Johnny’s Tavern

Stopped in for a light bite (very hard for us as it was dinnertime-​ish but we had some spa time booked nearby and didn’t want to roll in all bloated and sleepy!). Ordered up some salads while showing major restraint against all the feel-​good choices on the menu. Was not disappointed. LOVED my Warm Spinach Salad. Filled me up and the taste was great. Kale salad for my gf was off… just wasn’t kale (we think). Anyway, a plate of Fried Mushroom Risotto Balls was as far as we pushed it past our earnest effort to eat light — they were great if maybe a tick overdone. Not a problem for me as I’ll generally find some sick pleasure in even slightly-​burnt food. Nice tomato sauce on the side. Tavern-​ish dark and friendly staff. Not bad at all.

I really want to like Johnny’s. I actually eat there frequently. And if I stay with my regular dishes, I’m okay with the place in general. But if I venture off my usuals, I’m disappointed & need to remind myself of what to get, and what to stay away from. I’ve had the grilled shrimp salad and each time it’s arrived different. The first time, it was great. But after that, the consistency was off, and I’m remiss to order it again. Too bad. It was great the 1^st time. Burgers are good, but I find myself needing to insist that I will send it back if my medium rare comes out medium, or medium well done. Too bad. I’d rather send it back for being too rare than rejecting it for being over cooked. And I almost need a written reminder in my notes app not to order the fries. I don’t know how they make them, but I’m always disappointed with the fragments of french fries that don’t come close to other local spots with great fries. The drinks, wines, and beers are just fine. I often pass on desserts, but occasionally yield to my sweet tooth desires. Had the S’more Sundae, with the promise of hot fudge. Ooops! No fudge. Chocolate sauce. Then, when observing the small amount of not-​hot-​fudge, I was presented with the choc sauce heated in the microwave. Really! (I used to cook and make chocolate cheesecakes for a restaurant, and know ‘fudge’, & ‘not fudge’). An unfortunate choice, correction, and lack of integrity in menu promise & delivery. But the burgers, duck, chicken dishes, and drinks gave been pretty consistent, though not stellar. Wait staff is friendly & efficient. Although I often feel I’ve been graded by one of the staff, who ALWAYS comments on how well I’VE done. My request? Worry less about evaluating my consumption and more about consistency & delivering what’s stated on the menu descriptions. And, I’ll be back. For a burger.

Food was terrific… Great tavern burger and fish tacos… Fries just the way I like them… Wait staff subpar… Dropped off the food and never saw her again… Would have asked for ketchup if we ever saw her again… Still we mostly cared about the food and it was fabulous…

Lovely post graduation late lunch today at the bar. Fabulous bartender and food exeeded expectations. Truffle fries, pork skins (yes try them!), perfect ahı tuna sandwiches. Thanks for topping off a special day.

All I can say is: yes… this place is great, so glad we stopped in! Friendly staff, and great food!

Delicious! Our waitress was very nice and helpful with the menu since it was our first visit. The salad was fresh and dressing was flavorful. The burgers were cooked to perfection and had good flavor! Nothing negative to say… everything was great!

Came with friends to catch up on old times. All of our dishes were great. I had the Tavern burger and it prepared excellent. Parking kind of sucks as it was mobbed and tight to begin with. Our waitress was awesome and on the ball. For being crowded it wasn’t loud and that was nice so we could all talk and hear one another.

Food is delightful, wonderful menu but a little on the pricey side. Always served hot and the choices are unique to the tavern. The atmosphere is wonderful, cozy and good for date nights. The waitstaff is hit or miss but the manager is always walking around being helpful. Really love going here for the ricotta appetizer!

One of my favorite places to eat. A bit more expensive (as I am a student) but never disappoints. The kalamari appetizer is my suggestion.

Even though it meant we ate somewhere else that night, the 45-​minute wait a couple Saturdays ago told me that we should try this place. Unfortunately, it was a major disappointment.
I called ahead to make a reservation, given the long wait the other day. They do not take reservations for two, but suggested that I call back 45 minutes before we wanted to be seated to get on the waiting list. This seemed to me to be unnecessary and virtually the same as a reservation, but I obliged. Once we got there, it turned out to be unnecessary because the hostess was going to seat us immediately before knowing we were on the waiting list. All this annoyed me a teeny bit, but I quickly got over it as our server Courtney was so friendly. It was the food that ultimately made up my opinion of Johnny’s.
We were served bread and sundried tomato-​infused dipping oil, which was delicious. I’m sorry to say it was the best part of the meal. Our appetizer of beer macaroni and cheese was also very good. We should have stopped there because we were already nearly full! We barely ate the eggplant parmesan and fried chicken not because we were stuffed, though, but because they just were not good.
The tough eggplant was served on a heap of spaghetti and marinara and with a very thick layer of cheese on top. The eggplant, as I suggested, was not good — it was hard to cut through and tasteless — and the spaghetti was just, well, spaghetti. It was remarkably unremarkable. My partner said that her fried chicken was exceptionally greasy. Neither of us had any interest in continuing to eat, so we got our food to go and left.
They were large, well-​presented portions, the service was friendly and prompt, and the restaurant was beautifully decorated. Unfortunately, the food did not live up to of the rest of our experience.

