The Port Tavern

Friendly service and a really unique and fun menu. Amazing burgers and fries. Poutine, very fresh cheese board, and huge beer selection. Fried goat cheese with arugula, almonds and a strawberry vinaigrette. Very nice pub but still good for the family.

If you’re at all a fan of reubens… you need to get one here. I’m picky about my reubens and if I see one on a menu, I generally try it. This was incredible. Initially I was going to save half of it for lunch, but I couldn’t stop picking at it. This was made with homemade corned beef — not the sliced, salty stuff you get at a deli. This was the real deal… melt in your mouth corned beef. Great service. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m up in Newburyport.

We came in for lunch on a Sunday at about 1:30. I had a few Bloody Marys, and my husband had two IPAs from their strong tap list. We split the artisanal cheese plate to start, which was great. We appreciated that they labeled the cheeses. I had the Reuben, and he had the Gaelic burger. The food was all good. It was busy, and the food took longer than we expected. However, the waitress was available and did check in. We did t feel rushed and the app and meals were perfectly spaced out time-​wise. The sandwiches were around $ 12 each, and the cheese plate was $ 17. With the drinks, the total was about $ 76. They also have sliding walls that were open on this beautiful March day. We’ll be back.

We attended a private function here on the wknd. What a fabulous room. The private room was located upstairs above the restaurant. The room had tables set up all around with chairs, stools and couches. Very cozy and comfy. There was also a full bar available. There was another room at the front which was set up for a fabulous food buffet. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The restaurant is located in a very trendy area. Parking is on the street and hard to find. We were told the meters are free after 6pm. What a great room for a fun party!

Had an ok lunch. The menu is a little funky. There isn’t much to choose from. About half the menu is appetizers or small plates or cheese boards. We had nachos to start which were just chips, cheese and tomatoes. Not very filling. The Reuben was pretty good but again, not overly filling. There wasn’t much meat in the sandwich

Great beer selection and very good food! Close to the downtown area with great parking out back!

So sad they changed the menu with a new chef. Now the offerings are random without reason; just to be «different» doesn’t always mean better (bangers and Thai spring rolls on same menu), not everyone can choose something (my group of four had a very difficult time picking something), steak was taken off the menu (seriously?), they ran out of fish, they make little effort to accommodate dietary issues which they used to be the absolute best at and why I became a regular (I got sick upon my return home so I know they didn’t follow proper protocol). Talk about going down hill in spectacular fashion. This is a tavern; the food should represent that but should also offer options for the nonculinary expert with bland tastes.
The wait staff seem to be less than happy with the changes as I have yet to see one smile in 3 visits. The football game blared so loudly when it was turned on we stopped talking — the best part of dining out with family and friends.
Very sad to say I will reconsider returning for a long while. Great way to ruin a beautiful thing.

The «Port» has recently changed chefs and installed a new, very creative, menu. Of course the beer and stout selections remain strong. The new menu really shakes things up and has many fun dishes to try. My selection was the «Smoked Salmon Board» which featured a lovely sculptured «rose» of very fine smoked salmon. Slice boiled eggs, capers, chopped onions, and a small bed of fresh greens filled it out nicely. An unexpected high note was a generous, fresh, and delicious serving of a brown bread that must have been made in-​house. OK, I added butter — I’m that kind of guy. Give the new menu a try. You won’t be disappointed. It all pairs well with Guinness!

Great staff and wonderful beer selection. I’m lucky to call this place my «local». The food is good as well. The hog wings can be quite tasty.

Probably the best pour of Guinness in town at an OK price $ 6. The clam chowder is outstanding, thick n creamy and reasonably priced. I had the chicken curry… tasted good but the portion size was very very disappointing and WAY overpriced at $ 15.its the size of an app, thus the price should be $ 8 – 9 IMHO. Minuit amount of chicken, let than what in a can of tuna. Good selection of craft beers/​ales on tap… but very pricey$$. Service was great… very friendly.

Great for the under 30 crowd. Good pub food and atmosphere. Varied menu has some nice variety. Bar with a very good selection of spirits and ales. Could use a better cleaning crew because it smells a little stale at times.

We were lucky to get a table outside on a beautiful August (15^th) evening. They have an excellent beer selection — which I sampled by starting with an Allegash. The calamari app. was very good, lightly breaded and nicely crispy and tender with cherry peppers. So good. Not as lucky with the fish and chips — heavily breaded and a bit heavy for me. The fries were OK. Deb’s seared scallops were very good. I like them seared more to a sweat crispy end — these were not there but were still very good. Service was prompt and we were never left hanging. There are many good restaurants in this town. This is one of them.

The service was great, but the food so so. The ambiance seemed nice from the street, however, upon closer inspection, a little worn and slightly grubby.

This place has a huge selections of beers!
Prices are not bad! But, the waiting time for your order is long, the food was not impressed at all!
The bottom line is good for beer, not so for food!

Friendly staff, good drink selection and prices, Decent menu selection — but bad execution. My beer was forgotten by the waitress and my «medium» burger was completely charred. Overall, a «C» in my book.

Local sports pub. Good beers. Don’t expect above average food or service. If you eat here get pub basics like chicken fingers or burgers. Attempting anything else will surely leave you disappoint.

Went to Port Tavern on Saturday afternoon. Hub loved the beer selection and I had the best pomegranate martini I have had in a long time. Not one of those tiny little martinis but a good size one, nice. Hostess was sweet, Server accommodating, patient and friendly. Ordered the calamari, it was soo good. Had the pretzels and beer cheese fondue, great. Then ordered the fisherman’s club with salmon, arugula, avocado… delicious. Heard this was a new menu, so many things I want to try. Cant wait to bring friends back. A true gem.

Went out on a Tuesday night for a quick sandwich and a beer. The three of us ordered different beers, but all ordered the corned beef sandwich. Absolutely delicious! The corned beef was melt in your mouth good, the bread delicious and the kraut and dressings perfectly seasoned. Well done! French fries were piping hot and huge cut. Perfect dinner all around and service was great!

Ate here recently again.
The server was awesome unfortunately to cleanliness of this place leaves a lot to be desired. Food on the floor & utensils obviously dirty. Upon leaving noticed a dead cockroach on the floor. Repulsive & never again.

I have been to the port tavern probably six times or so and one thing that keeps on bringing me back is the smoked salmon plate. My boss even wrote about it on trip advisor saying it’s the best app north of Boston and I have to agree. It comes with brown bread, small diced red onion, hard boiled egg and a sort of tartar sauce.
All other apps are good, but nothing compares to the smoked salmon plate. Order it!
They also have a really good beer list.