Five Horses Tavern

With a more than adequate tap list, I though I would love this place. The thing was they were playing a 90’s pop station with Spice Girls, Oasis, Gin Blossoms, etc, and worse unidentifiable so called hits. Not my kind of bar, the beer was good, a bit pricy, but I couldn’t linger with such annoying tunes on the air. You may like hanging here if you are a preppy that shops at Abercrombie, and Fitch, or Gap.

I came here for brunch on a Saturday and was happy to find another awesome brunch spot to add to my library. My mom and I opened this place up and had the restaurant to ourselves. The front of the restaurant was being vacuumed so we were brought to the back room for a quieter, more cozy environment.
The menu had a good mix of sweet and savory dishes, which is what originally drew me here in the first place. We decided on the Donut Holes and the Cinnamon Roll for appetizers, the Chimichanga and the Enmoladas for entrees, and then a side of home fries to even out the meal.
The Donut Holes were incredible. The small bits of apple inside of the apple cinnamon dough really come through with a strong cinnamon-​sugar-​apple flavor, which would have been enough for a 5-​star appetizer. Add the maple glaze to that and this thing got elevated to new heights. The Cinnamon Roll was not on the Donut Holes level but it was still delicious. The ginger and nutmeg come through and that caramel glaze makes each bite packed full of sweet deliciousness. The Chimichanga was huge had an awesome taste. It has a great mix of fresh ingredients, and when you add the goat cheese sour cream to that, it’s quite the dish. My Enmoladas were special. The chicken mole inside of the tortillas had a great balance of sweetness and subtle heat that gave you different hints of flavor each bite. This with the avocado salsa, cotija cheese with eggs on top forced me to finish the plate even though I wasn’t hungry. It tasted so good I couldn’t stop. The home fries we got were pretty standard, nothing crazy.
There are a ton more things on their menu that I want to go back and try. Both for brunch and for lunch/​dinner. Kentucky Fried Cornish Game Hen and Pork Belly Spiked Mac N’ Cheese? Come on, why you gotta do me like that?

Note: this review is about the service we received, the food was very good.
Came here last night for my 30^th birthday dinner with a reservation with a large group. When I made the reservation I asked the manager if a group of 15 could be accommodated, she assured me it could be.
Our group arrived on time, and were actually a bit smaller (13). The host was pleasant and we were sat immediately. The table we sat at was cramped, but we didn’t really care. Our experience however was sort of ruined by our incredibly rude waitress. She made us feel as though we were an inconvenience to her and the restaurant. I don’t want to sound nit-​picky, but she never smiled, was incredibly short with us, and just made our whole party feel incredibly uncomfortable. I understand that a large group is more work, but we spent a considerable amount of money, and she received a generous tip despite how she treated us. While the food and drinks were quite good, I won’t be returning because of the awful way she treated our group. If a big group is an inconvenience to your restaurant, don’t take my reservation!

Excellent beer selection. The night we went they had a beer bucket special of a Hawaiian brand where we could get 5 beers for $ 25. The service was friendly but I found it odd that who we had kept changing throughout the night. I enjoyed the 90 Mile sandwich, it was prepared like a panini. I recommend getting the jalapeño mashed potatoes or tater tots as your side.
Disappointed they felt the need to charge for extra sauce for my friends’ tater tots, for extra hot fudge on my friend’s sundae, and for my friend’s birthday dessert even though we said we were there for a birthday dinner.

Excellent food, excellent service. We went with our two tween daughters late in the evening on New Year’s Eve, and had a wonderful meal. The service was genuine, and the food was consistently delicious. Try the fleur blanc!

For the South End location of Five Horses, I’d give 5 stars for the beer list, but an a-​ok 3 stars for everything else. We had a large table for a birthday brunch on a Saturday and service was attentive and the food just fine.
The brunch menu was uninspiring, and I went for the enmoladas (soft corn tortillas, smoked chicken mole, two baked eggs, cotija cheese, avocado salsa). These enmoladas are very spicy and are served in a skillet under a few slices of avocado. For emphasis, I repeat very spicy, to the point of being overwhelming and requiring large amounts of water. A far better dish were the tater tots from the bar food menu served with the same chicken as the enmoladas — those were gone fast.
Beer list, as is Five Horses’ forte, was great — wide selection of interesting draft beers with knowledgeable waitstaff willing to give out samples. The brunch cocktail list, specifically the ice box (cold brew ice coffee, milk, and espresso vodka) was devine.
There’s always a line on any night due to Five Horse tavern’s small size, but we managed to seat our large table early, despite booking through opentable. A decent brunch in the South End as expected at Five Horses.

