Charlotte Tavern

I do like places with tavern in their name that also serve food. And I like a good neighborhood joint with a classic shuffleboard game in the bar section of the tavern — which is nice. unfortunately the food here is just OK.
A low divider separates the bar from the small dining area with a dozen or so tables. The staff is super friendly and on this night very adaptable to keep serving while a medical emergency played out in one corner of the dining room.
The menu is heavy on typical Rochester Italian favorites… but I have never seen 12 types of items that can be «frenched» nor 9 that can be «parmeseaned». Wow!
I selected the bacon wrapped shrimp which was surprisingly bland, though the 3 shrimp were huge (still just three shrimp for $ 25?). The Chicken French was also ordered and the verdict was that it also lacked in flavor — which is unusual for this dish. The beef roast was more successful — tender and juicy.
It was pretty crowded so a reservation is a must on a Saturday night.
Perhaps next time I will go for a burger or wings… tavern food!

Hidden Gem. I would never have set foot in the Charlotte Tavern if it wasn’t for trying to use up credit in my
account. Driving to Lake Ontario, I had never even noticed the place. It resembles a neighborhood saloon, which, in fact, it is. We wandered in at 5:30 pm on a Saturday in January. There were a couple of regulars at the bar. The restaurant area is separated from the bar by a partial wall. The tables and chairs are old-​fashioned, but the room is decorated nicely with both Irish and seafaring memorabilia. The lighting is attractive pool-​hall style green glass pendant lights. One table was just leaving. We were alone. My husband was intrigued by the soup of the day, tomato/​basil/​artichoke, so he ordered a cup. It was unusual, but worked, and he liked the slow peppery burn of it. For his entrée, he ordered the Eggplant Parmesan and was served enough to feed a family of six! He ended up bringing ¾ of it home. He’s very critical of Eggplant Parm (he claims he makes the best), and found this to be excellent. I ordered the Black Angus Beef Roast French Dip Sandwich with French Fries. It was certainly a hearty sandwich. I would have liked the meat to be a little rarer, and the au jus had an odd aftertaste, but it was good overall, and I brought half of it home. The French Fries were excellent: crispy on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. The service was excellent. By the time we finished eating, almost all the tables were filled, and the phone was ringing with reservations coming in. Two young ladies worked with room expertly. We were never without anything, never had to look for our waitress but never was interrupted by her and our meals came quickly. Walking back out through the bar, we noticed that every bar stool was occupied. Charlotte Tavern is a great find.

Went to dinner Sat. @ 6pm. All staff friendly and very attentive. If you want dinner, Make a Reservation !!!
Our waitress, Jo,-el was phenominal, even though they were busy. Great Job Jo– el.:):):)
Food was very good, but would have preferred it if the Veal marsala sauce were thicker. The broiled Haddock was great, but wife prefers it be drier, even though it was perfect.
Would go back, especially if there was another Groupon.
Jo-​el is the best waitperson I have had the pleasure of being served by

Received a groupon for dinner at Charlotte Tavern. Went with my boyfriend on a Wednesday night not expecting much. The place was hopping! Every table was filled and luckily we got a table before they were all gone. The hostess ended up being out waitress and the bartender. Her name was Joelle and I will say for as much as I go out, which is more than I’ll admit, the service was OUTSTANDING. We ordered the black angus beef roast and shepherd’s pie and they were both delicious! We will absolutely be going back here more often. The dining room is on the smaller side but the portions are huge and the prices are just right! Highly recommend!

Charlotte Tavern is just that, a bar that serves food in a small, crowded dinning area. Please don’t let that keep you away. They put out a super good fish fry? Wonderfully light batter & perfectly done fish. I can’t speak to the other menu items as I’ve only had the fish fry. It’s probably the best one I’ve ever had. You don’t go to the Charlotte Tavern for the décor or ambiance, you go for the great fry.

While the food at this family owned place is delicious and there’s plenty of it, the service was far from good. The last time we ever went, we were seated and left for 20 minutes while the server kept a p

Went to Charlotte Tavern because of their other location (Tavern 19, which was great). This place had a good vibe and an old style look. The clam chowder was excellent, but that was about it. My wife and I ordered burgers (MR) which were over cooked and dry. Tasted like they were probably frozen at some point. Gave half the burger to my dog, and it even gave him gas.
As the rating says, Meh, I’ve experienced better.

any dish i’ve gotten is great. mom and pop restaurant/​bar. we need more of these in rochester!

I have lived in the Rochester area for over 80 years and this my first time here. If I wasn’t a guest I would have driven right by thinking it was just another neighborhood bar. We went to Florida for over 10 years and had grouper, I bet, over 100 times. The broiled grouper was the best I have ever had! Unfortunately I understand it’s only on the menu during lent. It should be on the menu all the time.

Not your usual neighborhood pub. The food is simply amazing. Best clam chowder I have ever had in Rochester. The cheese logs are to die for and the Best chicken French I have ever had in my entire life. The atmosphere is cozy and warm, the service is attentive and they are glad to make suggestions. Take the drive up to the lake I promise you will be glad you did.

