The Bent Elbow — Restaurant in Kitchener

My coworkers and I decided to come here, (5 people) and I knew it was a mistake before even walking in the door.

Our experience was very negative, the server we got didn’t pay attention to us, and when they did they didn’t even know their own (small) menu. I asked about my walnut allergy and they said there were no walnuts on the menu which was wrong, multiple items on the current menu have walnuts. I hear the bent elbow changes their menu often but it doesn’t hurt to learn your job material. The server would awkwardly lean in to us looking like they’d take our order but then slink away without saying anything. I understand we were in conversation but everywhere else I go the servers know to just interrupt and do their job, because after all we were there to drink... Our drinks were empty a lot and they didn’t try to create a turnover rate. By the end of the night we ended up spending 3 hours here and only spent 130$ because the service was slow... I personally usually tip at least 20% but this experience I feel only deserved 10%

After paying my group was about to leave and the server then leaned in to me and gave me one of my worst panic attacks I’ve had in a restaurant by saying in a condescending tone “you’ve spent over 2 hours here and this is all you tip (etc)” the server said more than this but at that point I just tuned out and started panicking, then they burst into the kitchen and didn’t come back... I ended up asking the group if they felt like tipping because of what happened, (I’m soft hearted, I was a server too) and nobody hesitated to pull out some cash because of how awkward we felt, the server did look distressed so we threw down some fives for them...

This was my first, and last time here. Never again do I want to feel pressured into tipping for abysmal service just because of the length of time we had to sit here. (My coworker afterwards pointed out they had to turn away another bigger group during our stay, honestly the table layout could’ve been much better so they could accommodate more people.)

If you want to hang out at the bent elbow it looks like you’ll need to know the staff/owner, or be extremely pushy and rude to receive the minimum expected wait staff service. I don’t recommend coming here with groups, or even at all.

Ps. One of my coworkers ordered a chocolate cake and she didn’t finish it, the server then came over and pressured us into finishing it, which was not funny, I was not tipsy enough for this...

After years of being told about this place I finally had the chance to pop my head in yesterday. Honestly I wish I would have had more time to stick around. I was greeted very kindly at the door, by a man I found out later was the owner. It definitely looked like "regulars hour", so it was obvious I was a newcomer. That didn't stop the staff and the folks at the bar from being super welcoming. Since I was on my own I decided to sit at the bar, was shown the Beer "Bible", which for a place like this, is necessary. They have a huge selection both on tap and in cans/bottles. It was great to see a mix of Ontario (shout out Farm League and Blood Brothers! among others) and imports from around the world. Nothing boring and generic like Coors Light. Both bartenders serviced me, asked at exactly the right time if I was ready for another beer (which I was), and were friendly and easy to joke around with. The regulars were really welcoming as well, and one Gentleman actually offered to buy me a pint, since it was my first time there. Totally unnecessary, but much appreciated. Had an opportunity to speak more with Harold, the owner, before I left. Incredibly generous and genuine man. This is a quaint and unpretentious bar with a small town feel (in the best way possible), like Cheers, where everybody knows your name! I didn't have a chance to order food, but I will next time I'm in. I will definitely be back to...

Came in for some drinks and decided to order a plate of wings. While we were surprised at the high price, we thought to go ahead with it because they were advertised as “jumbo”.

When the plate arrived, it was a sad looking plate of seven, regular sized wings with no fries. I don’t usually take issue with food, but I thought I would voice my surprise of the quantity especially since they were 16$. The server was empathetic but strangely couldn’t do anything about it, I would soon realize why. The owner marched over and interrogated me about what my problem with his food was. He escalated it immediately and was incredibly confrontational. I stayed civil and reasonable, even complimented his restaurant, but he seemed keen to make me feel uncomfortable and make a scene in front of his other clients. He asked me what I wanted him to do about it, which I took as a genuine question, to which I replied, maybe he could give me an extra two or three more wings. He then promptly refused this reasonable request and took my food away and said you just won’t pay for the wings and to have our bills sent immediately. We found him to be unnecessarily aggressive, rude and confrontational. I’m sad because I like the restaurant but from this experience I cannot...