Blacksmith — Restaurant in Berlin

I never imagined I’d be writing a review like this, but my experience at blacksmith bar and restaurant left me shocked and frankly embarrassed. We were denied service simply because my wife was wearing a V-cut shirt. Let me be clear—it was tasteful, appropriate, and something she has worn at other restaurants without issue.

When we arrived, the hostess was very nice as we told her our party of three, we asked if there was a spot inside if possible. When the hostess came back out after speaking with someone inside we were told that due to my wife’s shirt they could not serve us as they have a shirt and shoes policy. No explanation beyond vague comments about “short and shoe policy.” Yet, others around us were being seated without a second glance including an older couple fresh from the beach.

This felt less like a dress code issue and more like personal judgment or selective enforcement. The lack of professionalism and courtesy in handling the situation was astounding. If there is a dress code, it should be clearly posted and enforced equally. Discriminating based on someone’s personal style—especially when it’s perfectly decent—is unacceptable. Again the hostess mentioned nothing when we first walked up including her ready to seat us outside yet it became an issue after checking for inside seating and speaking with who I am assuming is the manager or owner.

We walked away humiliated and disappointed. There are too many excellent places in this city that value their customers and practice real hospitality. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend to anyone who values respect and fairness.

EDIT: Never Happened? I would hope that you have cameras at your establishment, if you do look at the cameras around 4pm-4:15pm, you will see my wife, myself and my daughter walk right up to the hostess. After we asked if it is possible to sit inside, You'll see the hostess go into the indoor area and come back out gesturing for my wife to put on a coverup. We then asked if she needed the coverup to sit outside or if it was just a rule for indoor seating, You will see her go back in a second time asking if she needed the coverup to sit outside as well and you will see the hostess come out a second time gesturing that my wife needed a coverup regardless of where we would be seated.

Considering you just confirmed that there is no dress code would you be able to explain why we were told that my wife needed a coverup per your restaurants policy? You may want to look into your staff that day and ask why, if you really don't have a dress code, a family was denied service due to a dress code.

You are absolutely right that I stated the hostess was nice because she was, I had no issues with the hostess at all. The lack of professionalism I was referring to was the person inside the restaurant who made her come out twice to tell us about the "dress code." I would expect a denial of service to come from a manager and not forced upon a hostess. Again if you do not believe me simply ask the hostess you had on Saturday, she would tell you the story. You may want to look into it so you don't lose...

Let’s start with the positives. Blacksmith offers a very extensive vegan and vegetarian menu in addition to their eclectic regular menu. The bar offers creative signature cocktails and a nice selection of locally sourced craft beers in cans, bottles, and on tap. Our waitress elevated our expectations for the meal which was to follow with assurances that we were in for a dining treat. I certainly hoped that to be true, given the prices on the menu! The waitress was effective in making recommendations from the menu and summarizing the many daily specials. Every item that we ordered was tasty and nicely plated, but the prices exceeded the quality of the product. I understand if a restaurant business wants to promote itself as offering a “fine dining” experience; I generally appreciate it, especially in a small town where a place like this could be a "hidden treasure." However, when a restaurant offers “French press coffee” at over six dollars per serving, I expect MORE than a couple of scoops of Taster’s Choice freeze-dried coffee presented in a French press pot, yet that is exactly what it was! The kitchen spilled some freeze-dried coffee granules on the serving tray which served as the damning evidence. The deceit was made more egregious by our waitress advising us to “let the grounds steep for six-and-a-half minutes” as she served it! She chuckled as she said it, as if we might have been in on the joke. We were not amused when we discovered what we were served. I was offended when the waitress questioned my wife’s judgment when she asked for salt and pepper to season her meal, replying, “most of my customers are satisfied with the seasoning.” She also made several not-so-subtle suggestions to solicit generous tips from her customers which struck me as rude. Their cheeseburger was the most generous portion of beef I have ever encountered in a burger, consisting of two one-third pound (my estimate) patties on a brioche bun. However, it came at a premium price of almost sixteen dollars! The meat was cooked properly but the mound of meat on the bun was so cumbersome that it was impossible to eat it as presented. I would have preferred to be served one burger patty at six dollars less with an option to upsize to a second piece of beef. As far as the setting, the white faux fur which serves as back cushioning for the seat benches around the perimeter of the dining area is a tacky juxtaposition to the rest of its warm ambience. There is so much potential in Blacksmith; its shortcomings could be relieved with adjustment of their prices and some etiquette training for the staff. But the $6+ freeze-dried “French press” is...

Before I say anything, blacksmith makes the best drinks. However, I took family there who has never been there before and couldn’t wait for them to experience blacksmith. We got there at 7:23 and had a 20 min wait. We were thrilled. We ordered our food right away and got it at 9:30. I kid you not. 2 hours later. Completely cold food. We have three kids under 7 years of age so needless to say, they were done. Our food came out completely cold, and tasteless. My husband couldn’t even eat his burger. We made better burgers at our campground the night before. They told us they were short staffed. They took the kids meals off our bill. Really? Just the kids dinky noodles that had zero taste? They should be happy I didn’t just get up and leave. The veg martini is the best but the service may be the worst. Cold food and waiting two hours?! No thanks. I’ll cook better meals at my camper from now on. Thank you Blacksmith for making my kids cry at your restaurant. Seriously my 7 year old was crying because of not eating for two hours and then eating the most bland noodles I’ve ever eaten. To say that our only night out on our vacation was fun is an understatement. It was a miserable night and I doubt I will be back after this. Oh and if you wonder what “small plates” means…. It means a bite of food. And my husband who just got a plain old burger was supposed to have waffle fries… plain old potato chips. So glad I paid that much for a burger and chips that was ice cold and I could have made better at my campsite. What a total waste of time and a disappointment. Very sad Blacksmith

Edited to add after the response below :

To clarify, your manager is the one who said they had people call off and were short staffed. I was not assuming that. We were told that. Also, our waiter said the hostess was sitting tables for him before ready. Another person in our group walked in to get a manager, and as soon as the waiter saw us, he grabbed our cold food to come out. Yes, your menu has other things for my kids to eat. My daughter wanted crab cakes as she usually gets and they were not available. I did ask for buttered noodles with parmesan as you mentioned but they were still completely flavorless an ice cold. Maybe if they were hot they would have been good. We are not overheated, cranky campers as you implied. But nobody should wait two hours for their meal. And a cold meal at that. Having said that, blacksmith has always been the place I most look forward to visiting year after year. It’s the only place I feel I need to go out to eat. And it’s always been exceptional but this was a very extreme...