Water Bear Bar — Restaurant in Boise

My mom, boyfriend and I went here to celebrate a big accomplishment and immediately when we walked in they were blaring music. I am used to bars being loud but this was to the point where we couldn’t hear the waitress talk to us and we couldn’t hear each other. My mom asked if they could possibly turn down the music just a smidge and the woman said, “This is a bar. It’s meant to be loud…people want to have conversations in private so actually NO we can’t.” We were all thinking that was a little aggressive when she could’ve simply said no. We weren’t going to be mad if she couldn’t, it was a simple question. We all ordered our drinks and I wanted to see if they had any specialized martinis and the waitress hardly knew the menu and recommended a Cosmo or Lemon Drop which are basic drinks. That wasn’t much help. In addition to this, my mom ordered a dirty martini with extra olives and light on the brine. The woman said it back with a terrible attitude and rolled her eyes. When my mom asked for bleu cheese olives, the woman said “Yeah um we don’t have those….” My mom ordered a Prosecco Oyster shooter and it was listed as $5.00 on the menu. After we got the check, we got charged $7.00 for it instead. I asked the waitress why it was different then the menu and she said “Oh yeah our menus are wrong. It’s $7.00” and my mom said, “You need to stay true to the menu prices. You can’t change them without at least tell us ahead of time” and the waitress got her manager or higher up which was the one who was rude about the music. She looked at me dead in the eyes and said, “You are looking at the happy hour menu so no it’s $7.00” I said, “No it states $5.00 right here (pointing to the menu) and she said ”Yeah honey let me pull it up. That is the happy hour.” I was very upset that she was treating me like a child and I zoomed in on the menu and said “Happy hour states $4.00 and the regular is $5.00 and she just scoffed and said “Let me go fix that.” I at least am happy she changed it. On top of all of this there was a service charge with no warning. Not a good experience and I told my friends and they all had terrible service. I am...

The service fee people are saying is hidden is actually very prominently displayed at the top of the menu. Now is it crappy? Yes. But it’s not a secret, so you can choose to go or pass. We chose to go again, after years of not going (due to poor service and bad ‘tudes) to see if the reviews were accurate for ourselves. Sort of, yes. Too bad because the cool Portland vibe and general ambiance is great. The service fee and some of the prices are pretty lame. If you want your staff to be paid a livable wage, then it’s your responsibility to pay them a livable wage, not mine. Pay your people enough to buy insurance, don’t charge patrons 18% on top of an already inflated $29 cocktail price (200 percent markup on a $130 bottle of booze. Really?). They don’t serve wine by the glass, which is fine but it’s an odd decision considering how many people drink wine. I suppose it’s hard to justify a $29 glass of wine… The staff wasn’t rude or inattentive. The owners aren’t like the sweetest, friendliest gals, but they certainly weren’t rude, and we didn’t go to get hugs from bartenders so not a big deal. The fact it was a Saturday night and the place was absolutely barren is sad and I’m afraid these reviews are the cause. I think a few changes should be made, but based on the lack of (polite, professional) responses to the reviews, it doesn’t sound like owners agree any change is warranted. I read on a Boise foodie facebook group that some patron received shockingly rude responses to their negative review which in the service industry can absolutely crush you. Real bad form. Customer is always right, even if they don’t say nice things. You gotta take that stuff on the chin, as an opportunity to make improvements. Don’t act like a petulant child whose feelers got hurt, just be better. There’s a bit of a righteous “If you don’t like us, then don’t come to our bar” attitude prevailing, so my advice to others is go for the ambiance but know what you’re getting into. And have thick skin because if you leave a bad review like this one, you might get a real tongue lashing from...

After visiting WBB casually a couple times a year for the past 3 years, we have finally decided we won’t be returning.

I reached out on the WBB instagram account asking if they were taking reservations this holiday season, as I looked online and no longer saw the option to book. I decided reaching out through instagram was the best way to get an answer, considering they do not have a phone number publicized to call and their IG had been updated a couple days prior indicating it’s an active account. I waited a few days and checked to make sure that my comment was still there - it was. At this time I decided to use their “contact us” page on their website where you are to submit your question for customer service to review - (10+ days later, I still have not received a response).

Finally, a couple days ago I looked back on their instagram page to double check that there was no response to my comment. I see instead that the social media manager simply added “walk-ins only” to the top of their bio, after presumably seeing my comment, as it was not there previously. So rude. So cold. I was venting to my husband about this situation, and he reminded me that we had sworn off WBB when we went earlier this year because of the bad service. I didn’t remember this at the time, but I do now recall how slow the service is and how impersonal the staff are, and after this situation I can firmly say we won’t be back.

It’s interesting because they have a great product. It’s a gorgeous bar and the drinks are super fun. However, their bad service seems to overshadow all this, as evidenced by their...