Tavern on the Hill

I arrived and was taken aback on how dark the place was — ambiance might not be their focus. I am all about a good meal. I look around to check out the clientele and thought we might have stumbled on an Elks lodge. They have refine taste was the conclusion so the food must be marvelous. Excited now on the gem that could be — I scope out places with my buddy and then take the wife if it is all the rave. We sit and order — I have an interesting mix that I hope to be what I am thinking — for starters I had some of theAsian influenced calamari. Soft. Tasty and enjoyable. The lobster bisque is flavorful but lacks the chucks that I experienced and preferred from another place we had it. Ok on to the meal — the veggie/​shrimp dish — not doing pasta — was so not what I was expecting. The vegetables seemed that they could have used to boosters in size. Not sure if I would capture the look as robust more anorexic vegetable. Really? A veggie dish that uses meager vegetables. The shrimp saved the day but was lost in this sauce. Oh the sauce was a thing that I could not really figure out. My pallette is extensive and there are a lot of things I can identify and create based on taste however this was not something I would want to recreate. For texture think sludge — never tasted it but if I was eatable I pretty sure it would taste like this. I save room for desert — I have the brownie sundae. Warm, small and homely — I knew it would be based on seeing it come out while I was eating. Maybe taste would have brought me back to the chocolate factory. It did not. Service was great and the company outstanding. What then is food among good company?

We’ve driven by the Tavern on the Hill a 1,000 Xs — and we decided to try it out. We arrived on a Saturday night at 7:00 … To much of our surprise the place was not packed and no one was waiting — but the 3 people at the hostess desk were a very discombobulated. There were several empty tables — without table settings. Our waitress Kelly, was very good. The rest of our experience was just mediocre. The menu had very odd pairings — a lot of fruit themed dishes — with the majority of the fruit is out of season for mid February. It was puzzling to us that they call the restaurant a Tavern — while there was not one steak on the menu. No ribeye, strip, or even a T-​bone. They did have braised short ribs — that were sold out of (at 7p). We ordered shrimp cocktail — it was good — though a few were not fully cleaned. We also ordered wild mushroom risotto with chicken and glazed salmon with apples/​onions and mashed potatoes. The plate that the risotto arrived on was steaming hot the risotto was not. The dish was pretty bland. The salmon was cooked well and the glaze was good — if you like it sweet. The selection on the menu has a trend of a lot of sweet items. Weird selections e. g General Tso’s calamari. The beers on tap also carried the sweet fruity theme. The view is probably the best part of the Tavern on the Hill.

The Tavern, located on MT. Tom, has an absolutely wonderful ambiance in the early American tradition with dark patinated wood tables and chairs; a beautifully contructed rough brick fire place in the lounge and a wrap around widowed dining area overlooking Easthampton. The bar top is somewhat on the rustic side with 2′ thick double wide aged epoxied knotty pine board, just beautiful. I have heard so much about this place, I though it was time to at least stop by for a cocktail and check it out. I have friends who regularly dine there and rave about the food so that will be my next Tavern adventure.

The blackened kielbasa is amazing. My first experience here was awesome. Had the filet with a Gorgonzola fig sauce and it was the best I’ve had in my life. My new favorite restaurant! It’s an hour from me but I’d gladly drive that any time to enjoy a meal here.

Never disappointing ! Great service and food is always reliable. Chicken risotto is delicious and great salmon and swordfish. Very cozy in the winter.

I wish they were more consistent. Last night’s dinner was definitely 4 stars but last time the food was a 3 and service a 2.5. The views are stunning (during spring, summer and early fall) and cocktails on the deck are delightful.
Last night we had the Lobster Bisque — skip it. No lobster (none!) and the bouillabaisse was too dark even if there had been. The Brie Puffs were good — if over sauced.
My wyf had the Bistro Tenders with Potatoes Au potatoes and she was pleasantly surprised. I played it safe with Shrimp Marchese (which they do well). Our guest had the pomegranate chicken which she enjoyed.
Heather was our server and she was spot on all evening.

Had the Caesar salad and steak tips. The Caesar salad was way overdressed. Didn’t eat more than half. The steak tips were ok but the sauce the past was soaking in was not tasty at all.

