The same company may own both Johnny’s Tavern and Johnny’s Bar & Grille, but they are two distinct and diverse establishments with very different culinary styles. Johnny’s Tavern offers a luxurious and sit-down environment, featuring a pricier yet high-quality food selection including pasta, steaks, sandwiches, and salads. On the other hand, Johnny’s Bar & Grill provides a traditional sports bar atmosphere and a well-priced comfort food menu, including burgers, pizza, sandwiches, and salads. It is important to note both establishments have a wide variety of Asian fusion options on their menu. For this review, I will be trying the Korean Chicken Sandwich & Fried Pickles from Johnny’s Bar & Grille, and for Tavern I will be trying The Rare Tuna Sandwich & Crispy Pork Potstickers.
Starting with Bar & Grille, the fried pickles came with chipotle ranch which sounds iffy at first but believe me when I say you won’t regret indulging in this spicy sauce. The pickles by themselves were also well fried and not too greasy like other restaurants are known to have. Next is the Korean chicken sandwich with sweet & spicy Korean chili sauce, shredded lettuce, garlic aioli, pickles, and kimchi. The chicken itself is well-breaded and marinated while remaining juicy and tender. With all the toppings you’ll find it hard to put this sandwich down, especially with that delicious sweet and spicy sauce. Overall both of these options are very good, I rate these 5/5 paws
Moving on to the Tavern, The potstickers came with a sweet sesame sauce which added the right amount of sweetness to the stickers, the pork was also well seasoned and cooked, and you won’t regret ordering these for your dining experience. Next was The Rare Tuna sandwich with wasabi-soy marinated cucumbers, soy sauce itself, and spinach on wheat. Overall the sandwich was delicious the problem arose with the type of bread. The bread was far too grainy and overpowered the over flavors, but if you could get past that it was truly a delicious sandwich. I give both of these meals 4.5/5 paws.
Moving on to pricing, the bill at Tavern came to $60 with tip included. Most of the items on the menu fell within the $17 to $35 price range. On the other hand, the bill at Bar & Grille was around $41 with tip, and the majority of the menu options ranged from $15 to $27. Based on pricing, Bar & Grille offered better value overall.
The Tavern has the strongest atmosphere as it is on the smaller side, with no bar (if you have a problem with bars) and broad windows to see the quiet town of Amherst. Business-wise, it was also far quieter, and the service was a little faster. The Tavern also has a very simple interior with quaint paintings and an almost home-like feel, especially with the hardwood floor. Honestly, the only aspect where the Bar & Grille falls short is that there is just too much going on. There are a bunch of old photographs everywhere, especially by the booths, and it is usually much busier than the Tavern. So, overall, Tavern has a better atmosphere.
Both restaurants were great and I would highly recommend both of them, but overall Johnny’s Bar & Grille is slightly better than Johnny’s Tavern. However, Tavern’s atmosphere is superior it falls flat on the pricing aspect, and even slightly on the food as well.
Paw Scale for Johnny’s Tavern: 4.3 out of 5
Paw Scale for Johnny’s Bar&Grille: 4.7 out of 5
