Cuisine: American, Bar & Grill, Burgers, Desserts, Pasta, Pizza, Steaks, Ribs
Restaurant Features: Bar, Happy Hour, Kids Menu, Patio, On-Site Parking, Sunday Brunch
Location: Blaine, MN ( Sister Restaurant is Tavern on France in Edina, MN)
Addresses & Maps:
Tavern Grill- 10950 Club West Parkway Suite 270 Blaine, MN 55449 763-398-8100
Tavern on France- 6740 France Avenue South Edina, MN 55435 952-358-6100
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11a-12a Fri-Sat 11a-1a Sun 10a-10p
Links: Tavern Grill Website * Tavern Grill on Facebook
Atmosphere: Located in the space previously occupied by Bella Italian Grill, The Tavern Grill in Blaine opened its doors in June 2010.
Menu: Appetizers at The Tavern Grill include Burger Sliders, Philly Sliders, Chicken Littles, Crab Artichoke Quesadilla, Toasted Bruschetta, Onion Rings, Tavern Fries, Lemon Basil Calamari, Crab Artichoke Dip, Bleu Chips (homemade potato chips topped with bleu cheese crumbles and bacon), Sesame Chicken Stix, Walleye Fingers, and Buffalo Wings. Soups include Chicken Wild Rice, French Onion and a Soup du Jour.
Flatbread Pizza options include Build-Your-Own where you choose your Sauce, Cheese, Toppings and Meats, or the Farmers Market Pizza, Prosciutto & Tomato, BBQ Chicken, Buffalo Chicken, Classic Pepperoni and the Beachcomber (canadian bacon, pineapple and cilantro).
Salad options include Build-Your-Own (choose your cheeses, Veggies Mix-Ins, Crunch, Meats and Dressings). Chef Specialty Salads include Chop, Chicken Thai, Grilled Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Caesar Salad.
Burger Options include the Build-A-Burger (choose your Meat, Bread, Cheese, Toppings and Extras). Specialty Burgers include Tavern Burger (bbq, gouda and bacon), Veggies Burger, Widowmaker (cheddar, caramelized onion, philly beef, 4 cheese sauce, onion strings) and the Beachcomber (ginger orange teriyaki, swiss and grilled fresh pineapple).
Tavern Sandwich options are the Grilled Club, Walleye, Grilled Chicken Wrap, Buffalo Chicken, Philly Cheesesteak, Corned Beef on Rye, Steak with Swiss and Mushrooms, French Dip, Steakhouse Wrap, Patty Melt and Crispy Chicken Wrap.
Pastas at The Tavern Grill are the Baked Ravioli with Chicken, MOnterey Shrimp, Fettuccini Alfredo, Baked Spaghetti and the Shrimp Ravioli in Sundried Tomato Pesto.
Entrees include Walleye & Chips, HomeStyle Grilled Meatloaf, Seared Teriyaki Salmon, Tuscan Chicken, Naked Filet, Tucker’s Filet (marinated in soy sauce and garlic), Ginger Garlic NY Strip, Baby Back Ribs and Spicy Ginger Seared Tuna.
Desserts include New York Cheesecake, Key Lime Pie, Fill-Your-Own Mini Donut Holes, Build-Your-Own S’Mores, and Chocolate Cake with Whiskey Sauce.
Items from the Kids Menu include Chicken Strips, Mini Cheeseburgers, Pepperoni or Cheese Pizza, and Grilled Cheese.
