Pete & Larry's — Restaurant in Bangor

The good: The waitress we had was new and she was great. She was super nice and understanding of the next bit of information you are about to read.

The BAD: We drove from Ohio and after having travelled for many hours and many more miles on our long trek around the north eastern states, we entered the restaurant at 8:40pm on July 30, 2024 (the day before my birthday) . They do not close until 10:00pm. We ordered our food after receiving our drinks. Quesadilla and chicken sandwich with fries. 1 hour later we were still waiting for the food. When the food finally arrived (over an hour wait), the chicken sandwich was not correct and was cold. I ordered sauteed mushrooms (they were not cooked at all), sauteed peppers (they were refrigerator cold), and the chicken was barely warm (on the verge of being room temperature - this is a health code violation as chicken left to cool can cause bacteria to grow causing illness). The guy that brought the food to our table was advised we had been waiting over an hour and was asked for to-go boxes so we could leave with the food. He did not apologize for the issue and wasted time telling our waitress to get the boxes instead of grabbing them quickly himself (boxes appeared to be a few feet from our table). The waitress asked if everything was ok to which I informed her of the issues. She apologized profusely (very politely) and advised she would speak to the manager (we later found out they don't really have a "manager" currently). The sandwich was comped and 20% was deducted from the quesadilla. However, the bill was still $32 including the 5 beers ordered. I assurred the waitress we are not upset with her and she did a great job (she was tipped 20+% because she was very nice and accomodating) We confirmed what we suspected in that they are understaffed. The owners of this restaurant need to seriously reconsider owning a business because they are terrible at it. This was an unacceptable situation that should never have had the opportunity to happen. The owners should be on site helping the staff if they are understaffed regardless of how late they have to work. As a manager at my job, I would never let this type of service occur. The "manager" didn't come to the table to discuss or apologize and hung the waitress (who is new to the job) out to dry. The owners need to re-evaluate their business model, procedures, policies, scheduling/staffing, and heep praise upon the waitress who helped us (blonde, tall-ish, skinny). The waitress was the only redeeming part of the entire experience. She is the type of employee I reward at my job when looking at customer service. Owners, do better for your...

Overall, a decent place. It was quite empty when I visited. I was the only non hotel patron there. I wasn't exactly sure if I should wait to be seated, as the server was in a different room when I got there, but once I sat down he came back in and his service was pretty good. Very chill and welcoming. The food itself is a little expensive for what they offer, but not terrible. The menu is super small. As in one side of one page for food small. I tried the mac n' cheese. Without the pulled pork, the actual mac was very creamy and tasty. The pulled pork was ok, but it was a sourer bbq than I'm used to. They had college football on that I was able to watch...

I was excited to return to Pete N Larry’s after a brief stay in Bangor late last year. Unfortunately it just wasn’t the same. The menu has changed, the prices went up, and the food just wasn’t as good. Very disappointed. The waitress we had was new but very nice.

Edit: I will say the mashed potatoes have always been a favorite of mine and is truly what made me return. The seasoning on the fried fish was perfect!! I’d like to see the pork chop back on the menu for my next trip. Also, I really like an involved owner/manager. Thank you...