Liberty Tavern, Powell, Ohio
http://www.libertytavernpowell.com/
Overall GrubGrade B-
The Breakdown:
Atmosphere: Grade B: Liberty Tavern might not be the easiest bar to find, but we’d say it’s worth the effort to look for it. Traditional bar décor dominates the interior, and since it’s located in a shopping complex, we’re going to give it a pass for having a fairly boring exterior. Liberty Tavern did have a nice, big parking lot, which for us was a nice change (our other Powell based restaurant experience involved a parking lot that was basically an alley). Table spacing on the inside was nice, and the place was certainly clean (we did get there at noon, so if the inside was wrecked we would have been very concerned).
High marks: Clean, lots of parking
Low marks: Little hard to find
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Service: Grade C+: Liberty Tavern was empty when we arrived (as previously mentioned, we arrived at noon), but it was hopping by the time we left at 1pm. Our first drinks came out fairly quickly, but Liberty Tavern was a little understaffed. Once a few more patrons arrived, service slowed to a crawl. There was a particularly long wait between appetizers and entrees. We don’t believe this should reflect negatively on our server, who was also the bartender, but is more indicative of either poor scheduling or a place that’s business is growing faster than its staff.
High marks: Accurate, quick with the first round
Low marks: Understaffed, slow service
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Food/Spirits: Grade B-: We snagged some Queso Pretzel Bread for our appetizer. What came out from the kitchen were bite-sized pretzel chunks that were lightly salted accompanied by a creamy cheese with a kick. Most of the bits of pretzel were soft, but the end pieces were a little hard. We would hate to think we were served a frozen soft pretzel that was, dare we say, microwaved instead of baked? We couldn’t prove it, but we’ve overcooked enough crap in the microwave to recognize the stone-like consistency that accompanies over-nuked food. Katina ordered a whiskey sour for her cocktail. It was quite sour with almost no whiskey bite, and that’s pretty much how she likes them made. I ordered a Stone Arrogant Bastard to start with (I’ve discussed this beer previously, so we’ll skip the re-hash) and a beer called Lift (from Madtree Brewing Company located in the Nasty Nati – Cincinnati for those non-Ohioans). This Kolsch style beer was golden yellow, thin textured, and very light tasting with minimal to no aftertaste. For entrees, Katina ordered the Ginger Beef and I ordered the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf. The Ginger Beef was not as veggie-laden as we expected, which was good. There was a nice amount of tender beef in the dish, and the beef had an unexpected but pleasant kick to it. Katina thought the dish had a nice balance of veggies and beef, but it was real “garlicky” which may or may not be a bad thing depending on how you feel about garlic. The Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf was served open faced with Texas toast, which was a little strange since there was only one piece of toast under one of the two pieces of meatloaf. The toast really didn’t add anything to the dish, which is why the lack of a second piece didn’t really bother me. The meatloaf could have used a little more sauce, but the meatloaf was juicy and really well-seasoned. The meatloaf was tender and perfectly cooked. I think the bacon pushed the overall flavor over to the salty side, but I didn’t mind (just made that second beer all the more important). The French fries that hitched a ride with the meatloaf were nice and crispy.
High marks: Well-cooked meatloaf, nice and meaty Ginger Beef
Low marks: Slightly overcooked pretzels, meatloaf a little salty, better like garlic if you order the ginger Beef
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Value: Grade B-: Decent quality, average portion size, but slightly overpriced, we found the experience at Liberty Tavern to be pretty good. There were some slight issues with the service that affected their overall grade, but we still feel confident in recommending you give Liberty Tavern a shot if you’re in the Powell neighborhood. Just use your GPS if you got one or you may drive right by it (the entire town of Powell can be missed if you blink at the wrong time).
High marks: Decent quality
Low marks: Slightly overpriced
grubgraders 