Hopscotch Whisky Bar — Restaurant in Saint John

I am a longtime former regular who used to frequent the establishment daily and, at one point, even lived upstairs (although I wouldn’t recommend that!)

While there are a number of 5 star reviews, the reality is that the majority of these reviews are from a prior incarnation of Hopscotch that was in a different location and under different management.

Since changing locations, they have gone through major staff turnover, a change in general management, and have lost a lot of what made the old Hopscotch what it was. In the new location, the Prosecco was often flat, cocktails imbalanced, staff junior and unknowledgeable on whisky, and I had to double check every bill as it wasn’t uncommon to be mischarged. The only saving grace was the bald-fellow, Jake, the only remaining remnant of the old bar.

While there is an addition of food, the establishment now struggles between whether it is a bar or a restaurant and isn’t particularly apt at either.

Sadly, the new management puts profits over people and it’s been disappointing to see the brand degrade over time.

Edit: Since writing this review, I found out they fired...

Extremely concerning behaviour faced on July 19, 2025. I walked in with a friend who was there to witness the Moonlight Bazaar and we decided to sit at a bar. The two of us walked passed and saw from outside that this place had high bar chairs and we liked it. We walked in hoping to be seated but to our horror, a woman staff grabbed my arm, said a loud “No” and rushed me out. No question asked about how many of us are there or where we would like to be seated. Even if the place was filled, we could be informed that there was no space or that it required prior reservation or there is a dress code.

As I was being moved out, I asked if I could at least use the restroom and she said “walk down to the end of the street.”

Whatever the reason for denial of service was, it could have been communicated rather than grabbing customers by their arms and walking them out.

I understand in restaurants, we wait to be seated but at bars we take the available chairs.

This is the first place I have come across which is filtering people out for god knows...

I used to enjoy this place when they were at their old location, but it seems that with the new place has come a change in attitude and service level. We had a reservation for 17 people made three weeks in advance for September 20th, but when we arrived, the manager informed us they had no record of our reservation. Imagine the chaos of managing 17 people with separate tables downstairs! The situation escalated when I ordered a single shot of Blanton's whiskey. The server informed me that I couldn’t order that and had to choose something from the menu instead. I initially thought she was joking, but she was serious. Eventually, after some back and forth, the bartender stepped in, and my order was brought to me with the server saying it required supervisor approval. This was quite surprising for a whiskey bar! I’m sorry to see Hopscotch has turned into such an unprofessional location. I’ll think twice before returning or recommending it to others...