Arena Tavern

Service is absolutely terrible, and the food is not worth the heavy up charge.
To start, we ran out of water about half way through the meal, and even though the waitress came by 2 times after, we had to ask for refills. When she brought the water jug, she filled two of the four empty glasses, pretended to look at the table, and then walked away… apparently, you also have to ask to be included in the initial refill request.
We asked for the check, and 15 minutes later, we had to get up to go find her for the check. There was at any given time no more than 2 tables within sight… when we went to go find her, she was no where in sight and we had to ask another sever to track her down. I really don’t fell like we were all that difficult. There were 6 in our party, and we didn’t have any special orders or complicated requests… total time spent at this restaurant was over 2 hours!!! What the hell?

We had a group of 20+ for lunch on Saturday and barring all past experiences, our waiter was outstanding. Food was served in a timely manner and no «calling out» of who had what. And our checks were promptly assigned correctly; rare when you ride with a large group.
Even though the service was above & beyond, we can not access more stars, for this establishment prohibits against concealed carry. In this day of so much violence, being protected by responsible patrons is more important then what sport announcers are saying.

Good for drinks, but the food is very over priced for what you get. Marlows around the corner is a better bang for your buck. Although the live music here is cool, I’d really only recommend this place for drinks, not so much dinning.

The staff was wonderful and the management stopped by the table and chatted for a moment. Friendly atmosphere. The food looked tasty but most of what my party ordered was not homemade. Infact, my turkey burger was super processed and must have had msg because it triggered a migraine. MSG is the only thing that will do that to me, so if you are sensitive to such things I would skip the restaurant. If not, then you will probably enjoy the food and experience.

We came here after a Gladiator hockey game on a Sunday evening. We sat at the bar and enjoyed the Packer Game on all the screens.
I was impressed with their beer selection and what they had on tap. The food was good. I had the fish and chips.
The server we had was excellent!!! She was extremely patient with us (we were waiting for more people to come and they took awhile!) In the meantime, since most of us were from the north, she even brought out some small bowls for the guys to taste test some grits and collards.
We will definitely be back after a game!

Arena Tavern gets 5+ stars in my book! They quickly accommodated our large party of over 20 last minute AND gave outstanding service. Every employee from the hostess to bartender to servers had a fabulous attitude and were very attentive. They have an awesome microbrew selection and the food is always fresh! Try the Ahi Salad… you won’t regret it!

Whatever you do, don’t start watching a game here. A table came in well into the second quarter and without asking us we had been there since kickoff, they changed the tv away from the game we were watching to one that table wanted. The game they requested was on four other tvs around the dining room and when we complained, nobody cared. It was the only tv the game we were watching was on. If you don’t care about me, then I’ll not care about coming back to your establishment.

This place forgot my order in a party of 40 at a corporate event. We were not adequately served in our large party. Incompetent waiters did not get my order out despite having multiple warnings from our party. It was finally served after everyone had already paid and was leaving to the after party. Then they had the audacity to charge the company anyway. I understand that it was a large party but this should not happen at this type of establishment.

I’ve got one question for y’all — what in the hell happened here!!! We were frequent here from Feb thru June & everything was 5 stars plus! Four of us went a few nights ago. You could hardly hear our server speak! Reminded me of the Seinfeld «Low-​Talker» episode!!! Our drinks were watered down & weren’t made eye appealing at all. Looked like they were just thrown together. The top managers were just standing around drinking coffee & talking amongst themselves. We ordered calamari which was like tiny rubber tires, fried mozzarella was not even brown & not even drained from grease & flung on a plate! Again, it wasn’t crowded here. We all ordered smokehouse ribs. They were absolutely terrible like they were old. None of us could cut them apart! The mac & cheese portions were so small that if I’d be embarrassed to even serve it! Back in those months when y’all did deserve 5 stars, the food was awesome no matter what you ordered & the plating used to also be impressive. Now reminds me of cafeteria style crap! Everything flung on a plate, no garnish, no finesse — nothing! Also too many good things have been taken off the menu like hot pretzels, French onion soup just to name a few. Our waitress didn’t check on us enough & usually was nowhere to be found. Arena management, we are just shocked beyond belief! We were going to cater a smokehouse party, but now forget it. We spent close to $ 200 & all we got was bad food, crummy service & indigestion. We threw out all the leftovers too on the way home in a trash bin at Publix because we couldn’t fathom eating this all over again! Get back those people that cared back then or you are going to continue to lose business!!! Sadly, we won’t be coming there anymore!

Our server was extremely nice. But unfortunately the food was not very good. I ordered the oyster Po boy sandwich which I could not even eat, and a cup of clam chowder which was much more runny and creamy. Will probably not return here for dinner.

