Jump to: Reviews | Out of the Norm

With Super Bowl Sunday, March Madness, Cricket Craziness, and the World Cup all on the horizon, Boston sports fans will be in desperate need of a table surrounded by HDTVs. Today's deal gets you all this, plus a trivia night: for $20, you get $40 worth of creative pub grub and drinks at Tavern in the Square. This Groupon is good for all three Boston-area locations, as well as one secret mailbox location if you are quail-sized or smaller.

Tavern in the Square's menu could spoil your stomach for lesser bar foods, with innovative starters like fried pickles ($6.99), risotto fritters ($8.99), and maple sweet fries (crispy sweet-potato fries served with Dijon maple sauce, $6.99). For something more substantial, try the angry shrimp entree ($17.99), made with only the most irate shrimp and seasoned with Cajun spices, grilled to perfection, and drizzled with sweet chili sauce. For something more comforting, go for the white truffle mac 'n' cheese ($12.99) or a signature burger like the Maui (teriyaki sauce and pineapple, $9.99). If you're a DIY sort, build your own burger ($8.99+). Triumphantly prove your doctor wrong with a dessert of fried Snickers (two bars wrapped in a crispy shell, deep fried, and topped with chocolate sauce, then served with vanilla ice cream, $6.99). We prefer to think of it as "The Good Decision Pile." Tavern in the Square also offers a ton of pizzas, pastas, burritos, soups, salads, sandwiches, and hearty breakfasts (including an award-winning Sunday brunch buffet).

With so much delicious food to wash down, Tavern in the Square's drinks list will happily oblige you with a plethora of down-washers. Along with the perennial draft beers (Sam Adams, Guinness, Stella Artois, etc.), you can knock back specialty bottles of Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale ($5.50), Saranac Pomegranate Wheat ($5.50), or the subtle banana-and-cloves Bavarian wheat Franziskaner ($8 for a 16.9-ounce bottle). Tipplers, meanwhile, can tipple-toe through a respectable list of reds and whites—or get a little fresh fruit in their diet with some guaranteed Voodoo-free house-made sangria ($25 per pitcher).

There is no purchase limit on today's Groupon (though you'll only be able to use one per table), so you can buy enough to get you through all your favorite sports, from jai alai to log-hurling to the inscrutable Aztec sport of deathball.

Reviews

The Boston Globe raves about the Tavern's scrumptious sustenance:

• The first taste of the maple sweet fries ($7), a heaping amount of crispy sweet potato fries drizzled with Dijon maple sauce and served in a hot skillet, led one of our diners to exclaim, “Why hasn’t someone done this sooner?’’….[The meatloaf's] steak-like grill marks and sweet, flavorful barbecue sauce elevated this comfort food to an entrée worthy of a special occasion. – Cindy Cantrell, Boston Globe

One Insider Pages user gives Tavern in the Square four stars, while TripAdvisors give it a solid 3.5 owl eyes. Zagat reviewers praise the posh bar food and affable service:

• Tavern in Central Square offers the best Macaroni and cheese to be found anywhere in Boston! I’d never think of ordering Mac & Cheese in a restaurant, but theirs with truffle oil is simply unbeatable. – LindaM5740, Zagat
• The servers are friendly, accomodating [sic] and prompt, making it an enjoyable experience. – Emily L., Insider Pages