Palmers Restaurant & Tavern

Great bar! Great drinks! Great atmosphere!
Then dinner:
–Steak bland
–Calamari bland
–Soup bland
–Mashed potatoes bland

A girlfriend and I went in on a Thursday night. Street parking was easy enough. When we walked in through the pub, we worked our way through to try to find the main dining room. When we found the hostess to be seated, it seemed very confusing about whether that was an option. She kept encouraging us to look in the tavern without mentioning if the dining room was full. The tavern was packed as well, but we guessed that’s all we were going to get. More direct communication would have been appreciated since I still don’t know why we didnt get to see the dining room. Food was delicious, but the waiter ignored us for 40 minutes after clearing our meals.

Very quaint establishment, food was delicious. They sat us quickly and the service was excellent. Definitely will eat here again. The steak was cooked perfectly. My son had the duck which was also excellent. If your a blue cheese fan, their house Blue cheese was out of this world.

Returned to my hometown for a funeral and then luncheon at Palmer’s. We arrived in groups and we all had to ask which room we were in. None of the staff were acting as hostess or host at the time. Food was good, but there weren’t enough desserts to go around. Facility offered pies to those of us who didn’t get any desserts. We said, no thanks, because no one else had had pie. Very disappointed in the service and quantity of food.
Received a call from the restaurant. We talked through our concerns and they held a staff meeting to make sure that things of this nature wouldn’t happen again. They made it right financially also. Being a business man myself, I was most impressed with the fact that the facility followed up on my review. They were most apologetic and wanted us to be happier than we had been following our visit. Because of the sincerity of the caller, and the manner in which this restaurant handled this situation, I would most definitely return to this place for another go at it. Many businesses today, take a «I could care less» posture, but this was not the case with Palmer’s. The food was very good, and the staff, I am sure, will try harder. No one is perfect and things can fall between the cracks every now and then. This is past us and as I said, we will use them again.

Being that Palmer’s is within walking distance from where I live, makes it a definite go– to place for me. r me. My review is of The Tavern only.
Whatever I’ve ordered from the menu has been very good. My last visit a few days ago I had a seasonal salad of ultra-​fresh greens. sliced local peaches, goat cheese, & pecans. On the menu it included grilled chicken
which I asked them to omit — not a problem.
The person who waited on our small group wasn’t the best, but at the same time wasn’t awful. Perhaps it’s my warped sense of humor, but I always wonder when they deliver your meal to the table & no utensils if they are bored and its some kind of childish in– house joke just to see what people will do? Ha-​ha… :(
Our drinks were good & served promptly. Although is it an antiquated thing to wish and hope for a napkin? It took a few tries, but eventually it happened.
The live music is always great — never a cover charge. Yes, it s a small venue & it gets very crowded. I really don’t mind. Palmer’s will still be my go-​to place

Had dinner there on a Thursday night and tried the «Chef Caught Striped Bass» special. It was delicious — striped bass is hard to find, and I confirmed it was actually caught by the chef. Went back on Saturday night and had the same meal — again was fantastic.
Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well — seems there are many great choices on the menu. Probably the best food service in Andover.
Bar scene on weekends is lively as well with live music — sometimes even on Thursday nights.

Palmers is an old and well established Andover mainstay. Lovely dining rooms, a cozy bar, tables outside on the porch there is something for everyone. The menu ranges from gourmet main dishes to delicious entrees and salads including some of the best panini style sandwiches anywhere. One of our favorites and should be one of yours as well! Palmers is a winner!

Stopped in again for lunch with my team and again the food was awesome! The burger is one of the best you can have in MA and the Turkey Palmers with home made chips was very good and John the owner and staff were great. After seeing a one star post I can only imagine it was from a drunk and unruly patron as we will always come back here.

I’ve been to Palmers over the years but we’ve never had great service. Having said that our most recent visit was our last. First, every time we’ve been to this place at least one of the wait staff has been rude and or unprofessional. Most recently my family and I went in after our fathers wake to have a drink and some dinner. We sat in the bar area and found numerous empty tables. However most of the tables would not accommodate the number of people we had. When we asked if we could put two table tops together the waiter was not nice at all and was just plan rude. In fact someone in our party is a chef and manager and after he asked politely if they could accommodate us he was only met with more resistance. And the waiter got in his face! A restaurant is supposed to accommodate their customers to the best of their ability and in this case the waiter was just plain rude. To make matters worse when we asked for the manager we were told they would come talk to us but they never did. We asked twice. No response. My family and I will never go back here as long as that waiter is employed there. Shame on you guys.

The place is rather pricey, and I will only sit outside because the inside is rather boring and smells gross. The bathrooms are absolutely disgusting. The meals are rather pricey, and there is an up charge if you want to substitute the side dish of your meal. That is just pathetic. The food is average, but certainly nothing to write home about. I stop by occasionally, but only when the other places are busy. I do enjoy sitting outside. Overall it is a decent place, but could use some improvements (open on Sunday… seriously!).

Went to Palmers for dinner. Everyone enjoyed their dinner. Drinks and appetizers were good as well. Dinners are pricey and I was taken back when they told me there would be an upcharge if
I wanted to change my choice of side. I didn’t want what came with the meal and wanted something else. I can go to the 99 and get whatever I want and there is no upcharge. Doesn’t speak well for this restaurant… it’s a small thing but they should stop this practice.

Went for some dinner and to enjoy some live music. Salmon was absolutely delicious and the steak looked really good as well. Good crowd me atmosphere! The band was great and kept the place hopping all night!