We came here on March 11, 2016. It pains me to give this review because we love Johnny’s. I’ve posted several reviews about Johnny’s on Unilocal and have also posted many pics of their amazing food. That being said, tonight was a disaster. We called ahead and when we arrived there was a ten minute wait which we expected. So, I went to the bar to get a drink. The bartender, who recognized me, said hello. I then waited for ten minutes without a glance from either bartender. Neither of them said, «We’ll be right with you.» Total lack of acknowledgement. We were called to our table before getting our drinks. The server came and we both ordered the Winter Sangria. Ten minutes later we got our drinks. Really? TEN minutes? It’s in a large container at the bar with a pour spout. I think Johnny’s would do well to take reservations but by not taking reservations it’s a good way to make a killing at the bar. The longer customers wait, the more they drink. Now the food tonight The burger and fries were SO SALTY that they were inedible. It was kindly removed from our bill. My sister got the Mushroom Ricotta Flatbread with house made ricotta cheese, rosemary mushrooms, red sauce, speck prosciutto, and arugula. It was covered in so much arugula that she had to scrape it off to get to the flatbread pizza. The speck prosciutto had a smokey taste to it which was not to our liking. It also had barely any ricotta on it. Service was so slow on all accounts from the bread, appetizers to desserts. Desserts took 15 minutes and by that time the restaurant was clearing out. We arrived at 7:15 and left at 9:30 and even ordered our desserts to go. We will go back to Johnny’s but tonight was so disappointing! We all have those kind of days, I guess.

It’s a warm place, at every level.
The first thing you’ll notice is the friendly and excellent service. Then you’ll come to appreciate the décor, and the warm acoustics of the place.
As per food, it’s all very good. The first little touch is with the bread, when they add a delightful sundried tomato and garlic mix to the oil.
On entrées, I had the Black Pepper Rigati, which I suggest should be renamed to «the Ode to Black Pepper.» If you like black pepper (and I do), get this dish! It’s got a nice creamy, cheesy sauce with little pieces of chicken and peas, and an intense aroma of black pepper throughout.
My companion got the lamb special, which was very tender, and accompanied by a pleasant beet-​salad.
I had a great evening, and will return next time I’m in Amherst.

Delicious food and great ambience! Super accommodating for various substations in the meal and waitress was super friendly. Knocking down 1 star for slow service.

Probably my favorite place for brunch or dinner in Amherst, Johnny’s has never let me down. It’s an awesome spot to go with friends, the service is always attentive, and the food is wonderful. Occasionally you may have to wait a while for a table, but the basil gimlets are a great way to pass time at the bar.
My favorite dishes are the brussels sprouts appetizer, the burger, and the grilled chicken tortilla salad. The brunch is pretty great too (the breakfast tacos are an instant hangover killer).
I will probably miss Johnny’s more than anything else when I graduate.

We always sit at the bar and service is good. The menu is stable though items change a bit so read descriptions when you come in.
We love the Brussel Sprout appetizer and the fries are good too.
Last night wyf had the short rib with gnocchi she liked it. I had the beef pappardelle with carrot and kale. Also good.
Johnny’s is reliable. Not a fan of their brunch though.
Rating is really. 3.5.

First time at Johnny’s tonight. We were seated quickly on a Friday night and found the surroundings to be really charming. Dim tavern-​style decorating, crowds of happily chatting restaurant-​goers, minimal college-​age irritants.
We were seated and ordered the truffle fries, the white cheddar grilled cheese and the crab-​stuffed flounder (it was a special). Our waitress was very good and very friendly. She promptly brought us the bread with the dried tomato olive oil… stuff. I can’t profess to know exactly what was in it, but it was good. The bread wasn’t terrifically good. It was exceedingly chewy. The crusts had to be gnawed down with the tenacity you’d devote to a bit of baked cardboard, but still, some bread is better than no bread.
The truffle fries arrived and they were pretty good, as well as being picturesque. They were somewhat thin (I’m a thick, mushy fries fan) but very very tasty. The accompanying dipping… stuff… was quite good as well. The menu says it was «tomato jam.»
The entrees arrived. Mine was the white cheddar grilled cheese. It had tomato and avocado, as promised. What I didn’t anticipate was that the bread would be that greasy. The cheese was slopping out and the bread was fully toasted and saturated with grease. As mentioned, I’m a mushy fry guy… things with a full crunch to them rarely appeal to me. Hell, I leave cheese puffs open for a few days to let them get stale. So maybe it’s on me that I didn’t enjoy the crunch, but the greasiness was pretty unpleasant. A slice of avocado squirted into my lap with the first bite. Plus, and this was also my lack of foresight, I now had more fries to deal with.
My friend had much more success with the crab-​stuffed flounder. It was surrounded by asparagus risotto and was pretty delightful throughout. She won the night.
Johnny’s was a fun night out, and we’ll return… but I won’t be getting that grilled cheese again.