Great all around service! Servers are amazing & the most accommodating. The food was good. Mozzarella was a lil greasy but non the least good. I had the fish & chips. It was good but again on the greasy side. I would most def go back just for the top notch customer service!

I’ve only been here for a few work-​related gatherings over the last couple of years. The most recent one was a group lunch. The food was fine and they had a decent variety on the menu. On prior visits, the appetizers were fairly good.
If you are into sports bars, you could do worse than this place. The atmosphere seems a bit more upscale than a lot of standard sports bars.

friendly greeter and that was it. i waited more than ten minutes for service. made eye contact with three servers… ignored. then the table that arrived after me got service! walked out. what a difference from four months ago.

Ok, so I had the slow cooked smoked whole chicken wings and I swear it was the BEST chicken I ever had!
And the people are extremely friendly… Like they are happy working here or something.

I attend a conference every year and usually end up at the tavern every night for a late meal/​drinks. It’s the perfect environment for reconnecting with old and new friends I see every year.
However, I have to say that the manager working after 9 pm on April 30 was an absolute jerk. My staff came in 5 minutes before me and antagonized them because they hesitated for a few seconds to think about how many were in our party. The server apologized to them on his behalf. A few minutes later, I arrive and he gave me trouble just because I walked in and headed to the table waiting for me. I didn’t realize I needed his permission to walk in.
I actually came back for lunch the next day and he was in a better mood, but he made some side comment that was more than irritating.
I love the tavern, but get this manager in line… He’s out of control.

Went on a Saturday around lunchtime (noon) and sat outside although it was definitely a warm but enjoyable spring day. The patio is very very nice and the food is awesome although we haven’t tried the beef yet. We sat with Sarah S. — she was very attentive and helpful with menu questions.

I had 2 visits here on the same day due to work in the area (close to business office)
To start I will say the tavern is nicely decorated, table/​booths/​high tops spaced appropriately, great bar/​tv service throughout along with outdoor seating!
I was warmly greeted on both visits and was immediately seated.
Lunch:
Had the tavern burger with sweet potato fries. The veggies on the burger was delicious and fresh. The meat was cooked to a medium level and fairly tasty. The bun was an issue as this was hard in spots. The sweet potato fries were warm not hot so they must had been sitting out or under a heat lamp. I would have preferred a fresh order with my meal. The burger meal was a little more than it should have been. I think if you were to take $ 3 off then this would have been a decent deal.
Dinner:
I had the fish tacos on corn tortillas. The fish was over cooked and hard with some bites. The corn tortillas were harder than they should have been. The meal was OK as I was fairly hungry and had to get on the road. For what I got it was WAY over priced.
Service:
The servers were great always making sure I had what I needed including multiple refills and they were very polite and courteous.
The restaurant was very clean including bathrooms and there was plenty of parking during my visits. I was promptly seated which was a +++ also.
I gave this a 3 star review due to the food prep.

Had the fried mozzarella and BBQ chicken sliders. Pretty good actually. And the environment was clean and nice, enjoyed my time.

The only time I ever head to Arena Tavern is when my coworkers and I are grabbing lunch together and it is someone else’s turn to pick the venue. Their menu has changed over time and the service/​food quality has definitely been on it’s way down.
It’s your typical bar/​restaurant that’s located next to the Gwinnett Arena. The waitresses are pretty aloof and have difficulty remembering whether you wanted sweet or unsweet tea. They’re around when you don’t need them, but when you need a refill, extra napkins, sauce, etc. they’re nowhere to be found.
I’ve had their burgers and some of the small plates and it’s just been disappointing. The used to have a specialty burger list, but now it’s solely create your own. I ordered mine medium on the last visit but it was still cold in the middle and the oil and grease running out of it was appalling. There weren’t enough napkins in the place to clean my hands off! I ordered it with a side of sweet potato fries which are actually pretty OK here except now they give you almost zero! I counted on my last visit — I had 11 fries on my plate total. It was as if someone had grabbed a toddler-​sized handful and laid them out to make it seem like there was more of them.
Arena Tavern isn’t my first choice for lunch dining and when I have gone, the restaurant is usually pretty empty which is a bad sign for an area that gets so much business from the lunch rush. I recommend going elsewhere if you need a burger or similar pub grub to satisfy a craving; Arena Tavern will only disappoint you.

I can’t saw enough about the beer selection.
Had the French dip which was very good. I have eaten here 20 times in the last year and it is always good.
Tried the jalapeño coleslaw today. Was actually tasteless. Would not recommend at all.
Nate V at bar was responsive and a great asset as tender.
As I arrived at 1:30 ish the crowd was gone and I got my food in minutes. I have waited in line at mcdonalds longer than this.
Great experience all in all. Will be back a few more times this week as I am here for 4 more days