Hawk's Tavern Opens in Mill Valley

Hawk's Tavern

507 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley;

Chef Tyler Florence has recently opened an informal restaurant in Mill Valley called the Hawk's Tavern. A friend who lives in Mill Valley heard the local moms raving about it at her son’s school, so we decided to check it out on Sunday evening.

The stylish interior has a rustic warm feel with dark wooden floors and wood panel walls covered in beautiful black and white photography. There is a great porch for outdoor dining, but we ate inside at one of their circular booths at the back of the restaurant admiring the warm central fireplace.

Hawk Tavern bar area

Tyler Florence has created the Hawk's Tavern's seasonal menu of small plates which is prepared by executive chef Rob Lind, who also oversees the menu at Wayfare Tavern in San Francisco. There is beer on tap and a small selection of local wines.

My son ordered their mac and cheese before the waiter even had a chance to introduce himself, and ate it all up without any complaint. The kids menu also includes the usual staples; cheese burger, hot dog and a grilled cheese sandwich with a tomato soup which sounded good.

Hawk's Tavern dining room

My husband ordered the Fish and Chips which was small pieces of fish in an ale batter with big steak chips and tartar sauce. My brother in law had the Hawk Tavern Burger which came on a toasted potato bread bun with Point Reyes Toma and bacon. Both thought the food was good and enjoy washing them down with Bombardier English Ale served in traditional English half pint classes.

I ordered the Skirt Steak on a bed of lentils and roasted beets, crumbled ricotta, lemon and chili, with a side order of truffle fries, which was cooked well and tasted nice. “Nice” and “Good” describes a pleasant average meal. I guess after eating at El Paseo and regularly referring to Tyler Florence’s cookbook at home, we were expecting something a little more. But the meal was reasonably priced and we enjoyed the gastro pub experience which we would like to see more of in Marin County. We would perhaps order some salads or more side plates like the Burrata or the sautéed red kale next time, so we didn’t leave needing to eat more or craving dessert. Thankfully there was a frozen yogurt bar right next door, sorry Tyler we promise to come back next time to enjoy the Sticky Toffee Pudding!

For further information please see the Hawk's Tavern website