Wife and I traveled up her on a hot night recently and had a great meal outside. We try to stop in for a meal a few times a year for both the food and the view. This place really pushes the boundaries with their food, always surprising me and I’ve eaten almost everywhere from here to Boston.
To start we had blackened kielbasa with tomato ginger chutney and horseradish roasted garlic cream sauce, Brie puffs with apricot and raspberry sauce (oh yeah, cheese and fruit app!) and Gorgonzola garlic bread. The kielbasa was blackened nicely and the two sauces were totally like some kind of crazy beautiful ying and yang with that big sausage. The Brie with raspberries was delicious and made me feel like I was in Paris (and I know, I’ve been). The garlic bread was just ok, there was only a little Gorgonzola on it and definitely not enough butter to give it that nice richness. Maybe some garlic aioli with it might have helped too.
For entrees I had the pasta jambalaya with chicken, shrimp, Tasso ham, andouille sausage and spinach in a spicy tomato sauce tossed with shells and it was a littl’ taste o’ nor lans’ right here in the valley. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and there was LOADS of andouille. There was also a spice in it I couldn’t quite place but I think it was little of emerils Cajun spice and it really kicked the dish up. Total home run. We split the fresh herb crêpe stuffed with asparagus, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, butternut squash, roasted garlic, zucchini and caramelized onions with goat cheese and topped with marinara sauce. It was pretty good, it made feel better for eating a vegetable with my dinner although I think I like my crepes better with pineapple and cottage cheese. Just my opinion.
The wife had shrimp marchese which she raves about being the best shrimp she’s ever eaten (not saying much since she previously said the shrimp cocktail from Costco was the best) but I had a few bites and it was tasty. Definitely a good splash of top shelf Marsala wine in there to flambé it. Nice touch. The asparagus was local and so wasn’t the butternut squash which you could tell, it made the whole dish sing. I thought I heard satchmo!
You can tell the cooks here really are on top of their game, possibly the best in Easthampton, and are definitely on top of easthampton if you know what I mean. Hah!

I’m an admittedly picky guest both in terms of food and service. This place gets 5 Stars from me on the food, drinks, and location. We got the two beef dishes and they were wonderful. My cocktail (gin gimlet with muddled cucumber) was awesome. The service wasn’t perfect, but I’m gonna let it slide and will definitely be going back. Based on my first experience, this is now tied for best food and drinks in the Valley in my book (with Max’s and High Horse) but the view is amazing, the prices are low on the drinks and reasonable on the food (big portions, perfectly prepared meats), and it’s right near my house. I will definitely be going back. Frequently. Can’t believe it took me this long to check it out.

Great food, lots of options and great view if you are willing to wait for a table. Will be returning for sure!

Where to start.
The drinks and most of the bartenders are nice, staff is also nice, but obviously over worked. They either have too much going on behind the scenes or not enough servers. They really run around and barely have time to spend with their tables.
The food is average and over priced, you will normally get a heaping portion of starch, a standard portion of meat, and then three asparagus or green beans. Yes, three. I wouldn’t bother getting their house salad, one cucumber, a single grape tomato, some shaved carrot, and a whole lot of onion.
For a restaurant that charges $ 20 – 25 per plate, you expect more.
Now the reason we won’t ever pay money to this place:
Amy. She is a horrible excuse for front end management. She seems to think that by coming in it is our privilege, we came in just before five, planning to sit at the bar and wait for friends, only to be told that they aren’t open and we won’t be seen by a server until five. She was so unbelievably rude about it. If you have a problem or try to return food, it’s more «I’m sorry you have bad taste» rather than «how can I fix that for you?», they have weird rules about their patio seating, and after this last experience, we just won’t be back.

Wow! What an incredibly inventive restaurant!
First, I must say, that we did not expect the restaurant to be open. But we called anyway & they would be open on Sunday.
We made reservations for my daughters graduation dinner.
The meal was magnificent. All of us ordered different items. Even my mom was happy they could accommodate her celiac with modified recipes.
Every item was cooked beautifully. From my beef tips to the blackened kielbasa and corn meal dusted fried oysters. The rest of the family had the monster sided pork chop the vegetable filled crêpe, among other items.
It is too bad I live in Baltimore. Otherwise I would visit more often. The server, Carrie (?), was marvelous. Her suggestions were spot on. From the local beer selection to the meals.
Thank you for making the day more than complete!

