Big Machine Distillery & Tavern — Restaurant in Berry Hill

We were looking for a place to celebrate our bride-to-be without breaking the bank. And we were having to plan this as out-of-towners - no easy feat in city known for prices to match its oversized hospitality. The universe was smiling on us as we made reservations at Big Machine’s Berry Hill location. Online reservation systems limit how large the party can be so I booked two reservations, with a huge explainer as to why.

I needn’t have worried. The day before our event Tara, the assistant manager, reached out, explaining she had reserved their back patio solely for our party. Mind you we hadn’t asked for this as every other restaurant we looked into required a minimum spend well above what we would need. The patio was covered, well-lit, cooled with an oversized ceiling fan, featured two big screen TVs and a music system should you want to play your favorites.

My planning partner and I had been mildly lamenting not having traveled with more decorations. Again, Tara had us covered. We arrived to beautiful centerpieces - subtle, not overpowering but enough to dress up the tables. And Tara and her secret weapon Hannah had created a cocktail In the bride’s honor.

Smart marketing, but only if it’s tasty. Spoiler Alert = It was DELICIOUS.

Our evening started at 7 to allow all parties enough time to arrive after work. Another non-issue. We ordered some appetizers, and they arrived almost immediately, piping hot. Hannah has her craft down to a science, allowing us plenty of time to visit, while making the rounds to collect orders. She came back with complimentary shots that were as tasty as our bride’s signature drink. I learned at the end of the evening that Hannah was supposed to be off the night of our event. She came in especially for our event. Between Hannah and Tara we could not have been in better hands.

The service was on point, the food delicious and arriving magically fast, and through it all we never felt rushed. Our two-hour event felt like 4 in the best way possible. Tara is a recent addition to the Berry Hill location, with experience managing events with budgets in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and her excellence in hospitality shines. You will feel like her only guest whether you’re planning a modest event or one to rival a celebrity’s. Our bride felt like a queen and she couldn’t stop smiling all night long.

If I could leave more stars to the amazing team at Berry...

Unfortunately our experience here was quite poor. Our group of 6 showed up requesting a high top outside. There was only one high top available that would hold 6 people, and there was a group of 2 people on it. There were plenty of other 2 person tables open but for some reason these 2 people got the only 6 person high top. No big deal, we took a wooden picnic table that was on an angled surface so you were constantly having to scoot back up towards the high ground. The service was absolutely horrid. Good luck getting more than 3 mimosas if you get the bottomless. They are super slow and the mimosas are weak and super sugary. A couple of the ladies in our group ordered the Tuscan toast that was supposed to have guacamole on it, at least that's what the menu said. When I informed the gentleman carrying out the food that we didn't have guacamole on our toast, he said it wasn't supposed to have it. I then proceeded to show him the menu and where it said guacamole. He responded with "sorry", took the menu, and never came back. We didn't get any guacamole. They also forgot to bring out an order of breakfast potatoes. It was super hot so we moved to the 'game room' to escape the sun and hopefully get some more mimosas. We constantly had to walk up to the bar to get what we wanted. It was like our waitress was intentionally avoiding us. There was a TV in the game room that we were hoping to get changed to ESPN. After we requested the change, the bartender replied with "possibly, maybe give me 15 minutes". We were there for over 30 minutes after that. The TV never got changed, and it really should have been changed right away. We decided to simply leave. Again, having to go up to the bar to get our tab. We had 3 separate checks. I brought the checks and cards up to the bar to make it easier on the bartender and our waitress. The bartender proceeded to swipe the wrong cards for the orders and then have to cancel the transaction and redo it (we had an UBER on the way so we were in a bit of a rush). After getting back to our spot we realized thag she had still swiped the wrong cards for the bills. We had to venmo each other and figure it out on our own. All in all our experience was horrid. I will never go back and I encourage you to find a different place to get brunch. This is the first negative review I've ever written of a...

I made a reservation for a small birthday brunch for a group of four women, but what should have been a special occasion quickly turned into a frustrating and deeply upsetting experience. From the moment we walked in, it felt like we weren’t welcome.

We arrived about five minutes before our reservation to the hostess stand and expected at least a simple greeting or acknowledgment. Instead, we stood there awkwardly at the front while three employees completely ignored us. Not a single glance, not even a quick “We’ll be right with you.” We weren’t late, we weren’t being disruptive—we were just waiting to be seated for our reservation. After nearly five minutes, the host finally decided to acknowledge us and led us to our table—only for us to find out that it had already been given away to someone else.

Instead of apologizing, the hostess told us to wait—right in the middle of the restaurant—while she went to figure out where to put us. A few minutes later, she came back and, with zero courtesy, simply said, “come back here.” As we stood at the hostess stand, trying to process what had just happened, we noticed something that made us even more uncomfortable.

A white couple walked in, and within seconds, they were greeted warmly and led to their table with no issue. Shortly after, a group of Black guests arrived, and just like us—a group of Hispanic women—they were completely ignored. The pattern was undeniable. This wasn’t just bad service. This felt deliberate. It felt racially motivated.

Eventually, they did seat us, but they put us next to a loud stage with blaring music, almost as if they were just trying to sit us anywhere to get us out of their way. By that point, it was clear we weren’t going to be treated with the same respect as other guests, so we made the decision to leave.

This was upsetting as we had heard good things about the restaurant and were excited to try it. Instead, we were met with racial discrimination and a lack of basic hospitality.

I hope that you will take this feedback seriously and make necessary improvements to ensure a better experience for...