Stonewalls Restobar — Restaurant in Hamilton

I used to frequent this place often when Jack DeKeyzer played every Sunday. It is under new ownership. They have still have live music often.

I recently took my friend here and the whole vibe and look is different. It felt like a Latino club. Still has live music and bands but we had to pay a cover of $15 each for a DJ which I find excessive. There were also 4 security guards, they had a wand to scan us. I found that off putting, I know it should make ppl feel safe but it actually did the opposite. They didn’t have a huge selection of liquor. So we order what was available. A decent selection but they used to have a very fully equipped bar. We were extremely hungry and couldn’t order food at 9:30 pm. We were told the kitchen wasn’t open yet. So again not expecting that. We ordered the beef nachos to share. They were very pricey. However when we were finally able to order food, they were the best nachos I have ever had at a restaurant! Loads of beef, loads of cheese and hot fresh jalapeños. Not the pickled tasteless ones.

The other problem was there were no servers. Just one bartender. So we had to keep going up to ask when the kitchen opens and to get our drinks. While they charged $15 per person per entry, not justified.

Overall the atmosphere was a little strange to what I was used to at Stonewalls. Maybe, because it was a Latin night with a DJ. So if you have not been in a while it’s very different. They took out the beautiful brick wood oven pizza and put up a very high stage. The music was too loud, and you couldn’t hold a conversation. I gave 3 stars because the Nachos were out of this world. Definitely not the restaurant/ bar I remember.

Dear Owner, Thank you for your reply. Bold of you to assume I have not frequented your establishment in over ten years. . I have been to Stonewalls in the past ten years. I seen Jack DeKeyzer band there for the Checkmate release party. I also had tickets for Grace 2 in December. I have also met friends for lunch on your patio. I even attempted to go the Friday before last and it was closed.

I live close by so it’s always been a favourite place of mine. I had read online that there was no cover charge before 11:00 pm. (For Latin night.) we were charged $15 each and we left before any singers or performers came on. I wasn’t aware establishments changed their products, liquor for special events. We couldn’t even get a mojito, on Latin night. The security guard at the door. Sam was the nicest gentleman, however being scanned for weapons? I have never encountered this before at this establishment, or any that I frequent. It makes patrons uneasy because most respectable establishments don’t have to check for weapons. Maybe it’s only on...

I have been going to Stonewalls for Wednesday night trivia for three years. For most of that time the food has been pretty good, the service has been decent, and trivia has been a lot of fun. There was a change of owners earlier this year. The new management decided to cancel trivia. Huge mistake. Many of the teams found other bars to go to for their trivia. I guess the owners realized their mistake and brought it back. The other bar we started to do trivia at doesn't run trivia over the summer, so we (reluctantly) went back to Stonewalls. We have been there for two weeks, and I regret it already. The first week, we were seated and it took over 20 minutes for someone to take our order. I ordered the Bombay Curry Poutine. When I got it, it was pretty much a french fry soup with below mediocre curry, and instead of cheese curds, there was shredded cheese. I thought maybe they had run out of curd, but my husband ordered the mushroom poutine, and he had curds. This used to be my favourite dish, but this was unappetizing at best. At the end of the night, after trivia ended we waited almost 30 minutes for our bills, we had to chase down the waitress to get them. The second week, our waiter was great! Super competent, but they seemed to be very understaffed, and every thing took forever and every time I saw him, he was running around. I ordered a veggie wrap, my husband ordered a veggie burger, and our friend ordered the BLT. Well, we waited almost an hour for our food. The restaurant was not that full (cancelled trivia, teams left, etc.) and when we got it, the fries were overdone. We were told that the plates were hot. Wait, what? Why were our plates with burger/sandwich/wrap hot? If our meals were ready together (all 3 plates were hot), why didn't they bring them out at the same time? Or if the sandwiches weren't ready, why did they plate the fries? Fries don't take that long. At the end of the night, it took 20 minutes and us tracking down our waiter to get our bills, I don;t blame the waiter, I blame the owners. It seems like corners are trying to be cut, as there was not enough wait staff, and clearly not enough staff in the kitchen. Cancelling trivia also seemed to be part of this cost cutting measure, but they realized that the money they pay for trivia more that makes up for itself. There were also lots of menu changes - no more taco Wednesday - now I have my choice of greasy or greasier food. I also thought the menu was supposed to be changing - staff have been saying this for months. I will continue to come to trivia, but until the food improves/menu changes, I will stick to drinks. I will tip the staff well though, because the ones that work, work...

I will never return to this establishment. I went to a Halloween event and they had this ridiculous policy where we had to be at our table to order drinks and either pay each time or put our credit card aside (that wasn't the issue, the issue was we weren't allowed to go to the bar to buy a drink, it was a Halloween dance, this policy was asinine to begin with). Regardless, I abided and had my credit card put aside. Food was meh, but it was very busy and I figured that had more to do with the kitchen staff being overwhelmed than anything. I'm sure on a regular evening food is decent. The reason I won't go back is because after my waitress brought me my cheque and I had paid for everything, and we were all getting ready to leave, another waitress storms up to me and shoves a bill in my face demanding that I pay. I looked at the bill and it was for drinks I never ordered or drank (ever in my entire life for that matter lol). She flipped out on me, got security and threatened to call the police. She wouldn't listen to me, I tried to explain that I had paid for my bill already, it was unfortunate that the waitress that had served me was gone. This waitress wouldn't get out of my face, and being in my drunken state I called her a choice word that resulted in the security guard roughly grabbing me and throwing me out without my purse or my coat. I have never been thrown out of a business before or after, and if the wait staff or management didn't have such a stupid bill policy, this waitress wouldn't have lost her patrons. The fact that they picked someone who was a bit drunk to make a scapegoat speaks volumes for what kind of shady business they are running. This waitress was absolutely out of line and I'm extremely embarrassed at the experience still. Worst customer service I've ever had at a "restaurant". If you're looking to have a fun night in Hamilton and have a few drinks, there are far better places nearby with nicer staff, better food, and better drink prices. Don't go unless you want to be frustrated. This event was over a year ago and it still burns. They should be ashamed of themselves. After spending over 100 bucks there on drinks and food, you'd think they'd treat their...