Bearfoot Tavern a fun addition to downtown Macon dining
What a gorgeous place! If you've been waiting for an upscale version of an English pub, downtown Macon now has one. Bearfoot Tavern has moved to Second Street with a new and much improved look and feel as compared to its Cherry Street incarnation.
You know it's something special before you even open the door, with its dark green facade and globe lighting with an organically shaped wooden bench for waiting. We were able to walk right in on our visit and were amazed at the almost Disney-esque ambiance permeating the space. There's a large wooden bar to the left encompassed by a rounded wall of high seating with more of those globed lights atop it. To the right is a seemingly endless dining hall that leads back to a private room and a patio out back. In the summer, this lovely beer garden will be the place to hang out to hear music and soak up the sun.
The food didn't floor us as much as the decor, but they're only getting started. Our server was fantastic, with good suggestions and a thorough knowledge of the menu. Her best suggestion was the pimento cheese and bacon fritters, deep fried on the outside and gooey with a little heat on the inside. The sharp cheddar was balanced with a pepper jelly, all for $6.
The fish and chips were just OK for $13.50, battered with local Sweetwater 420 and served with tartar sauce, malt vinegar and your choice of one side. The Alaskan cod in our order was a bit underdone but the crust was perfect. We meant to order the truffled fries but accidentally got the regular ones, which were only OK.
Their 14-inch pizzas are about $1 an inch. Our margherita pizza was shy on the basil and was disappointing. Next time I would try the Three Little Pigs pizza with ham, sausage, sopressata, cippolina onions and sweet red peppers, or maybe the White Pie with fresh buffalo mozzarella, pecorino and fior de latte cheeses.
The burgers all look great but we stuck with the basic model for $9, the J. Mercer classic. It came well-done rather than the medium-well that we ordered, but it was still juicy and thick. The pricey Underwood is a Greek version, the Godsey has port wine shallots and brandy peppercorn sauce, and the A.J. Battle is a turkey version with cheddar spinach and chipotle spread.
They have more goodies than I can even mention in this space, so you'll just have to go find out the rest yourself. There's even brunch on the weekends from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Downtown Macon is really heating up -- if you haven't stopped by lately, you're missing out on some great food and fun.
Bearfoot Tavern
Address: 468 Second St., Macon
Phone: 478-305-7703
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
Payment: Cash, credit
Smoking: No
Alcohol: Yes
Kids Menu: Yes
Noise Level: Medium
Health Rating: 100
Website: www.hotplatesrestaurantgroup.com
Price range: $6-$20
Rating: 3 stars
This story was originally published April 7, 2016 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Bearfoot Tavern a fun addition to downtown Macon dining ."