I've been the "The O Bar" countless times and this visit was enjoying their Friday happy hour…read more They do put out free wings and usually pizza Stromboli slices, but neither are much better than edible, so we don't bother (Request: PLEASE cook the wings more - they are terribly soggy, & even maybe boiled?). Anyway, we enjoy the lively atmosphere and the simple yet appreciated beer/drink specials. We typically order food off the expansive George's food menu - this time a chicken parm sub. From my experiences, ervice from the wait staff is always excellent.

Met up with some girlfriends before I head back home... and we arrived just after Happy Hour…read more.. Admittedly, we tortured our waitress with special order espresso martinis and our food order but she took it in stride and was great! Totally enjoyed my Chicken francaise over angel hair pasta... I love that they offered a soup or salad... and that they included the French Onion... for a small upcharge... which I was happy to pay! It was awesome! Might meet my sister there later. Yum.

What an amazing find in Hartford! The owner is incredibly down to earth and friendly and the staff…read moreare all for it too! The bar has a casual feel on one side while a more intimate feel on the other. I love that they have a patio in the back as well as accessible parking. That's quite hard to find for a business in Hartford. Definitely loved the wings and will be sure to return!

Discovered this great bar in Hartford ! Which recently…read moreunderwent some renovation and is looking fabulous ! Our bar tender was absolutely amazing ! And the staff sooo friendly ! It's the perfect spot for a date night or grabbing cocktails and a bite to eat ! I got the margarita which was amazing !! Highly recommend ! The bartender knows how to pour and make a delicious drink ! For food we got the wings which were amazing highly recommend ! Can't wait to be back soon

Visited Dish n' Dat for the first time and had a very enjoyable experience. The egg white omelet…read morewas excellent--fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. The coffee was also very good and complemented the meal nicely. The restaurant has a comfortable seating area and a welcoming atmosphere that makes it easy to relax and enjoy your meal. The ambiance is warm and inviting, making it a great spot for breakfast or brunch. The home fries were average compared to the rest of the meal, but they didn't take away from the overall experience. The quality of the omelet, good coffee, friendly service, and pleasant environment made for a very satisfying visit. Overall, a great local breakfast spot, and I'd definitely come back to try more items from the menu.

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff Comfortable with 60's…read moremusic playing They will make you or change a dish to accommodate you. Really cool menu and drinks available Full bar available

Sawyers has stayed on a side street of Torrington for years, so they're doing something right to…read moresurvive. They do have a parking lot on the side, and tables/chairs for the warm weather. We were greeted by two lion statues. The interior seating are high tops and booths. There are single restrooms, with the toilet very close to your nose. You should stand straight up. The garlic parm chicken tenders were delicious, and the breading stayed strong even after being coated. The burger was definitely warm and juicy, it went with the overall bar.

A few areas of opportunity for Sawyers. Thursday night vibes were comforting, intimate crowd and…read moreplenty of patrons, but didn't get the attention I was hoping for. Took a solid ten minutes to get noticed, but no real waitstaff. Bartender was running all over, back and forth, serving tables and tending the bar. Felt really bad for her. But then long periods of nothing happening. Took about 20 minutes to get our burgers. Food was served, but no silverware on the table, had to get up and ask for them at the bar. The food: not sure I love the herbs on the fries. It said truffle fries but I didn't get any truffle flavor whatsoever. Burger was a little too well done for a medium, but the quality of the meat was good. The burger bun on top felt cold, while the insides were toasty. That was odd. Bacon felt like it was prepped much earlier in the day, so it was more like beef jerky, and didn't have a soft freshly cooked texture. Overall, good experience, but I was hoping that this was the "IT" burger place for me, when I get the hankering for a burger. My buddy had a Salmon burger. He said it was excellent, but also complained the "truffle fries' were not truffle fries at all. Next time I will try something different. I really like the vibe here and the doors being open wide gave it a very NYC/Brooklyn small neighborhood vibe.

We had a really fun night here watching 3 local bands play. There was a super convenient parking…read moregarage directly across the street and the bar validates your parking ticket. We didn't try any food and did have to bus the dirty table we sat at ourselves but the staff was stretched thin so no hard feelings. We each had well drinks that came in plastic cups and were good pours. The architecture and sound was good for all the bands and the mixture of people and vibes was fantastic a super cool spot we would def go back for another show.

