We stopped by to watch the Army-Navy game. Prices were reasonable. Our bartender, Ryan, was friendly. My nachos were delicious. It is really low-key and gives off a dive bar atmosphere without the smoke. It looks much smaller from the outside it actually is. I also e joyes their selection of local beers/ciders/seltzers. Only Suggestions that I could think of for improvement was the amount of toppings on the nachos. The ratio of toppings was way too large for the amount of chips you got. I had to leave half of my toppings because I ran out of chips. This is super close to our new house though so we will be back for sure. read more

The Tavern - Tavern Nachos with Chicken - American Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

I came here last night for the first time and I think I found my new hangout spot. This place stays open until 2am. Don't be fooled, it looks a lot smaller from the outside but on the inside it is spacious and has it all. Plenty of parking spots right next to the entrance. I sat at the bar and as it was my luck, they had Karaoke . They have pool tables on the main floor with some arcade machines near the stairs, which lead you to the second floor. The second floor has more games including darts. Everything is spaced out great, so no one is on top of you as you are enjoying some games. I ordered some drinks and food. Got the cheese curds and the fried pickles. They were pipping hot and yummy. Got to chat with some of the locals and the bartenders were hilarious. Plenty of options on the beer and drink menu. The prices are super reasonable. May this be why this place was happening last night. Oh, and I got up and sang 2 karaoke songs. One with a regular patron who I just met there. Why not, right? Everyone was having a great time. Definitely will be coming back. Worth checking out!! Karaoke is Thursdays and Saturdays! read more

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honestly the drinks are good and the food, BUT the lady there is rude and ugly. Ruins the whole experience. Get better costumer service this one isn't doing it right. A costumer is casually ordering another drink and some food and she catches an attitude and ignores them when they're trying to hand the money to pay. Very disrespectful and disgusting behavior. Makes her look uglier than she already is. I would say "next time" but I doubt I will be back after that situation, I felt extremely uncomfortable and unsafe in there, I immediately left once I noticed because i can't be around bitter people. read more

Great atmosphere, great prices, and a great time. I had a blast getting a bucket of Happy Dads and playing some pool. read more

The Tavern - American Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

A great sports bar to hang with your friends, chat, play pool or darts, and drink some cool ass happy dad seltzers. read more

The Tavern - Bucket of Happy Dad Seltzers - American Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Very nice atmosphere, great drinks and well priced. They also had a jukebox you can connect to and play music.

I spent a night here and it was fun! Woulda loved to play pool but didn't get the chance to. The staff were accommodating for all of us. Karaoke is fun, too! The Santa Fe egg roll I ordered kinda tasted like a hot pocket, and the portion size was v small. I probs shoulda ate dinner somewhere else beforehand. But it was overall a positive experience otherwise! read more

Had a great time at my local college bar while doing a Happy Dad activation. The manager was super nice and really supportive - even brought the Happy Dads out in buckets and was super responsive the whole night. The crowd had great energy and the staff made everything easy on my end. Overall just a fun, smooth event and definitely a spot I'd work with again. read more

This is a fun bar in northwest Durham. The beer seems ... ... stale. But there's a lot of stuff to do while you drink it! (snooker or arcade machines or whatever) Excellent bar staff. read more

Cool place. Reasonably priced. Lots of TV's, pool tables, pinball. Everything you need for a good place to hang.

I went there yesterday with two of my co workers and my service dog. Two people who didn't even work there came up to me and said my service dog isn't allowed in there. Then after the manager saw his id cards and that he is a service dog, he said "wanna know what I can do? I can just report you as trespassing on our property" after I said nothing rude or anything. I was completely polite, and I will be reporting them first thing Monday morning. Trent shouldn't be a manager if he's going to treat people like that and have zero Knowledge of what a service dog is and clearly the dumbest person ever. Have fun with the attorney general jacka** read more

Rudest barkeep ever. No greeting, no eye contact, no acknowledgement of any kind. It wasn't in the least busy and I was well dressed and patient, until he'd served the few other people that came in after me at which point I wasn't and started to stare at him intently with my credit card in hand hoping he'd take the hint. But no. Instead he stared right thru me and started washing glasses. So, I said "excuse me, may I get a beer please?" "In a minute," he says still not making eye contact. What a douche! read more

TRUE dive bar. Dark. Good place to just chill and drink a beer or twelve. Service is a tad slow but friendly.