Price guide: Appetizers $7-11 Pizzas $8.50-11 Salads $9-12 Burgers $9-12 Sandwiches $9-12 Pastas $13-15 Entrees $ 13-19 Desserts $6-7.50
Happy Hour:
- M-F 3-6pm and 9pm-Close
- $2 Off Specialty Cocktails
- 1/2 Priced Wines & Pizas
- $3 Appetizers including Tavern Blue Chips, Sliders, Chicken Littles, Cheesy Jalapeno Nachos, and Waffles Fries
- $4 Cheesy Jalapeno Beef or Chicken Nachos
- $5 Crab Quesadilla
Weekly Specials:
- Sunday Brunch 10am-2pm
- Adults $14 Kids 12 and Under $6
- Carved Roast Beef, Pancake Bar, Made-to-Order Omelettes, Baked Reggiano Hashbrowns, Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Gravy, Hickory Smoked Bacon, Sausage Links, Chef’s Special Scrambled Eggs (changes weekly), Scrambled Eggs, Fresh Skillet Caramel Rolls, Fresh Fruit, Assorted Fresh Pastries.
What we ordered: We started with an order of the Buffalo Wings, which came with 9 wings in the order. We requested the Buffalo sauce be served on the side, as we were feeding a small child within my party. The thick and spicy dark orange Buffalo sauce had a nice kick to it, I poured it very liberally on the wings I ate (along with bleu cheese, of course!)
I was debating between a burger or the walleye sandwich and ended up with the walleye (sorry about the terrible, blurry photo!). The walleye fillet was sliced rather thinly and then breaded with the Tavern’s special batter before being deep fried to a crispy golden brown. I was expecting a bigger sandwich but was still satisfied with the fillet, which came served on grilled herb focaccia bread with shredded lettuce and tartar sauce on the side. I had my choice of potato and went with the delicious golden waffle fries.
One of my companions ordered the Monterey Shrimp Pasta, which came with several sauteed shrimp and vermicelli tossed with roasted garlic, asparagus, roasted red peppers, and spinach in a light white wine, lemon and butter sauce. The ingredients in this dish were plentiful but the sauce was so light it didn’t go far in the way of flavor. My companion requested a side of the Pesto Alfredo sauce to kick up the flavor a little and was very satisfied after doing so.
One of my companions ordered a side salad with her meal, a great add-on for $2.50.
Bread does not automatically come with any of the meals at The Tavern Grill, however our server brought out a plate of sliced ciabatta after one of my companions requested bread.
Another companion ordered the Baby Back Ribs, served with garlic mashed potatoes and coleslaw. The ribs were very tender and moist, falling off the bone after being slow-roasted for several hours. I did not try this at all but according to my companion, the bourbon barbeque sauce was slightly spicy but very flavorful.
There were a couple of fun items on the dessert menu, such as the Build-Your-Own-S’mores, but what really sounded cool was the Fill-Your-Own-Donut-Holes. The hot and freshly-fried donut holes were served in an overflowing chinese-food container, with three types of fillings: Chocolate Creme, Bavarian Creme, and Raspberry. The little tubes have a sharp point to them where you jam them into the center of your donut hole and squeeze until the donut is filled. What a delicious and fun concept. These disappeared very quickly!
Service: I had tried to make a reservation on a busy Friday night but was told that The Tavern Grill would only take reservations for parties of 7 or more, however they would put me on the list for call-ahead seating. I arrived about 45 minutes after I had called to put my name on the list but was told that they had taken my name off the list because I was late. I was told my party could be seated right away at a table or I could have my name added to the bottom of the list for a booth. We didn’t want to wait 40 minutes for a booth so we sat at a table. Our server was nice and asked if we had been to The Tavern Grill before. Since we had not, she explained how the Build-Your-Own options worked. No mentions of highlighted items from the menu, nor did she make any suggestions. She was helpful however, when helping to decide between a couple of items on the menu. Food took awhile to arrive, drinks were faster. We had to ask for refills on a few occasions when our glasses were empty, but the server responded to our requests in a timely manner.
Overall Impression: The Tavern Grill has many specialty items on the menu but also has many Build-Your-Own options. I would love to go back and try one of the burgers or pizzas. The Tavern Grill also has great Happy Hour specials on food and a gorgeous patio area. The service was decent for a very busy Friday night.
