Magnolia Tavern - Vancouver

Magnolia Tavern is not bad. The food was decent. The service okay. Really no complaints.

Food was sub par at best. Salad had a half strip of bacon and came with out other toppings listed. The chicken blue burger was grissily and fries were greasy. Drinks were good but small.

We discovered Magnolias by surprise and enjoyed our visit. We ate the fried okra, catfish and chicken dishes, which were delicious. We also enjoyed their Halloween themed libations, which were yummy and inventive.

We were seated in the bar. There were only three couples in there. The ambiance was nice and it wasn't too loud. The bar server wouldn't come to our table and we sat for a while until the hostess, who seated us, came to take our order. We got really good drinks and enjoyed them. We ordered the pork belly burnt ends to start. When they arrived, one was burnt and the rest were barely cooked. I ate the first burnt one and it was really good. I went for another bite of a less cooked pork belly piece and it was still cold in the middle of the fat. Obviously, these are pre-cooked and the cook just didn't heat them up to temperature to caramelize the glaze. I thought, well, let's give this place a chance. So, I decided to order their main course of fried chicken and two sides. When it arrived, I was really disappointed. The chicken consisted of 5 pieces of popcorn chicken the size of a small lime and a tray mostly of fries. The chicken was so burnt that when I picked one the pieces up the breading fell off and the chicken was so black it looked like charcoal. I waited for the hostess to come back and let her know that I would not be eating any of that. The only good thing on my plate were the fries. She was polite and ordered any other menu item which I declined as my appetite was gone. They credited the bill the $21.00 and we left. I don't think i will be returning anytime soon.

I went for the first time and my team of Managers for a work lunch. The place was pretty empty when we got there which always worries me. However, the food was amazing! We shared several appetizers (pork belly, shrimp, and low country veggie dip) and loved them all. The entrees were even better than the appetizers. The big winner was the grits...shrimp and grits/side of grits. They were super creamy and buttery. Over all it was a great meal and the restaurant did start to fill up about 20 minutes after we arrived.