The following is adapted from a restaurant review first publish in the Cardozo Jurist.

Roberto Rosas and Ernesto Auila opened the City Tavern in late 2009 in the space that used to be the Italian restaurant Borgo Antico.  With an expanded bar and an elegantly spacious dining area, the City Tavern offers an ideal space for everything from a quick beer to a meal while watching the game to an upscale dinning experience.  Roberto and Ernesto bring a combined 35 years in culinary experience and it truly shows on the menu. The food at the City Tavern is deceptively simple.  Head chef Ernesto prides himself on fresh ingredients and cooks from scratch wherever possible.

My first love from the menu was the burger.  Lured in for lunch by the promise of cheap beer, I had what may be the best burger I’ve ever eaten that hasn’t come off of my own grill.  Lightly packed, the burger is juicy and perfectly seasoned.

The lunch special, with a soup, sandwich, and non-alcoholic beverage for $10, offers a great meal at a great deal.  A clear stand-out among the sandwiches is the corned beef (which, true to form is corned by Ernesto on-site).  The mushroom wrap, filled with savory portabella mushrooms and goat cheese, off-set by sweet bell peppers, is a find for vegetarians and carnivores alike.  And, as with the burgers, the lunch special sandwich comes with french fries, double fried to perfection.

The only culinary miss at the tavern is the ham and cheese sandwich.  Plain and uninteresting, this sandwich should be passed over for the many delights on the menu.

If you are willing to open your wallet a bit more, the pasta is not to be missed.  Made from scratch daily, the pasta at the City Tavern exemplifies what pasta can be.  The fettuccini Bolognese offers an explosion of flavor.  The recently introduced crab-infused gnocchi in a saffron cream sauce is delicious and decadently rich.

At the City Tavern the only thing that rivals the food is the friendly atmosphere.  If you have been to the City Tavern more than once, you are probably already on a first name basis with Roberto and Ernesto.  The bartenders at the City Tavern are just as personable: stop by in the afternoon or evening and sit at the bar and you will quickly become acquainted with the charismatic Matt and sassy Kathy.

City Tavern also sticks to the basics of a great bar with great drinks.  The newly revised cocktail and wine list there makes it easy to find that perfect beverage.

The City Tavern
22 East 13th Street (between 5^th Ave. and University)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 807-1313

Follow