Cask — Restaurant in Cork

A horrific experience with an aggressive bar manager/waiter. We were ushered in by other patrons at the door and did not spot signs saying wait to be seated. As we were only using the bar and not the restaurant, we did not anticipate free seats may be reserved. A very friendly waitress pointed out our error after we sat down. No problem, we made moves to leave. A needlessly aggressive staff member intervened as we were exiting, saying about the signs we hadn’t spotted due to the situation at the (unnamed) door. He approached my wife in a manner that upset her to tears, reiterating needlessly about the signs we had genuinely missed due to other customers. His suggestion we were attempting to skip a line was inaccurate and unnecessary, and his hostility a shock. He put his hand in her face in an aggressive and dismissive manner, saying a smart ‘goodbye’. This will be on camera, management are welcome to check.

I would herald and champion Cork to the nines but can only warn anyone in the area to avoid Cask while they employ people of this needlessly upsetting aggressive nature. Sadly we are clearly not alone in this experience as other reviews use words like ‘aggressive - disrespectful - rude - angry’ - words you would never expect regarding a hospitality venue. It was an awful experience for myself, my wife and friend. I can only caution others not to risk a similar experience. Cork is full of quality establishments happy to welcome guests, and with the grace and manners to deal with confusion...

We arrived last night at Cask looking forward to trying some cocktails/drinks. When we went in we waited to be seated. A friendly gentleman came over and we said we were just looking for a table for drinks. He said no worries and had a look around, told us to take a seat to our left. It was the first table on the left as you come in the door. We sat down and were almost immediately approached by a woman who told us "you were asked to wait I need to check if this table is free" we explained that the gentleman at the door told us we could sit at this table to which she told us he didn't and that we were more or less lying and that "I am the host I seat people". We actually just got up and left. I've never in my life met a person working in customer service with such a bad attitude and so abrupt. It was a real shame, the setting/drinks looked lovely but I would struggle to recommend this place to anyone after her attitude. Beyond rude and obnoxious. If the table had been taken it wouldn't have been an issue for us, but it was the fact she told use we were lying when we said we had been told to take a seat. Just to reiterate the First Gentleman we met was lovely, very friendly but we weren't interested in staying after being told we lied and took a table that we shouldn't have when a different member of staff told us we could...

Disappointed by Unprofessional Service Policy - 1 Star

I've been a regular customer at this establishment for quite some time, enjoying their excellent food and cocktails. Unfortunately, my recent experience has left me deeply disappointed.

My friend and I attempted to dine here recently during a time when we knew a particular staff member (whom my friend had previously dated for 5 months) would not be working. Despite the breakup being amicable and us having been loyal customers even before their relationship began, management informed us that my friend was banned from the establishment simply because of their past relationship with the employee.

What's particularly frustrating is that:

We were patrons long before this relationship began We've always been respectful customers who tip generously The employee wasn't even present during our visit We had specifically chosen a time to avoid any potential awkwardness While I appreciate the quality of food and drinks here, I cannot recommend a business that enforces such arbitrary and unprofessional policies. A restaurant should not ban customers based on their employees' personal relationships, especially when both parties have behaved maturely. (or...