Severna Park has a number of positive attributes — the water, the schools, the pretty houses — but, historically, good restaurants have not been among the town's strengths. Newcomer Park Tavern aims to change that.
The team behind Park Tavern, which opened in October in the old Woodfire Restaurant space, also owns and operates Oliver Breweries, Pratt Street Ale House and The Ale House in Columbia.
The management's understanding of the restaurant business is apparent at their new venture. With a mostly well-executed, modern American menu, experienced service and a great-looking space, the restaurant definitely has a shot at raising the bar for dining in Severna Park.
Scene & Decor In the months between Woodfire's closing and the opening of Park Tavern, the space underwent a complete renovation. The attractive result incorporates many of the design hallmarks of the modern American restaurant, including chalkboard walls, reclaimed wood accents and clean white subway tile.
Locals will especially love the wall just to the right of the long bar that displays, in large type, the names of the different communities in and around Severna Park.
When we arrived around 5:15 on a Saturday night, the place was already crowded with a combination of families and couples. Even without a reservation, we only waited for a few minutes. But by 6 p.m., the line had grown considerably.
Drinks Given Park Tavern's ownership, it's no surprise that the beer list is long, smart and comprehensive. We especially enjoyed the not-too-sweet Jailbreak Carrot Cake Conspiracy ale ($6.95 for 12 ounces) and Oliver's own "There's a Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever" black lager ($4.95 for 12 ounces).
The cocktail menu was equally robust. The drinks we tried — the bourbon, ginger and balsamic Borrachon ($13) and the grapefruit and habanero Sweet Heat and Sea ($11) — were carefully constructed and thoughtful. In both cases, though, while we appreciated their sophisticated flavors, we thought the drinks should be just a smidge sweeter.
Appetizers Park Tavern's kitchen shined with the appetizers, including a plate of crunchy, juicy Buffalo oysters ($14) and a surprisingly satisfying bowl of blistered shishito peppers, served with preserved lemon dipping sauce ($6). Both were full of crowd-pleasing flavor.
Crab fritters ($13), dollops of deep-fried crab dip, were also tasty and well-balanced, though we wished they had been hotter. After a dunk in the fryer, the dip inside was only lukewarm.
Entrees Of the larger plates we tried, the Tavern burger ($14), was a major success. The other dishes were imperfect, though they had their merits.
We liked the chunky tomato-based "andouille gravy" served over shrimp and grits ($24) and the shrimp were cooked nicely, but the grits were clumpy, like they'd sat for too long before being plated. A Greek salad topped with chicken ($15) was bright and fresh but the dressing lacked zing.
The short rib grilled cheese ($17) was close to a hit, with its oozy gruyere cheese, caramelized onions and tender short rib, but the bread was buttered so heavily that the sandwich was actually a little too rich. A scattering of arugula wasn't quite aggressive enough to balance the decadence.
That burger, though, was a top-notch example of the genre. Topped with bacon, cheddar, arugula and, in place of a standard beefsteak slice, tomato jam, it was seasoned nicely and cooked just to medium rare. A side of shoestring fries was crunchy and salty.
Dessert Desserts are made in-house at Park Tavern and they all sound great. Unfortunately, our lemon cake ($8) turned out to be something of a dud, with a nice, tangy sauce but dry texture.
Service The kitchen's pacing worked and our waitress was friendly and knew what she was doing. She gave us the right level of information, including an explanation that a particular wine wasn't available because the restaurant had received a bad batch.
The only thing she couldn't do, unfortunately, was convince the parents at the table next to ours to control their children, who continually bopped between their table and the bar, nearly tripping more than one waiter and actively infringing on a few other tables. Fortunately, the staff managed to sidestep the kids, so no one ended up with a lapful of soup.
Though that soup, most likely, would have been pretty tasty.
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