Really, really good pub/​restaurant. Cool specials! The other night (Monday) it was pancake night, with TONS of choices of pancakes. I chose the KFCF, their fried chicken. It was really good! So was the pizza & the mac & cheese. Fun place to go for comfort food. I would compare it to Parish Café. Close to Jordan Hall, Northeastern, and Symphony.

I very much enjoyed dinner here. The atmosphere in the tavern is warm and inviting without being too casual. The menu is varied and there is an impressive selection of draft beer. I had the fried chicken sammy, and my boyfriend had the fish sandwich. Both entrees were excellent. I selected spaghetti squash gratin as my side and it was absolutely transcendent. My boyfriend ordered the healthier cucumber salad option, which was very good, but not smothered-​in-​cheese-​sauce good. I would happily recommend the place to anyone looking for dinner away from the tourist-​y part of town by the Common. Five Horses is yummy and not too expensive and pretty much exactly what I needed after a day on my feet seeing the city.

Listen, I’ll be the first to admit that this bar isn’t my wheelhouse, on account of being a vodka/​scotch type of gal. However, when push comes to shove, the bartenders were/​are knowledgeable about their wine list as well. I can’t speak to service all the time because I’m also generally a bar gal as well. Bartenders are great; funny, quick if you need them to be, and well-​informed. I’ve had extraordinarily bad service, but hey, everyone is allowed their bad days.
Can’t beat a $ 5 pizza during lunch hours, or a pile of tots. Also, if you just happen to be super hungover, the bartender is very sympathetic and will bring you Fernet and a side of mashed potatoes in a bowl. I mean, not that it happened to me or anything.

Sooooooo good!!! Went with 5 girls for brunch and we loved everything about this place. Service was awesome and the food was perfect! It is not super crowded so you don’t have to wait for hours for brunch like other places in south end

I now have a favorite beer: unibroue la fin du monde & I thank Five Horses Tavern for introducing me to it!
I stopped by here for a quick drink and an app with my brother. He ordered the Sextant Oatmeal Stout; so delish and we got the calamari app. That calamari though! Who would’ve known chopped mangoes go well with calamari?
Great service, AMAZING beer. I do recommend!

Solid bar! Lots of taps ! 41 to be exact. Bartender was super helpful but a little forgetful. He did pour 8 tastes of MA beers, because I’m from NYC was was looking to have a local beer. Which was very helpful.
I could see this being a local watering hall for me if I lived in the area ! Great décor, lots of booze, outdoor area and food !

My husband and I were in Boston for the weekend staying at the Colonnade Hotel in the Back Bay. Because it was a rainy dismal night we decided to dine close by and the «Five Horses Tavern» was our pick based on good Unilocal reviews.
Trust me, you won’t be sorry! They have an awesome selection of craft beers and their menu was homey yet different if that makes sense and very reasonably priced. I had the «crispy chicken sammy» with Webster’s raw honey and lemon tarragon mayo along with jalapeño mashed potatoes. Too die for… My husband had the «fish and chips» with mango jalapeño salsa with potato tots. He loved that sandwich as well. It all sounds generic but each had their own twist. They also had delicious entrees if you choose to skip the sandwich and burger menu.
Our waiter Chris, a Berklee student was the best waiter ever. He was attentive, friendly, and made us feel extremely welcome. He also recommend a jazz club called Wally’s down the street which was a great recommendation. Thanks Chris!

This is my first time to the South End location. I was looking for somewhere that would accommodate some family member’s gluten allergy. I was so happy to see that Brussel sprouts after the waiter told us that they ran out of them. But apparently, we got the last order of them! They are delicious and one of my favorite Brussel sprout dishes. I had the wormtown pumpkin beer and it was good. They got my sister’s pumpkin cider wrong but brought the correct one. The waiter was attentive and answered all our questions. I had the spicy tacos for lunch. They are REALLY spicy but good. I had to take out the hot peppers. The rest of my family got fish tacos and enjoyed them. We always shared a side of tater tots, which were good but could have been more crispy. Some of the servers were unsure of the beer they were bringing out and if the taco shells were corn and not flour for the gluten free allergy. The waiter charged us by mistake for the wrong beer they brought my sister but promptly corrected it once my Dad said something. Overall, the food and service was good and I would definitely come back again.

