Thursday, July 5, 2007

Court Square Tavern

Just south of the historic county court house and a memorial to the confederacy is Court Square Tavern. Closed a couple years for renovations, it remains much the same. The beer selection rivals any other in Charlottesville. Like the other drafts, the Guinness is served in small, medium, and large. A wide array of bottled imports are available. Any adventerous beer drinker will not leave unsatisfied. The space seems most accomodating to larger groups, in either the old-map decorated lower level or just behind the bar. A spare row of bar stools caters to the lone quaffer.

A predominantly pub food menu is available because beer can't be the only thing sold. As clarified from previous post (with help from commentators), state law mandates that 40% of an establishment's costs must go toward food. Overall the food seems pricey. I made do with Guinness, Spaten Lager, House Salad (big salad), and pretzels and mustard. Why pretzels and mustard aren't offered more often as cheap bar fare, I don't know. Parisian restaurants have this habit of leaving spicy mustard on the tables, the kind that travels up the back of your nose and makes you slap your leg.

Court Square is off the downtown mall, has an air of the undiscovered, and serves a lot of great beers. Cheers.

500 Court Square
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434-296-6111

3 comments:

Sean Tubbs said...

One small correction - the tavern was closed for about 14 months because of a fire. That allowed the owner, Bill Curtis, to make major renovations for the first time in 30 years. He had to, in order to get permission to rebuild as the wiring was incredibly out of date and not up to code.

Sean Tubbs said...

Hey! Could I get permission to use this picture on our Facebook page?

cogwheeler said...

no problem. happy you can use it.