We moved away from Amherst to San Diego, and I must say I really miss Johnny’s. We miss our favorite bartender and we miss the crusty bread and balsamic dipping sauce. We miss the cool atmosphere and the seasonal menu. You might be a little bit of a splurge (for broke college students), but Johnny’s: we love you!!! If you live in Amherst, please frequent this restaurant. It’s too good to miss!
Love,
Your favorite Christian Mingle Couple

I had a really disappointing experience for brunch at Johnny’s today. We were told there was a 25 minute wait — fine. Expected for homecoming weekend at UMass. We were not seated for 1 hour. While we were standing waiting, a large table that had a big group at it sat uncleared with food on it for probably 45 minutes. Gross. We could count 4 tables in the front room that sat uncleared like this too.
When we were finally seated, it took about 10 minutes to get the attention of a server, who didn’t have our table in her section, but was apologetic and said she would send someone over. 5 minutes later-​15 minutes of sitting– someone comes over and fills our water and says this table isn’t in his section but he’ll take us anyway.
He takes our order and says the kitchen was slow earlier but now they are caught up so we should expect smooth sailing. We asked him if we could have bread while we wait (after seeing it on all of the surrounding tables) and he said they don’t usually serve bread with brunch, but got it for us anyway. Hmm. It probably took 30 minutes after ordering for our food to come out.
Ready to dig in, I pick up one of my fries. Room temperature. Why would I expect them to be hot?
After finishing and finally getting the server to come back to our table, I hand the guy our credit card, after being in the place for 2+ hours now we just wanted to get out of there. When he came back with the processed check, there was no pen…
With a lot of other options in Amherst center, I don’t suggest going to Johnny’s.

Johnny’s Tavern is a great place to eat if you’re ever in the Amherst area. It’s in a great location right near a parking lot that is free after 5 PM. When you first walk in you see a huge bar that stretches across the length of the restaurant. If you’re looking to eat dinner I would suggest not sitting at the bar because with the seating behind the bar it can get somewhat cramped.
They have a main seating area that would be great a date or for groups that range from 4 – 10. I believe there is more seating upstairs and in the back of the restaurant, but I was unable to see this area. The noise in the restaurant was low, and there are televisions for watching all the popular sports games at the bar. It’s the type of place you would want to go to get delicious food, at affordable prices, and in a casual setting
Johnny’s Tavern has one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. It was very simple it comes with a burger, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. For a little extra you can also get ah egg or bacon on it as well. In my opinion the most important aspect of a burger is the bun and Johnny’s has an unbelievable bun for its burgers. The burgers are huge as well and they are very fairly priced, the burger itself with no extra toppings was $ 12 and any extra topping was $ 1. A side for the burger is included as well and you can get a side that ranges from French fries to a side salad.
They also provide free bread with a dipping oil, which tasted like sundried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. The menu isn’t huge and it includes appetizers, flat breads, pasta, entrees such as fish and chips, seated steak, grilled salmon, shepherds pie, spaghetti and mussels, hamburgers, sandwiches, and salads. The calamari starter is delicious. They serve it in a cilantro lime aioli, a soy chili reduction, salt, and pepper.
Johhny’s Tavern was a great spot to eat at if you’re looking to spend a little bit more money in the Amherst area. I know when you’re a college student and after eating Ramen Noodles or getting Antonio’s pizza after a late night it’s nice to have a place to eat at that’s affordable with tasty food. It’s not as expensive as Judie’s in Amherst, but the food is just as good.

I’m surprised the UMass-​Amherst area has enough clientele to keep this place in business, but wow! This was such a great find. Then again, the prices aren’t so outrageous that it would drive cost-​conscious foodies away who are looking to escape the standard Amherst options. The restaurant has a full bar and a classy, casual vibe.
We made reservations to eat her before my brother’s commencement ceremony, so the place the 110% packed, and the service suffered, but our server couldn’t have been nicer, and I’ll blame the day for the slower service.
First off, the bacon bloody mary? On point! I ordered that, and then I had to order a second because it was so damn good. Not overly salty, but an addictive savory touch with a shameless strip of crispy bacon coming right out of the glass.
For starters, we ordered the calamari with an addicting cilantro lime aioli, soy chili reduction combo, the truffle fries with tomato jam, and the fried brussels sprouts with garlic aioli. So good! And yes, we filled up a little bit too much before our food came because we couldn’t stop nibbling at the fries.
For entrees, my mom and I split the Rigati Bolognese and the Grilled Garlic Shrimp Salad. The salad was a salad, not presented in a congruent, way — everything was placed on top of the dish, and it wasn’t delicious. However, the Rigati Bolognese was amazingly decadent, and over the top amazing! I think this is their signature dish.
Highly recommend stopping here if you’re looking for an amazing sit down meal in the Amherst area!