Rolled into this place on a Sunday nite. The staff was very friendly and the most helpful. Everyone even the manager came to our table and made recommendations. Our party ordered tequila-​ish shots and a pitcher of beer. Perfection.
Then came the food. We ordered the pizza which I highly recommend! Then came the tacos. I would recommend the pork tacos to everyone!!!
However the only reason I couldn’t give five stars was the fish tacos. They have a too raw taste to them. I feel as tho there should be a fine line of how fish tacos should be done and they fell on the wrong side. But every other aspect of the experience was well worth it.

There’s a barrel, 40 beers. Also bartender is spunky «Simplicity is beauty»
–Whitesides

I had given this place 5 stars before and deservedly so but ugh, what a disappoint to have come here on my birthday weekend. The wait for our food was dreadful, over an hour. Then to top it off, we were quite disappointed that our server didn’t even say so much as a quick «Happy Birthday», never mind a candle after being told that we had a birthday at our table. Their saving grace here for the extra star was the food. Here’s the good and meh:
Calamari — This was just okay and nothing special. If you want a fried snack, I would pass on this and order the arancini.
Butternut squash arancini — Still as tasty and unique as ever. Cheesy crispy balls of yumminess
Red Curry with fried tofu — This dish stole the spotlight for us. If there’s a dish on the must try list, this is it vegetarians!
Tuna tartare — Smartly flavored, light and fresh. Highly recommended.
Pizza — Great if they serve it right out of the oven. Round 1 of this pizza was cold and tasted like cardboard but the remake was superb.

Solid tavern. $ 9 sangria or $ 29 pitcher. Outdoor seating, but not alot. Food is okay — the flatbread pizzas are the best.
+ Super friendly female bartender the night I went! The male bartender smashed a few glasses and also never paid attention to me :/

Came here after the Sam Adams Brewery tour — of course craving burgers and more beer!
The place is very quaint on the outside and definitely has an upscale pub feeling. Cute décor such as a beer «chandelier» and 4pack beer cardboard holder as the mustard/​ketchup/​hot sauces holder. Lots of beers on tap (and bottled). In fact, the beer menu is larger than the regular menu!
My friend and I each chose a beer. I got the Ginger Beer and it was delicious and easy going down. We both split the Turkey and Tavern Burgers. Salads and Tater Tots as sides. I loved the Turkey Burger with a green chile sauce and pineapple on a pretzel bun. The regular burger was just ok. Tater tots were very good as was the salad… but why don’t you have fries?!
Overall average place — would come back, but in no rush.

Came here with some family for brunch the day before Easter. It was a pretty late decision so not much research had been done beforehand. They have a pretty wide space, and we were put further in the back, a bit awkward since we were right next to the cash register, but nothing awful. It was however early and empty enough that I was wondering why we weren’t seated elsewhere.
When I first sat down I thought the beer menu was the regular menu, it’s that big. The menu for food is something that just fits on your placemat, but the beer menu has pages upon pages of drinks. The guys got beers, while I got an Ice Box which tasted more like an iced coffee than anything alcoholic, and my cousin got Peach Bellini which she also enjoyed.
Although I really enjoyed my drink I found my food average. My boyfriend and I both ordered the Breakfast Club. I loved the tater tots, those were delicious, but I found the sandwich itself kind of clunky and dry. The chicken breast wasn’t heavily battered, so it tasted more like a slightly floured piece of chicken as opposed to the crunchy «KFC style chicken» I’d been expecting. The egg was also overcooked, although I probably should’ve asked for over easy. But basically there were two layers of the sandwich, or three pieces of waffle bread. I thought there would be a tomato or something else with moisture in it since the egg wasn’t runny, but no. Because of this I found the sandwich very difficult to eat, I had to drench the entire thing with all of the maple syrup I was given and that still wasn’t enough.
My family seemed fine with their choices, and I actually had a pretty good time here despite the mediocre sandwich. I might come back again, but with a different order.