Murphy's Taproom & Carriage House — Restaurant in Bedford

This is our experience there that was memorable but not nice The wifey and I went to the taproom last night it was the first time we were able to go on a date in two years because we've been so busy raising two beautiful smart healthy girls one toddler and one six weeks old so needless to say we were so excited to go out and try Murphy's taproom. We got there and asked for a table on the patio all the tables were sat so we had to sat at the outside bar when we waited. The burnette girl bartender was nice and the beers were good then I ordered an appetizer which was fish tacos by the time it came out we had gotten a table so I cashed out with the bar and got to our table. The cheap table was flimsy and ugly and didn't belong a dinner table lol there's was nothing on the tables out there either BTW we both worked hospitality for many years me BOH and her FOH at high end places so our this criticism is so strong we were looking for a place to come to all the time so we were hoping for good service and that's we expect. The fish tacos we're terrible because the tacos were raw corn meal not even heated so my girl and I couldn't eat them. The server seemed like she had never served anywhere because she was terrible at her job nice girl but not a good server. When I told her about the fish tacos she said she would see what she could do we had not eaten any of it except one bit each. Then when it got dark we were completely covered in mosquitos with in seconds. So we got a table inside and everything was fine for a second we asked to speak with the manager about the fish tacos and how my girl couldn't eat her lobster roll because of how the tacos tasted all the sudden she couldn't eat the lobster roll so I gave my honest opinion about the food and service and he apologized and said he would take the lobster roll off the menu since I had already payed my bill for the fish tacos and couple drinks. Also said that they would send out a dessert for us. So everything was fine I was satisfied that the manager was taking care of the situation. Then we went outside for a second to sit by the fire and mind u we had a beer and two glasses of wine the few hours we were there we were not drunk by any means, we we're going to have a dessert drink and there was a bartender we had not seen all night and he REFUSED TO SERVE US DRINKS out of nowhere acting like we were drunk but I'm sure it was because of my criticism that we were hated by most of the staff. We told him to get a manager please and he brought out the owner. Her name was Kelly Murphy and she was so rude and insulting to my girl that I asked to pay my bill so we can leave and she was so ignorant and wantinv to argue with my girl and threatened that she knew all the cops in bedford and that she would have us arrested for no reason at all All we said is that's rediculous and we were not drunk that she ripped the wine glass out of my girls hand and told me I was so drunk that I didn't realize I had already payed my tab and to leave immediatly LMFAO so I said ok and left that's all I could do because she was threatening us with the cops when that wasn't necessary at all

I hadn't finished up with the bill because I hadn't even got the desert yet and I had not finished my burger but she was acting to be quite honest rude and baligerant with us that she screwed herself out of money and the tip for the server which we had told her she would be taken care of even though the service was terrible but we still tip no matter what because we can relate since we were in the food service industry

So pretty much we we're planning on spending a couple hundred dollars and make a night of it. And if we had fun we would have come back all the time and we hoped the service would change because of suggestions that were given lol because I understand the place just opened up last year so it will take a couple of seasons to fine tune a place like that. We suggested they hire me for the BOH and my wifey for the FOH to rescue them lol She lost customers for good over her anger...

Anyone who knows anything about the restaurant work, knows that waitstaff, hosts, kitchen staff, managers (everyone) dread Mothers day. It is a day of frustrating customer interactions, finicky guests, and meals sent back for seemingly little reason, with the cost of food and service rising this issue is compounded by guests who (rightly) want service and food commensurate with the price. It is EASY for a kitchen to get backed up, especially when the restaurant is booked. That being said- most restaurants tackle this day with fervor and professionalism that makes it one of their busiest and most important days.

The Wait-staff, and host on this day were courteous and friendly and as attentive as could be, given they and about 2 others were the only visible workers; all-in-all they appeared frustrated, out-of-breath, overworked, and understaffed- and on one of the biggest food service days of the year. My tip that day, was for the grace with which they handled their predicament, which seemed to be poor management, lack of training or systems-in-place.

Overall I found the atmosphere of this so called "Irish Taproom" to be fairly disappointing, inside the atmosphere was mute and dull. I will never understand the obsession with gray interior paint. The Bar area was impressive taking up nearly half of the restaurant and was the lovely woody part of the atmosphere that saved it; but was also out of nearly everything I ordered on that day, for an establishment that boasts on it's website: "120 Taps" and "the largest selection of draft beers in the state"; They were out of 3 of the 4 beers I tried to order.

