Shantytown Grill — Restaurant in Bloomington

Edited to add! The owner reached out and has made us feel welcome. The server is on suspension as of now. Thanks for rectifying this experience!

Decided to try this place last night with my husband, our 2 children and my friend and her children. Walked in and it was busy, a bit chaotic and loud music which doesn't bother me at all, that's my kind of place! Asked the bartender if we could grab the two open tables in back, he said yes. We get the kids in one booth and us adults were getting set up in a booth with the 2 youngest children. Our waitress goes to take an order at the table next to us and within seconds yells at my friends kids to be quiet. Now, I know they can be loud sometimes but this wasn't that time, they were quiet, surprisingly lol. The only child making noise was my 5 month old, which you could hardly hear over the loud music. Anyway, we were now standing between the waitress and my friends kids to make sure they didn't make a peep, I had also got my baby to stop crying. The waitress then makes a remark to her GUESTS "if you wanted to take your kids out you should have gone to Chucky cheese." My friend heard her say this and turned around an s asked her "do you want us to leave?" she starts to get her kids out if the booth , I then hear the waitress say "I need to go outside before I serve anyone on THAT side of the restaurant. " Now... I understand having a bad day but this was so very rude. Maybe I should mention, I'm white as paper but my friend and her children are not, we felt this had a huge role in what happened there last night. We were there a total of 5 minutes, MAYBE. That's how quickly she jumped on my friend and her children. I wish I got her name because she needs to find a new line of work. I worked in the service industry for 9 years, so I understand if you're overwhelmed but these actions were unacceptable. She has short/medium blond hair, May be in her late 40s to early 50s. I was so excited to try the burgers everyone raves about but didn't get the chance...

We LOVE Shantytown! The main reasons that we love our neighborhood bar n' grill are the following: 1.) The crew including Laura, Cindy, Kathy, Sarah, Abby, Lisa, the kitchen chefs, and everyone else (sorry that I do not know everyone's names!) (And forgive me if I misspelled anyone's name!) They all work so hard to provide the quickest and best service! When we dine in a booth, we usually sit in Laura's section. She has our water and menus over to us before we are even settled in our seats. And she tells us the specials and answers questions without missing a beat and with a cute sense of humor! Kathy does the same thing in her section too! Kathy greets people and helps them find a place to dine, especially if Laura's section is filled up. They all make us feel welcome and happy to have us! (ya' just want to hug 'em!) Plus Cindy, Sarah and Lisa make the best drinks. They are so efficient while being so friendly, I feel like I am in a Cheers episode! They concoct the best libations! And they have amazing recall; don't be surprised if they ask you if you want the same beverage you had last time! Plus it is magic watching them multitask during their busy times! (They are magicians!) The kitchen chefs are outstanding! I love watching them through the kitchen "window". They are so efficient and hard working! 2.) The drinks and food are FANTASTIC! Plus the weekly specials are very, very good! They make the best soups! You just can't go wrong with anything on the menu, especially the specials! 3.) The clientele. It is so fun to be among the "regulars". All are so friendly! It is a great place to sit at the bar and socialize. You will hear some great stories. So, thank you, ST, for being the best...

Typical Minnesota Nice infested location. The owner was so pleasant on the phone then soon as I walked in the door with 20 something people inside the place he called out ‘are you ….’ That was odd & then as I grabbed my order I didn’t locate the BBQ so I asked for it and he opened my box of food & pretty much touched the fries where the Sauce was sitting under. To make matters worse This establishment seems that it’s foreign to engagements with people of color, meaning how I was observed & watched in there was quite cringy after reading such strongly positive remarks about customer service to flavor. Stepping into the bathroom I came out to catch all eyes on me, felt like Tupac a second. Later saw the burger & found mold on the tomato under the lettuce, not green but blackish-brown. I called in the next day to report my findings & the lady on the phone took my information & never called back after her promise, two hours later she wasn’t so understanding after speaking with the owner as she re-irritated I opened my box in front of the owner like I was looking for the tomato under that big piece of lettuce and ok’d this for my first eating experience here…She went on to give me a run around about how it’s seasonal for the tomatoes to look that way because of some BS wanna be gardener philosophy. Burger taste like it sits in water, no flavor, the customer service was pretentious. I left anymore conversation alone with the woman on the phone because from the time she answered my call initially to the time she identified who was the customer something changed & their would be no compromise to reimburse me, told her have a good day & as promised here’s my review. Never...