If Andover is your idea of an appealing upscale New England town, then Palmer’s would fit into the model. The atmosphere inside, from which you can choose to sit at the bar, or at bistro-​style tables, or on the terrace (and I guess outside in nice weather) reflects this. If you prefer more of a pub experience, you can sit at the bar and select from many drafts and food off the pub menu, or you can opt for cocktails or wine from an impressive list as well as the full dinner menu at nearby tables — or some mixture. Service is top-​notch.
Since we had had a late lunch earlier in the day, we opted for appetizers and food off the pub menu instead of dinner. I wish I had been hungrier, because the dinner menu appealed more to me both in selection and quality, and that included several very tempting dinner specials. We ordered chowders among us, their regular clam chowder, and tonight’s special fish chowder. My clam chowder had a nice little zing to it, not quite sure just what but perhaps lemon, which made it distinctive from other chowders I’ve had. But the amount of potatoes in the chowder outnumbered the clams by about 5:1. The fish chowder was a bit more balanced, with a hint of bacon flavor.
Our meals were off the pub menu, which included the fish tacos, and I ordered a cheeseburger. The fish tacos are a unique take — they had the citrus flavor, but little slaw and instead accompanied by fresh avocado. My burger, ordered medium, came out closer to medium-​well but was fine otherwise. It was presented simply, with just the cheese on top, and with lettuce, thick tomato slices, and pickles on the side. I was not impressed with the fries that accompanied the burger. They tasted industrial to me, with what felt like a coating. I feel that for a place like this and a nice burger, hand-​cut steak fries would have been more appealing as a side.
My overall impression was quite favorable, and if I come here again, as previously mentioned, I plan to be a bit hungrier to sample from the dinner menu.
One final warning — if you sit at the smaller bistro tables (square, seat 4), do not place any significant weight on the corners, as the tables will very easily tip. I almost lost our drinks because of that.

Really surprised at the varied reviews. My husband and I love Palmers. Mondays half price burgers ($ 6) are the best. Weekend music in the tavern is great– «older’ crowd but it is perfect if you aren’t 20 something.
Prices upstairs are a bit more expensive but quite in line with Andover. PLUS fabulous.

My wife and I went for New Years first time. Yes the food was over priced for the small quantity but it was good. The atmosphere was great and the stay very attentive to our needs. The band was very electrifying and has everyone singing and up Danceing.

Fancy place to relax, unwind, and feel like a special night. The crowd is respectful older gentlemen gathering after work or with their wives. I really enjoyed the food as well. It was delicious. Service was outstanding. Looking forward to coming back someday.

Went for dinner with the GF, loved the outdoor seating. Great service, but the food was not impressive. From the start with the clam cowder for me and chicken soup of the day for her, everything needed salt and pepper. With a good amount of both the cowder was real good, the chicken soup was also great. The fish and chips were also lacking seasoning, the fries were the best part unfortunately. She had the petite filet, also lacking seasoning. The mushroom her dish came with has a ridiculously strong and sweet port sauce. Steak was overcooked. Drinks were also unimpressive. Probably will give it a try again, but will stick with bar food.

We picked this place because of the outside seating. It was a perfect night to sit outside.
If I had to judge it only on the food, I would give it 5 stars. I have only good things to say about the food. The drinks were great summer cocktails. My husband got the fish and chips and very much enjoyed it. I got the fillet sliders and they were perfectly medium rare. The profiteroles for dessert were flakey and delicious.
Unfortunately, the food is really the only thing I have anything positive to say about. If I could have physically eaten the meal somewhere else, I would have been a happy customer. But the overall experience was craptastical. The outdoor seating is a nice idea with terrible execution. The process to get a table outside is awkward and uncomfortable at best. At worst I felt like I was a stalker. Our waiter was nice but never checked on us once he dropped the food off. My husband had to wait until dessert to get a second drink.
PROS:
–great food
–outdoor seating (if you don’t mind a weird, uncomfortable experience to get a table)
CONS:
–waiter never checked on us
–they police the outdoor seating in a way that is both rude and uncomfortable… there was an empty table for 4 but because we were a party of 2 they wouldn’t let us sit there… the table sat empty for more than 20 minutes while we waited for a table for 2 to open up
–outdoor seating is «first come, first serve» which left me feeling like I had to hover over people or risk losing the table to someone else… I am not sure who was more uncomfortable, me or the people we kept watching like a hawk to see when they were leaving…
Unfortunately, the experience of waiting for the table outside was the first and most lasting impression I had. and I doubt there is any food that could have overcome that awful first impression.

Best New England clam chowder I have ever had, but I was not as impressed with the swordfish. Great service, but would go with a different menu option next time

First off, I was sold on going here, because they told me it was once a funeral parlor. So I figure, if it was once a funeral parlor and people are still going there must be something really special about the food.
The menu is pretty diverse, which has bar food, as well as salads, ala carte items and sides.
For the appetizer we had the tuna tartare which was a decent size portion with chips and the brie bread dip which was a little rich but still very tasty. The texture of the crunch bread with the melt brie topped with capers was very interesting.
I ordered the braised short ribs ravioli and asparagus. The Sauce was a little salty, but I ended up dipping the asparagus in it which really made it even the taste.
The wine selection is good, the beer selection on tap, a little shallow. I did have a Chocolate Stout which had some good smell and initial flavor but the lacked a powerful clean after taste which I prefer stouts to have.
The waiter was helpful, and my drinks never ran dry.
The price for 3 people was $ 182, which is a little pricey for the area but it’s an ala carte menu, sooo you should expect pricey and small rich tasting portions. This ain’t applebees folks.
I would definitely go there again!