Restaurant review | Liberty Tavern: Appealing listings of menu come up short in execution

By For The Columbus Dispatch  • 
View Slideshow
jabin botsford | DISPATCH
The calamari appetizer

Liberty Tavern is among the increasing number of operations that blur the line between restaurant and bar. The menu is wide-ranging, there is a real kitchen and chef (Jeff Bentley), and, of course, a long list of draft and bottled brews.

The scallop seviche ($11) appetizer sounds great. But the bay scallops pick up nary a hint of the lemon and ginger promised in the menu description. They’re pretty much plain, boiled scallops — not bad, but not interesting.

The scallops are served on a bed of equally plain chopped bok choy. It could use a quick saute. Underneath it is the best part: a slice of polenta, crisp outside and moist inside. The platter is decorated with swirls of sriracha hot sauce, dabs of which fail to compensate for the lack of seasoning.

The spinach Caesar salad ($5) is much more compelling. The Caesar-type dressing works well with the spinach leaves, and both get good accents from pieces of crisp bacon and sprinkles of chopped hard-boiled egg.

Panko-breaded calamari ($9) turn out to be a bit lighter than the name suggests. Fried lightly in a neutral-tasting oil, they’re salty and reasonably tender. The Thai curry dipping sauce lacked Thai seasonings in my serving.

The deep-fried risotto balls ($8 as an appetizer), which are filled with rice and just hints of the promised sausage and cheese, are bland. Aside from a suggestion of white pepper, the principal flavor comes from the darkly crisp crust on the spheres and the spicy herbs of the marinara sauce on the platter.

The slices of “bloody mary marinated flank steak” ($21) didn’t taste marinated. Rather, there is a smear of tomato sauce vaguely reminiscent of bloody mary sauces. Properly marinating the meat would have seasoned and tenderized it. Instead, unyielding gristle was found.

The steak is served atop a slice of rather dry, pan-baked “au gratin” potatoes that had some cheesy notes and not much else. The best thing on the plate was the blue-cheese cream, which helped to season the meat and moisten the potatoes. Ditto for a sprinkle of the pico de gallo, which lent great color to the presentation.

The side of vegetables (filet beans, sugar snap peas and red and yellow sweet peppers) benefited from a good stir-fry.

Liberty Tavern has plenty of sandwich options. One uses shrimp, which are given a thin tempura-style coating and deep-fried before being placed in a wrap with what is billed as mild Buffalo sauce.

The sauce is mild and lacks Buffalo-wing flavor. The nice mix of lettuce, corn kernels and diced sweet pepper is flavored with a ranch dressing that lacks the promised chipotle notes (Buffalo shrimp wrap, $8).

The cod sandwich ($9, lunch only) features a large piece of fish that is expertly battered and deep-fried dark. It is in a lightly baked French-style bun, along with lettuce and tomato. You can add some of the side of sweet-tart tartar sauce, which has plenty of chopped pickle in it.

What is needed is more flavor from the fish.

The Southern fried chicken breast ($19) is bone-in and has a nicely herbed crust — two strong points. But it is salty, indicating that it has been brined, and a creamy blue cheese sauce interferes with the fried-chicken taste. The accompanying mashed potatoes have a golden color and buttery flavor.

In contrast to the chicken, the coarsely cut slaw is low in salt and has a light dressing with a slightly spicy finish.

The bread pudding ($6) is reasonably moist and eggy and has a few nicely plumped golden raisins. But the caramel sauce is unimpressive, and a sugary crumble brings the sweetness to a mouth-numbing level.