Amazing place! Was lucky enough to find this place while trying to kill some time before a dinner reservation. We were a big group and the bartender Mallory handled us so amazing. And the owner Dave stopped by and was so kind and fun. I wish we lived here so we could come all the time. Highly recommended! read more

Great place to watch the game and to play some games yourself! They have a whole second floor with lots of bar games like darts, pool, etc. We haven't tried the food yet, so we will be back to try the food. Just trying out all the local bars as we are new to the area. read more

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Great place to hangout with friends. Very friendly bartender and customers. Cheap drinks and always a good time.

The Pink Whitney on tap made me realize why this place has 2 Michelin stars, truly masterful mixology.

This used to be the Music Loft for years. I was happy to see the building being used again and finally made it by. The place is huge and really cleaned up nice!! We were in the mood to play pool and have some lunch so this fit the bill. We got there around noon or so on a Saturday and there was just a few peeps in the place. That was fine, we weren't looking for a crowd, just a few games of pool and some eats. We were greeted by a pleasant waitress, asked how much the pool is ($1.00 a game for the small tables and $10.00 an hour for the large ones) and headed over to check them out. We'd been to another place in the neighborhood the night before that we frequent somewhat regularly that only has one table that's a bit worn. We were thrilled to see all the tables here in great shape! The menu is pretty extensive and they have some regular lunch specials of several varieties of sliders. We got the cheeseburger sliders and the pulled chicken sliders. Both were quite good and came with a nice portion of fries. We also started with some homemade chips that were light, crispy and super thin - very good!! Like I said the pool tables looked to be in great shape - and they were! The bumpers had a lot of action compared to ones we'd played on the night before elsewhere that in comparison were about DOA! We were there over two hours and some more people filtered in, but not a lot. We wondered why cos it's really a nice place!! Very clean, in fact, amazingly clean!! We'll definitely be back and hope that this place will be around for quite some time! read more

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Come here twice now for duke games. It's a great place to watch the game if you come early. For the big games, the room to the left is always reserved by a group. First time was a duke graduate program and second time it was rented by some biker group (leather jackets everywhere!!) The service is slow when they are coming back to you. Granted each time I've been there was a packed house. The food is mediocre. First time I ordered the special fries the sauce came out cold on top. I asked if it was supposed to be a cold chile, but it was not. So they took it back to heat it up. I did order it a second time my second visit and it was warm. I love their sweet potato fries there. It comes with honey butter... god. If you've been to Golden Corrale, it's exactly like their butter there. Honey, cinnamon (probably), and butter. I've had their veggie burger, gyros, and others. Nothing stood out. Of what I've had, I would say the gyros was best. Their pitchers are a great price as well as some of their specials! read more

The Tavern is an awesome dive bar for anyone looking for a fun, homey environment and some great drinks at great prices. One of Durham's best kept secrets! read more

I love this place! Met my husband here 15 years ago (when it was at another location)...the price is right, it's rarely too crowded, and the people are fun. This is our girl's night go to place. read more

Like other reviewers have said, The Tavern has an odd exterior. Random painted figures float on the stucco-like face. Enter, and you may be surprised by what lies within. You'll find a narrow bar with a few high-tops on the wall across -- this opens up into a large room with pool tables, a second-floor balcony with darts, and side room with a stage. Sadly, nothing was being utilized last night, except for a few bar stools occupied by two young European guys and a shots-ordering cougar =) Hubby and I were impressed by the size of the menu, which offers sandwiches, burgers, and a couple of pizzas. The owner was really friendly -- came over to ask if it was our first visit, and suggested some of his faves. We actually took his advice... I got the Tavern chicken pita and Phil ordered the stuffed burger. He thought it was good ("better than Dain's"). My pita was positively packed with chicken, had a few peppers, a thin layer of Ranch, and a bit too much mozzarella. But it was better than I had been expecting. We also liked the chicken tenders, tossed in buffalo wing sauce. Didn't like the fact that they serve on paper picnic plates with wrapped to-go plasticware. I know that they've only been serving food for the last six months or so, but I think it would be nice to see them invest in some dishes (less wasteful too!). About ten beers on tap, but we noticed that a few of them were tapped out. They had a few NC beers. I opted for the Carolina Brewery Sky Blue, which is a summer fave. They serve food til 11 on weeknights, and til 2 on weekends, so I know I'll be back for more! read more

