First look: Tavern on the Bend

Servers Courtney Shelton, holding a Westside Burger, and Sidney Schwetschenau, holding the buffalo chicken mac and cheese, work at Tavern on the Bend in Green Township.

I get asked all the time if I have any restaurant recommendations. Sometimes I do, but sometimes places are just not worth going out of your way. Well friends, I went to a new place on the West Side on a Tuesday and by that Friday, I had already told five people to check it out. And none of them were West Siders.

Tavern on the Bend is a new bar and grill near the fork in the road at North Bend and Cheviot. Usually when I think of a West Side sports bar, I picture high school sports memorabilia thrown up all over the walls, but the interior of Tavern on the Bend was a nice surprise.

I took note of the exposed dark ceiling with strings of white lights, and instead of framed high school jerseys, they put up sports heroes and old Hollywood icons in dark frames on the walls; ’90s pop music jammed from the speakers instead of ESPN on full blast.

The crowd: Couples with young kids, middle-aged adults on dinner dates and dudes in their late 20s and 30s grabbing drinks at the bar.

The drinks: After sliding into a tall booth, the first thing my husband noticed was the tap at the bar, which was right smack in the middle of the room. “That’s a long tap!” he said. For a smaller bar, they definitely had a lot of options, like Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Thirsty Dog Old Leghumper, Original Sin Hard Cider and Victory HopDevil.

My husband ordered a tall Yuengling Black & Tan ($4) and I went with a small Sam Adams Alpine Spring ($4.75). The couple at the table next to ours ordered a beer sampler, which we didn’t see on the menu. So we asked for it next time: $6 for four samples.

The grub: The menu is all about burgers, salads and gourmet mac ‘n’ cheese, and many items give a nod to this side of town, like the Westside Mac (with grilled chicken, bacon and barbecue sauce) and the Westsider burger (with ham, Swiss, barbecue sauce and topped with onion straws).

I was in the mood for a burger, so I checked out the rest of the list, like the Black and Bleu and Grandma’s Burger (with chili). If you want, you can swap out the burger for chicken or a veggie burger instead.

Mac ‘n’ cheese choices included the Lobster Mac, Grandma’s Chili Mac and the Philly Steak Mac. The salads sounded just as appetizing, like the peppercorn ranch or the candied almond and grape. Hanky Panks and Grandma’s chili rounded out the menu.

I decided on the 007 Burger ($8.50), with provolone, lettuce, tomato and the Tavern’s “secret sauce.” My husband picked the Chuck Norris ($9.25), a very manly sounding burger with jalapenos, bacon, pepper jack cheese and again, the “secret sauce.”

Both our burgers came with a big side of thin, crispy fries, and we concluded the delicious “secret sauce” tasted similar to chipotle mayo. The juicy burgers came on slightly grilled buns, and they rocked.

The damage: $23.39 (including tax). Heck yes for $2 off burgers on Tuesdays!

The verdict: If you’re from that side of town or visiting some friends, give this place a shot for dinner and drinks. Stop by for half-price mac and cheese on Mondays.