Tavro 13

I give our server, Joe, 5 stars– his service really made the meal and experience. The food would also get a near 5 stars, if it were the Olympics I’d give it 4.877 789 987.
The fish of the day special (tilefish) was awesome, as is their homemade cornbread and honey butter. The fries are actually better than the onion rings (so says my husband) and the beet salad is a good combination with fresh ingredients. The ribs my husband had were good, not to dry. Great beer selection! Not so stellar were the mixed veggie side dish (drab) and the aforementioned onion rings.
Atmosphere was the real detractor– loud and table wobbly, and flat wear could use an upgrade for the quality of food they are serving.
If Joe is there, just ask him his recommendations– he will not steer you wrong.

Very good food, I had the new York strip and it was made perfectly! Quiet, intimate and secluded from the more rambunctious bar area. Quite pricy but definitely the best food I’ve had in swedesboro. Good place for date night with the misses. Weird side note but I thought it was cool, they have a massive fireplace that predates America. so you have that upscale feel in a rustic looking setting.

Best filet ever. Service was spot on. Very satisfied. A must visit for sure! Nice crowd for a Thursday night. Like to see live bands again on a Saturday.

Good dining. Pricey for Swedesboro; great memory of former Swedes Inn. Outside waiting with bar drinks was noisy and stinky from main St traffic. Would not dine anywhere outside on main streets. Servers were friendly, atmosphere was nice, lighting a little too dark. Appetizers were delicious!

Atmosphere was nice service was excellent food was good.
I’m giving two stars for the steak. I ordered the Porterhouse which was ½ inch thick at best. At a restaurant like Tavro 13 this is not what I would expect. Maybe at a diner. The menu talked up their steaks (dry aged, wet aged) so I was fooled. For the price I could have eaten three times at Tex Road house and been happier! Sorry Tavro 13 for the negative review but how could I not when the rest of my dinner party laughed the whole time I ate asking how was my flank steak!

Being a «local» I gave the Red Hen a try. It’s the new addition to travro 13. It’s rustic modern in motif Eclectic if you will. Comfortable. A bit dark but inviting. There are also seats in the bar and on the street-​which I’ve never understood. Why would you want to eat outside by traffic, pedestrians & exhaust? To each his own
The food has been consistently good and different Sausage sandwich on pretzel bread, jumbo wings, chicken & waffles and pressed Cubano sandwich all are winners. The menu may be small but it’s diverse.
They also serve breakfast and Sunday brunch. Living nearby I see that Sunday’s are jammed packed. I’d make a reservation. We’ve walked in twice with a 45 minute wait –we were too hungry too wait for seating and I won’t sit outside
Now, service –eh. Not ever good. Sorry to say. Always understaffed Although the staff is pleasant and helpful, there’s always about one server per room. Not good
Last time we went was about 9 months ago. May try again. Maybe they have sufficient help.

Quality & Service are dropping!
We live 5 minutes away, so with not many good options in the area, we were excited when Tavro 13 opened! It was awesome at first and after 10 – 12 dinners there, we’ve experienced the quality and service continue to drop. Tonight we were seated for a good 15 minute looking for the server before getting our drinks. My Salmon, that I asked for rare, was way over cooked but the server never returned after bringing our entrée’s to ask how they were. With only 4 parties in the place at 7:30 on a Friday night, you’d expect that they could keep up with the service. Both our vegetables were under seasoned with no salt or pepper available to adjust it ourselves and again, no server in sight. We were finally asked how it was at the end when she showed up with the check and also by the hostess, both of which were obviously insincere questions, which is unfortunate because if the feedback actually made it to the chef, they might be able to fix the place! Each time we’ve been, it seems to drop a bit more, so we’re about done now. Hopefully the Red Hen will maintain it’s quality and service, it’s really all they have left now!

I wish that I could say I was thoroughly impressed with this place, but my boyfriend and I were sadly a little underwhelmed. We had heard the old chef from Fork was working there now, and that got our hopes up… I will say the atmosphere was actually really nice — very romantic, and the waiters were really good about giving tables their privacy, and the drinks were deeeelicious!
The downfall to our dinner was a lack of spice and general over pricing. We each got salads (I got the baby beets), which were actually pretty tasty. And then for our main courses, I got the Scallops and my boyfriend got the Lobster Raviolli. Here’s where things took a bit of a turn. The Lobster Ravioli was just so-​so… nothing exciting about the sauce, I felt like I could probably make it at home, and then two of my scallops (out of the 5) were undercooked. Didn’t love that. I also had spinach and a risotto cake as a side and while the risotto cake was flavorful, the spinach didn’t seem to have any spice on it aside from S&P.
Just not very exciting for the amount we paid at the end of the meal. I DO however want to go back and try the Red Hen. Seemed like a really fun place (lots of families with small children), and when we looked at the menu they had really interesting takes on classic American meals.

