Friendly Tavern

Fred Autio : Well, This was one of the BEST sandwiches I've had...and a pretty darn good Reuben too. The meat was succulent and full of flavor. The bread was obviously grilled to perfection in a slab of butter. There was a bit of kraut, cheese and dressing too. I found myself repeatedly poking the meat back into the sandwich (a generous portion of meat). I've been involved with Reuben Tuesdays for 7 months now. This was the first sandwich I did not add salt, pepper, mustard or dressing to (even though it was provided on the side). I had the fries as a side-dish, and they were so fresh they were too hot to eat until I finished both halves of the sandwich. The atmosphere was good and as expected from the Friendly Tavern (a BUSY lunch crowd and noisy. And with all the patrons inside, it was a bit hard for the air conditioner to stay cool in our back corner). None of that is bad, it is what makes the Friendly, a friendly place to eat. This was GOOD. PS: I've been coming here for many Saturdays for 4 years to order a Reuben for lunch. Not-too-bad. (2004-07-20)

Carl Klutzke : "You are a stranger here but once", says the menu at The Friendly Tavern, and it _is_ a friendly place. The waitstaff scrambled about eagerly to arrange tables so we could sit together, and were very polite and friendly in general. It's a pleasant place, reminiscent of a British pub, but with better lighting and a higher ceiling. The walls are attractively covered in wooden wainscotting and dark green paisley wallpaper. I didn't detect a hint of smoke in the non-smoking area. My only complaint about the environment is that it's a bit loud. This always seems to be a hazard in places that have more elderly patrons, as this place does. There aren't any soft surfaces to muffle the noise either, but I suppose that would interfere with the ambience: it just wouldn't be the same here with a drop ceiling of acoustic tile. Oh, and the place started becoming warm as it filled up with patrons (mostly men: I think we found where the husbands go when their wives meet at Brix), but not too uncomfortably so. The beverages are Pepsi products, so I just had water to drink. Lemon was provided without my needing to ask. (Chris ordered lemonade, and it was pink: I just don't understand pink lemonade. It's like _advertising_ that no real fruit were harmed in the making of the beverage.) A turkey reuben was available (and Aimee's looked quite good), but I stuck with good old corned beef. The sandwich came out with dressing on the side (always a nice touch) and a helping of slightly stale ripple chips. The bread was a nice marbled rye. It was served cheese-side up, so I quickly flipped it before the bread could get soggy. It's probably a good thing I did: the sandwich was nice and juicy, and I probably could have used a second napkin. The sandwich was a decent size, but I would have preferred something a bit larger for the price I paid, or perhaps fries or onion rings (mmmm) instead of chips. Tastewise, it was excellent, with the flavors blending nicely. We also noticed that several other patrons had ordered Reubens, which is quite unusual, and I take that as a good sign that the quality of our sandwich and service that day was not a fluke. If you want a Zionsville Reuben (beef or turkey), I can certainly recommend the Friendly Tavern. (2004-07-20)

Mike Kubik : A "Top 5" Reuben (2004-07-20)

Carl Rothenbacher : Not a bad experience overall. The Reuben was great. I'm just glad I wasn't served as part of the "second round" of Reubens. Oh, and where was my pickle? (2004-07-20)

Chris Rowland : The Reuben had thick, great tasting corned beef on it. The sauerkraut and cheese were well-balanced. The bread was a good size and grilled just right so that it would hold up to its contents. The chips were passable, but the addition of a pickle spear would have been nice. I was most impressed by our server, who had a great attitude and definitely showed the reason why this is the Friendly Tavern. She was a delight. I would gladly come back and have a Reuben, just as the groups of elderly guys at the surrounding tables were doing. Maybe that's me in a few years... I would have given some review forms to the other tables, but most of them seemed to old to be Internet-enabled. (2004-07-20)

Dwayne Sawyer : Excellent sandwich! Good taste. I like the spice of the sauce and there was plenty of meat. (2004-07-20)

Brian Skiles : After a horrible experience two weeks ago, we were in need of a good Reuben, and the Friendly Tavern delivered one. The ingredients were plentiful and of high quality, and the bread was perfectly toasted. Definitely a tasty Reuben. I'd recommend something other than the chips, though, they were a bit stale. The restaurant itself was acoustically challenged, which made it difficult to carry on a conversation, so the atmosphere score had to go down a little bit. If you're going to have a Reuben in Zionsville, you should have this one. (2004-07-20)

Chirag Vashi : Best ever, so I packed it. Soft and soggy bread and corned beef. Just perfect! (2004-07-20)

Aimee Zahora : I had the turkey Reuben which comes w/a side of horseradish, rather than thousand island dressing. The ingredients on the sandwhich were well-balanced; no one ingredient stood out over another, which made for a tasty Reuben! (2004-07-20)