Menotomy Grill & Tavern — Restaurant in Arlington

I came in today with a friend for lunch. It wasn't very busy so we decided to just sit at the bar. The bartender, Mark, promptly came over to greet us with menus. Soon thereafter we placed our food and drink order. As we had been out shopping beforehand I decided to head to the restroom to wash my hands. Unfortunately, I entered to find the soap dispenser empty so I headed back out to ask a waitress at the nearby wait station about getting it replaced. She replied, "yes, I know. I need to have someone take care of that" and she walked away. I returned to my seat to wait and as I was chatting with my friend we both observed our bartender proceed to cough repeatedly into his hand and continue to make drinks for other patrons. He then proceeded to head over to the pick up window which is an open area in full view. There we watched him continue to cough and then proceed to wipe his nose and mouth on the back of his hand. He continued to stand there waiting for food to come up. At this point we were both pretty put off so I decided to go ask him for the check. He assumed we were asking for the check as we were impatient replying "I'm getting your food now". I replied saying that the wait for the food wasn't the issue but rather watching him continually cough into his hand and wipe his nose and mouth with the same hand without washing before picking up our food. He proceeded to follow me back to the bar where I was planning to pay. As I got back to my seat he gruffly told us "just go". Needless to say, I won't...

This used to be my favorite local place to grab dinner. The food is good though the menu rarely varies. The desserts are excellent. I was a regular for several years, going in several times every month and sending friends and family there. The wait staff knew me.

I ordered the same thing every single time I went. So I was surprised when my bill was higher than usual. Turned out they had charged me $8 for a side of green beans. They hadn't done that before so I asked to see the menu and discovered no prices listed for the sides, something I'd never noticed. Asked to speak to the manager. Got the owner. I explicitly said I was not looking to get my meal comped. I explained that It was my fault for not checking on the cost before ordering but I did want to know 1) why the beans were so pricey, and 2) why the sides had no prices listed. Owner got very defensive ... said green beans are expensive (that's b.s.) and that they didn't have room for the prices on the menu. This was also b.s.

I was disappointed as I’d hoped to have a cordial conversation about an area of improvement (simply being upfront about the cost of sides) and I got evasion, lies, and a "what do you want me do do about it" attitude. I told them I wanted them to fix their menus. Instead the owner comped me the green beans and stomped away. As I said, I'd been a regular for years. But the owner's interaction was so unpleasant I’ve not...

Menu is fine and the beer selection is ok. The main gripe is how the staff fumbled on treating its patrons. I met a friend here and had a few beers. One of us paid the tab but were planning on opening another. At this point in time, we were completely ignored. The staff congregated in the corner pretending there were no customers at the bar, only to come by to take orders from another group of 3. When asked if we could be helped, the response was that Arlington law required food to be ordered for more than 2 drinks a person. Seeing this was going to be the 4th beer a person this seemed like an odd time to bring this up. We agreed to order food, but then was told the kitchen was closed. We tried explaining that biggest issue we had wasn't about not being served but the way they dealt with it. So the problem here is either A: They violated Arlington Law by serving more alcohol to a patron who didn't order food or B: They didn't feel like approaching this situation professionally in letting the customer know of the situation at hand. Either way, a simple conversation ahead of time would have eliminated this entire review. Considering this is only my 2nd review ever and 1st review since 2013, I hope that conveys the disappointment I had in...