The trout was excellent and the duck breast with peppercorn sauce, spinach and chorizo was very good. Warm bread with orange butter was delish. The oysters Rockefeller were different (spinach was not creamy) but still hit the right notes. For desert, the tirramisu was enough for 3 or 4. Service was excellent
Wheelchair accessibility: Street level entrance with a dining room on street level
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: House Salad with Garlic Parmesan Dressing, Oyster Rockefeller, Duck Breasts
Joby Jerrells
The Tavern in Abingdon, Virginia is one of the oldest continuing operating restaurants in the United States. Nestled in the heart of Appalachia, The Tavern has been in operation since 1779 and frequented by Henry Clay, L’Enfant, the King of France, and President Andrew Jackson.
Western Virginia and western North Carolina need you now more than ever. Towns like Damascus, home of the Virginia Creeper Trail, Boone, and Asheville were hit hard by the rain from Hurricane Helene.
I enjoyed an awesome meal with family at The Tavern. For our appetizers we had the jumbo shrimp and escargot, which were excellent.
The house salad with the orange balsamic dressing was delicious and fresh.
Entrees included New York strip and crab cakes, both cooked to perfection and well-seasoned.
Reservations recommended.
This is an uncompensated, independent review.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes, Escargot
Gina Alazawi
Absolutely amazing! The Tavern is a perfect spot for a romantic dinner. The food was crazy good and you got lots of it. Although pricey, it was worth ever penny. I never mind paying more for quality, and this certainly was. Our server, wasn't horrible, but he seemed agitated and came across curt and snappy. I suppose I wouldn't have noticed but the other tables near us had amazing servers so it was easy to notice ours wasn't as engaged or on that level. ( I will ask for Ezra next time) The Tavern is cozy, historical and the food is over the top fabulous.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Daniel Greene
Drove an hour from Kingsport for the worst service that I’ve had in years. Food was mediocre.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Sharon Sellman
Dinner was wonderful! Oysters Rockefeller were delicious, onion soup was perfect with croutons and cheese, but the trout was the best I ever tasted! Smoked lightly and juicy! Jambalaya was as good as in New Orleans! Fresh bread with raspberry butter! Decor was great for an historic tavern, and service was excellent.
The Black and Blue Medallions are AMAZING! Seriously, so good! The upstairs seating can get a bit warm but everything is cozy and beautiful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Becky Puckett
This place is impossible to get into. The 1st time we attempted… we called multiple times & no one would answer the phone. We ended up stopping in to see if we could get in… the hostess out front said “did you call to make reservations?”!!!! Recently, we were in town again and called for reservations for the next day & the lady that answered the phone just said they were booked that day and hung up the phone! I wanted to inquire about a later date, but I am not that interested now. ?
Recommended dishes: Jagerschnitzel, Baked Salmon, French Onion Soup
Josh Robertson
The food and service at The Tavern are great. We enjoyed our dinner there this past weekend. My wife and I both got the filet medallions and they were good. The service was good as well. The Tavern itself is a very cool old, historic place. We enjoyed ourselves there but likely would not return. It was very pricey. For my wife and I, we spent $150 here for 2 dinners and 2 teas, plus tip. It was a good meal, but not $150 good. We actually had better steak at a restaurant in Bristol, and spent $55 for 2 entrees, 2 teas, 2 salads and 2 desserts. I am not knocking The Tavern, just be prepared to spend a lot of money here, and it's not a restaurant you would expect to have the prices that they do.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Filet Medallions
Travelin' Man
My wife and I ate here the other night. For the most part, the service was good. Our salads and dressing were both good. I had the rib-eye which was tender. I ordered it medium well and it came out just with just a touch of pink, which was perfect.