After arriving for a reservation at 2:30 pm (about 5 minutes early, one of our group had to cancel last minute) we were seated about 5 minutes later. It took about 5 minutes for our waitress to approach our table, We placed our drink order and also one for the spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer. at about 30 minutes of waiting and conversing we were informed that the bar had lost our drink ticket and that's why we had been waiting so long. Given their staffing; this was completely forgivable, but indicative of some very stressed out serving staff. Our drinks arrived a few minutes later, but it was another full 30 minutes until we received our appetizer... and it was cold in the middle.

Reader, in my experience when you have a bad restaurant experience, you don't kick up a fuss, you don't send back every plate, you tip the waitstaff well, and you never go back. There is no need to "get your money's worth"; the restaurant has given you what it believes your money is worth, and that should be enough to guide your decisions in the future.

I sent the app back to the kitchen and a few minutes later- a new (warmer) spinach artichoke dip came out. Cold in the middle, hot ceramic serving bowl; did it go in a microwave or was it just not left in the oven long enough? I don't know, but it was a question in my mind. First plate: 1 hr :: remade plate: 5 minutes. Something stinks, and its not Murphy's fish and chips.

Once we had chance to dig into our appetizer, which flavor wise was quite good, We placed our Main order. Fish and Chips was the popular one at or table, mac and cheese with broccoli, and I myself ordered the steak tips, with peppers and onions, broccoli and wild rice. 1 hour passes... Food arrives.

Cold vegetables, cold rice; The Steak tips however were warm and cooked perfectly. I could have sent this back but I didn't, as I said; I'll send back the first subpar dish, but after that I'll tough it out and just never come back. I sampled the fish and chips at my mothers offering and immediately regretted my order. the quality of the fish was quite good and the crispy beer-batter coating was well made. My brothers girlfriend said her mac and cheese was "good".

Overall, quite disappointing. The owner/management has the saving excuse of it being Mothers Day, and a challenging economy, but Mothers Day comes every year, and my sympathy has it's limits. Pricey,...

We've had some awesome visits and then a few rocky ones, and then tonight we had probably one of the worst experiences at a restaurant in this area.

The one constant is that we are always greeted with super friendly folks upfront. Unfortunately, this time as we were walking outside, we were told that we couldn't have one of the tables in the shade because they had to spread out service.

We ended up getting seated in an extremely sunny spot and we're hopeful with the adjacent umbrella that the sun would hide long enough for us to enjoy our dinner.

My husband ordered the steak au poivre, I ordered the meatloaf and our son and the macaroni and cheese. After more than 35 minutes of no food, we were scorching and still saw three tables that no one had sat in, so we asked if there was any way to move into one with the shade. Instead of trying to work with customers, I don't understand why the stance is so strict that they'd rather see you suffer because they can't figure out how to have the waitress that you currently have take a few steps to the right to a different table. So essentially, she said we couldn't move even though she saw us using the menus as a tent for our son. Some may see this is our fault for sitting outside, but the whole reason we go to this place is because they have an awesome patio. If you live in New England and understand how bad the winters are, it's nice to try to take advantage of sitting outside while you can.

Eventually, we receive the food. Before we could say anything, the waitress was off doing something else. Immediately, my husband realized that the brussels sprouts that we both had a sides didn't have the balsamic glaze that was promised and his steak had zero seasoning, it's supposed to be au poivre. Luckily, my meatloaf was as expected, but that's pretty much the only thing they got right besides our six-year-old's mac & cheese. After waiting a while, and not seeing our waitress, my husband decided to hunt down his own salt and pepper. Unfortunately, he could only find pepper, but at least it was a start. After a while longer of still not seeing her, I was thoroughly disappointed in the fact that I couldn't eat the sprouts because they were super dry and unflavored, he decided that he had had enough, and it was on the hunt to see if he could find her. Minimally, we wanted the sauces and flavors that should have automatically come with our food. She proceeded to come over to the table and asked if he wanted his steak redone. He didn't see the point of wasting a perfectly cooked steak, but he asked if he could please get something to flavor it and if we could get the sauces for the brussels sprouts

She also told her that he didn't want to wait another 35 minutes since it was astonishing how long it took to get the food. She admitted that there was a large party inside and we can only assume that that's where all the attention went.

Eventually, we got the extras flavors, but at this point, we were super disappointed. I was able to finish most of mine but certainly not as much as I could have because at this point cold brussels sprouts are not enjoyable. My husband ate about a quarter of his meal and when she came over we explained that this is just not ideal.

I will never expect to have a meal completely comped, but minimally it would have been nice to see a manager, and it would've been appreciated to get at least a discount instead, we were received the full total and a shrug.

I honestly wish I had taken photos, but I think in all of the commotion it slipped my mind

We're super sad because we have been coming here at least once a week the past three months and we easily spend upwards of $150 each time. This has been the one way we treat ourselves and sadly cannot do it since they clearly don't appreciate it.

I think that's the last time for a...