This place freaks me out a little since it has no windows. But once you get inside, it's not so bad. In fact, it'll probably keep me drinking there longer than I intend! It's a two floor, converted from a music store, bar. I think they do karaoke and there's a pretty spiffy dance floor. There's a giant TV, pool tables, chairs and darts. From a non-professional dart thrower, it's pretty decent. They're darts are terrible, but you get what you pay for (darts are free, btw). They have a good selection of craft beer on tap and a full bar. I don't remember the bartender being all that interested in me as far as drinks go, but I think there may have been a few other "big spenders" there that she kept an eye on. It's a sports bar. The bathrooms are decked out with memorabilia, and by far they're the "best" part of the bar. I know that's not saying much, but if you need a drink and you want some space, hit this place up. read more

The Tavern - After a long game, we call this a friendly tie - American Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Me and my two colleagues were there today. We purchased 3 beers and sat outside. We were turned away because we tried to eat our food outside with our beers. Mind you, these are 3 people of color. All lawyers. We were told that because they sell chicken wings...we couldn't eat outside chicken wings on their property. No one else was sitting on the patio where we were eating. Only the inside bar had patrons. Also, we were the only patrons of color in the entire establishment. Two white ladies came outside and claimed the owner would not allow us to eat on the property. We disagreed. They then sent a black cook out to tell us we can no longer eat on their property. We asked for the owner to come out and he/she never showed. In this climate, we were deeply disturbed and chose to leave and never return. This was a sickening and saddening experience. read more

Great placeee to gets drunk and lose a shoe.the kitchen is bangin and the wings fly into you've mouthed. 5 stars and 1 moon. Get you some. read more

Great local spot! Music was great, service was terrific, and an excellent Philly cheesesteak Caesar salad! Thank you! We will be back!!

I love The Tavern!!! This is a place you can come in for an amazing lunch, or come at night and enjoy a drink with friends. The bartenders are so nice and amazing. I will always end up at The tav read more

I was served under cooked chicken. Still had to pay for it and was violently ill the next day... Are you serious? I have nothing more to say. This was unacceptable... read more

The Tavern - I was served an under cooked wing and was told it was "marrow" don't insult my intelligence. This clearly is not marrow... - American Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

Has gotten worse every visit. Food not hot, not good....not a clean place. We will not be back!

I've been here a few times and tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. Eh, when I went here, the first thing that I noticed was that the bartenders really didn't care to serve us until they were ready. Also apparently it's always the same ones, who don't look like they care about their customers or appearance. They are always on the phone and don't seem to care about cleanliness. Service is always like pulling teeth! It's sad because there have been on occasion one or two good bartenders that I never see again the next time (super friendly, attentive, notice when you're beer is empty, etc).The bartenders also have no problem degrading and talking badly about the other ones that work there as well, guess that's why the good ones leave! The bartenders also talk horridly about their owner! I literally had to hear them rant to us about how the owner is so unfair and greedy the whole time we were there! If you want to watch a game and they are watching their show on t.v. or another game for personal reasons, expect an attitude IF they change it. Alcohol is cheap, which isn't bad, and the food is OK. I gave it one star for the horrible customer service I received and the constant ROACHES I noticed crawling on the taps. The owner doesn't seem to care too much about how he treats people unless they are throwing money at him. It's actually a nice huge place, and the food isn't bad. There is only one cook that actually cooks really well there. I wouldn't recommend this place. I think the place would do well if the bartenders and owner really changed their attitude on how they treat people. Plus all the bartenders talk about is doing drugs and getting drunk. If you sit anywhere except the bar, the bartenders have to wait on you, expect a huge sigh and attitude for that! Methinks never again! read more

