Savoy Tavern

I’m going to miss this place so much. My life isn’t going to be the same without coming here weekly for the mac and cheese.

Savoy closed before I had the chance to come up with a clever way to review it. But now I’ve come to realize that there is no room for wit here; Savoy was simply too full of class and sophistication. It poured freely from their taps and wafted effortlessly in the sweet-​scented thermals that rose from one’s plate.
You will be missed.

Great little gem. We found this place. When we were yelling to find a late night spot. Honestly wasn’t expecting much cause around 10pm our best bet was IHOP or Denny’s. Then we saw this place and we were pleasantly surprised by their menu. We had a great late night dinner.

I take back everything I previously said about the Savoy Tavern — it’s back! My fiancée and I went there last night after hearing that they’d changed the menu around and introduced a Tavern favorites menu. Service was great, food was great, the drink was great. I like what they’ve done with the place now — if people want the fast food style burger (that I previously lamented) then they can order that from one side of the restaurant. If they want the classic Tavern fare that the Savoy Tavern did so well, they can sit down and have a nice meal on the other side of the restaurant.
So glad that they reintroduced the tavern style menu options — my go to place on the east side of Portland is back!

I agree Jacob M. The bar side is much nicer than the restaurant side. I’ve found I have to get there early to get a seat on either side.
In all, bar and restaurant side, it’s not a big place but it packs a big wallop to the taste buds.
One of my favorite is the Mac n Cheese
Tavern Burger is excellent
Cant go wrong with the Three side
Jacob let’s make a date and go back!

I have to say, this was one of the better bar experiences I’ve had in Portland. I read a few reviews on Unilocal and didn’t really know what to expect when a group of friends decided to go there. So glad they picked this place!
Instantly, I felt comfortable and cozy at this smaller bar. There was plenty of seating since it was earlier in the evening but it’s a smaller bar with red booths in half the bar and tables near the front.
Their cocktail drink menu is interesting. I had a Midwestern Mule and The Aristocrat, both which were refreshing and delightful. I especially enjoyed the Earl Grey vodka they use, just a hint of bergamot. They were also very reasonable priced. I could picture myself having a lazy afternoon drinking their cocktails. I also ordered their fried cheese curds since it was mentioned in a few reviews. So good! Do you want something salty, crispy and fried in your mouth? Yeah… it’s a repeat. You can also order burgers and food at the restaurant next to the bar but sit at the bar. Not a bad idea!
And the guys working this place were really on top of it. We never had to flag them down or get that attitude. You know what I’m talking about. They were so friendly but not the fake kind.
All around great place, I can’t wait to go back.

I feel horrible reviewing this months later, but I can tell you this is still stuck in my memory as a restaurant that WE NEED TO GET BACK TO!
One thing is, don’t forget to check the specials when you walk in on the corner chalk board outside. They also have several variations on Moscow Mules, which we all ordered and enjoyed trying. Personally, I enjoy the bar side vs the restaurant, which is dimmly lit and more intimate for conversation.
I will try to update this with a better review after my next visit, but I did have to write something. Every one in our party was pleased with their experience.

If I was rating this restaurant for food it would be a 4 to 5 star review. Unfortunately, the service and organization of the restaurant is horrible. This used to be a regular restaurant for me, but the changes in the last year have changed that.

If you look at the list of reasons I miss living in Portland, Savoy is in the top 5. This was the last dinner I had in Portland before moving back to the East Coast. Make your life better in the following easy steps:
— Go here
— Order cheese curds and a Mule variation from the cocktail menu
— Get the fried chicken and one of the many optimal beers on tap
— Then keep drinking
Interesting that recent reviews have criticized the service at Savoy. My last visit, in early December 2014 while in town on business, mirrored all previous experiences: laid back staff who offers a smile and leaves you alone until it’s time to get food on the table or order a new drink.
I love this place and I hope you do to.

After having a less than stellar experience on our last visit to Savoy, the staff reached out to us and asked to come back. We gave it another shot tonight. The difference was night and day!
From the minute we walked in, the staff was courteous and attentive. Our wait time was totally manageable, and our waiter was at our table before we even sat down.
The food was equal to the solid meals I’ve had there before. The veggie burger is legit, juicy and comforting… like a diner, just 10x better quality. My girlfriend had the fried chicken sandwich, and being a first time visitor, already wanted to come back!
Thanks Savoy for redeeming yourselves. You’ll be seeing us again!