On the other hand, there were issues with the lamb. My wife asked for lamb to be cooked medium well. When it was served, it was all pink on the outside (obviously rare). My wife told the waiter it was not prepared properly and the waiter told her that it starts with a purple color (which it does when it hasn't been crooked at all). He went on to say the next level is what she saw. NO ONE would look at that and think (1) this is OK to eat, and (2) this is prepared medium well. Not even close. So, she asked to have it sent back. We both thought the waiter seemed a bit annoyed by his mannerisms (but not his tone). When it came back, most of the lamb was cooked correctly. However, there was still one chop that was still pink on the outside, which isn't healthy. Any decent cook should have gotten this right the first time, and definitely corrected it the second time around. Pink on the outside is not even safe to eat (because of possible bacteria).
Another issue was we walked out of there without our ToGo boxes. We called back within 30 minutes to see if they had saved them for us. They checked and said it had already been tossed. During my discussion with who I assumed to be the manager, I expressed my disappointment that our food was thrown out so quickly. He went on to tell me probably 5-6 people a day (or maybe it was a week) forget their food and never come back for it. When I noted that we had just dropped $120 (excluding the tip) and that at least $40 worth of food was thrown away, I asked it he was willing to refund $30. He refused to do that and then proceeded to say "I'm not trying to be rude, but I'd suggest you be more careful and make sure you've got everything before you leave" (not those exact words, but very close). This is not the tone a business should take with a customer (especially one who just dropped $120).
So, if you forget your leftover food, don't expect them to do ANYTHING to hang into it for even 30 minutes. Consider it tossed. Yes, it was on us for forgetting the food, but we literally called back within 30 minutes to let them know.
Because of the issues noted above, I give this a 3-star review. We won't be returning.
We highly recommend a restaurant called Rain Restaurant just 20 yards from The Tavern (on the opposite side of the street). We both had perfectly cooked salmon there. Nice atmosphere too.
Amanda Burden
We always have excellent service & food! Dwayne Anderson is the best! I got the appeitizer "The Ferracci" for my meal and it was perfect and definitely a generous helping as the menu states! The filet tips were so tender and full of flavor! Also, in the pictures is the Duck and the Crème Brulée.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sammy Palmer
Everything about this establishment is amazing, including our server Avery. The man went above and beyond with everything he did.
Wonderful Everytime! Excellent food and service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The trout was excellent and the duck breast with peppercorn sauce, spinach and chorizo was very good. Warm bread with orange butter was delish. The oysters Rockefeller were different (spinach was not creamy) but still hit the right notes. For desert, the tirramisu was enough for 3 or 4. Service was excellent
Wheelchair accessibility: Street level entrance with a dining room on street level
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: House Salad with Garlic Parmesan Dressing, Oyster Rockefeller, Duck Breasts
The Tavern in Abingdon, Virginia is one of the oldest continuing operating restaurants in the United States. Nestled in the heart of Appalachia, The Tavern has been in operation since 1779 and frequented by Henry Clay, L’Enfant, the King of France, and President Andrew Jackson.
Western Virginia and western North Carolina need you now more than ever. Towns like Damascus, home of the Virginia Creeper Trail, Boone, and Asheville were hit hard by the rain from Hurricane Helene.
I enjoyed an awesome meal with family at The Tavern. For our appetizers we had the jumbo shrimp and escargot, which were excellent.
The house salad with the orange balsamic dressing was delicious and fresh.
Entrees included New York strip and crab cakes, both cooked to perfection and well-seasoned.
Reservations recommended.
This is an uncompensated, independent review.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes, Escargot
Absolutely amazing! The Tavern is a perfect spot for a romantic dinner.
The food was crazy good and you got lots of it. Although pricey, it was worth ever penny.
I never mind paying more for quality, and this certainly was. Our server, wasn't horrible, but he seemed agitated and came across curt and snappy. I suppose I wouldn't have noticed but the other tables near us had amazing servers so it was easy to notice ours wasn't as engaged or on that level. ( I will ask for Ezra next time) The Tavern is cozy, historical and the food is over the top fabulous.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 2
Drove an hour from Kingsport for the worst service that I’ve had in years. Food was mediocre.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Dinner was wonderful! Oysters Rockefeller were delicious, onion soup was perfect with croutons and cheese, but the trout was the best I ever tasted! Smoked lightly and juicy! Jambalaya was as good as in New Orleans! Fresh bread with raspberry butter!
