Hitting the bullseye at Circle Tavern

Elmwood Park’s de facto downtown, Conti Circle, has always been a center for good food and night life. Six years into his ownership of Circle Tavern, 18 W. Conti Parkway, Michael Jardine feels that he’s reached his target.

“I grew up here my whole life and Circle Tavern is somewhere that I would want to go and hang out,” Jardine said. “That was the goal all along. It took time to get there, and we’ll keep updating it just to make it as good as possible. Consistency is my main goal.”

Burgers and pizza were the first menu items that the owner perfected. Once he felt those were in the zone, he turned his attention to the chicken dishes. Where before they had thinner breading and less zing, they now are marquee players too. 

“It’s like a Popeye’s fried chicken sandwich, more crispy, juicy, more exciting. It’s awesome, updated,” he said. “I’m just trying to make everything as good as possible. The chicken tenders are the same way now. Both are breaded and battered in-house.”

Back when Jardine took over, the tavern’s atmosphere played one note. 

“We kind of went from a late-night place with a pool table and dartboard,” he said. “Now it’s more, I don’t want to say more upscale, but more upscale from there. We just take it up to somewhere you could come eat with the family on a Friday night or you could go on a Saturday night without the family and also have as good of a time, but in different ways. So, we take on different personalities.”

Rotating, weekly events, menu features and seasonal specials give customers many chances to figure out which version they like best:

• Mondays, pizza half price 
• Wednesday, bingo night (21 and up)
• Taco Thursday
• Fried chicken Fridays
• Saturday, DJs or karaoke 

“I think it’s now at the point where I wanted it to be from the start, whether that be the menu aspect of it, the vibe of the place, the decorations,” Jardine said. “The staff is fantastic. I know I’m biased, but everybody here is really friendly. It just fits the vibe that I’m going for, which is just a neighborhood bar and restaurant.”

Summer is special on the Conti Circle. The Tavern’s wall of windows that face the Circle push back, opening the whole front onto the patio. That makes it the perfect place to take in Elmwood Park’s summer events, like the Thursday night concerts series, the annual car show and more. 

Food and drink specials carry the easy-living feeling onward. 

“We have a summer sampler. It features those brand-new chicken tenders we were talking about and also comes with fried pickles and our sweet corn fritters,” he said. “There’s two drinks right now actually that are awesome. There’s the Capri Sunburn. which is a Campari drink, a little summer sweet, really nice. And then the other one is called ‘Offensively Hawaiian’ because it’s pineapple-based, like you’d have at a tiki bar.”

Tasty specials on the menu include a three slider platter and a pasta primavera.

When summer is over, the fun isn’t. At Halloween the bar goes all out with what they call ‘Spooky Tavern’ decorations, but Jardine is quick to note that it’s still family friendly, nothing too gruesome. He still wants you to have an appetite. Christmastime gets the full treatment too. 

“We’re constantly trying to stay on it and on top of it, not only for the regulars who come here and get something different. But then when someone does come here for the first time, it’s distinctive,” he said. “It’s nice to still be here and just keeping it exciting.”