Well, that was fun. And delicious. We walked in just as they opened, and chose a booth in the more atmospheric bar area. Our waiter was attentive, pleasant, and patient with my buddy dithering over the choices. Menu has basics, but with nice little twists.
My friend had the chicken sandwich, coleslaw, shoestring fries and deviled eggs. I had a fry, which still managed to be tender, despite the thinness and crispy edges. I also had a taste of the deviled egg filling. It was lemon garlic that night, and it was delicious and zingy, without overpowering the rich, creamy soul of a good deviled egg.
I had the cheeseburger, a chopped salad and the cheese curds to start. Those curds are addictive. Perfect size, crispy and a nice portion size. The chopped salad went luxe with salami and white cheddar, and the basil vinaigrette made it all sing. I went with two patties on the burger, seemed perfect. The burger diameter is smallish, but it packs a flavor wallop. So juicy, so good! I like 5 Guys for a chain– this beats them, and so reasonably priced!
We both had a Clinton– Vanilla Stoli and lime with a sugar rim. Beautifully balanced.
Savoy just made it to my short list of Portland favorites.

Savoy is quickly becoming my go-​to place for a good burger or a snack and a night cap. I’m partial to bourbon/​whiskey based cocktails and Savoy does those well. The «bourbon and bitters» menu of old fashioneds, sazeracs and manhattans served during happy hour are an excellent value, which is a huge plus in my book since I like to drink well on a budget. On top of that, Savoy is now serving the burger and sandwich menu from Peter Bro’s new burger restaurant «All Way» in addition to some seriously good fried cheese curds. I’ve always dined on the tavern side and service has generally been polite and efficient.
To recap, you can get very reasonably priced and excellent tasting burgers, fries, cheese curds and cocktails here, particularly during happy hour. What’s not to love?

As with other reviews, the service we received was absolutely dreadful. We were treated as an inconvenience. We were never actually seated. With a short wait, we put our name down, gave them our number to call when a table opened and went across the street to get a quick drink while we waited.
Upon returning, our name was crossed off the list and they were completely dismissive, rude, and not accommodating. On our way out we spoke with other patrons who echoed our sentiments of poor service and also indicated they were out many menu items. If you like to be treated terribly, by all means, go here. What a bad restaurant.

My husband & I have been going to the Savoy for about 5 years now. We’ve never had a bad meal there, and we love the atmosphere and the service.
We usually sit in the bar area (at the tables), as we find this to be a more inviting part of the restaurant. The waitstaff there have always been exceptionally friendly and attentive. I eat chicken (but no beef or pork), so I’ve often ordered various chicken dishes. I love their fried chicken, which comes with a choice of sides. I also really enjoy their «3 Sides» option. Their mac & cheese is particularly tasty, with just the right amount of spiciness.
Their drinks and wine selection are top notch. I can always count on being able to get a good glass of red wine there. This is not the case at some nearby restaurants.
My only criticism is that the restaurant has minimal vegetarian options. My husband is a «pescitarian,» so he is confined to eating the fish dishes or mac & cheese. Their fried fish dishes are always good, so it’s not a huge problem. But we would eat their even more often if they had just a couple more savory vegetarian entrees on the menu.
Overall, we have found this to be one of our favorite restaurants in Southeast.

I’ve been to Savoy for drinks and apps before, and had a really nice time, but something has fallen off.
My boyfriend and I started with fried cheese curds, which are always delicious. The beers on tap were great– Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin is always a favorite.
For dinner we split the fried chicken, meatloaf, mac and cheese, beer cheese soup and salad. The fried chicken was vaguely warm, nowhere near hot, and dry, but tasted OK. The meatloaf was fine. The beer cheese soup was I’m sure made with an IPA and tasted overly bitter. The mac and cheese just tasted bland. But the salad was nice. Luckily none of the portions were overly large for the sides, so a few bites of blah mac and cheese is easy to forget.
The service is just plain awful. The waiters don’t seem to have any set tables, so you’re lucky if you can manage to wave someone down to order another drink, ask for silverware, or close out your tab. I know service in Portland can be spotty, but some places are laughable.
I would give them 1 one star, but the cheese curds are pretty great, and dinner wasn’t overly expensive. My expectations for reasonably priced restaurants are seriously low after moving to Portland.
Maybe just order the cheese curds at the bar and eat elsewhere.

I have neither a glowing review or a terrible one to write. We met up with some friends for dinner here for the first time and was not overly impressed with the service or attention to the basic food service needs a diner comes to expect. From water glasses for only half the table to no silverware, we had to grab help to get the things we needed to eat the meal served.
I will say the food was pretty good. If you get the chance, the cheese curds were definitely a must from here. Just the right level of spicy and salt! We all seemed to enjoy the rest of our meal, there were definitely no «this is amazing» coming out of anyone’s mouth… but we ate.
Overall — no real reason to come seek this place out again.