Had to just write a note or two about our most recent visit. We showed up at ten minutes to 9 on Friday, and lucked into a prime parking spot. Normally the place is jammed well past 8:30. Anyway, as we walked in, a waitress on break in the kitchen area looked right at us and back down to her meal as we waited sheepishly for someone to seat us in the now nearly empty restaurant. Another girl came out of the kitchen, saw us and turned her back to chat with the girl on break. WTF… I dont care if you’re on break, if you’re within my view, you best get off your ass and find me a table. Finally an old guy at the bar chided the waitress talking to the girl on break and she seated us. We then waited another 10 minutes for them to take our order. The staff seemed to be preoccupied with getting out early. They seemed to be more tolerating than accommodating our late arrival, despite the fact that the advertised dinner seating goes to 10PM. They were out of the soup, out of Magner’s Cider, and just seemed to be totally phoning it in. Waited around with an empty drink for someone to notice, just really bad service. The haddock french, which was so perfectly golden brown on my last visit, was not as crisp and lighter in color, and seemed to have been rushed out of the kitchen. Definitely not the usual friendly and helpful service we’ve received on previous visits. I’m hoping this was just an aberration and not a trend. I expect the attitude we got was more due to the age of the waitresses than the management, who were clearly not present when we visited.
Enjoyed the haddock but would have enjoyed it more if it had cooked a bit longer. The portion as usual was monstrous and provided a sizeable late lunch the next day. Side salad was very good. Light herby italian dressing over mixed field greens and grape tomatoes. Not the iceberg afterthought in a fake wooden bowl you might expect from a place like this. My wife loved her chicken sandwich. Hope the service is back up to par on our next visit.

My husband and I have lived right down the street from this place for years. We have heard good things from friends so last night we decided to give it a try. We heard that it gets really busy and the wait is really long some nights. We went in early– around 5. There were only a few other diners at that point. We were able to get a seat right away. Saturday night they have prime rib. It was amazing! I had the New England Clam chowder as my soup. It was so rich and creamy. The prime rib was seasoned perfectly. They have two ways they can cook it, original or grilled. I had the original. I eat every bite! I love that it is family owned! It is very casual and the wait staff was super nice. We had a great experience here. We will be going back again.

Oh dear, I so want to give Charlotte Tavern 5 stars to balance all this out, because it’s real rating is 3 to 3.5. The place has been family run and owned for 30+ years — a true stalwart out there off Lake Ave. I used to go there every Tuesday night for an Irish session, and other times too for a Harp (20 oz glasses and I don’t know why, their Harp is the best I’ve ever tasted). I’ve been there for fish frys and also for things like burgers, artichokes French (oh Rochester, I love your puzzling propensity for flour and egg battering and frying all sorts of things!) and french fries. It’s a real cozy, divey place with a shuffleboard table — super fun — and the typical collection of oddball regulars at the bar. On the weekends, the dinners aren’t bad and I really think that sometimes the home cooking can be excellent. Anyone with some allegiance to the history of Charlotte and the bustling lakeside retreat that it once was should check out Charlotte Tavern. It’s a slice of Rochester history; the kind of stuff this city was built on: family businesses, blue collar workers, hard work.

Last Friday night we visited this restaurant for the first time and it will definitely not be the last. It definitely was not what we expected. It appears to be your normal corner bar but when you sit down you are presented a menu with a fantastic selection. I had the steak au poive which was a 16 oz. prime steak. Definitely one of the best I have ever had, and I have had a lot of steaks in my time. I actually never got to my fries so we took them home and they fed both of us. My wife had the shrimp alexander and absolutely loved it. On weekends, be sure to make reservations because they are very busy most fo the evening but they did fit us in easily. Go and enjoy!

Friendly people but the food left MUCH to be desired. Its really bad when you don’t want to eat your salad because it’s covered in a green basil flavored slime that was supposed to be italian dressing. We only went there because we got a gift certificate off of
, and I will not be going back. I don’t know who posted the 5 star review but I’m guessing its a relative of the owner.

Check this place out! Blew me away– expected pub food. They’ve got traditional pub food– it’s fantastic– they’ve been in business for years and years– because they have great food and lot’s of beers on tap. What really knocked my socks off, though,. what I wasn’t expecting– was the huge selection of gourmet entrees– top chef– culinary cuisine– prepared with so much flavor and flair. The Sambuca Shrimp special was simply to– die– for– .one of the most amazing dishes I’ve had in a long time. This place offers culinary cuisine in a fun and casual unpretentious environment. Awesome staff– super friendly– feels like family. Chef John has it GOING on! Rock solid great food– amazing menu-​huge variety: Burgers– Fish Fry-​Steaks-​Chicken dishes-​Lobster/​Shrimp/​Chicken French-​Oysters-​Pasta Dishes– .and be sure to try their daily specials!