Route 19 Brewing — Restaurant in Inverness

Second edit: two years ago after posting this review management reached out to me and asked for my address to send me some beer for the poor service in exchange for editing my review. I gave them my address and edited the post. I havent heard from them since.

Edit: The new management is completely different and have addressed the concerns noted in the review below. They handled the situation quickly and professionally.

Worst experience ive ever had at a restaurant. We didnt even get to the point where we tried the beer or food because we werent given the chance. The host was polite when we asked for a table of 3, he looked around and apologized that they were full. We asked if we could sit on the patio, he said one second and went to get the manager (i would assume was the manager or owner as he was an older gentleman and seemed to be in charge). He came up to us and said "we're full", he didnt offer to sit on the patio, he didnt offer for us to wait for a table to be available, just we're full. We asked if we could sit on the patio, he said yes we could take our chances because its starting to spit but the umbrellas are coming down and cant go back up because they are "kites". It was like he was trying to get us to leave and we all got the impression (3 of us) that we werent wanted and they didnt want our business. But we just golfed for 5 hours and were starving so we asked if we could wait for a table and he said it wpuld be about 25 minutes as they haf a big reservation come in. So we decided to take our chances with the patio, they sat us down and gave us menus. It wasnt windy so i dont see why the umbrellas couldnt be up. I noticed there were no big parties at all and the restaurant seemed full but manageable. The patio was enjoyable on the patio the weather wasnt too bad the odd sprinkle, there were 3 other tables with people at them sat close to the building, we were sat farther away more out in the open. But from then we were straight up ignored. They sat a table of 2 after us, they received a drink order, got their drinks, placed their food order the manager was out talking to them pointing inside and seemed very friendly which was strange because he was the exact opposite to us, and nobody even came to take our drink order. A waitress came out (the one that took their drink and food order) with food and said this isnt yours right? We said no because we havent ordered yet she walked away and didnt hear from anyone. So we had enough got up and went to the Cabot Public House where we had a delicious meal and extremely fast service. Ive worked as both a waiter and bartender and I was talking about how excited i was to go to Route 19 the entire golf round because i like their beer and heard some good things but was extremely disappointed by the lack of service and rude manager. The host was really nice though, props to him for what he likely had to...

I've been hearing great things about Route 19 Brewing, so they hit the top of my bucket list when we had company come to Cape Breton from the South Shore of Nova Scotia for the Labour Day Weekend. We were hoping that Route 19 could showcase Cape Breton hospitality and food, but sadly,  that didn't happen. We were told on the phone that no reservations were being taken and then noticed when we got there that several tables were held for reservations.  While we were there more tables cleared and then were reserved. It's a small thing but it makes you feel that something unfair is happening. Thankfully, our party of 4 didn't have to wait long to get a seat inside the restaurant. The patio, which was in high demand with its beautiful view over the golf club, sun setting on the horizon, would have taken much longer to accommodate. Once seated, it took 17 minutes for our server to make contact and collect our drink orders.  She first took orders for the table that was seated 10 minutes after us. She was lovely and polite but was clearly overwhelmed and it seemed her shift may have just started. The seafood chowder was already sold out so we defaulted and ordered chips and dip and an order of onion rings for the table.  The hummus and pita were good. I chose the Brew Burger with sweet potato fries and lime aoli.  It came overcooked and dry,  one half slice of bacon, one onion ring, one slice of tomato but lots of cheese to cover the sins.   Upon service I had to ask for the lime aoli again as my sweet potato fries were served with ketchup.  I still haven't seen that sauce. My husband ordered pan fried haddock and rice.  Please note the picture.  White fish,  white rice,  white plate,  white sauce that "doesn’t taste like tartar sauce".  The rice looked as if someone had taken a spoonful back off of the plate.   No vegetables, no lemon wedge to be found. Our company had ordered the pulled pork and fries and fish and chips meals.  The fried fish looked good and was crispy, but our company decided, "it was nothing to write home about". We also ordered beer and cider.  The beers were going down good. The cider from Island Folk was very tasty too. The lovely new building puts on a good show,  but it is very loud.  The patio seemed to be the place to be. The bathrooms are very nice but were behind on cleaning. If this restaurant was at half capacity  I can't imagine how they would have fared with the noise and the service if it had been full capacity. I really wanted Route 19 to be better.  Young staff and young management are full of energy but lack in organization...

My girlfriend and I came here for some beers and dinner. There was no tables available in the dining area and it was too hot for the patio so we opted to sit at the bar and asked to be moved after when tables became free (we did not get moved but we were okay with that since we got comfortable). We kind of had to wait a while to be greeted and had to ask for menus ourselves from a server that was from the dining area. The bartenders were pretty busy so not a big deal.

Everything was good after that. Someone asked us if we wanted any drinks and we got a flight of their lager, stout, scotch ale and double IPA which all were quite decent to good. We ordered seafood chowder, fish and chips and a lobster pot pie. I was not provided with a spoon for my chowder and had to ask one one myself as did the gentleman sitting beside us. My gf's fish and chips came with no tartar sauce and she had to ask for ketchup. The chowder had quite a bit of seafood and was very good, one of my favorite actually. The fish and chips tasted light, not oily and the fish was very fresh and meaty.

I would have rated my experience as a 3 or 4 star up until here. I was done my chowder and waited to have my plate cleared for my pot pie but that did not come. My gf was already half way done her meal before I asked the person I ordered from if it was still coming. I could tell from his look and the time spent on the system that he forgot about it. More time passes and my gf has already finished here meal and we still waited at least 5 or 10 mins before I asked another bartender to cancel the order. This isn't a big deal normally with other places as they will either waive it off the bill or at least give a discount. He said it should be 2 mins but can cancel if I want but went to check anyway, coming back with my meal. I asked if I would be charged or if anything would be done but he said "what do you want to do about it" and that I got my dish and kind of hinted that I should be okay with that, even if it took over a hour. After my gf got quite upset and argued back, he finally said he would waive it.

I think the biggest issue here is service. Yea, the first guy made a mistake but stuff happens, just ask a manager what to do or have them come to apologise to us and work out a solution. Guests should never be responded to with "well what do you want to do" for the restaurant's mistake. I'm sorry, were we at fault here? I'm sure this place will be amazing if service ever gets to an acceptable standard. By the way, the lobster pot pie wasn't that great but that might just...