Local Fuqua hangout - always a sure thing. I love the fact that the employees know me and my fellow Fuquans by face now. Prices are cheap, good music, it's spacious, there's actually a dance floor, and of course, can't forget the Photo Hunt, which my friends and I have pretty much dominated. I can confidently say that I'll return, because let's face it, I am probably there at a minimum three nights a week anyway :) read more

I hung out here for a little while after Yelp's Halloween Happy Hour at Mitch's. Since the Tavern was right around the corner, we decided to make a mini bar crawl out of the evening. I was expecting this place to be crowded on Halloween, but it was actually fairly empty. The most action was at the bar, there were some people sitting at tables around the room, and then the Yelpers who took over the balcony, where the darts and shuffleboard was located. I believe I only saw one local beer on draft, but overall not a big selection. I settled on a blue moon, which is usually my back up when I can't make a decision. The space is really large, and you definitely get a very laid back vibe. This would be a great place to come if you just wanted to sit around and hang out, maybe play some pool and have a few drinks with friends. I wouldn't look here if you're trying to get crazy on a Saturday night, because it's not going to happen. I've read other reviews that talk highly of the food, so I'm probably going to try to make my way back to try that sometime. read more

Bar/hangout: 4 stars Food: 2 stars To save some credibility, I have to supersede my previous rave review (and delete my previous update, so as not to flood the yelp market). I'm obviously a regular here and I like the bar a lot and the people who work here a lot. But the food's on a disappointing track for sure. They started having food a few weeks ago and it started off excellent (which may explain why I'm perhaps less patient with the current issues). Since then I've encountered these minor-ish issues, all of which I view as problems: - Inconsistent hamburger buns: might be poppyseed, might be store-bought crap, might be delicious 9th St. Kaiser rolls (haven't seen those there in a while though). - Fries normal instead of steak fries, now thickly coated in cajun powder. You didn't want to actually taste the fry, did you? - Tavern sauce heavily spiced with paprika and sometimes has a rubbery texture. Similar to the fry problem -- I'd like to taste the ingredients, not the cheap spices. - Onion rings now cost $2.50 to sub in, meaning you might be paying $10.50 for a burger & a few rings. The worst offense: one night the daily special was a "blue burger." Whatever was on there was not bleu cheese. It was a white, melted mass that tasted like ... not sure. Not a food item. I found a non-melted part and ate it to see what was going on. You know those scary "Value" imitation cheese products that started popping up at Food Lion and now Kroger too? They tend to be shredded cheddar. I haven't had the pleasure of trying them. But I'd bet if the same brand undertook to make an imitation bleu cheese, this is what it would taste like. It took over and ruined the whole burger. I voiced my displeasure with both the sketchy burger and the cajun-drenched fries. The bartender asked if I was done, and then stood there eating my fries. The bar manager came around and replaced it with a sandwich that was decent. (Ham, egg & cheese -- like a good breakfast sandwich. Probably wouldn't order it for dinner again though.) He was genuinely apologetic about the burger nastiness, so that's what's saving them there in my view. If you do end up eating at the Tavern, here's what I view as both tasty and a good value: - The onion rings are delicious -- thick sweet onions, well breaded, that you sometimes have to cut into instead of bite. But the appetizer of them is overpriced, at $6. So I would add them to something cheap, such as: - A hot dog. I like the Cincinnati dog, with chili, cheese & onions. I think it's $3 (so $5.50 with onion rings) - The grilled cheese w/ bacon & tomato on Texas toast. It disappeared from the menu, but I understand you can still get it. I think it's around $5 (so $7.50 with onion rings) but you might ask first. For what it is, it's not greasy -- and it's really good. Other tidbits: - I've heard good things about the chicken pita. No experience with it. - They have late-night breakfast Fri. & Sat. (starting at midnight). I haven't tried it or seen it, but sounds like a good idea to me. - Apparently you can order the fries without or with less seasoning, which is good. They still shouldn't be seasoning them like that as a default anyway. A final note: even as a regular, I don't mind Jen W. calling me a loser since we're buds. And I know where her and her tiki bar live ;) And ... yeah, it's possible that sometimes the Maury tape vibe isn't totally off base. read more

The Tavern - Grilled cheese, bacon & tomato w/ onion rings ($7 ish) - American Near Me - Durham, North Carolina

