Six Pence Pub — Restaurant in Blowing Rock

The worst bartender I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Two nights ago, my wife and I were in town for shopping and she recommended we grab beer and food from the Six Pence as it was a favorite spot of hers. That is no longer the case and we won't go back again.

Upon arriving, we decided to grab seats at the bar instead of a table. That is where things went south. I've never had more trouble spending money in my life. The bartender was curt and inattentive to say the least. We ordered two beers and some appetizers to start, which seemed to visibly annoy him for some reason, but I shrugged it off and we got our first beers.

It only got worse from there. Two servers brought our food out, which was decent, but nothing else. No plates or silverware. We were able to get plates from one of the servers, but could not get the bartender's attention for anything. After a few minutes, he came by to check on us and we asked for silverware. He never came back. We watched as he lingered at the service bar trying to flirt with servers, who were likely feigning interest to get their table's drinks in a timely fashion. I had to source the silverware off a table in the bar.

Several minutes later he came by and I ordered another pint although I wasn't finished because I knew it would take forever. When my wife finished hers the glass sat empty for several minutes before we could get his attention and order another. Again, several minutes later, the young man finally brought her beer, which he then rudely dropped before her causing it to foam over before immediately walking away again. We witnessed him rudely drop a martini before an elderly woman, which caused it to spill over, so the awful service was sadly consistent.

By this time we were both perturbed and honestly quite baffled. Both of us have worked in the service industry. I myself have bartended and served for over six years. We are always courteous and I always consider all the circumstances before judging service. In this instance, it was before the dinner rush and there were only four other patrons sitting at the bar, so he was not busy there. Further, there were several servers relaxing in the back as the dinner crowd had not arrived yet, so I know he wasn't backed up on tickets.

Quite frankly, his inefficiency and detached demeanor was astounding. It was as if he didn't work for tips nor care for his job whatsoever. I've never seen anything like it.

We had intended on getting dessert but he dropped the check in a shot glass before we had the opportunity. Not that we would have because by that time we were both annoyed and just wanted to leave. I dropped cash for the bill and did not leave a good tip as I couldn't bring myself to support such a terrible dining experience. The young man didn't waste any time snatching the money for the bill. It was the only thing he did with any gusto. I debated informing the manager but we just wanted to get away from that place and go somewhere else to spend money and relax as we intended.

We will never go back to the Six Pence nor recommend it. If you find yourself craving Scott eggs I'd search elsewhere. Or, avoid sitting at the bar...

The afternoon/evening was great. I was sitting at the bar having great conversations. Then I asked for my bill; it was $30.00.... I gave the young woman at the bar a $50 bill. She gave me back $7.00. I said to her I think I gave you a fifty and the bill was thirty. She turned on her heels (and on me) and told me my bill was $42 and not $30. In a very rough voice. I simply said I was just asking since my bill here shows $30? She said ' well it's $42". The gentleman sitting next to me said - wow she's taking something out on you. Please note she dressed me down verbally in front of the entire bar! I said well if it's different than what you gave me you should have shown me the updated (accurate) bill before cashing me out. It's really sad since 15 minutes earlier she asked if I wanted another drink (and I said yes) - everything was fine (in fact great) until I (had the nerve) to inquire about my bill. Actual (what laid in front of me) versus what she said.

I really like Six Pence. I've been there several times over the years. I've been trying call the manager for about 45 minutes - busy signal!

If anyone would like to know I was the woman sitting next to the managers uncle (i.e. Ricky) talking with him for about an hour. I left about 10 minutes after he left.

Again, I like Six Pence. But when someone chooses to 'dress me down' for no reason in front of the entire bar I do take issue with that.

My drinks and meal were great. In fact everyone there was great. Except for the young woman (with short dark hair and blue highlights) behind the bar. If I knew your name I'd call...

This is an annual ritual for us - peak leaf season in the high country, with our first stop Friday evening at Six Pence in Blowing Rock. The food is really good pub food. While the menu looks great, we always default to the fish and chips and shepherd’s pie. The fish and chips includes a substantial portion of fish that nicely battered and crisp the way it should be. The portion is such that we often wonder why we don’t split the order as we always have leftovers. The shepherd’s pie is tasty and filling. The only real disappointment is the list of beers available on tap. Maybe it was just a bad week, assuming they rotate taps, but the choices weren’t great. To make matters worse, there is absolutely NO description of the different beers so it’s kind of hard to know what you’re getting. We asked our waitress for clarification on one and the information she provided turned out to be totally inaccurate. Again, this could be avoided with a brief description of each. The sad reality is that there are so many great craft beers available in North Carolina and several really good breweries that are local, there’s no real excuse not to do better when it comes to a good beer selection, especially given it’s a pub. One last downside: our waitress seemed rushed and therefore we were rushed. It’s as if she couldn’t wait to end her shift. So we’ll continue our future return for the food in particular, but hope that Six Pence does a better job with the beer menu and that the wait staff will better understand that good things aren’t...