Tavern of Tales: Café & Bar

Incredible drink menu with lots of unique cocktails and knowledgeable picks for beer. A couple of shots started us off and really prepared us for an awesome experience. We shared the tator tots which had the perfect amount of crunch and texture. Beer cheese is a must-have addition! The black bean melt was absolutely killer, much to my delight! The chicken in the Caesar salad was juicy and the house made dressing was delectable. Cheers to the Tavern of Tales bartender and kitchen staff for making our otherwise dreary Monday fun and unforgettable. Can’t wait for our next visit! 😁

First time at Tavern of Tales after seeing it a while back. Super chill atmosphere, great food, and great drinks. Shoutout to Halle for being awesome and recommending her “Halle’s Tots” which were delicious and should totally be added to the menu so I can order them when I come back.And I will definitely be coming back.

Had an amazing experience at Tavern of Tales, thanks to the incredible bartender, Emily. Friendly, attentive, and seriously talented every drink was sooo tasty. Their comforting personality made the night feel extra special. Can’t wait to come back!

We had such a great time at Trivia yesterday! The drinks were amazing. Our server Becca was so funny and kept us laughing all night. We will definitely be back next week!!

Second time booking a room - we had a great time. Good game selection, food and drinks are both good! The staff have been exceptional on both visits - super friendly and helpful. Had a four hour reservation and definitely could have stayed longer! Wish they carried N/A beers, but the mocktail selection was pretty good and they were super accommodating when we asked for a tweak to one of them!

Family and I had a great night in a private game room to get them further introduced to Dungeons and Dragons. They loved it and we had great service on the night of Feb 7th (forgot the waiters name but they were great and super attentive). The food was excellent for everyone. No complaints from anyone in the party. Thanks for the great time!

Had a great time celebrating my birthday at Tavern of Tales. They were very attentive, the room was great, and the food was good. A special shout out to Sophie that made our day even better!

bree literally pulled me out of a burning building and then whipped up an iced mocha with light syrup while the mayor gave her the keys to the city. jokes aside, this place is a lovely little spot during the day with the perfect amount of ambiance to lock in and work. at night, it comes alive with people coming together to play games and that always makes my heart warm. beyond that, the servers are always kind and attentive.

Super fun venue for drinking coffee or tea or grabbing a bite to eat (they appeared to have cocktails too!) as you play board games with friends or family. They have at least 5 private rooms as well as general table seating in the main room. We had a relaxed time reading together, drinking cafe lattes, and conversing as well as staying dry on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I'd be a regular if I lived in the area!

Great spot to hang out with friends! They have a good selection of board games and the only charges are the drinks & food. Their drinks are honestly just okay, but for the chill vibes and cool games it's worth visiting.

My bartender Becca was not only hilarious, cracking GREAT jokes but she was so attentive while make some AMAZINGGG drinks! I'm defo gonna become a regular here all because of her

Ordered a BLT and they did not have tomatoes. Then the Table next to me received a BLT. Ordered lemonade but told they did not have lemons. Ordered a watered down drink called Potion of Healing. It had lemons in it.... Ordered Nutella on toast. Child received Cold toast with fridge cold Nutella with strawberry syrup. 2 Apathetic waitstaff. Didn't bother to check on us to ask if we wanted to pay. POC experience here. Let it stay half empty. Keep walking.

Cute little board game spot. The service was excellent and they did not try to push us off the table, despite it being a busy Friday night. The food was, well, bad. I guess you don't cone to a place like this for the food, so I was not terribly surprised. But the loaded nachos were neither loaded, nor in my opinion, nachos. They were just sad chips with dry cheese melted on too and a few sides. The selection of canned beers was good and interesting, but it would be nice if they had a few more draft beers. Overall, a fun night playing board games, just avoid the nachos.

Interesting experience for a bar! I had a lot of fun here with my friends, but sadly, the patio closed at 10 (city ordinances) and the indoor space was limited, so we had to get two game rooms (for our big party) I wish they had a bigger room for all of us to fit in, it was a little sad to split from half our friends since the whole point of going out together was to play games with everyone. However, we still had fun in our separate rooms and ended up staying pretty late, time flies! Their drinks are also unique and so tasty, I'd honestly go back just for the bar.

