1/1/2023 0 Comments Tavern ambienceThe wine list, limited to about 12 solid selections, is growing.Įven with such a cozy atmosphere, it's the cooking of Oscar Funes that makes the tavern work, from platters of nachos and chicken wings fueling bar patrons to deftly grilled salmon and steaks for more serious diners. The servers, outfitted in khakis and red polo shirts, are eager and welcoming, though some are more polished in service and enthusiastic than others. There recently were three generations of a family, several couples around a big table, women out for a girls night and men talking football. Table-hopping is popular, as are large groups. This is a place where everyone seems to know everyone else. The walls, a gentle taupe, are accented with equestrian paraphernalia, decoys and vintage photographs of the Great Falls of the Potomac River and the nearby village. Dark, polished wooden tables fill the more intimate back area, separated from the bar by another wall and an open fireplace. The part of the restaurant adjacent to the bar, but separated from it by a wall, is all booths, great for corralling the littlest guests, who can stay occupied with crayons and various other distractions. On weekends, there is live music that sets a friendly, not frenetic, tone. The tavern features a self-contained bar with eight television sets, including two big flat-screen numbers, ensuring an unobstructed view of favorite games. Slade said the tavern, which opened in January where a French restaurant and floral shop had been, was fashioned after restaurants that some members had experienced in the South of France that offered respite to widely disparate groups of patrons. Charged with its operation are three of them, including Robert Slade, who owns Slade's restaurants in several local malls and other restaurants. The owners are 15 Great Falls residents, who call themselves members. That's exactly how the tavern came to be. The tavern is the kind of around-the-corner place you would hope to have if you and your neighbors designed it and one of them happened to be a successful restaurateur. It's just one item on a long menu of neighborhood fare prepared with an expert hand. Tuna at the Tavern at Great Falls is exquisite: barely seared, smooth and meaty with no nasty fibrous connective tissue, nestled atop greens with a subtle Asian dressing. The last place I expected to find a perfect piece of tuna, perfectly cooked, was at a tavern with a horsey theme in a suburban Virginia supermarket shopping center.
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