My husband and I came in last Tuesday 6÷14÷16. The food is standard basic. However their advertising is horrible! I checked their website first and found a few things on the menu I’d like to try. When I got there the waitress said that they have changed the menu and have been waiting for the website to be updated. Then to my surprise the prices on items they did have still were changed. Like the food and fun the website says $ 15.99 and the menu said $ 16.99. Or how about the happy hour special? The website said that the happy hour was to include $ 3 off entrees but when asking the waitress she said that the entrees no longer get the $ 3 off just the appetizer. When all my hopes of having a filling meal I settled in with a burger. Took forever to come out. The waitress was rude about it too. I asked what took so long and she said the kitchen was a little slow. But I work in a restaurant. The plates came out scolding hot and the food cold. Which meant she was too busy talking to the bartender to even care about our food. Then when it came time to tip she clearly showed signs of being disappointed with the tip we left. We tipped 18% because of her lack of service and most of the problems was not her fault.
N. D.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Farmington, CT
Red’s Tavern hides behind a façade of pub décor and standard peppy chalkboard speak of Happy Hours and(frozen) finger foods when it’s really the devil in disguise. Draped in a generic smattering of slapped-on tavernesque atmosphere and beige tones, creeps an out-of-place restaurant and live music setting adjacent a wall of blaring coin-op arcade games and an otherwise oddball arrangement among a largely vacant, evil-shade crept dining room. As long as you stay away from the food, you might find something to enjoy here on a weekend. Red’s is the kind of place that wants to be legit but looks as if it’s trapped in a 3rd floor basement of a hotel chain. Think Dave & Busters crossed with a local pub scene, tack on tacky décor, poor fusion of concepts and a mostly limited menu selection of bland wholesale food palatable only for three-beer-in drinkers. No creativity on the menu, bad, loud country musak and a very unhelpful wait staff plagued the scene on a Wednesday night. And there’s not much of a welcome mat and less a road attraction to the poser restaurant that feeds on the unfriendliness of a frosty-haired bartender slash waitstaff with a gruff demeanor of being inconvenienced if you don’t sit at the bar. Upon entering, the oddball layout consists of a dimly-lit hall leading to a garishly lit room of arcade machines and on the other side, the restaurant apart of a complex called«Nomad’s». Somewhat reminiscent of D&B, the copycat operation wasn’t even pulling off the fun part from the road view, which was far off, down what appeared to be an industrial/office road. The only salvageable aspect of the building was the billiard room(didn’t play), which, if you like a quiet place to play pool on a weekday, come fed and drink up. 7:30 on a Wednesday night and the restaurant was completely vacant. It remained as such for about an hour and some change, as we watched a trickling of bar patrons coming from whoknowswhere. We chose our seats among a sea of emptiness and bad country music which overcast conversation, compensating for a lack of patronage. Roughly eight booths and tables and nobody to fill them at primetime and we still sat down, knowing the fate of our hunger would lead us to certain disappointment. The lone waitress didn’t wish for anyone to be seated in the dining area, immediately pushing the bar stools — at 7:30 mind you. After taking a drink order, the waitress sat back down and talked to a somebody not associated with the joint before disappearing with the bartender falsely reassuring us the place might have hope by taking our orders. Drinks, a beer, water and a Sprite mostly went dry without refill a half hour before the meals came. One of my party never received another soda, the other wasn’t asked if he’d like another beer. I rationed my water knowing I wasn’t going to be seeing anyone for another half hour. After my buddy ordered a soup, the bartender told us it was going to be another 15 minutes, after waiting 10 on the piping-hot microwave soup. After ordering a soup and a beer(further demonstrating he wasn’t ordering cheap things like myself) and the waitress disappearing without explanation, service was taken over by the bartender, who was mainly chatting at the bar, mostly ignoring our drinks, later our check which we waited about 15 more minutes post finishing to collect. We ordered very simplistic items of a likewise menu; a burger which the bartender insisted medium was OK as if the grill cook couldn’t handle cooking a burger, a Hormel-grade triple-decker turkey sandwich and a heap of frozen-to-cooked-enough steak fries. The quality and care of food was abysmal, embarrassing. The meat was cooked more well than medium, the sandwich featured a less-than-Subway helping of pre-packed smoke-flavored deli meat instead of(typically sliced) diner fare. Nearing the end of the meal, a family of four were greeted roughly upon walking in to which I wanted to tell them to go back. The overall mood was cold as if the staffer was ticked off he’d have to wait or wondering why or how we found the place. He even sighed as if to burden him when asked to split the bill. Usually I won’t let a bad waitstaff experience bog down a culinary experience but the experiences were married at Red Tavern. Disclaimer: Originally written by myself on Urbanspoon on Aug 23, 2012, but nobody knows that site exists anymore.