I’m impressed with the food. They’re better than most but I’m disappointed with the food serving size as against it’s price. The place is cozy and can be your alternative dining place if you don’t want to travel to the city.

My boyfriend and I eat out 80% of the calendar year and I have to say this restaurant deserves six stars if I could give it to them. From the staff who was extremely accommodating and not one bit overbearing, friendly yet not fake. Our server was Shawn and I suggest you request him if you like service that is efficient, patient but not overwhelming.
We ordered the cheese plate to start, which was an ACTUAL cheese tray focusing on the purity of the cheese without multiple choices of sides for pairings. The Brie was very creamy as well as the goat and could have been eaten right off the knife.
I ordered the scallops (after debating over the risotto) and I am very happy I did. They were not drenched in sauce, simply glazed with enough to dip. The cheesy risotto paired well and the spinach was perfectly wilt.
My boyfriend got the Lamb Shank (who is VERY pick about meat, especially those that can boarder a gamey taste) and he took one bit and said it was the best piece of meat he has had.
The food was phenomenal, the service impeccable, but I have to say the ambiance stole the show, from the comfortable seating to relaxing music.
Luck of the draw that we were traveling from New York home to PA and decided we needed to stop, Tavro 13 was the closest location and I thought any place that had 4.3 out of 5 with over 100 reviews would be worth checking out. My only question is: How doesn’t this restaurant have 5 stars?

When it was just Tavro13 and not the Red Hen Hybrid, I loved it. Haven’t been to the Tavro section since the Hen opened but the food was on point before. I think they may have changed Chefs though.
Obscure menu so check it online before you go.

Great food… friendly customer service… but slow as hell… If the food wasn’t so good I would never go back. But the food is really awesome. A little professional training would make this place excellent

Fantastic dinner yesterday. The restaurant week is in full swing and the menu is just phenomenal. We had the salmon and the hangar steak, our friends had the pork. Perfectly cooked and the presentation was superb! Something as simple as bruschetta was made with mozzarella and grilled veggies on a rustic bread and was delicious. Our server, Grace, was attentive and very nice. The place is just excellent.

Great food. Don’t walk, run into the bar area and order up a drink. Not too long of a wait. From the steaks to the wine, everything was excellent.
Extra tip here: try the crab cakes and the scallops.
Ask for the wine list when you get to the table.

This is the new gem if a restaurant in Southern New Jersey.
Philly guys and gals make the trip. It will be well worth your while.
The food is great and there is a super friendly bar.
Since I went last they have opened the Red Hen which serves from the samples kitchen but in a little more relaxed atmosphere — not that Tavro 13 is «stuffy»

Excellent food.
Great management
Great family friendly atmosphere.
Other restaurants need to get on their level.
I introduced myself to the owner.
I said that it was nice to finally have a sophisticated yet well-​rounded restaurant in the neighborhood. The owner was grateful to have us. And the staff was respectful and hospitable. I can either bring my children here and eat comfort foods, or I can leave my kids at home and have a romantic evening with my wife.