Decor was great for an historic tavern, and service was excellent.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a wonderful place! Food is unbelievable!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Filet Medallions, Oyster Rockefeller, Crab Cakes
The Black and Blue Medallions are AMAZING! Seriously, so good! The upstairs seating can get a bit warm but everything is cozy and beautiful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is impossible to get into. The 1st time we attempted… we called multiple times & no one would answer the phone. We ended up stopping in to see if we could get in… the hostess out front said “did you call to make reservations?”!!!!
Recently, we were in town again and called for reservations for the next day & the lady that answered the phone just said they were booked that day and hung up the phone! I wanted to inquire about a later date, but I am not that interested now. ?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Dwayne is the best waiter!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Filet Medallions, Jagerschnitzel, Tavern Onion Soup, Stuffed Mushrooms
Restaurantji Recommends
Great food served outside under the stars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jagerschnitzel, Baked Salmon, French Onion Soup
The food and service at The Tavern are great. We enjoyed our dinner there this past weekend. My wife and I both got the filet medallions and they were good. The service was good as well. The Tavern itself is a very cool old, historic place. We enjoyed ourselves there but likely would not return. It was very pricey. For my wife and I, we spent $150 here for 2 dinners and 2 teas, plus tip. It was a good meal, but not $150 good. We actually had better steak at a restaurant in Bristol, and spent $55 for 2 entrees, 2 teas, 2 salads and 2 desserts. I am not knocking The Tavern, just be prepared to spend a lot of money here, and it's not a restaurant you would expect to have the prices that they do.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Filet Medallions
My wife and I ate here the other night. For the most part, the service was good. Our salads and dressing were both good. I had the rib-eye which was tender. I ordered it medium well and it came out just with just a touch of pink, which was perfect.
On the other hand, there were issues with the lamb. My wife asked for lamb to be cooked medium well. When it was served, it was all pink on the outside (obviously rare). My wife told the waiter it was not prepared properly and the waiter told her that it starts with a purple color (which it does when it hasn't been crooked at all). He went on to say the next level is what she saw. NO ONE would look at that and think (1) this is OK to eat, and (2) this is prepared medium well. Not even close. So, she asked to have it sent back. We both thought the waiter seemed a bit annoyed by his mannerisms (but not his tone). When it came back, most of the lamb was cooked correctly. However, there was still one chop that was still pink on the outside, which isn't healthy. Any decent cook should have gotten this right the first time, and definitely corrected it the second time around. Pink on the outside is not even safe to eat (because of possible bacteria).
Another issue was we walked out of there without our ToGo boxes. We called back within 30 minutes to see if they had saved them for us. They checked and said it had already been tossed. During my discussion with who I assumed to be the manager, I expressed my disappointment that our food was thrown out so quickly. He went on to tell me probably 5-6 people a day (or maybe it was a week) forget their food and never come back for it. When I noted that we had just dropped $120 (excluding the tip) and that at least $40 worth of food was thrown away, I asked it he was willing to refund $30. He refused to do that and then proceeded to say "I'm not trying to be rude, but I'd suggest you be more careful and make sure you've got everything before you leave" (not those exact words, but very close). This is not the tone a business should take with a customer (especially one who just dropped $120).
So, if you forget your leftover food, don't expect them to do ANYTHING to hang into it for even 30 minutes. Consider it tossed. Yes, it was on us for forgetting the food, but we literally called back within 30 minutes to let them know.
Because of the issues noted above, I give this a 3-star review. We won't be returning.
We highly recommend a restaurant called Rain Restaurant just 20 yards from The Tavern (on the opposite side of the street). We both had perfectly cooked salmon there. Nice atmosphere too.
We always have excellent service & food! Dwayne Anderson is the best! I got the appeitizer "The Ferracci" for my meal and it was perfect and definitely a generous helping as the menu states! The filet tips were so tender and full of flavor! Also, in the pictures is the Duck and the Crème Brulée.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything about this establishment is amazing, including our server Avery. The man went above and beyond with everything he did.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Creme Brulee, Scallops, Stuffed Filet Mignon
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