Jimmy J.
Rating des Ortes: 1 South Windsor, CT
Found the place by accident, bar manager needs to take customer service lessons. My wife thought her drink was watery, asked for a splash more of liquor, the bar manager took a sip said it was fine, if we wanted more alcohol in her drink we would have to buy a shot for $ 5. Asked for a new drink because the manager drank some and were told we drank half of it and would have to pay for a new drink… my burger came out over cooked, forgot the fries, my wife’s meal came on 10 minutes later and was cold. Ordered water never got it. Oh and did I mention they were out of 4 different beers…
Kgjaed ..
Rating des Ortes: 1 East Hartford, CT
The waitress kept forgetting things. The ribs were very salty and far from succulent. The rice pilaf was awful(salty and super soggy). This place needs a new chef. I will not eat there again.
Aditi L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Manchester, CT
Loved the ambiance and the live music. The old hat band played many of my favorite country songs. The food was good but I found the service a bit slow. Loved the arcade. It had lots of games for my little one and me also.
Joseph S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 South Windsor, CT
Waitress was very nice. Food was suspect(burger ordered medium came out well, nachos only cooked on top middle was cold) but the kicker was my groupon. Groupon states that cannot be used for drinks(ok I don’t drink) and cannon combine with other promotions. At the end of it she counted my «eat and play» as a non food item and would only apply $ 18.95 of my $ 20 groupon to my $ 32 bill. Gonna report to groupon as I feel some kinda refund is in order. A manager came over and while my groupon was very specific still refused to apply my full groupon. Essentially arguing with a customer over a buck. We tipped the waitress $ 8 as it was not her fault but the manager Samantha should really be sent to some kind of customer service and leadership training. I spoke to the General Manager the following day and she was very nice and professional. I will give them another shot.
Samantha D.
Rating des Ortes: 2 South Windsor, CT
I came in Sunday 10 – 25 about 3:30/4 ish. My husband and I were waiting for my children to finish laser tag so we got a drink. While we were seated at a high top this one waitress had a group of guys in the corner. She was rude to them and was very snotty towards them. She seemed to have that attitude towards customers and staff alike. Over heard her being very rude to the other waitress, who I later learned was named Sam. I was tempted not to go back and eat after laser tag but my kids were hungry so we did. The rude waitress was gone and Sam waited on us. She was very nice, bubbly and made me glad I came to eat. But once we left we saw a group of guys that were in the tavern outside blaring music and drinking what I can only assume their own cans of beer. It was highly inappropriate. I will only return if Sam is my waitress and there are no displays of such in the parking lot. Giving a 2 because the food was ok.
Jo F.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Springfield, MA
Came today for drinks, food, and football. The food and drinks were fine. The 1 star is for the rudest most obnoxious bartender I’ve ever seen. We were at a table so we didn’t interact with him but watching the way he treated some of the customers at the bar was disgusting. If we were at the bar we would have walked out without paying.
Jon B.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Milford, CT
Ordered a medium rare burger got a charcoal patty. That’s all. Not coming back. The guy playing guitar in the corner is destroying country music and not destroying in a good way. Hope I can find something to eat on the way home. On the bright side, the waitress and the owner where aware of the problem and were quite apologetic. If anyone knows a good or even a mediocre cook please send them to Red Tavern. Anyone would be an improvement.
