Tautog Tavern

BEST BURGERS EVER!
One Saturday night, craving nice juicy cheeseburgers, we went to a popular, local burger place (which shall remain unnamed — but which you may be able to guess by the end of this review); only to be told that we had to wait over 1 hour to be seated. So, we checked into Unilocal for alternatives and came up with Tautog.
After trying Tautog, we now can’t settle for burgers anywhere else. The beef comes from Pat LaFrieda, the famed butcher in NYC, and is every bit deserving of its accolades. Owner/​Chef Dave prepares the burgers to your desired perfection, and artfully presents the meal on a wooden board, alongside chopped lettuce, tomato, pickled provisions (a/​k/​a veggies) and a clay flowerpot (yes, a flowerpot!) full of perfectly crisped french fries.

Before indulging in our burgers, we started off with an appetizer of Irish Nachos … which is an interesting twist on the traditional nachos, but oh so satisfying and full of flavor in every bite! The dark potato chips (the «twist») are homemade and amply covered in tasty chili, cheddar, jalapeños, scallions and sour cream to provide the ultimate, satisfying treat!
Having now been there over a half-​dozen times, we can say that Tautog is an unexpected, unconventional, and very unpretentious gem… with a friendly and attentive staff… it’s the perfect place for a tasty burger (or other tasty pub food) and a cold beer… now, we wouldn’t even think of going anywhere else for a yummy burger… Tautog is definitely our new «Plan A!»

Horrible bartending. Old stringy haired guy is miserable and shouldn’t be dealing with the public.

Hidden gem… The chicken tacos melt in your mouth, Reuben’s are little bite of heaven, and two for one drinks on Sunday what can be better than that! Definitely worth coming to visit Blackrock, Ct.

Hunter King is the Cheffest with the Mostest, best burgers in Black Rock! Great job with the Menu!

Not sure what’s going on but its no longer a favorite. Some apparently thought it was a good idea to change the menu from great gastropub fare to mostly boring, and fried, bar food.
Gone are the blistered green beans and killer deviled eggs. Replaced with fried everything. Brussels sprouts are, thankfully, still on the menu. Fish taco tasted great but smelled too fishy for cod.
Please Tautog rethink this new direction.

Bar crowd, pub food with a nice flair. Loved my chili (get the bowl), fish and chips were much better than I expected. My sons burger was «very good». Salad head too much lettuce. But Brussels sprouts were outstanding! Great beers And great service!

Tautogs is an excellent bar with excellent food. The female bartender has angel like features. As Ron Burgundy once stated… this bar «smells of rich mahogany».

King’s Kitchen is now here and it ROCKS. This place has such a european cozy feel and the food is unbeatable. Great place for young people to unwind, have some drinks and an awesome meal. Average «bar bites» price is $ 5, average «big bites» $ 10. Love it.

This place is pretty cool! A great warm crowd of happy folks. Lots of great locals who have formed a great scene any night of the week. Anyone who comes to Tautog Tavern is always welcomed and can easily make new friends. The food has really changed and people are beginning to hear about the new seasonal menu. The philosophy of this local New England tavern is that it is a local tavern for the local folks. Tautog Tavern and Kings Kitchen have teamed up! They both share the same passion for sustainable growing and buying in CT! They support local family farming and the local businesses of Fairfield county/​CT. Definitely a place to check out if you stop by Blackrock. It has become the central bar that everyone checks into on there way out on the town and a place that people always crowd to for a last call beverage. It’s not always crowded though which is nice for a first date. There’s a charm about this place that is like no other in the area. Do not miss this spot!

Love this place SO RELAXED AND GREAT FRIENDLY STAFF! bartenders make amazing drinks good music grab a group and GO!

Came in here last Sunday with the family for a dinner after reading the great comments on Unilocal.The bar ws not crowded with only one more table ordering food. We had to wait a good 50mins before our food showed up. The waitress apologized multiple times and we were told that they were short-​staffed in the kitchen.
The food itself was very good (can’t say worth the wait but definitely very good for pub-​fare). The Grilled Chicken was done perfectly and the corn beef my wife ordered was very good as well.
Nice ambiance (casual, divey and very intimate). All in all promising except the long wait for the food. Definitely willing to give them another try.

The juiciest burger I have had in recent history. The historic photos on the walls give this place the patina of an old bar that’s been around for a long time. I love the unpretentious atmosphere. Sometimes I need a break from typical white suburban Connecticut. I was kind of surprised at the limited menu. Now I respect the minimalism– just a few things done really well. Service was very nice and appropriately accommodating to our needs. Will definitely be back.

It was my first time at this cozy karaōke spot, I liked the charming people all around. Something different, my friends also enjoyed Tautog. Kudos to the unexpected cute food presentation/​taste.

