It's been exactly three weeks since Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne opened the doors to Tavern. For the most part, the ambitious project has been slammed since Day One, with the internet buzz to match the crowds. Everyone from Miss Irene to 100 Chowhounds has chimed in with some sort of opinion, so we figured it high time to round up the buzz and roll out another edition of Good News/Bad News. As always, your additional thoughts are very much welcome in the comments and/or straight to us.
Very Good News: "Ate here tonight and have to say... one of the best meals I've had in L.A. All the food was superb, fresh, delicious. Duck sausage, asparagus with egg, salad with crab and green goddess dressing, orata, mushrooms, pork chop, plus the best turkey burger and fries in town, incredible desserts like the chocolate caramel tart... I think this is Goin's best restaurant-- feels like she really stepped up for this one." [CH]
Even Better News: "first of all the space is gorgeous. reminded us of nyc with a hint of paris. the colors are dark and soothing and the space is divided into three sections. The bakery is light and airy and the breads are fanastic. the bar is so cozy with a zinc bar and long beautiful banquette against the wall. And then the main dining room is a stunning atrium. the difference here is that the food well surpasses the space which seems to be rare in LA..." [Yelp]
But On the Other Hand...: "The dining room is indeed beautiful. But the lighting in the bar/lounge is HORRIBLE. In that lighting, everyone looks like they're starring in The Blair Witch Project, but with the spotlights shining on their foreheads. Wow. What a disaster of design in epic proportion. Even Brad Pitt would look like an ogre in this lighting (so you can imagine how everyone else looks). Truly, truly bad design. What were they thinking?" [Eater Comments]
Maybe Some Promising Lighting News: "Now that they turned the lights down, Tavern: busy, pretty much on point, exciting! Love the space" [Twitter]
Bad News, Service Edition: "They seated us in the bakery. I made our reservation before they even opened. They didn't even ask us if we wanted to be seated right away or if we preferred to wait until a table opened up in the dining room. No ambiance at all and paid VERY little attention to us throughout the meal. Brought a beer and spilled it all over my sister and grandmother. At least half a bottle of beer all over them. Didn't send a manager over or anything. My sisters napkin got wet in the spill. She asked for a clean one and they never brought it. Eventually we took one off of the table next to us." [Eater Inbox]
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting News: "Went there last weekend. Seems very promising, but the service was absolutely horrible. There were probably about 8 or 10 people in there, and only 2 people in line in front of me. It took about 7-8 minutes to get through their orders. When I got to the front the woman walked away for no apparent reason." [Eater Inbox]
The SIV Contribution: "I want to move in." [LAT]
The Neighborhood News: "I don't think that the owners envisioned Tavern as a destination restaurant for serious foodies. I believe that they took a look at Brentwood, the site, and decided that Brentwood could use a great neighborhood restaurant. For me, this defines Tavern. I have had a couple of wonderful dinners there, as well as lunch. I always see the "locals" ... Tavern is a great neighborhood restaurant, and we, who live in Brentwood, are very excited." [CH]
