this place was pretty odd. we ordered two alcoholic drinks and both were over saturated and under spiked. my drink tasted like gatorade syrup while my date’s was overly bitter, neither of which had even a shot of vodka. we were also recommended a game by one of the staff but the instructions were so tattered that we couldn’t figure out how to play. most games had enough pieces to play all of the games, but some were lacking a lot of vital parts. overall, a cute place, but probably best for tabletop role play or large groups who already have a game to play
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Victor Huang
I usually come here to play Magic the Gathering on Saturday. They have an event called casual commanders where you can come and play with others. It’s usually pretty packed during these days which I like because it gives me a chance to play against others!They also sell packs and other items related to Magic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hannah R.
First time visitors! Our group of 4 reserved a room & had a really fun time eating, drinking & playing games. Food was hot & delicious; drinks were unique & tasty; and the games were fun & and good variety. The staff were really nice & accommodating — will definitely be back to reserve a room or as a walk-in!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sung Cho
Having a bar and a boardgame hub never felt more synergetic like Tavern of Tales. plentiful tables and game options to choose from with spacious game rooms for reservational sessions with friends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Philip Van Huul
Pros:CleanAestheticCreative game board joint( probably the only one in Boston)Cons:Terrible serviceStaff don’t know their own menuUnseasoned expensive foodThe Deets: We came with a group late for brunch, and aside from us in the entire joint, only 1 other couple in the far corner. There were three people in the front and it took 20 minutes to get our orders in and another 20 minutes for their staff to figure out they don’t actually serve some items.Latte came out with pitiful blob of foam, but the food came out looked beautiful. Perfect toast, perfect layers, but that was it. Flavor was lacking, and way too expensive for what it was I recommend going to Mike’s or Milkweed a block down for some proper food at actually affordable price.I wanted to be fair, so in all fairness, the lackluster service, the overly expensive unseasoned food really hit the nail in the coffin for us. I’m all for creative local businesses but I really don’t know how they have good reviews after this experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
BoxCity
I was profiled for dining here alone. NOT POC or WOMEN FRIENDLY. Read the other reviews about uncomfortable racist experiences happening here and ask yourself if you want to support an owner who perpetuate this behavior in our community. I was profiled by the owner who personally came over and pressured me to get out. I had a new full drink on hand(!) , a running tab of food and drinks and wanted to ask about some additional food... there was no explanation for him wanting me to leave as ZERO customer had been coming at that point (I was like one of 4 when I showed up) and it was already pushing 9 pm, 60% of front of house was empty and unoccupied including the two spots next to me… I was given the comment/excuse that I was close to reaching my “time limit” a policy which is nowhere on the tables and was never mentioned when I entered. He said nothing to the two tables of Caucasian couples next to me who had been there long before I arrived. Unwelcoming racist vibes from a business owner who only cares about the bottom line from people who look a certain way.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Brian Brown
This place rules!!!!
Red
Great spot for a group of friends to snack and play board games. They also have board game nights where you can join random groups and have a great time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese, The Arboretum, Nachos
Victor H.
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
Tom R.
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.
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!
Camillo John Iannaccone
One of my favorite spots in Boston, a combination of good drinks, pleasant company and tasty food makes this my go to recommendation for people looking for a nontraditional bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nachos
Jamie DC
I've made so many memories at this place! As a casual board/card game player myself, I've been very happy with the selection of games available, and if you want to bring your own thing, you can. I love the drinks here (my only feedback is to bring the boozy frappe back :') that stuff was delish) and the food makes for a perfect dinner + board game night combo with friends. 10/10 would recommend and will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Arboretum, The Final Seance, Loaded Nachos, The Crystal of Fire, blt
John Roderick
I used to really love this place. I played a fair share of DND here and also other games. The food used to be better but has declined. I recently had a sandwich there that was made with the end of the bread and also included paper inside of it.My biggest complaint is the service. Once when playing DND, I had ordered a plate of Nachos for the table which never arrived. While taking a break I went to the bar to remind them about the order and finally the nachos arrived. When the bill came, I was charged to two orders of nachos and when mentioning this to the server, he exclaimed "well how do I know you didn't eat two sets of nachos, I've seen people do this before". This rubbed me really wrong. Not only did they mess up the order, they accused me of lying and begrudgingly removed the second wrong order from my bill. I had to get my whole DND group to back me up that I didn't order two pairs of nachos. This was an unprofessional and embarrassing experience and I won't be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Mindy Reiser
After 12+ visits we sadly had a very unpleasant experience here. Were hustled out by rude waitstaff and told in increasingly gross ways that they had to have our table. We were playing a board game and they didn’t bother to tell us that we would be kicked out until after we had ordered and eaten food—and set up our game. Would have been nice to know up front! The waiter hassled us more and more aggressively after this. Unbelievably rude. We acknowledged politely that we would leave before our ‘time limit’ was up but that didn’t stop them from coming back to remind us every five minutes. They offered us a room we could pay for by the hour though!!! A better way to handle it as a business would have been to inform us up front there was a time limit, and offer the room for free. It’s a shame because on previous visits we’ve had very kind staff who engaged with us and talked to us about what we were playing. Really took an interest in us and made us feel welcome. After this really unpleasant experience it will be hard to return.