Scott J.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Glastonbury, CT
Red’s is a nice little bar tucked inside of Nomad’s Adventure Quest. Nomad’s is sort of a mix of Chuck E Cheese’s and Dave & Buster’s. Red’s is a full bar and feels semi out of place in an arcade full of blinking lights, mini golf, and laser tag. It is however a welcome and warm change of pace from the rest of Nomad’s. Red’s has a nice selection of drinks, has plenty of room at the bar and has a large amount of booths. The wait staff and bartender’s were very friendly and accommodating. I would definitely recommend hitting up some skee ball and mini golf and then ending the night off with some Red’s.
T M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Springfield, MA
Love my first experience here !! Shocked they served good food !! Also live band playing !! I was starving from playing games outside the bar and didn’t want to be around all those kids running around playing so snuck away and found my new spot when I wanna go out on my next date. t The cocktails and signature drinks yummmmmmm !!!
Tara E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Hartford, CT
So surprised how good this was. Had low expectations of it being in a kids gaming area(was thinking chuckee cheese) but it was so much better. Quiet, you can’t hear all the notice adjoining the arcade area. Cobb salad was great with very fresh avocado. Others in the group had paninis and wraps– no complaints. Kids had pizza and the crust didn’t look great(I like new haven style) but the kids of course loved it. Bar has a relatively short wine and beer list but… You are there with your kids so it’s more than acceptable since your only having a cocktail or two max. Our server was nice and accommodating. Will be back!
Jeff F.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Wethersfield, CT
This is the pub that sits inside Nomad’s Adventure. If you’re looking for this place independently, be aware you’re not going to find it. Head to Nomad’s and head to the back. One would assume this is Nomad’s attempt to draw the adult crowd and be more like a Dave & Buster’s, than a Chuck E. Cheese. Obviously sounds like a plan to me, except it’s hard to drink when you setup your establishment so far away from everything. Have a DD with your party or take it light on the alcohol. That said, I was here with my wife and son, so we’re not looking to do an adult themed party here for this trip anyway. Food is standard bar and grille fare. Son and I each had a burger and my wife had a sandwich and all came with fries. All very good, but nothing special. Beer selection was surprisingly wide as well. I know it’s a tavern and I should expect a good selection, but it’s also a tavern in the middle of video games, etc. Kudos for that. Service was slow to say the least. Waitress acknowledged it actually and said they typically don’t get the traffic on Saturday early evening that they had for us. By traffic, there were probably 8 — 10 tables going and she was the only waitress on staff. So I can cut her a break, but management should put at least one other waitress on staff for a Saturday I would think. Last note: They do a good job of shielding the noise and craziness of the video games, etc. from the restaurant area. It’s still somewhat loud in its own right, but you won’t have Dance Dance Revolution noises blaring at you while you try to enjoy your burger. Certainly a good spot to enjoy an adult meal amid all the kid craziness. Not good enough to be a go-to place on its own though…
Tom T.
Rating des Ortes: 4 South Windsor, CT
Cool low key spot to meet up with friends.
Russell W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Tolland, CT
The beer selection is pretty good, the place is clean, the bathrooms are huge, and there’s a ton of entertainment in the attached arcade/game center. If I had kids, this place would be even more appealing…“Go play skeeball, dad needs a beer.” Ha. The food was OK. If it was a normal restaurant/pub I’d probably drop another star, but I feel like the arcade aspect puts it in more of a Chuck E Cheese/Amusement Park expectations category. I certainly wouldn’t go here specifically with food in mind, but it’s great for a pint after work, and as an all-around venue it certainly has its other perks.
Noelle M.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Plainville, CT
This review is for the banquet hall and services. Attended a wedding reception here. Extra points are added to this place specifically for working with the bride & groom and their guests when the outdoor ceremony was rained out. They mad accommodations for the ceremony to be held in the hall(though the license was for a different town, so they did indeed get married, alone, in the rain at the park. Kind of romantic, if you ask me.) But that doesn’t make up for the terrible food and lackluster wait staff at this venue. Strangely located inside a children’s arcade and fun center, though I suppose that could be ideal if you’d like to get your kids out of your hair while you’re celebrating. Also attached to a full service(real) bar, which was at points a welcome respite. I do have to say if I were to have a wedding reception there, I’d totally want to include laser tag!