Growing up in the Midwest, Savoy has quickly become a local comfort for me. It has a tasty well-​rounded Midwest inspired menu for all of us transplants that just need some good cheese curds at 4 pm. None of the burgers have done me wrong, I am in love with the pickled vegetable board (a really great flavor profile) and everyone I take here seems to rave over the mac n cheese.
The restaurant itself is ambient, comfortable with quirky nods to vintage midland scenery and those elks you see up above gran pa pa’s mantel. The service has always been fabulous: a very efficient crew of friendly people who generally seem to be enjoying themselves. As far as drinks go I am partial to the 5 dollar h.h. cocktail menu with the favorite being «The Aristocrat». It has a pretty solid tap menu as well.
The last kinda cool thing about this place is on certain nights you can catch some pretty good live music. The acoustics in the restaurant are surprisingly good.

Everything I ate was fried.
Ok, except for the side of fruit salad I got, but that was tossed in whipped cream, so basically almost the same thing as fried.
Fried cheese curds
Fish fry (with a huge mound of french fries)
Fried chicken (with the aforementioned «salad»)
Let’s just say, despite sharing all of these plates, getting out of that booth was a slow and uncomfortable process.
Everything was tasty, nothing blew me away. The fish was firm, flakey, but a bit bland, although the tartar sauce fixed that right up. Fries were delicious, and the ketchup was surprisingly above average. The curds were sinful, and although delicious, I almost wished for some dipping sauce to cut through the intense cheesiness. Weird, I know. Stop reading my review if you’re going to judge me.
I thought the chicken was nice and moist but the fried shell was underwhelmingly flavored.
The fruit salad was a disappointment for me… it was just chunks of apple, pineapple, and grape, tossed in a thin film of whipped cream. There wasn’t enough whipped cream to make it worth it, so I would have almost preferred it without any, maybe dressed in a simple syrup instead. Also, what a weird combination of fruit! Where are the berries? Some mint? I expected more, it was a special that day but tasted like an afterthought.
Iced tea was super refreshing (unsweetened).
Overall, my impression is that Savoy Tavern does fried food much better than most places in town, but really need to shake up their spice drawer and serve bolder flavors in all that crispy greasy goodness. Also, fix that fruit salad.

3.5 stars, but default to 4 for the items containing cheese.
Two different atmospheres in one spot.
Mac & cheese to die for.
Delicious cheese curds.
Yummy beer cheese soup.
Brussels Sprouts with bacon were also yummy, and more al dente.
Fried chicken is pretty good. Not the best I’ve had, but definitely not the worst.
I would not recommend the pot pie. It was burnt (see picture) and for $ 12 (it says $ 8 online, but it’s $ 12 on the actual menu), I would expect more than sloppy ingredients resembling Campbell’s soup broiled in an oven with a puff pastry on top. Not a pie at all and not worth the price increase. A side salad came with the pie, but it was also lackluster. Not exciting, but I wouldn’t expect a super exciting salad with pot pie — the flavors would probably clash.
Savoy, please take this off of your menu or make an actual pie. I can get two real Pacific Pie Company pies for the price of your one «pie,» which is blasphemous. All of the cake people are laughing at me right now, and that’s okay.

Came here on a Friday to celebrate a girlfriends birthday party. Our service was great all night. They even took care of the cake she brought and cut it up for us.
Bigger parties can be really hard, but Savoy handled it perfectly.
I had the Beet salad and beer cheese soup; both wonderful! My date and I shared the Tabor plate of meats and cheeses which we both liked.
Dark, intimate, cozy, nice menu, great service and reasonable prices.

I didn’t actually eat here, but I can say that the 5 people I was with were all really happy with their orders.
I’d showed up to have a couple drinks while my friends ate. Small tap list, but some unique stuff in bottles. My first beer took about 20 minutes to show, which was almost as long as the wait for food. Maybe they needed to run to the grocery store? My second beer never did come, as our waiter was MIA after he brought everyone their food. I wasn’t the only one who would have gotten a second drink, so the absent service made for a smaller check. I guess that was a good thing, as the waiter had a REALLY hard time handling the mix of cards and cash, even though a member of our group wrote it all down on the receipt. On top of it all, I had to pay an extra fee because too many members of our group paid by card.
Like I said, everybody really liked their food, but I wasn’t at all impressed with the service. Too many good alternatives in this city for me to get back to the Savoy Tavern.