My family and I visited Tavern on the Hill last Friday to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. The hostess was very friendly and accommodating as we severely underestimated the volume of traffic to get there since it was such a busy weekend in WMass. She held our table for us even though we were 15 – 20 mins late.
Our server, Jess, was very nice. She was polite, friendly and a hard worker despite the bar backing up (took us over 30 mins to get our drinks initially, and the people who were seated 15 minutes after us had already received their appetizers) and she was working a lot of tables. Again, to her credit, she was attentive and did her best.
The food was amazing. Not one person at our table was disappointed with the meal. Healthy portions appropriate to cost, and the location is clearly stellar for a sunset. We all shared the mussels and General Tso’s calamari — I don’t eat mussels, but my family loved them. The calamari was probably the best I’ve ever had.
I had the NY Strip Special which was cooked perfectly and served with bleu butter, mashed potatoes and asparagus… seconds please! My brother had the Jambalaya and loved it. My mom had the steak tips and my dad had the tuna steak. The chef was preparing it rare and my dad loved it.
We tipped Jess appropriately because she worked her tail off and deserved it, but the bar either needs new staff or more staff in order to accommodate the demand. It wasn’t very busy in the restaurant, so there really wasn’t an excuse.
We had fun celebrating my Dad’s birthday and like most men, he was well fed and happy.

Be careful — tavern on the hill has poor business practices.
I paid with a credit card, but left a generous cash tip. However when the credit card statement arrived, the amount charged was more than I had authorized on the slip. I’ll try to stop back in to resolve, but I’m very unhappy I will have to do so. They will never see me again as a customer.

Great place for lunch! Beautiful view on the deck. My only complaint is that we’ve been coming here for 4 years and the menu hasn’t changed in all that time. I think business would pick up if there was the expectation of something new and delicious on the menu.

Went there last night for my 50^th birthday. Made sure to get there early so we would not have to wait to be seated (even with a reservation). Very disappointed in the food quality. The waitress or kitchen forgot to make my daughters meal, and the other meals were only ok. Chicken was dry, and I don’t like my food served in a «tower» presentation. Asparagus doesn’t belong on top of mashed potatoes… Very expensive for what you get. If you factor in that you are paying for the view, it’s not too bad. Definitely won’t rush back.

This is one of my favorite area restaurants. The view is amazing, service has always been wonderful, and the food and drinks are great.
We regularly come and just have french fries and drinks. I love the Manhattans and my boyfriend loves the ever-​changing great beer selection.
As for food, the wild mushroom and chicken risotto is my fave. We also get the steak tips pretty regularly. The beet salad is great too.

This restaurant has an amazing view with outdoor seating and an outdoor bar. It also has inside seating. The food is good. I had the pasta jambalaya and loved it! It was very spicy!
Just a warning. We made a reservation and requested outdoor seating. Over the phone they told me that was fine. When we got there, however, they asked us where we wanted to sit and when we said outside, they told us that would be a 45 minute wait. We did wait. .at the bar.

My husband and I were so excited to finally have a date night together. Having 1 year old twins makes that difficult. We had a babysitter lined up and decided it would be a great night to use a gift card for this place that we had gotten for our last anniversary. I even looked up the menu online and knew exactly what I wanted to get.
We walked in the door to an empty hostess stand. We waited a minute before a woman came rushing out of the kitchen, saying «Kitchen’s closed. We had no business tonight.» There were at least three tables seated and a full bar. No business? She probably saw the look on my face because she then said «I’ll see if anybody’s still here» and disappeared back into the kitchen. Of course there wasn’t. So, without so much as an apology from this woman, we left. And that was our experience with Tavern on the Hill.

Staff is very friendly and so attentive, they make the dining experience exceptionally great.
Blackened beef tips were delicioussss, easily my favorite
Chicken risotto was very flavorful and addictive
Shrimp entrée over pasta was one of the best I’ve tried.
Warm chocolate cake– YUM