First and Last Tavern

OMG! The food was outstanding and the ambiance was beautiful. The wait time was fast for a busy Saturday night. The service was lacking a little but I would take into consideration how busy it was. Really exceeded my expectations for my first time going here!

The good– all the food is amazing. Have tried many different dishes and pizzas. Never had a problem. Decent beer selection. As soon as you enter you are greeted with this amazing smell of awesomeness. Come to think of it, not many restaurants smell like they actually cook food in it. Truly great food.
The bad– Prices can be a bit of a shock. Walked out with 3 pizzas paying close to $ 80.00
Dinner prices are reasonable for what you get.

First and last tavern is really a hidden gem. Went to the place at 4 pm, bar table was packed on Thursday afternoon. Enjoyed happy hour beer ($ 3, 3 – 6 pm). Met with co-​worker for dinner later, had clam sauce, which is pretty good. Big clam sheared with garlic and white sauce, and mixed with linguini. Finished all the clams, packed the rest and finished later. Good place to enjoy food and drink.

I will preface by saying the buffalo wings were tremendous, butt everything else falls apart after that. I did not try the pizza but it did look good.
Okay with that comes the bad. It took a good fortnight to get a drink. We came in on a Sunday around noon, sat at the bar for a good ten minutes before even a hint of a bar tender, once we ordered our drinks and food, we didn’t see him again until the food came which was not an excessively long wait but then he disappeared once again and was not behind the bar at all. The restaurant was NOT busy, seems like every body was going to J. Timothy’s across the street because they were mobbed. Truth be told, it was our intention to go there at first albeit there was no parking and the place would not fit an additional person at all. So we went to First and Last. I’m not sure where the bar tender kept running off to but he certainly didn’t hang out behind the bar. Then a different person came and was I like jeans and some sweater that didn’t seem like he belonged there and started serving drinks what looked like against his will. Along with the wings, we each had a grilled cheese which was tasteless, the bread was dry and overcooked and the cheese was not melted thoroughly so that was a bummer for sure.
The wings were fantastic, the service was terrible, the grilled cheese needed some work.

I would not return after my last visit on a Saturday afternoon. I ordered the ravioli from the lunch menu and it came out lukewarm! The plate came with only 5 ravioli while they were large in size seemed skimpy for $ 12. That was SUCH a turnoff, pasta should be served piping hot in my opinion. The waiter was very nice and quickly returned the plate to be reheated.
So the lunch came to about 20 dollars with a soda and tip. This was really an expensive lunch to be so mediocre.
I have been on a Friday night too and the wait was super long, I really prefer the original First and Last in Hartford if I had to pick.

I really loved my experience here. I was worried that the ratings on here would be true but not even close (in my opinion of course).
Our server was very attentive and kind. No complaints as far as service. But, it was a very «off» time: about 5:00 on a Sunday. So, I can’t attest to service during a busier time. But there was plenty of waitstaff so I’d be surprised if they did poorly. Again, I wouldn’t know but plan to be back and I can update my review if necessary!
The food was excellent. I had the pear salad with chicken and all the ingredients were super fresh. Sometimes ordering a salad is tricky because the lettuce can be wilted or the ingredients are just plain gross. Not at all here. I was very pleased. The salad paired greatly with an angry orchards cider and I enjoyed my meal a lot! My fiancé had the chicken parm sandwich and finished it all very quickly. Obviously, it was good ;)
Also, I really love the bread that they bring out before the meal. So yummy! My favorite was the raisin bread.
Give this place a try :)

I came here for an early dinner and I will have to say the service was really good. Our waiter was new so he was really working hard on making sure he was doing everything right.
We started with wings in a spicy buffalo sauce. I really enjoyed them, they were not your typical wing sauce which I liked. We also got a bread basket which had 3 different types of bread.
My mom got chicken parm which was pretty standard. The sauce was good — but a little too smoky for my liking. I ordered the penne a la vodka with chicken and it was alright. I was hoping the sauce would be richer and creamier, instead it was very thin and bland. It needed salt and a lot of extra cheese and red pepper. Their vodka sauce is made to order so maybe my sauce just fell by the wayside but I was really looking for that rich creamy combination of flavors and it definitely fell short. The chicken were thin pieces and because the sauce wasn’t flavorful the chicken wasn’t either.
Overall, I would go back but I was disappointed.