I love board games, so of course I had to check out a board game bar. We stopped in with a group of 7 on a Friday night and only had to wait maybe 5 minutes to be seated. We played a few games from their huge collection, had a round of drinks, and some snacks (which were half priced after 9pm!). It was a quiet, chill vibe for a bar which we liked. They had separate rooms you could rent out with big tables for more serious games. We just played card games so a regular dining table was fine for us. I would definitely go back, this place is so unique!

Love this place. A board game spot with good food. They have a bunch of little events going on throughout the week with some of them including discounts. There's a decent game selection, and a lot of them are unique. I've discovered a few new favorite games here. There's no fee for regular game play and they have private rooms available as well - but I can't speak to those as I have never done one. The snack food is great. You get a large amount of pretzels for the price. Chips and guacamole was also pretty great. Their drink menu is diverse and fun. I have yet to be disappointed by a drink. They have a fenced in outside playing area as well. This spot will definitely be in my rotation of night out activities for as long as I live in Boston.

Came here after work one Thursday with a friend and had such a fun time! I had passed this place many times and had been wanting to check it out for a while. The vibe of the place is so chill and fun. Loved all the variety of games you could play! They also had private game rooms that it looked like you could reserve. Food was great bar food! They had a good selection of small bites and sandwiches. We shared the garlic and parm pretzel bites and they were SO delicious. Highly recommend. We also split the turkey sandwich and enjoyed that as well. With both, you really can't go wrong. I will definitely come back here. Great spot to come for drinks with friends and I love that they provide something to do as well!

I really enjoyed the wide selection of games they have! It's really fun to bring a group of friends to chill, drink and play for sometime. Their selection of drinks are good. Sometimes it gets quite busy but overall, a great place to

Definitely recommend TOT if you're looking for something different and wholesome with a group of friends! The concept here is really cool. There's a cafe / waiting room outside where you can buy food (of course there are tots available, ha ha) and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). The place was quite empty which surprised me. But super clean, new, and modern! You reserve your game beforehand on Resy (we reserved the game Tokaido for 4 people on a Sunday afternoon). When our group all arrived, we headed into a small game room (looks like a conference room, but with a game table set up!). You can take food/drinks in the game room and order them there as well. I was impressed with how the game was set up perfectly already with even an interactive soundboard in place. Our game host Ben was fantastic at explaining the game (they're all trained to do their job well) and also incredibly patient dealing with our long decision-making periods and terrible jokes. The gameplay itself was cute, fun, engaging, and competitive. I'll definitely come back for another game sesh next time I visit Boston! This is a totally fun activity for the days you're tired of going out to a random bar and no one wants to host at their apartment.

Food- just got a couple of drinks, east of the the sea or something which was very sweet beware. Next was a gin based drink called Final Seance which was also sweet and really tasted like coke in the end. Saw tables getting their hummus plate which seemed popular Service- very fast. Only thing that could be better is the host seemed a little pushy when we didn't order anything but we just sat down 2-3 minutes ago. Ambiance- was a lot of fun! People seemed to be having a blast. The games were also decent but wish there were more mainstream and duo player games. Popular game was Codenames

A group of 3 of us went here tonight for a good time. I liked the board game selection and they had a local beer on tap that I enjoyed. The food was alright! We got the tomato soup, flatbread pizza, and pretzel bites. While the food was good, we were a little put off by little things we wanted that they didn't have. The only whiskey they offer is jim beam honey... ew. They only have three beers on tap, and they don't have a lot of food options. The pretzel bites needed yellow mustard and they didn't have any. Just honey mustard! Everything was more or less reasonably priced... service was inattentive and hard to flag down. We played one game and left for somewhere with a bigger selection of drinks.

Such a neat spot, where you can play board games, drink, and eat snacks! The vibes were great, and our waitress was very warm and personable. The Parmesan pretzels and cheese dip were to die for, and we highly recommend it! Unfortunately, the Turkey sandwich was left to be desired. -- The bacon was burnt, and the presentation was just sloppy. I know it's not a high end establishment, but for something that is overpriced, the sandwich could be well put together at the very least. It really didn't have to look the way it did. Anyway, we had a good time, and I will certainly come back again!

Back in Boston and heard they also have morning cafe and breakfast sandwich & pastry service. They are featuring George Howell coffee and hand poured! When we were there on a Tuesday morning few tables were already occupied by working professionals. Heard from the staffs that weekends are popular with local residents and students living nearby coming to study. Love the soft music and ambiance, friendly staff, high speed internet, great coffee and food! Have to come back for the bar service!