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We really like the atmosphere here. It is laid back, still stuff going on--but not so much that you can't talk to friends. Each tim we've been there has been a live band playing old, but good, rock. There are a few games to play with pool and darts. We haven't tried the food, but found the drinks to be reasonably priced. This is a good first place to go before you go out to just chit-chat and get some cheap drinks. read more

What a great local non-pretentious place! Great inexpensive drinks, awesome bartenders. And they have really stepped up the food recently. This burger was delicious and juicy and MASSIVE. Cooked to a true medium with a nice pink center. Definitely check it out. Oh yeah, did I mention they have two nine foot pool tables, almost a dozen dart boards, trivia and karaoke. Something for everyone. read more

Went to the Tavern on a weekday night and was pleasantly surprised to see all their beers on tap. Not as extensive as Tyler's but still definitely a good selection (especially for the 9th street area). They even had cider on tap for the non-beer folk out there! When we went, the kitchen wasn't up and running yet so I don't know about the food offerings but we still had fun. A couple of pool tables, loads of seating, great for groups and not too pricey. Have to go back and see how it is with the food. And with more of a crowd since it was pretty dead mid week... read more

Berger over cooked, The place have a bad smell everywhere, lack of windows and fresh air... Staff are friendly. My Credit Card was charged twice ... read more

This place was great! Glad we stumbled across it! The Shrimp and Grits were awesome and the Jalapeño Bacon Onion Stuffed Burger was Off The Chain! And the best of all was Kristine!! Thanks for the great service! Gary and Andy Columbia, SC read more

Man, I love this place...but tonight sucked. I was told I could pick up at the window outside. When I got there, I was rudely told I had to go inside. Inside was super crowded (people were wearing masks) but it was uncomfortable. The food was completely flavorless. No seasoning in my burger, my wife's cheesesteak, or the fries. We have ordered from the Tavern during the pandemic and it was great...but tonight was awful. Won't be back anytime soon. read more

I posted this to their Facebook page (with some additional comments for further explanation) and I figure I will do it here as well because sadly this needs to be seen. -------------- Our first and possibly last time here. I'm doing this review in a time format to show you what we experienced. Little after 5- sit down and 5 mins later get drinks. After we got our drinks the waitress/bartender said she'd be right back. There was just me, my husband, a few people at the bar. Also the sweet tea tastes really watered down. 5:30- We waited for her for 15 mins before she finally came back to us. First thing she says to us is 'Sorry ya'll I got distracted!' ** **Come to find out later, there was a table of 10 outside, however that doesn't excuse the 2 times she came around within eyesight of us and didn't at the very least let us know she was busy and would be with us. On top of that, just the sentence itself, without any further explanation, is extremely poor customer service. Just saying that makes me think you completely forgot about us. 5:45- Food comes. Cheesesteak is decent/ husband's burger is OK** but the 'chips' are cold, soggy, and feel like they've been sitting in grease for a while. Not happy with the food overall. **Later on that day, my husband was 'indisposed' for most of the day because of said burger. 5:53- Couldn't eat this food any longer. I took a bite or two of the cheesesteak and couldn't continue eating further. Explain the issues to the waitress and she apologizes and tries to offer alternatives. Honestly turned off to the whole experience, thank her, but decline. -------------------- While the waitress/bartender did comp our meal and apologized for our experience, it doesn't take away from the fact that something needs to be done about the service and food. Some people will excuse it as 'Oh, it's a bar/pub, they're food isn't going to be good anyway.' That is a copout. I have been to many pubs/taverns/bars that served food and it was top notch. Having subpar food just because of the type of establishment you are or the time of day it is, is laziness at its best. As for the customer service, while I understand the waitress/bartender was busy serving a larger group outside, there is still a protocol to follow. If you're busy, you take just a few seconds to let customers who have been waiting a while know that you will be with them soon and apologize for the wait. Keep them engaged. A few seconds can do a lot to calm an already aggravated customer. Had this been done I would've been more understanding, would've accepted the offer for alternative foods, and this review wouldn't be as harsh. So that is my take away from the experience. Perhaps one day a few months down the road I'll return to see if any changes have been made....it's only fair to give them a second chance. read more