I’m disappointed, but not too surprised. It’s Swedesboro, after all. Most of my dining experiences in Swedesboro throughout the years have been subpar at best.
I had been itching to try Tavro since it opened based on rave reviews and spot-​on online marketing, but tonight’s SJ Hot Chefs Restaurant Week four course dinner turned out to be a big letdown.
First to note: Tavro’s décor is awful. I felt like I was on a bad movie set — or in a space ship. It’s the Old Swedes Inn, and a design that befit the Inn would have been nice. It’s just … bright red. And black. And a statement fireplace. With terrible, loud jazzy music sporadically blasting through the speakers. It’s absolutely strange.
My coke came in a little 8 ounce bottle, which to me meant no free refills. It also cost $ 2.95, which is absurd for a non-​alcoholic, non-​fancy beverage. See: grocery stores. 2 LITER bottles of the same product. Less money.
Also, when you ask for water, they give you small glasses and no ice. The water was not cold.
Moving on to the meal:
First course (olive tapenade toast, lemon aioli and artichoke dip) was pretty good. It was unique, and probably the standout of the night — not counting the bread basket. That stuff was fantastic.
I could’ve done without the second course of winter greens salad. It sounded interesting on the menu, but the only part I really liked were the grapes. My dining companion (my mother) had the mushroom risotto and wasn’t a fan. She left a good portion of risotto on the plate.
For my mom’s entrée, she chose the rainbow trout since she’s a huge fan in most instances. She told me it’s the worst fish she’s had — ranking it below chain restaurants and my grandmother’s kitchen. (The second IS quite tough to beat, I’ll admit.)
As for my main dish — the roast chicken (of which I’ve seen many positive past reviews): It was, by far, the worst chicken I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant. It was hard to cut, which was the first bad sign. Second, it had no distinct flavor. Last, it was so dry that I dipped it in the leftover butter from the bread basket. The accompanying caesar sausage had burnt leaves and also no exciting flavors. The dish itself was presented well, but when it was showtime, it caught massive stage fright.
At this point, all signs were pointing to a two-​star review, as I had experienced much better chicken at… well, anywhere else. But then, for the dessert selection, I asked for no peanut butter/​peanut brittle on the chocolate ganache cake, and our server sweetly brought out a scoop of vanilla gelato (…ice cream, it’s the consistency of ice cream) to accompany the dish. That service is what pushed Tavro to three stars. The ganache cake itself was incredibly rich and fairly portioned. I’d recommend.
As a lemon aficionado, my mother chose the lemon meringue pie. And then left most of it on her plate. She said it tasted weird with the crust and not very lemony. Unfortunate.
Maybe they were having a rough night in the kitchen with the opening of the Red Hen next door, but Tavro itself wasn’t ever full during my two-​hour visit tonight. There were eight seated tables. Whatever the reason behind the lacking experience, I can say that it’s unlikely that I’ll make a return visit. The prices are too high, and the quality I experienced didn’t fit the tab.

Girls night out for restaurant week turned into a nice relaxing dinner.
It was a Sunday night. Bottles of wine were half off. Not sure if that was a restaurant week promo or Sunday night deal.
The chef served me a different salad for my first course, because the restaurant week offering wasn’t gluten free. The duck for the main course was fantastic. And the dessert was even better. I had the house-​made peach sorbet. It was perfectly sweet. I hate when sorbet has what tastes like 10 pounds of sugar added to it. this sorbet tasted like fresh fruit– even if it was fall.
I’ll definitely be back. Service was great.

This is an interesting spot for South Jersey. Located in the old Swedesboro Inn, it has primarily taken on a lush contempo décor with lots of red and black. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable and very professional. The wine list is adequate and a pretty good value.
I wish that I could say that the food was great and push my rating up a notch but it was just good. My wife loved her crab cakes and while I was attracted to the steak by some appealingly described sides I found it kind of ordinary. There are a number of interesting things on the menu (crisp lamb belly!) so it would be worth a revisit to try something different.
This place has the kind of features that can make it a destination and worth the drive out into the hinterland that it requires but it still needs a bit of work.

Terence Feury and David Katz are the dynamic duo at Tavro 13. Our experience consists of the following: (if looking for only food review scroll to bottom)
Lounge area where live music will be played. Awesome communal table as well as high tips and a few squishy loungey chairs. Very comfortable. Two amazing light fixtures illuminate the lounge and keep you very perplexed. once you see you’ll understand what i mean. You will be able to order the off the bar menu from the lounge.
The bar is beautiful. Whatever wood they used is gorgeous! It stretches quite a distance where four bartenders could be working an not bump into each other. There are some pretty stellar seats along the walls too continuing the lounge feel.
There is an outside area with seating and a large fireplace. Great for the fall evenings!
And of course there is the «dining room». A beautiful fireplace is the centerpiece to this room. Tables with white linens are perfectly set awaiting the diners. The bright red walls are a great contrast to the white. The place looks great!
Now for the food:
Starters:
FIRE RIVER OYSTERS: with fresh horseradish and a shallot minute granita– the bomb! The briney oysters were perfectly delicate and the frozen granita was a great play in texture, not to mention a party in my mouth! DELISH!
LAMB BELLY: mmm belly. Crisp salty skin and tender juicy belly. What’s not to love about this?!
ARTIC CHAR: I want to start off by stating that I am not a fan of salmon, a fish this is closely relate to, but this char was amazing! It had the perfect crisp exterior with a very soft delicious interior. The fish was accompanied with potato gnocchi and some greens. Stellar execution of this dish!
SWORDFISH: Again, I feel like a broken record but this too was amazing! Very meaty accompanied with a sweet potato purée that was perfection!
POT DE CREME: mmmm pot of chocolate! Smooth, rich delicious and paired very nicely with an espresso!
Phew! If you think you’re exhausted from reading that you should have eaten it! Everything was fantastic; the ambiance, service, an food totally knocked Sweedesboro up a few notches!
Good job Chef (s)