There was a misunderstanding in terms of a Meetup group, which happens and is not the fault of the venue. The aggressive attitude of the manager Rudi and the bartender are the fault of the venue. I walked out within a minute of arrival. I suggest you look elsewhere for an enjoyable experience.

having games are fun, but if you're here for food, think twice. i was restricted to the late night menu so their wider menu might be different but it was just frozen foods that were heated up in an oven (wouldn't be surprised if it was microwave), put on a white plate, and insanely uncharged. you might be better off buying your own board games, buying some frozen snacks, and having a night in. the service was great, so no hate to the team at all. but it's really not worth it at all.

We as a group of 4 played Mysterium here upon their soft opening. It was really fun! Staff here is so nice to guide you through things. Very cozy environment too. We had the first batch of good coffee here! Def will come back again :)

A relatively new and unique establishment. They offer a limited bar, do to their category of a cordial bar. Their main attraction is the games they play. This is similar to the establishments that offer escape rooms. This one though has game rooms which you go in and you can either play against each other or play with each other to solve whatever the game is. We decided to do a murder mystery and out of the three of us, we all made final level but only one of us actually completed the final level. A member of their staff sits in the room with you and operates the game and sometimes offers game hints. This is a new concept and opened only a few months ago. If your looking for something different to do, you should give this a try. It may not be for everybody but a good time for those that like a little bit of competition. They only offer street parking.

The bartender truly sucked, but the atmosphere is nice if they just hired a new one. They have solid cocktails and fun activities, just a shitty bartender on Friday Nights, watch out for this guy.

Very fun place. The food was tasty, the games were fun, great ambiance and the staff was very helpful.

Very clean space, charming décor, and extremely friendly staff. The prices are beyond reasonable. We got pretzels, chips, and a sandwich, and the loan of a board game and a night out cost us honestly less than what the movies would have.

Ate once. Paninis were fine. After serving and putting my life on the line, I was denied access. Previously I've been a combat medic, in Afghanistan, Iraq and I just returned from the Ukraine. All I wanted was a quick drink. Wouldn't disturb anyone. I wasn't allowed at the door, found another establishment which served me politely. Very unprofessional. Only reason for two stars is because they know how to make a basic overpriced panini.

I had always been a little skeptical of this place - only ever see people playing cards in here - but I stopped in for a drink when I was waiting for a different reservation and I was very happy with the experience. The food looked good (but I didn't try any) and the drinks were phenomenal. Clean little bar and I will definitely be back!

It's kind of nerd heaven. Combines a boutique bar and a LGS. Events are plentiful and scratch a lot of different nerd itches. Gaming spaces are stocked and very cool. Outdoor space is lovely and off the street. Plenty of free use table top games of all kinds. They sell Magic cards right at the bar, which, dangerous for me personally after a few drinks, but so awesome. Cocktails are good, drink variety is good, hot drinks and alcohol are all top quality. Food is tasty, though pretty high in price for the portion sizes. It's still high quality also, but if you're looking for cheap pub food to take the edge off after drinks or a big meal after a long day you're better off going for a slice at one of the cheap late night pizza joints (there's a few in stumbling distance) or to one of the taco places near by to get a bigger meal. Hosts and wait staff are super cool. Regulars that I've met are really good people. Bartenders/management seem like they openly hate each other but it's never reflected on any customer interactions other than feeling awkward to watch. Probably the coolest aspect is the Discord presence that really helps coordinate events and find games. Honestly, it's easily my favorite place to hang in all of Boston.

Wow I did not know I needed this in my life!! The games here are so entertaining and the sound effects pair up perfectly! I highly recommend playing Mysterium (for the spooky crowd), Resistance (competitive), and Tokaido (relaxing). Clearly, I am in love with all of their games and recommend coming to try them yourself! Also side note, the game masters are amazing! I love how I don't need to spend 30 + minutes just learning how to play the game and can just dive right in. The loaded tots are also scrumptious as well as the cocktails! What's not to love?

Really fun place! I love the concept of having a game master. The immersive sound experience is super cool too! I reserved a room for 2 for Tokaido and had so much fun playing. I've seen the game in board game cafes before, but was intimidated by how complicated it looked. Not a problem here! You can also bring in drinks/food from the bar, just in case you needed something to nibble on. The cocktails we tried were super good! So much love for this place. I definitely want to come back with more people!

