First Look: The Tap House
I had a great meal at the Tap House in Tuckahoe Friday night. The restaurant just opened the Tuesday before, and boy are people curious. The place was packed.
The restaurant is owned by the Pearl Management Group, which also own Morgans Fish House, Ruby’s Oyster Bar, Lexington Square Cafe and the (currently-under-renovation) Rye Grill. This is the group’s first foray into a gastropub (meaning a pub atmosphere with upscale food), and I think they’ve hit the nail on the head.
I decided to check it out last minute, so didn’t have a reservation. They couldn’t have been more accommodating. They told us the wait would be 50 minutes, and that was right on. And they were apologizing the entire time for making us wait. Please! I’m the one who came in without calling!
They’re pretty ambitious with the cocktail program  perhaps a bit too ambitious for just opening. Here’s the cocktail and beer menu:
Here’s a bigger one if you can’t read it.
Here are the wines by the glass and the wine list.
Click for larger file of wines by the glass.
Click for first wine list file.
Click for second wine list file.
I was curious about the Southside. Sounded good, but wasn’t.
I don’t blame the recipe, though, I blame the bartender, who was absolutely slammed and couldn’t find ingredients. I bet it took 7 minutes to get my drink. Too bad. I’ll try again, though, when it’s not so busy.
After a while at the bar  chatting it up with a very nice couple from Rye Neck  we were seated in the front room. I was glad because I was in the mood for the pub feel of the place.
(By the way, here’s a video of the chef, Will Savarese, formerly of La Cremaillere, coming to talk to the cool couple from Rye Neck:)
There are two other rooms. One, you get to by walking through the open kitchen.
Yup. Just walk right there and turn left. Pretty cool  like knowing the secret passageway to a speakeasy. Here’s your reward:
The other room is a mezzanine of sorts, which you get to from stairs on either side: the secret room, or the pub.
All the rooms are comfortable… just depends on your mood.
The front room may be a little loud for some people. Check out this video:
The menu is very appealing. People who are into the whole small plates thing will find a nice selection, but if you’re in the mood for a big entree you can get that too. The menu is in a square, and it wouldn’t quite fit in my scanner, so here it is in three parts:
(Link to larger file of small plates menu.)
(Link to larger file of grand plates menu.)
(Link to larger file of specials and sides.)
So we started with mussels (sorry for the blur… the light was dim).
With fennel, lemon and Belgian ale. Nice plump mussels  sweet and not stringy. Good dish.
We also had the panzanella salad.
The Brussels sprouts were sliced in half and just caramelized, tender but not mushy. And the pomegranate not only painted a nice color, the pop of the seeds lent an enjoyable textural element.
If it’s on the menu, my husband nearly always gets the roast chicken. This time was no exception. Chef Savarese almost opened X20 in Yonkers with chef Peter Kelly  they went their separate ways just days before opening  and you can see the influence of Kelly in this chicken.
It’s boned, cut and cooked nearly exactly the way I’ve seen it a hundred times at the Freelance Cafe. This is a good thing. I adore the roast chicken there, and I adore it here too. This version came with a lovely potato-mushroom gratin and sweet roasted garlic.
Me? I couldn’t possibly go to a gastropub and not get the burger.
Even though we ordered fries with the mussels, I was glad they came with the burger too. Except for a bit of a heavy hand with the salt, these might possibly be the best fries I’ve come across in a long while. They’re called “Everything Fries.” Get it? Like the bagel?
The burger was fab. Juicy. No char taste. Blue cheese. Love.
We skipped dessert this time in favor of some people (and basketball) watching.
But don’t worry. I’ll surely be back.
The Tap House, 16 Depot Square, Tuckahoe. 914-337-6941.
I’ve driven by numerous times while they have been under construction and am glad to hear that they are open. From the few brief glimpses, it looks like they did a LOT of work renovating the space. We eat out alot in this area and have been looking forward to checking the Taphouse out when it finally opened. Thanks for the notice and I’ll report back.
Hi Liz
Thanks for the excellent review.
I have been waiting for this place to open up.
Do they do Sun Brunch by any chance???
Erin
Nice list of beers! (Couple of misspellings in there, too.) Good variety of styles represented, too, not just lager/pilsners. Bud and Coors are the beer geeks version of Gallo Hearty Burgundy, and we’d be quick to make fun of a wine list that had just that on the menu.
Kudos to the Taphouse, and also for Liz for reporting on the beers as well as the other beverages!
