable. If you decide to try, get the bowl over the cup — it’s only a dollar extra.
Rain forced us from the outside to a stark, stale dining room, so stay under the sun (weather permitting). Service is friendly, I doubt this place gets crowded and it’s ideal for a big group bent on conversation in the presence of passable prandials and chilled cervezas.

Food: nothing exciting but good, a bit pricey for what you get
Service: slow

Having grown up in Barnstable and having deep appreciation for Barnstable Village, I had high hopes for my first time eating at the Tavern with my family.
On a Friday night at 5:30pm with live music on the patio, it was impossible to get a table outside. Since the musician was very popular, I was not surprised nor upset. The décor inside is older, but clean and we got a nice table for all 4 of us.
Our waiter looked like he was fresh off a shift at the Tower of Terror at Disney. But, he was friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, he disappeared toward the end of our meal and we were inside for 1.5 hours (and my family eats pretty fast!). We ordered our desserts to go, and they came out about 15 minutes later.
My dish (I believe haddock) was pretty good and so was the chowder I had as an appetizer. All of us at the table were happy with our food and the portions (just right). The prix fixe menu is definitely the way to go.
It’s ultimately a toss up if you are choosing between the Dolphin and the Tavern. If it’s a nice evening, you may prefer eating outside at the Tavern. The Dolphin has a much nicer, classic interior.
p. s. According to the Barnstable Village Haunted Tour, this restaurant is haunted! But, I didn’t see any ghosts on my visit :-(