this place was pretty odd. we ordered two alcoholic drinks and both were over saturated and under spiked. my drink tasted like gatorade syrup while my date’s was overly bitter, neither of which had even a shot of vodka. we were also recommended a game by one of the staff but the instructions were so tattered that we couldn’t figure out how to play. most games had enough pieces to play all of the games, but some were lacking a lot of vital parts. overall, a cute place, but probably best for tabletop role play or large groups who already have a game to play
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
I usually come here to play Magic the Gathering on Saturday. They have an event called casual commanders where you can come and play with others. It’s usually pretty packed during these days which I like because it gives me a chance to play against others!They also sell packs and other items related to Magic.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
First time visitors! Our group of 4 reserved a room & had a really fun time eating, drinking & playing games. Food was hot & delicious; drinks were unique & tasty; and the games were fun & and good variety. The staff were really nice & accommodating — will definitely be back to reserve a room or as a walk-in!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Having a bar and a boardgame hub never felt more synergetic like Tavern of Tales. plentiful tables and game options to choose from with spacious game rooms for reservational sessions with friends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Pros:CleanAestheticCreative game board joint( probably the only one in Boston)Cons:Terrible serviceStaff don’t know their own menuUnseasoned expensive foodThe Deets: We came with a group late for brunch, and aside from us in the entire joint, only 1 other couple in the far corner. There were three people in the front and it took 20 minutes to get our orders in and another 20 minutes for their staff to figure out they don’t actually serve some items.Latte came out with pitiful blob of foam, but the food came out looked beautiful. Perfect toast, perfect layers, but that was it. Flavor was lacking, and way too expensive for what it was I recommend going to Mike’s or Milkweed a block down for some proper food at actually affordable price.I wanted to be fair, so in all fairness, the lackluster service, the overly expensive unseasoned food really hit the nail in the coffin for us. I’m all for creative local businesses but I really don’t know how they have good reviews after this experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
I was profiled for dining here alone. NOT POC or WOMEN FRIENDLY. Read the other reviews about uncomfortable racist experiences happening here and ask yourself if you want to support an owner who perpetuate this behavior in our community. I was profiled by the owner who personally came over and pressured me to get out. I had a new full drink on hand(!) , a running tab of food and drinks and wanted to ask about some additional food... there was no explanation for him wanting me to leave as ZERO customer had been coming at that point (I was like one of 4 when I showed up) and it was already pushing 9 pm, 60% of front of house was empty and unoccupied including the two spots next to me… I was given the comment/excuse that I was close to reaching my “time limit” a policy which is nowhere on the tables and was never mentioned when I entered. He said nothing to the two tables of Caucasian couples next to me who had been there long before I arrived. Unwelcoming racist vibes from a business owner who only cares about the bottom line from people who look a certain way.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
This place rules!!!!
Great spot for a group of friends to snack and play board games. They also have board game nights where you can join random groups and have a great time!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese, The Arboretum, Nachos
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
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.
Restaurantji Recommends
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!
One of my favorite spots in Boston, a combination of good drinks, pleasant company and tasty food makes this my go to recommendation for people looking for a nontraditional bar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Nachos
I've made so many memories at this place! As a casual board/card game player myself, I've been very happy with the selection of games available, and if you want to bring your own thing, you can. I love the drinks here (my only feedback is to bring the boozy frappe back :') that stuff was delish) and the food makes for a perfect dinner + board game night combo with friends. 10/10 would recommend and will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Arboretum, The Final Seance, Loaded Nachos, The Crystal of Fire, blt
I used to really love this place. I played a fair share of DND here and also other games. The food used to be better but has declined. I recently had a sandwich there that was made with the end of the bread and also included paper inside of it.My biggest complaint is the service. Once when playing DND, I had ordered a plate of Nachos for the table which never arrived. While taking a break I went to the bar to remind them about the order and finally the nachos arrived. When the bill came, I was charged to two orders of nachos and when mentioning this to the server, he exclaimed "well how do I know you didn't eat two sets of nachos, I've seen people do this before". This rubbed me really wrong. Not only did they mess up the order, they accused me of lying and begrudgingly removed the second wrong order from my bill. I had to get my whole DND group to back me up that I didn't order two pairs of nachos. This was an unprofessional and embarrassing experience and I won't be back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
After 12+ visits we sadly had a very unpleasant experience here. Were hustled out by rude waitstaff and told in increasingly gross ways that they had to have our table. We were playing a board game and they didn’t bother to tell us that we would be kicked out until after we had ordered and eaten food—and set up our game. Would have been nice to know up front! The waiter hassled us more and more aggressively after this. Unbelievably rude. We acknowledged politely that we would leave before our ‘time limit’ was up but that didn’t stop them from coming back to remind us every five minutes. They offered us a room we could pay for by the hour though!!! A better way to handle it as a business would have been to inform us up front there was a time limit, and offer the room for free. It’s a shame because on previous visits we’ve had very kind staff who engaged with us and talked to us about what we were playing. Really took an interest in us and made us feel welcome. After this really unpleasant experience it will be hard to return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1