Every town has its “go-to place” like Boston with its Cheers. Now the sleepy little town of Boynton Beach, that’s not so sleepy any more, has The Village Tavern, this neighborhood gem is located in the Renaissance Commons on North Congress Avenue. I recently had dinner there with a group of friends and it’s everything a local neighborhood place should be; friendly, fun, inviting, good food and reasonable prices. The Village Tavern or VT for short lives up to it name and delivers on all fronts.
At The Village Tavern you’re greeted at the door with a smile, now when this happens, you want to be there. The bar boasts an award winning wine list with over 60 wines by the glass starting at $2.75, they have over 30 beers both on tap and by the bottle as well as a wide variety of fun specialty drinks. The bar is a centerpiece bar with ample seating welcoming everyone that walks in. VT has a double daily happy hour all cocktails are half price in the bar and on the patio, Monday – Friday, 4:30 to 6:30pm and again from 9 to 11pm Monday-Thursday. on Friday’s and Saturday’s the extended happy hour is from 10pm-1am.
My friends and I ate just about everything on the menu, trying a little of this and a little of that. The menu is vast in its choices offering just about something for everyone no matter how finicky of an eater you are. Some of our favorites were the bacon wrapped scallops ($11.95) which, with a cup or soup or a salad could be a meal in itself. The steamed mussels ($9.95) we all agreed were simply fabulous as we were politely eyeing the last three in the dish wondering who was going to get them. The calamari ($8.95) and the crabcake ($10.95) are delicious appetizer choices to share or like the scallops to order as a meal for yourself. But of course that’s not what we did; we ate the appetizers and ordered entrees.
The Village Tavern has a Spinach Salad and their Tavern Salad. This is where my dinner companions and I divide. The Spinach Salad ($5.25) is very good, they loved it, I liked it. I’m not a sweet and savory person; don’t mix sugar foods with my salt foods. The Spinach Salad has a combination of green apples, dried cranberries, spiced pecans and crumbled blue cheese. I loved the Tavern Salad ($4.75), which has tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, bacon, crumbled bleu cheese and a vinaigrette dressing.
Now for dinner we had Steak Au Poivre, Pan-Seared Scallops, Spaghetti Squash and Zucchini, Braised Short Ribs, Grilled Rainbow Trout, Roasted Lamb Rib Chops and Grouper Hemmingway, (yes there were 7 of us!) It was all very good, cooked to perfection, presented nicely but hands down everyone loved the Grouper Hemmingway that was my dinner. I know my fish! The Grouper Hemmingway is luscious and succulent with a white wine, lemon, caper sauce with fresh tomatoes on a bed of angel hair pasta, absolutely amazing!
Yea sure, you think seven of us are going to stop there? Of course we had dessert! We shared the dessert sampler which is a trio sweets perfect to share with a group of people; the desserts on the plate were Apple Cobbler, Key Lime Pie, and St. Barths Chocolate Torte. Of course each restaurant has its claim to fame and the VT star dessert is Banana Crepes, French crepes layered with Nutella, banana ice cream and fresh bananas, drizzled with caramel & chocolate sauce. It was pretty insane.
Village Tavern
1880 North Congress Avenue
Boynton Beach, FL 33426
(561) 853-0280