I had just left a speaking engagement at Simmons College where one of our Congresswoman were in attendance. The feeling I had after the special occasion was an exuberance filled with hopeful bliss. I wanted to walk up to the main street of Tremont to catch a Lyft ride but needed a warm place to wait for 15 minutes. I bypassed about 5 other places to finally look at Tavern of Tales and say "Ok this place looks warm, inviting,people are eating and sitting. I knew maybe I couldn't sit so I would buy tea or drink so I could patronize the restaurant and not make it a rest stop. I had a few things in my hand and took my mask off during the walk from Simmons. As I attempted to open the Door to Tavern the guy "Tim" allegedly a POC. I try not to use that word for everyone who is non-white because I am an Obvious person of color who faces the blatant discrimination, so I do not use POC for beneficial reasons.. but Tim gave me a look like I had the plague, so I assured him I have a Mask and will be putting it on before entering . So after I am locating my mask, a group of Caucasian Males came behind me a party of 5? And entered with no mask and a warm welcome. So I said to myself "hmmm" ok Let me just put on mine because the majority do have visible mask, minus one of the workers. Well I didn't get a welcome like EVERYONE else after me but I told "Tim" I will sit at the bar and I am alone.. Tim rolls eyes, maybe he has allergies? But I sit down and he ask me what I wanted to order or drink not in a friendly tone. So I ordered tea. Let's flash fwd . I was asking questions about the establishment and met with one worded answers and an attitude like I was annoying them. So I got up to walk to the side to peak and see how big the place is as my tea steeped. TIM yelled "LOOK IF YOU ARE GOING TO WALK AROUND YOU NEED TO PUT A MASK ON! Yes he yelled it, instead of calling me back to the bar.Where I walked was 4 steps from my seat. Everyone in turn looked at me.. so I sat down and I said, what about the worker who is walking around with no mask? He said I will address it when I see him, I said he was just in your face? But I let it go Then "Mark" another worker came up on the side of me to pick up an order for the private room in the back, I tried to engage Mark as he sat there waiting for something asking him about the Tavern of Tales and how big is the place and how to book the game room..he was rolling his eyes, Bobbing his head, and moving his hands like "Just Google it" why ask me? Then I got silent after his actions and we had an awkward 1 minute of blatant looking at each other in the eyes . I was so happy when My Lyft came I feel so horrible in this place, it was icy, and I FELT LIKE I WAS NOT WANTED OR WELCOMED AND THEY HAD NO PROBLEM WITH IT, THEY DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO ACT OR PLAY IT OFF .I was so shaken I told my Lyft driver who happened to be a Dark Brown person like me, we cried and swapped stories of past experiences and How racism is not Over .it is only over to people who do not look like us or go through the experience..Tim is Asian and considered a POC but I didn't expect him to treat me any different but I would hope that he would know that he doesn't have the POWER OR PRIVILEGE to act the way he acted towards me. This is why I am very careful with the whole we all ARE POC and face the same things ..NOT TRUE! There are levels to this but that is a whole other topic. They treated me mean, the other patrons were chilling but the guy who was two seats down from me, I know he felt awkward and he felt the atmosphere by the way he kept looking at me..It is a shame in 2021 that Brown People still can't walk in a restaurant in Massachusetts in a community that is diverse and be Welcomed.. I will never go back there. Thank you Tim and Mark Yes this Tavern does have Tales!

Staff are so accommodating and fun to play with! Mysterium was our first game and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! Tots were missing during the soft opening but the pretzel bites and coffee were all I needed

Amazing place! THE best place to host game night or a DND session in all of Boston. Food is great and the drinks are always creative (they also have some of the best coffee in the are)

The staff is super friendly, the trivia games are well organized and are thoroughly enjoyable, and I'm really excited to be checking out their board game/table top games in the near future. Being new to the city, I'm really excited to have found such a charming new space to come back to!

Was really excited to check out tavern of tales after they had been "hibernating" all spring! Especially since food was half off for a reopening special and it's right in my neighborhood! Unfortunately, it was pretty mediocre. Our sandwiches plus one beer was around $20 which was a great deal but I wouldn't pay full price for this. I bit into the chicken sandwich at one point and hit a bone so I have to take away a star for that. Everyone was very covid safe however and maybe doing the gaming experience would improve my opinion of the place. However as of now I wouldn't eat there again.

