Tavern On the Main

The Tavern is very much in keeping with the mystique of the Cult of Clawson, Michigan, home of the world’s most improbable civic fetish. It’s cozy, clean, not looking to raise a fuss. After a while, you begin to suspect that people are probably having more fun somewhere else, but at this point in your life, this is excitement enough.
My friends and I have been coming to his place for like a jillion years – Kevin STILL complains about them taking out the popcorn machine in 2007 – so that, in itself, tells you much right there. The burgers are very good, but you can’t get one with cheddar cheese (my wife desperately wants everyone to know this). I only eat the burgers, so I really don’t know much else about the menu. They offer cheap domestics and a nice selection of craft beers, but spring through fall, I only have eyes for Oberin.
The owners are fantastic and outgoing. I really like the servers as well. It is nice to go to a place where they know your name.
As other reviewers have noted, service can be a little slow when the place is hopping. Now that you know this, instead of complaining like some kind of Wabeek coxcomb, formulate a game plan. Order your next drink a bit earlier in the process. Was that so hard? No, that was not so hard at all.

Just moved to Clawson!
Such a cute little place!
Friendly people but the food had small portions and it was average bar food hope when they expand they will have better quality!

Must go see this wonderful place to eat & drink. You are seated as soon as you walk in. Unless it is the weekend then it very busy. Food is the greatest A-1.They believe in only the best for their customers. You are only a stranger one time. Employees make you feel comfortable. Everyone is very nice and friendly. Must go visit this great place. Summer time they have a patio so you can eat outside.

Good experience. Limited, kind of unimaginative, menu. I had the tavern burger without a bun. Very simple. Burger, cheese, two strips of bacon. M had Olympus salad. Gyro meet good; lettuce was fresh. Ranch dressing was homemade and good. I had a side of coleslaw. Very good; tasted homemade. We were here at 6:30 on a summer Saturday. Very low key. Fine atmosphere. I’d come here again. Waitstaff was attentive and pleasant.

Not good. Ruben and burger were tastesless. Waitress was nice but this place is probably only good for drinks on the patio. Would not recommend.

We still love this place for burgers, but they recently look the fried pickles off of the regular menu. Sorry… they lose a star for that.

Sooooo many bones to pick… I’ll start with the fact I’ve been waiting for my Chicken sandwich for over 30 minutes. My salad plate has been on the table for 25. The salad consists of tomato which I requested none of, and cucumbers. When I inquired about my sandwich, the waitress apologized and said the Chicken takes longer to cook. Keep in mind I did not request a chicken straight off the farm… so annoyed.
Update… My food came and a plastic food wrap thing fell out. Now I’m leaving hungry and even more annoyed.

We used to love Tavern on the Main but were so disappointed on our visit tonight. The burgers appeared to be pre-​formed and possibly frozen before cooking. The fancy brioche buns looked giant and expensive, we would have preferred simpler smaller buns and better quality meat. The onion rings were decent but the price is too high for the portion size. The prices in general seemed high for a bar restaurant. On a positive note, our waitress was polite, the patio looks lovely for summer and I was pleased with my glass of Pinot Noir. I gladly pay close to $ 10 for great quality burgers at others places but the Tavern burger just isn’t worth it. We should have gone to Sonic.

Love the food and the staff is the best! The owners Sam and Tom are always there to take care of their customers.

With the exception of Frittata, I don’t often eat in Clawson but I decided to try this place a second time last Friday. For the price, I thought the food was very average. I ordered the fish and chips for $ 12.99 and was disappointed when my order came out looking like four Van De Kamp fish sticks. For that price, I expected a little more. I know I’m not the target audience for this place as I was the youngest patron by at least a decade, so I’m not going to complain about the setting, but the food needs work.

Ponderosa/​big boy decided to sell pull tabs and liquor… and it works! Their menu! Omg!!! I can’t imagine any place better to bring my tinder date. Bartenders with their off life colored plastic lensed glasses bring hipster to life. Ask about the «trailer traffic light» it will turn your cheeks red.

Great beer and food selection. If you want an amazing burger, this is the place to go!

Food was good but they charge extra for mayo, pickles and stuff. I think that burgers should come with pickles and mayo. Service is ok.

For being a tavern there weren’t too many beers on tap which was the first disappointment. The second was the food. The menu is rather limited and most everything is overpriced for the quality. A $ 10 burger doesn’t come with fries; those are $ 2 extra and even then it’s a small handful. Wait staff is mediocre. But the place was packed so there must be something about the place I missed. Can’t say I’ll go back to find it though.

We had lunch here yesterday for the first time. The service was friendly and fast. The restaurant was not very crowded as it was a late lunch. The food was good but I thought the special of boneless chicken wings and fries on special was a bit pricey at $ 10. I understand costs are rising but thought it was a bit much for what I got.
Will try again

Overall, great neighborhood style bar and grill. Easy parking, great service, keno. Spacious patio for dining outside. Good bottle craft beer selection.
We have been happy with everything we’ve tried, but our favorite is still the burger/​onion rings or the fresh Greek style salads — not what you expect from a bar and grill.
Only downside… no kids menu.

Good neighborhood bar & grill. Very spacious and lots of parking. Lots of bar and menu choices. Good value, the yero was pretty tasty. Good joint and one to repeat!

Beautiful weather so I’m in search of a place with outdoor seating, preferably somewhere we haven’t been to. Lot’s of solid reviews here, so we make the drive. Place is empty inside and just a few tables filled outside. Usually that’s not a good sign.
Our server was very nice, but the food was slow coming. Had to try to explain to the rest of the family what a brioche bun was. Over-​priced Sprecter’s root beer for the kiddos. Kids got burgers and they were happy. Wife had them make a Turkey Reuben w/​Cole Slaw — not on the menu, but they were happy to do it. It was good.
I decided on the Cajun Chicken Grill. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one. We used to love the one at Cooker’s before that chain went bye-​bye many years ago. It’s one of the few menu items that I repeatedly ordered anywhere. So, with a bit of anticipation I get the TOTM version. Looks good. First bite reaction — too salty and not enough real flavor. At least it was fairly juicy. I’ll try something different next time.

Service was okay
Food was good, typical pub food nothing amazing. I would return only if I was in a drinking mood as they have great drink specials.

I’ve been to the TotM twice — once about 5 years ago and the other time last week. The first time, the only think that stuck out in my mind was the bad service. The server was slow, I had to pry for drink specials, etc — but then I saw our same server gladly offering up dinner specials, drink specials, etc to another table. I remember the burger being decent, but never went back because I was so unimpressed with the service.
I went back last week and had a similar experience, however I had a LOT of time to think about it while I was stuck in the bathroom the next 24 hours…
I met two friends there — two of us got really sick and the other was fine. I wasn’t «vomiting all night and had to miss work» sick, but I was «explosive diarrhea, stomach cramping, in hell.» I know, sorry for the details, but I just can’t recommend this place. The service is horrible and the food just wasn’t worth it!