Seamus David's Irish Pub — Restaurant in Dartmouth

DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE FOR SPECIAL OCCASSION

We recently booked a table at Seamus David’s for a party of 16 to celebrate our parents’ 45th wedding anniversary. What was meant to be a meaningful family dinner turned into a frustrating and disappointing experience.

Upon arrival, we were surprised to find our party split between two separate tables in the middle of the restaurant — a setup we were not informed of when we made the reservation. While I admit I didn’t explicitly ask about seating arrangements, I expected a restaurant taking a booking for 16 to clarify whether we’d be together. When we expressed our concern, our server kindly said she’d speak with the manager. I saw the manager shake her head “no” before the server finished explaining the situation to her. It was clear from the start that there was no intent to help.

I approached the manager myself, who finally came over when she noticed me watching. Despite there being a completely empty room that could have accommodated us, she firmly said we couldn’t move any tables. When I expressed disappointment and surprise about the lack of communication around the split seating, she simply replied, “Well, I didn’t take your reservation,” and didn’t even offer a hollow apology. She showed no empathy or interest in improving the situation — a clear sign she wasn’t there to support guests. As someone who runs a business three times this size, I’d strongly suggest the owners invest in training their management team in basic customer service — or at least how to pretend to care.

Unfortunately, the poor experience didn’t end there. The food came out in pairs, staggered to the point that some of us were finishing while others hadn’t even been served. My father didn’t receive his meal until my mother was done eating. To make matters worse, his sandwich was charred on one side and placed with the burnt side down — perhaps hoping it would go unnoticed. He could still taste the bitterness of it on the way home. Many dishes were either cold or overcooked, and it was clear the kitchen was overwhelmed and disorganized.

To be fair, our server was wonderful and handled a tough situation with grace and kindness. She was the only positive part of the night and deserves credit. Unfortunately, the issues we faced — from poor communication and indifferent management to kitchen chaos — far outweighed her efforts.

I would not recommend Seamus David’s for any meaningful event. This felt less like a welcoming restaurant and more like a watering hole with subpar pub food. It’s not the place to make memories — it’s the place that makes you wish you’d gone...

This evening 31May2023 four of us attended the restaurant following our evacuation due to the wildfire and sat on the patio as we had a pet. Our waitress was superb and did her level best to serve the entire patio. Unfortunately I didn't get her name however she is young and very effective. We had a drink and ordered our meals, which were superb with the exception of one. Her wrap was ordered without red onion however when it came...there was the red onions. It looked good however hard to pick it apart to remove the onions. The plate was sent back and a second order - minus the red onions was again placed. Several minutes later, when the rest of us had all but consumed our meal her order arrived. Again, there was red onions in the wrap. The waitress was mortified, apologizing all over herself however my sense was that she placed the order correctly, both times. Rather than a third try she simply placed an order of fries and let it go. When it came time for billing instructions our friend mentioned to the waitress that her glass of wine should be comped, given the fact that she missed her meal and decided to settle on a plate of fries. Our waitress advised that she would have to check with her manager. She returned advising that manager directed that there be no charge for the fries however the glass of wine be invoiced. I believe the manager's name is Kara. I find it very unfortunate that a decision which could have bolstered this pub's reputation took a left turn which ended up simply nullifying all the good that we have previously experienced here. I don't believe that after two failed attempts to get a meal right the correct decision was to "come again and take your chances." Not a comment on the meal but on the managerial service to install repeat business. So, perhaps when we are looking for a pet friendly outing, I might not be the one to suggest Seamus Davids Pub, and to...

Have been to Seamus David's a few times in the past and found it had good service, the food was always good. But unfortunately, we had 11 of the family there the evening of Feb 25th, we had called ahead for a reservation for 12, we ended up with 11. They asked me to call 5 minutes before we arrived which I found very odd, have never been asked to do that before. We were there to have a final supper together before some flew home to various places in the USA. They had come for my mother's funeral, these were some of my other siblings and some of her beloved grandchildren. I forgot to call 5 minutes prior to arrival, have had a lot on my mind and I don't know what difference that would make anyway. When we walked in, we were rudely greeted and chastised for not calling before arriving. Our group ended up at 3 separate tables, we could deal with that even though it was not ideal. We ordered drinks and our food shortly after getting there and then were largely ignored. We saw people come in after we ordered, they received their drinks and food before us, paid their bills and left before we received our orders. So we were not impressed to say the least at how we were treated. Therefore we did not tip due to the poor service we felt we received. To top it off, a woman I think was the manager, came to one of our tables and rudely asked why we didn't tip, that the staff worked hard and she was told why we didn't tip. She was very rude and what she should have done was ask if there had been an issue and tried to make things right. But she basically came over and was very offensive to us. I know she didn't know our situation of being together because of losing our beloved wife, mom, grandma, but that shouldn't matter, you don't treat anyone that way. So I will never darken Seamus David's doors again and would never recommend it to anyone. I don't usually say too much but I was very disappointed with this...