I’m literally not going to lie… I’ve been standing here for my entire wait time and there has been a booth that has yet to be cleaned off.
At this point writing about my food is negligible; as long as its palatable and warm I’m fine with it. The concierge this evening is absolutely pathetic. I have yet to see a manager walk the floor and have been standing at the front desk for over 35 minutes. I can guarantee the median age for «managing» the table turn is under 20, and that’s being generous.
As a general rule in table service, alway err on the side of a longer wait when you vocalize it to your client, so when it’s less they are pleasantly surprised and sit down to their meal happy. This establishment could stand to learn from this… one hates to have a bad taste in their mouth prior to the start of their meal.

Recently had dinner here with my boyfriend.
We walked in and there was no one around so we weren’t quite sure if we should wait, seat ourselves? But alas, the hostess came out from the back carrying a bunch of to-​go bags.
We sat in a cozy booth right up front and our waitress came over soon after. My boyfriend ordered a beer that he quickly realized he didn’t like so the waitress was nice enough to take it off the order. He always orders the Eggplant Pizza, which is SO good. No problem there.
I ordered the Cioppino, a pasta dish filled with scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari — all sauteed and thrown over a red sauce.
My complaint is that it was almost a little TOO fishy. One of the clams wasn’t opened which made me a little nervous while I was eating it not to mention, I got gipped on actual food we were paying for! The consistency of the dish itself was an absolute mess and unfortunately there is no pleasant way to eat mussels and clams that are covered in sauce. I found myself digging around in sauce for a good portion of the meal which made me a little grumpy. However, the food was scorching — almost TOO hot.
I would have given 4 stars if that’s all it was but I have to give 3 for the horrendous wait time on the food. I’ve been noticing other reviewers are saying the same thing and it is over the top accurate. We waited quite some time for our food and it wasn’t a weekend or even very busy.
All in all, a decent meal — the prices are a little outrageous in my opinion (especially when you consider the wait) but a solid and decent meal.

I have eaten here several times over the past year — both with friends and also for two company outings and each time I have experienced not only wonderful service but also (and more importantly) consistently great food. Recently our company booked a private room for our annual holiday party and from the moment I arrived until we were «kicked» out (to make way for the next batch of revelers) the entire staff made sure that our drinks and plates were continually filled. Not a very expansive tap list but they have a full bar to help wet anyone’s whistle.
We started with some hot appetizers — calamari, wings, and chicken wings served buffet style. All were thoroughly enjoyed and no one felt that they did not get enough of any one item. I was staying away from fried food and the waitress was nice enough to bring me a special order of grilled calamari so that I would not be left out. She did not have to do that and it was nice that she noticed. Served in a spicy tomato broth — it was a nice was to quench my hunger.
Soon after we were served the main meal — salad, hanger steak, chicken marsala, and two types of pasta. I made a bee line for the hanger steak and was not disappointed — served medium rare and marinated. I went back for seconds and even scored a doggy bag to take home. The salad was a bit over dressed and probably would have been better served family style but my co workers and myself did not seem to mind. All the food was hot and not over cooked and a second batch of steak was brought out after the first tray was demolished.
All in all a great time was had by all and I would recommend First and Last Tavern for those looking for a room to hold a private function or a nice place to come to eat.

Was visiting some friends this weekend and the place we were originally going to stop in for lunch was closed, so we came here on a whim. The bread basket was out of this world, I’ve been thinking about the garlic bread ever since! And that raisin bread. If nothing else, try their bread.
We weren’t starving, so my boyfriend I split the spicy chicken panini, and my friends split the meatball sliders. The panini was good enough, nothing memorable, but it did the trick and I’d definitely eat it again. The sliders looked good and they were raving about the meatballs, I can’t vouch for them, however the garlic parmesan fries were quite good.
Overall the food was decent, service was fine, and I’d come back but it wouldn’t be my first, second, or third choice. Although I do wish they had a location a bit closer to me so I could get some of that garlic bread! Worth a try, it’s far better than a Chilis or a Fridays, but nothing to write home about.