Copper Onion Bistro — Restaurant in Billings

Let me start by saying I spent the first 20 years of my working life in customer service. At all kinds of restaurants -- some diners (Natali’s in Red Lodge) and even some Michelin starred places in New York City. That being said, I think I can safely say that the first rule of customer service is that you greet your customer inside the first 30 seconds that they are in your establishment.

I just wanted to grab a quick to-go salad, because I was working nearby. The first thing I saw upon walking in was an empty hostess stand with the “please wait to be seated” sign displayed prominently. So I followed the sign’s orders and stood there for a minute. Then, since no one was even bothering to look up or make eye contact with me, from the bartender to the rest of the staff (wandering around in black shirts and black pants), I grabbed a menu and started reading it. I found a $17 salad that looked like what I wanted to order. Then I stood there for quite some time longer and noticed that a number of the employees had seen me, but had not greeted me. So after that, I set down the menu and left. I will not be returning.

Sadly, I have similar experiences at most restaurants in Billings. I don’t know what has happened to customer service in my hometown, but I am just so bummed...

Our experience at The Cooper Onion was disappointing. The food was overpriced for the quality, and while I understand the impact of inflation, I expected better. My burger, which I had been looking forward to all week, was incredibly dry and underwhelming.

We were seated at a table near the door, and with every opening, it got colder throughout the evening—even though we arrived early. This made for an uncomfortable dining experience.

The service also left much to be desired. Our server, Darcy, snapped at my one-year-old son when he grabbed her tray—an understandable action for a toddler—and made multiple errors with our order. For instance, my father-in-law’s request to omit pickles and tomatoes and my husband’s request for no pickles on his burger were both ignored. Additionally, I had to ask for ketchup three times before it was finally brought to the table.

Overall, the combination of subpar food, uncomfortable seating, and inattentive service made for a disappointing visit. I would not recommend this restaurant for families, as it does not seem particularly...

So we came in last night for our first time in. It was very much the same atmosphere as it was with the Commons. First, the bad. The young blonde hostes in the black pleather out fit was the only bad part of our visit. She tried to see this in front of the open garage door where the breeze was so strong. It frozen instantly. We asked if we could be seated somewhere, not in front of there. She took us back to the hostess stand with the nasty's look on her face and finally found a suitable seat in the empty restaurant. Now the great! We got an amazing server, a very nice gentleman. I didn't catch his name, but he was like seven feet tall. He was super friendly. Awesome service he gave us all the time. We needed to make our decisions. We got a couple of drinks. We had an amazing calamari appetizer. I would say that it is one of the best calamari's in town! I had the hot honey burger, which was amazing. My wife had the steak tacos that were also amazing. This could have been a solid five if they had better a better hostes! The server was a five, and so...