emBargo — Restaurant in Barnstable

Let me save you the trouble: do not eat at Embargo in Hyannis — unless you're okay with being scolded, accosted, and publicly embarrassed by the owner’s mother, a woman named Nicki, who is apparently allowed to run wild through the restaurant like an angry cruise director on her last nerve.

We had a reservation for four, and we were there celebrating my husband’s birthday. Despite clearly understaffed service (which we were patient and understanding about), we had a great server (shoutout to Kyle, who was truly lovely and doing his best). We ordered multiple courses, cocktails, and had plans for dessert, coffee, and take-home treats for our kids and babysitters. We were still actively dining.

Then, completely unprompted, this woman we later learned was the owner’s mother walked up to our table and — without introducing herself — rudely declared: “You guys have been here for over two hours and we’re really busy. I can give you like 10 minutes and then you need to leave.”

No warning. No grace. No professionalism. Just a rude, condescending command, delivered so inappropriately. We were shocked. We’d received no time limit, and we were still ordering and enjoying ourselves.

When we asked to speak to the manager, she came over and — again, no introduction — immediately said, “There’s two sides to every story” before we even had a chance to speak. We asked to speak with the owner, thinking surely they’d want to know how horribly we were being treated. First we were told he’d be right over. Then we were told he was “unavailable.”

The manager ended up comping our bill — which we didn’t ask for and would have gladly paid. But the damage was done: my husband’s birthday dinner was completely ruined.

And just when we thought it couldn’t get worse — it did.

As we were leaving, Nicki (the “hostess”) went off on my friend in front of everyone. Loud, aggressive, unhinged behavior. Then she literally followed us around the corner on our way out the door because she just couldn’t let it go.

I flagged the (very sweet) kid working the door and asked if he could get the manager again so I could let her know what just happened. He quietly shook his head and said, “It wouldn’t do any good. That’s the owner’s mom. She treats the staff terribly and is rude to customers all the time. He’ll never do anything about it because she’s his mother.”

Then he followed me out to the sidewalk and said, “Her name is Nicki. Make sure you include that in your review.” So kid — this part is for you. Thank you for validating what we experienced. I only hope the owner reads this, listens to his staff, and fires his mother before she drives the place into the ground.

Until then? Avoid Embargo like the plague. Cape Cod has plenty of great restaurants where you can have a nice meal without being harassed and berated by management’s family. This place isn’t...

It's hard to find a place to begin to explain my experience here. I will start with my first impression. Who knew that there was a little piece of Miami on Main Street in Hyannis?!? That Miami vibe was the immediate first impression upon walking through the door. The look, the feel, the vibe it was all there!

Moving onto the drinks and the amazing selection of Martini's. All of them were delicious, we had a party of 4 and we had several different ones between us. Topped the night off with the Oreo Martini and that was a very wise decision.

The FOOD... First of all the list of toppas they offer is huge. Second of all the food was outstanding! We tried several options and doubled up on a few of them because they were so good! I wish I could've fit more in my stomach because there were so many other options that left my mouth watering.

I will finish off with the service we received. The service was absolutely right on track with the food and the drinks. Our server Michelle was very knowledgeable of the menu, her personality was amazing, and she helped make the already great experience even better.

So much so that at one point we asked to speak to a manager. I felt bad for a second because 99% of the time that means something is wrong but this was not the case. Come to find out she actually was a manager so we could've just talked to her but we wanted to pass on the good feedback higher up the chain. The person that came over to talk with us was the GM and he was in the middle of waiting tables himself.

Let me say that right there speaks volumes for the restaurant. To have your upper management down in the trenches shows that they vue their team and they aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and do want needs to be done to have a successful night.

We talked to the GM about our experience, our thoughts on the restaurant as a whole, and our amazing server. He was very thankful for us sharing that with him and it felt really good to be able to offer positive feedback in a business that you rarely get to hear the good things in.

To close this out I will say if you are already on the Cape or are planning on going you should ABSOLUTELY make sure emBargo is on your list of...

Disappointing Experience - Hostess's Unprofessional Behavior Ruined Our Visit

I recently visited this restaurant with a party of four adults to celebrate a special occasion, and unfortunately, it turned out to be a deeply disappointing experience. Our server was friendly and attentive, though it was clear that the restaurant was a bit disorganized, leading to slow service and poorly timed dishes. We didn’t mind much at first, as we were enjoying ourselves and the ambiance, but things quickly took a turn for the worse.

We ordered a variety of cold and hot tapas, followed by entrees. While the dishes were spaced out a bit unevenly, with our individual entrees arriving about twenty minutes apart, we remained in good spirits and weren't overly concerned. However, after finishing our meal and waiting for the waiter to offer us dessert, we were abruptly approached by the hostess—later identified as Nikki, the owner's mother.

With an unexpectedly hostile tone, Nikki informed us that we had been at the table for over two hours and that we needed to leave to make space for other guests. This was communicated in a way that made us feel uncomfortable and unwelcome. While the manager came over to address the situation and our server offered a sincere apology on Nikki's behalf, the experience was already soured. To make matters worse, as we were leaving, Nikki made another snarky remark, further suggesting that we had somehow done something wrong.

As a business owner myself, I find it hard to understand how such unprofessional behavior would be tolerated. Unfortunately, it seems that the owner of this establishment has allowed their mother’s attitude to alienate patrons, which is not only uncalled for but also damaging to the restaurant’s reputation. It’s also worth noting that we’ve heard this behavior is not a one-time incident and that Nikki is reportedly known for this and for treating the staff poorly as well.

While the food and service from our waiter were acceptable, the hostess’s treatment was so off-putting that it overshadowed the rest of the experience. I won’t be returning, and I would caution others who are seeking a more welcoming and professional dining...