Finally stepped foot into the legendary Arch St Tavern! I was there for Camp Sol which featured…read morethree badass female DJs: Sonia Sol, Selector AR, and Kasey Cortez. It's a big space. There was plenty of room for dancing, vendors, and some tables which people sat at. There's nothing special to the space though. I believe the DJs set up the winter theme so without that, it's a great canvas for shows. All of their sets were amazing but Kasey is a beaaaaaast. That girl can spin some tracks, check her out ASAP. There were drinks specials so I stuck to a tequila sunrise. Thankfully I didn't have any issues but my friends drinks were really inconsistent. One of them literally just had orange juice. I didn't get to try food but nothing looked appealing from what was coming out for other people so I didn't feel that I missed out. I can't see myself stopping in on a random day but for a show I think the venue was sufficient.

Stopped in for a midday bite and a Red Sox day game. Hubby and I shared a buffalo chicken sandwich…read morewith fries and it was great. Bartender was very friendly and they had a good selection of drafts. Their everyday prices are reasonable and they have some football specials. This is the neighborhood sports bar - it has around 20 TVs. Weather permitting, they have a back bar OUTSIDE and more parking in the back

This bar can get pretty packed , and generally has some good deals for food and drinks but when we…read morewent for our kickball/wiffleball league it was absolute chaos. Parking fills up on popular nights. They seemed very understaffed, with only 1-2 bartenders for a packed outdoor area. The kitchen did not seem to be able to keep up with the demand, though I do feel like we should've been warned that food would take an hour when ordering if it were that backed up. I went back to check on my food twice , the second time being at an hour and 15 minutes since I placed the order , with people who ordered after both getting their food first and finishing before I received mine at all. After I finally got my food I had to wait additionally to ask for condiments and waited 10 minutes after asking the bartender if I could close my card while others who came after me both ordered more drinks and paid first. The bartenders did offer us a drink on the house to try to help, though when I finally got my food it was 10pm. I probably would not order food again. They were also out of all ciders . This bar can be fun for its outside games but i would pickup food elsewhere first .

Good Friends, Great Food, and Historic Charm!…read more The Village at Buckingham Ladies Lunch Bunch met on July 3 for our favorite monthly first-Friday tradition! We gathered at the wonderful Lisa's Crown & Hammer in Collinsville, a charming riverfront village just a few miles from our neighborhood. What a treat to meet our delightful new neighbor from Cavendish- Kendra Z! This popular restaurant and pub operates out of the historic 1850s railroad freight station of the Collins Axe Company. It sits beautifully amidst repurposed brick factory buildings that now house quaint antique shops, art galleries, and boutiques. Inside, you step back in time with a cozy, industrial-chic setting complete with exposed brick walls, timber wood beams, and a fireplace patio for the cooler months. It is the perfect place to begin or end a walk along the scenic Farmington River, utilizing the Rails-to-Trails path. ‍‍ The food from their scratch kitchen never disappoints! They focus on elevated, comfort pub grub using plenty of fresh, locally sourced ingredients. A huge shoutout to our wonderful waitress (pictured!) who gave us truly excellent service! Our Top Crown & Hammer Recommendations: * The Towering Truffle Burger or Lisa's Amazing Crown Sliders * The Vermonter - Packed with turkey, cheddar, apple slices, and bacon * Perfectly cooked Fish Tacos or a classic Reuben Sandwich * Mediterranean Salmon Salad with lemon dressing (a personal favorite!) * Crispy Cauliflower, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Truffle Parm Fries * A refreshing glass of Citizen Cider to wash it all down! Our lunch bunch is already counting down the days until we return in October to try Lisa's new fall menu in the cozy fireplace room! If you love a quintessential New England village that is walkable, historic, and brimming with charm, you have to check out this spot!

Lisa's Crown and Hammer is a little bit confusing…read more Is this a pub that serves high end food, or is this a bougie restaurant trying to be a pretty good pub? Confusion lie, as we walked in the main entrance, and there was no person to see us. Do we just go in and sit down? Do we walk into the pub and sit there? After a minute or two wait, a server came and sat us in the fireplace room. Menus were waiting for us along with the daily specials on this Sunday. The dinner specials were few and far between, and we passed on them I ordered a Lisa's Crown and Hammer chicken sandwich, which came with french fries fries according to the menu, and my dear friend, ordered the Reuben, with french fries We passed on drinks as water was supplied, and neither of us felt like drinking. The food arrived in decent time. My friend only ate half of a Reuben, and some of the french fries. She said th sandwich was OK. My Lisa's crown and hammer sandwich was pretty decent, and I felt the french fries were well seasoned but soggy. I ate half the sandwich and took most of the french fries home. I'm kind of disappointed, as after spending time at the Christmas tree show and raffle at the Collinsville Historic Society, lunch would be so appropriate to end the lovely visit in Collinsville at Crown and Hammer I guess it's travel at your own risk here. Hit or miss. Service was OK, but it seemed like the server disappeared for long periods of time and the place really wasn't busy. I also noticed there were two or three servers taking care of guest in the small place The pub was hopping, I'm not sure if it was locals or visitors to Collinsville, but it looks like everyone was having a good time in there. Prices were on point, as I think the Bill was around $40 with tip. The menu does have sandwiches and sides along with the high-end dishes. Personally, I would lose the high-end dishes. I will come back again, maybe not soon. Collinsville is an awesome place to visit. So quaint, so inviting, so much to do. It's just too bad that Crown and Hammer missed the mark