I’ve heard some mixed reviews about this, but chalked it up to people not being ready for this type of cuisine in Eastchester/Tuckahoe. While I appreciate any review good or bad, I don’t understand how you can review this food, based on your order. Mussels, a burger, herb roasted chicken. Sounds like any one of my friends houses on a Wednesday night. Why not try the skate, or the porterhouse (and compare it to the plethora of steakhouses in the area), or something even slightly exotic. What about the cheese board (is it enough for more than two people to enjoy? Don’t restaurant reviewers usually order two or three things, or bring a crowd and sample a variety of dishes. If I want a burger, I’ll go to the Piper’s Kilt. If I want an herb roasted chicken, I’ll make it myself. And tasty mussels…I can get them at almost every restuarant within 20 miles of here. I do give you Kudos for the beer and drink lists! A fine wine list!
Hey Jon,
I ordered food I was in the mood for after the long holiday season. Don’t worry  I’ll go back and try more complex things, too. I wasn’t looking for anything fussy. And sometimes, you just want a restaurant that does the simple things well!
Meanwhile, why don’t you go and post your impressions here?
Erin,
They don’t do brunch yet, but I just talked to one of the owners who says they will in the future. They need to get their feet wet first…
Walt,
I’m not much of a beer drinker, but they have some very interesting choices, and the menu is tempting!
Hello Liz,
thanks for the little review, wish I knew you where here. One thing I have to point out is that the chicken dish that I have here is a chicken dish I’ve been doing at La Cremaillere for years. Also, I know some of my dishes that are on Peter Kelly’s menu at X2O are mine as well. I look forward to seeing you again soon, so we can talk..thanks…Will
Hey Will  I certainly didn’t meant to start a tit-for-tat. I was actually thinking that the chicken dish is a very typical French prepration and should have included that thought as well. My fault.
Thanks for a great meal!
Made it to The Taphouse tonight and loved it! My husband and I were weekly diners at Heathcote Tavern (which closed in June 06) and we have yet to find a place that is even close. We frequent other places in the area and we like a lot of them for the most part, but this is the only place that comes close.
First off—The renovation is top notch—It is hard to believe that it was once Rockwell’s! Decorated beautifully and everything down to the plates, glasses, soup bowls, creamer, saucers, spoons etc. were adorable!
Drinks were great—Pinot Noir and Lindemans Ale—Framboise—Delish…. Not many places in Westchester have this, so that was a nice surprise.
Steak was very good but not steakhouse quality, which I did not expect. Veggies were excellent—served in adorable little mini-pots—Not overcooked or overseasoned, which many restaurants tend to do to the vegetables. Manhattan clam chowder was excellent too.
Dessert: Must try chocolate cake—Forget the name for it—but it is the flourless, fudgy cake—Fabulous!!!
For a great meal, drinks, dessert—a great price—Service was excellent too—Waiter was cordial and nice without being annoying.
I think the restaurant will do well—Will give the Bronxville restaurants a run for their money!
Liz
Stopped in after dinner last night. Fabulous renovation job. Nice crowd at the bar at 10:00. No kids…
Can’t wait to eat there.
I am so happy about the Taphouse’s arrival. we went with a group of 7 for New year’s eve and while service was a bit slow, which Chris the manager warned it might be for a large group that night, they were VERY gracious. Everyone at the table loved their meal, aside from a slightly overcooked Tuna. The decosntructed prosciutto tart was incredible. My skirt steak was very good and my wife’s chicken was delicious. Mac ‘N Cheese side was insanely good. I too thought the fries were too satly. Outstanding wine list – a little light on variety (not enough Italian) but very fair pricing. We are going back for my mom’s bday and probably Valentine’s day. This is the kind of place where I want to be a regular.
Question:
Read your review… cant’ wait to tryout the Tap House
Do you ever do wine/food human interest stories for the paper? I have an interesting idea for an article.
Regards,
Val Suprenant
Bronxville, NY
Well we were disappointed. My sister and I just got back from the place. Maybe because we were women that we were treated poorly by the waiter. It was our first visit. We had made reservations for the back room. The place is nicely designed…..don’t care for walking by the kitchen….....the kitchen should be behind glass…...the waiter was good…at first….the meals arrived quickly. The servers and wait staff were excellent. The primary waiter was horrible. After we finished our meal we waited from 8:10pm to 9pm for him to look our way so we could ask for dessert. He listed the desserts and then we were sitting there again, waiting, waiting. We gave up and asked for the check. We gave him a generous (way too generous) tip – because we are those kind of people. We will never return. It is a shame, as we live in Tuckahoe and were hoping this could be our local haunt…....what a bloody shame. We complained on the way out…....
Awesome . . . The Shrimp Appetizer was packed full of flavor, the prosciutto and ricotta tart was delicious. The Duck Rueben was out of this world and the Pork Chop was cooked to perfection. For Dessert the Rice Pudding is the best i have ever had. Bravo Chef!