This is my new favorite place to go out. Even with just me and my partner we still had a lot of fun with our game experience, and our game master made it super easy to understand the rules. He even explained another game we played afterwards on our own. There's a great selection of games to play and the food and beer are just icing on the cake. Definitely a must visit for anyone who loves board games or wants to try something new.

Great interactive staff. Food was delicious and the game was simple, but fun. Overall, a fun place to take 4+ people.

Tavern of Tales was a blast! Staff are all super friendly, prompt service, and the game room experience is one of a kind. I went with 3 others and we played two hours of games. Pricing is very reasonable. This place is for everyone! If you don't want to play in a game room with a game master you can always hang near the bar and play card or board games there. I'll be back!

Great place to play Commander on Wednesdays or whenever -- delicious drinks (boozy frappe) and good sandwiches also. Already met some fun ppl to play Magic with -- hopefully they will stay open past 10pm soon :)

Fun atmosphere, Great Food! A lot of fun! The board game selection was amazing. I enjoyed the Zoom Meeting coffee drink, it was a great start to my morning!

Reserved a private room for our group, it was awesome, the employees were super accommodating and knowledgeable on the games. Great food and drinks. 100% will be back.

Went there during their soft opening! Staff are super friendly and they guided us through games. The music effects are also so good. Overall a great experience at ToT, and certainly will come back again!

Super nice staff, great food and drinks and the games are always a hit!! Definitely a great first date spot or a nice place for a fun night with friends!

Excellent experience and food. Game was fun and service was fantastic. Wonderful time.

I have been to Tavern two times with friends. The first time, we hung out in the bar area and played some games. Staff are great, very attentive and willing to explain rules. The second time, I dropped by for the St Patrick's Day event. We were able to try out Mysterium and Forbidden Island (both cooperative but they have competitive options for people who are less bitter than I am about losing) for free in the game rooms, as well as participate in the raffle. Completely loved the experience and can't wait to come back after this coronavirus situation subsides. Drinks are decent. Really like the Flower Child beer and the ice coffee is solid. Hoping that they increase food offerings in the future!

In loving memory of pepperoni flat bread pizza. We all have fond memories of you. You helped us through the times when we were hungry. You were always available to us and you always had great taste. Haters probably said you were a square but you were just well rounded. Never bitter just cheesy, in a good way. Many of us will miss you even when we try to pretend we don't. Others will come along which may try to take your place but they will never be pepperoni flat bread pizza. R.I.P. pepperoni flat bread pizza :(

While the immersive games are not open yet due ti COVID-19, the cocktails and the food are great and amazing for the price! Really love the tokyo sunrise, not too sweet but enough sweetness to get me going

Great people, food, and drinks! What more could you ask for? But honestly, Tavern has been an absolute delight so far. I've thoroughly enjoyed playing magic, competing in smash bros, and participating in trivia with fellow geeks with beer.

Magic the Gathering MTG Sunday EDH, Wednesday draft. Check them out. Don't think there any other place in Boston proper.

The bartender, Liza, is amazing! Very friendly staff and great drinks, all at a reasonable price.

I've been coming for the past 3 Saturday afternoons to write and study. The vibe of their pub is relaxed, almost like a coffee shop. There's free wifi for my laptop and it's generally quiet. The music selection is excellent for working, and the staff is super chill with me being there for hours. I haven't played any of the board games (because I have a regular board game group up in Porter), but I can say that the selection of games is excellent. Mysterium is easily in my top five list of board games, but if you'd rather not have the whole paid board game experience, the free games Bang Dice and Codenames are available in the pub and are totally fun. They're starting to get into Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering, and I might pop in for those. The food is cheap and comes in impressive amounts. I'm quite happy with the tons of cheese on the pizza and the loaded tots look amazing. There are vegetarian and vegan options, though the menu is limited to tater tots, pizza, pastries, veggie platter, and meat platter. My friends keep wishing for an entree menu that has a wider variety of foods that are higher quality, potentially at a higher price point. But please never take away my $8 cheese pizza! I don't drink too much, but the friends seem happy with the beer menu and I'm happy with the tea menu. None of us have tried the cocktails. Probably because we're used to the cheap cocktails at our other haunt in Harvard Sq. Overall, I'll keep coming here Saturday afternoons to write and relax.

One of the most Covid-safe restaurants I've been too -- they do contact tracing and offer outdoor seating. The food is incredible and the atmosphere is a nerdy paradise.