Honestly, I didn't know this place existed until just a few hours ago. Typically, Harwinton is too…read morefar out of my way to go to because I tend not to go north of where I live unless I take a bus towards Hartford or I am going to Watertown. However, my mom had taken me to a renaissance fair in the area and as we left this was the first barbecue option I could find on Yelp. It helped that it was less than 10 minutes from the Ren, so it was a very quick drive. We opted for outdoor seating just because it was visible from where we parked in its plaza. I do like the Thomas Edison theme this restaurant has going on. The decor and the pictures help drive that theme home here which is a nice touch. I did overhear that this restaurant tends to pull people from Bristol and Thomaston which I can understand. They're both fairly close to Harwinton, especially Thomaston who borders this town to the south. The service here is on top of things as well. We had Chrissy who was very friendly, and always willing to answers we had about what we had (I did ask a few questions about the food brought out). While only one other outdoor table was in use upon arrival, about half of them were being served by the end of the meal. So let's start off with the drinks. Mom had the Mango Loco while I had the Campfire Old Fashioned. You also get refills of iced water from a glass jug. I did get to try mom's drink. At its best, it has a very fruity, sweet, refreshing flavor. However, as that drink went on, mom commented that the finish exposed how uneven the Mango Loco was. I took another sip of it at that and it confirmed her thoughts. That sweet mango taste was largely missing in its finish. A good stir after serving would probably help things along, but the taste should always be even if possible. As for my drink, this is where my first question was asked: what bourbon did they use? Turns out, it's made locally in Litchfield. It uses Litchfield Distillery Double Barrel, a 90-proof bourbon. A lot was definitely put on because I noticed a very strong flavor with this one even though I've cooked with much stronger bourbons. It wasn't subtle at all, but the overall drink was still a good drink. The toasted marshmallow was toasted to perfection. For the appetizer, 6-piece grilled chicken wings with their Blackberry BBQ Sauce. The sauce was very tangy, but like the bourbon it was not subtle. Mom did say the chicken was overcooked, but I didn't think so. It was able to come off the bone okay enough. These were good wings, but I think having the blue cheese dip was the star of the dish. The blue cheese dip went along with these wings perfectly, and they even included some celery here as well. For the entrees, mom had the fish and chips while I had the brisket with sides of coleslaw and Mac and cheese. I actually got to try everything here except for the tartar sauce. While mom like her fish, I'm glad she was the one that got it and not me. It was greasy on the bottom, and the bite I tried had some of the breading I couldn't chew from the rest. Like, does breading have bones or something? That's what it felt like from the bite I took. But it was still a juicy fish and the breading had a light crisp to it. Likewise, the fries were also a light crisp upon arrival. Were they the best fries I had ever had from a restaurant? No! But they were competent. Onto my brisket, it had some more of that BBQ sauce from earlier, but this time it complimented the food a fair bit better than it did with the chicken. The brisket was honestly the best food item of this bunch here. It was very tender, and soft. They did a great job with the presentation here I must say. It was as if they were truly locking in when making the brisket. Cole slaw was good, but could use a bit more mayo. The Mac and cheese was also good, the shells professionally cooked, and the cheese was good. If there was one criticism for the Mac and cheese, the cheese pull could be improved. When I went to another restaurant with a friend of mine a few months back, I was able to see an epic cheese pull from their bite. There wasn't much of a cheese pull here. Still the Mac and cheese was a great side dish and I'm glad I went with what I did. Overall, I would say that after averaging the food, the ambiance, and the service, I think a 4 is the appropriate rating for this restaurant. The food had some moments of greatness and was overall a good meal, but I did find with almost everything we were served that there are some improvements that could be made. The service and theming make up for those shortcomings. I wouldn't mind coming back to try other things though. It's a good place all-in-all.

This small town grill is perfect for a coffee flight, dinner or cocktails. The dining area is cozy…read morewith about 8 seats at the bar. We stopped by before our annual Christmas Lights drive for dinner and a holiday cocktail. Katie, our bartender made me a fantastic gin spritz. We started with the giant pretzel which was fantastic! I had the cauliflower risotto which was actually quite lovely.