This place is awesome.
I went in with my girlfriend randomly when the spot where we wanted to go was closed. We had dinner and drinks at the bar around 5:30 on a Thursday. It was quiet when we went in and I smelled a hint of smoke — it definitely would attract the old man smoker sort of crowd. I didn’t notice it after the first few minutes.
This place straddles the line between pub and dive. For me that’s perfect. The bar itself is probably a 4 star place, but the food completely exceeded my expectations. The chef was tenderizing meat to order and the menu is short and sweet. The sea salt fries were awesome. My schnitzel came with an apple compote and my girlfriend said her fish and chips were great. Entrées range $ 10 – 15. Worth it. Big portions.
Corie seemed really nice and was very helpful. We were the youngest there (20-​somethings) and most people were middle aged. That’s fine for me. I can’t comment on the weekend crowd.
Go for the food and Ten Penny on tap!

As a Brit now living in the US it’s so hard to find a good pub in the British sense of the word. The Tautog Tavern fixes that. Great ambience, neat décor, friendly staff and full of locals. The food is delicious too — local grass-​fed beef makes an awesome burger — that part is quite un-​British.
We just moved to Black Rock and are very pleased to have found this place — our new local.

Tautog is definitely my favorite place to get steak. I have had the burger more times than I can count and always end up getting cheddar, balsamic caramelized onions, and bacon — even though it would be fine on it’s own… bacon just makes everything better!
The brussels sprouts and creamed spinach are a good alternative to the truffle fries which I seem to be addicted to :) The truffle sprouts (brussels sprouts with truffle oil and bacon) and the iceburg wedge (iceburg salad w/​a fried egg on top) have been my favorite specials so far besides the sweet cream Timothy’s ice cream sandwiches.
The wall hangings, antique lamps, weathered mirror, and cool bar all make the restaurant/​bar feel very inviting and cozy — especially in the glow of candlelight. I feel like it’s very different from previous bars in that location and the menu is really unique to the area. I also love eating in booths and there are a bunch to choose from.

A few weeks ago I went in with my father and brother to try out the new kitchen. It turned out to be an extremely pleasant surprise that included some of the freshest food I have had in the Fairfield area!
The menu isn’t large and it has some very different dishes, so at first I wasn’t sure. But once we dug into the food our minds changed very quickly! We had the Abe Lincolns (a sort of fried oyster wrapped in bacon) and the chili. Both were amazing! The chili had great flavor but my father and I like our food a little spicier than normal, so we asked for some hot sauce. Instead of hot sauce the chef, Steve, made a homemade spicy salsa to add because he «wanted to give us some spice without ruining the flavor». How cool is that? It did the trick too; spice with all of the flavor. We then had a steak sandwich special and the Ham and Cheese sandwich with a side of tomato soup. The Ham and Cheese was excellent, but that steak sandwich might have been the best I have ever had, no lie! Too bad it was a special, because it became an instant favorite!
Since then, we have gone back in and had the burgers, fried vegetable medley, and the homemade Jelly Doughnuts (which are made by the Chef’s wife). Common theme here: everything was delicious and very fresh! That’s the main reason I gave it five stars! I have grown up in Fairfield and I have never had food that tasted this fresh. You can tell it’s all homemade with fresh ingredients. You don’t see that too often in this area.
The bar itself is very nice with a very attentive and fun staff, it’s sort of quiet right now because I don’t think people know about it but I bet that changes as people hear about the food.
So it may seem unimposing from the outside, but go in there and try some of Steve’s creations. I can guarantee you will not leave upset that you did!

Serving Pat LaFrieda meats usually only found at upper crust NYC restaurants. A small menu focused on a few items made very very well! I recommend the burger, cooked rare-​medium with as few condiments on it as possible. I recommend their pickled vegetables, I recommend their Steak Tar-​Tar as its spectacular and I recommend their Cincinnati style chili!
The only drawback is it will ruin all other burgers for you because the meat has sooo much flavor! This place has the first LEGITIMATE claim to have the best burger around. There are other items on the menu that I will try next time I am in.

Corie, the amazing one-​woman-​show bartender makes a mean St Germain cocktail, pickle backs (more to come later on that), wonderful grilled cheese, house-​made mustard and a tasty, spicy gumbo: all reasons you should visit this establishment. It’s a casual pub atmosphere where, much like Cheers, it seems everybody knows each other’s name. I had never heard of, much less tried a pickle back prior to a couple weeks ago. They were… shall we say: interesting. A shot of whiskey is poured and downed, immediately followed by a shot of a small-​batch home-​made pickle juice. You have to try it to understand.

I make it a point to come to Tautog whenever I am in the Black Rock area. I really enjoy the atmosphere, the staff and the pickle backs!
The space itself is nice. It’s pretty spacious and even on busy nights it doesn’t feel TOO crowded or like you can’t move around without bumping into someone. There is plenty of seating at the bar and there are also cool booths to hang in. I personally enjoy the rocking chairs that are placed out front during the spring/​summer seasons.
The staff I have encountered are swell! Emilie, Corey and Pat are just terrific. They always know what their customers want. They are efficient and very attentive. You couldn’t ask for better bartenders.
I recommend the pickle backs! I also recommend Emilie’s Bloody Mary. It’s kick a$$! The food in this place is great too! I suggest the tomato soup and fried pickles.
If you end up in the Black Rock area and want to go to an awesome pub, go to Tautog. You won’t regret it :)