Vault 244 — Restaurant in Albany

Let me start with how amazing the front of house staff was. You guys were, and are, amazing! Especially the staff that helped my wife and myself. Some of the best wait staff I’ve had the pleasure to encounter in my life! The drinks were delivered in a timely manner and tasted spectacular. Way to go!

My wife and I came to vault 244 on Friday, July 22, 2022 for one of the nights on our mini-moon. We were married on July 16th. After having a drink and an appetizer, my wife ordered a pasta and I ordered the $43 angus ribeye steak medium rare.

When I got the steak (which I ordered medium rare) it was delivered well done. I cut into the steak and immediately saw that it was over cooked. The mashed potatoes were great. But, the leeks were drowned in so much oil I could’ve put my swim trunks on and swam in them. However, the leeks were caramelized wonderfully and tasted amazing.

I told our server that the steak was over cooked and showed it to him. Our server looked at the steak, agreed, and asked to show the steak to the chef. I said absolutely and I asked for a refired steak in the correct temp I had previously asked for. Our server gladly took the dish back to the kitchen to show the chef.

Within a minute, our server politely returns to our table. They turn on their cellphone camera light and shines the light on the meat and says “the chef refuses to make you a new steak. This steak is cooked how the chef says it should be cooked, and asked me to show you with my flashlight on because it’s dark in here.” Meanwhile, my wife and I are sitting in a dimly lit dining room. The server turns their light on and the ENTIRE DINING ROOM LOOKS AT OUR TABLE. I’ve never been so embarrassed.

I’ve worked as a line cook, lead line cook, expo, food runner, sauté, pantry, saucier, garde manager, a sous chef at Portland City Grill and executive chef at several restaurants, any other other position in a kitchen you can think of. 24 restaurants in total. In all my experience I’ve always been told that the customer is always right. No matter what, they’re right. And this chef, whoever he is, had the absolute audacity to tell me that my steak was perfect was absolutely ignorant, pretentious, and has absolutely no idea how bad of a chef he actually is, what a guest experience is, what it means to make every plate perfect for the guest, or how to cook a steak properly.

I will never go back here and if anyone else goes here, don’t order the porter house...

Let me start off with saying that this is a beautiful restaurant with delicious food, desserts and drinks. Today was the second time my boyfriend and I have been here, this time being to celebrate my birthday. Ordered as one normally would, drinks first, then we ordered our appetizer at the same time as our entrées where our server, Janelle, promised to put in our appetizer order in before our entrées so that we could receive that before our meal. Everything seemed absolutely normal. My boyfriend and I ran out of water while chatting and noticed that our appetizer still hadn't arrived, and Janelle was busy talking to another table, meaning we couldn't catch her attention. The next time that we saw her was when she brought us our entrées, and we brought up our missing appetizer. I also ordered a second beverage, she apologized for the missing food, said she'd get my drink order in, and we didn't see her again until she came to remove our plates and bring us our bill. Still no sign of our appetizer, and she had forgotten my drink. She apologized by saying that they were busier than normal and short-staffed, and that the kitchen had "dropped" our appetizer order because she had submitted it in too late. She did in fact comp our appetizer, but never checked on us during the meal, and when she came to bring us our bill the appetizer still was not done and she seemed surprised when we brought it up and still wanted it. When my boyfriend brought up the fact that she had not brought my second drink she also seemed surprised and mumbled something about it being busy, so I told her to forgo the drink. We also asked that our appetizer be for to-go at this point because we would be leaving. She never actually apologized for the missing drink or her absence throughout our visit, and walked away from us after taking the bill. I wouldn't normally be this picky, but we could clearly see her talking for long durations of time to other tables, while never coming over to check in on us or the table next to us. Our first experience with the service here was why I requested to come here again for my birthday, but due to the poor service during this visit, as well as rude attitude from our server, we will not...

Do Better Vault 244!

I’ve always loved Vault 244. It’s one of the few places that makes my favorite drink, a Sazerac. My wife and I have come here for anniversaries and dinners for years, so this experience was honestly upsetting.

My brother-in-law’s girlfriend called about a week before to make a reservation for his birthday. She spoke with who we believe was the manager, Grace. Grace clearly said there’s a 10-person maximum but also made it sound like they could accommodate the 11th guest since it was just a baby. She said the baby could sit on a lap or in a highchair, so we thought that was worked out ahead of time.

When we arrived for our 6:15 reservation, we were immediately met by a waitress named Tanya who was visibly frustrated and very rude from the start. Before we could even sit down, she repeated several times that the policy is 10 people maximum in a harsh tone. When we tried to explain that we had spoken to Grace, she cut us off and said she remembered overhearing that phone call and that the manager never said that. Her tone was sharp, she talked down to us, and made it clear she wasn’t going to listen or help.

It was embarrassing and uncomfortable. Tanya showed no interest in listening or helping us find a solution. Even after we explained that it was a birthday and the 11th was just a baby in a highchair, she refused to show any understanding. The table clearly had room for a highchair, and the photo we took shows that.

A second waitress came over later and was polite and kind, which only made Tanya’s behavior stand out more. She treated us with respect and understanding while still explaining the policy.

We’ve always liked Vault 244, but this was one of the most unwelcoming experiences we’ve ever had. The way Tanya handled this situation was unprofessional and disrespectful. No guest should ever be spoken to the way we were. Refusing to let a baby sit in a highchair at the end of a table where there was clearly room is beyond unreasonable.

It’s not about the rule. It’s about...