Sugar Factory - Boston — Restaurant in Boston

We arrived at 8pm they asked if we had a reservation. We said no and the girl said that we could only sit at the bar but had to be 21. She then said outside. We chose outside because it was a absolutely beautiful evening, (although eating inside would have been an amazing experience because of the vibe) After a few minutes our waiter Manuel came out. I asked him if there were any gluten free or gluten friendly options and he stated that he didn't know, but whatever I ordered he could check with the kitchen and let me know. My daughter wanted (the burger flight, which was colorful buns with a rubber duck). I decided to go with a burger with a horseradish sauce (Minus cheese/ bun) and fries. It was slightly busy but no super crazy at this point. We needed a couple mins to look through the drink menu as it was quite extensive with lots of details. It took several minutes before he came back to take our drink order. Our food arrived and my daughters meal did not have the duck but we thought maybe it came at the end (even though the picture showed it on the plate). My burger ended up coming out on 2 slices of white bread and no sauce ( I had to clarify whether it was gf or not as I did not want any bun. Instead of fries they gave me came with a salad lettuce with a sauce on it). We had no cutlery and no one came out to check on us. I asked someone cleaning off a table beside us for cutlery and the horseradish mayo. It took probably 10 or more mins before they returned with cutlery and even longer for PLAIN mayo. Finally our server came out and I said to him the issue and he stated rudely "well I didnt make it , I dont know!" We were almost done our food before the drink arrived. It was delicious and exciting experience with dry ice. We were really enjoying it when we realized it wasn't what we ordered. We ordered a Tasha Baby (Pina colada and raspberry mix) but this was clearly a peach mango something. It tasted amazing but still not what we ordered. Manuel never came back. By this time it was pushing 10pm. When he did finally come, I explained that we didn't get the right drink . He said well you already drank most of it (I said you never came back to us) and again he said rudely well I didn't make it, what do you want me to do? By this point I was extremely upset, I have never ever been treated so rudely by any wait staff in my life. As a former waitress in a very busy establishment I would never treat my patrons in such a way. Regardless if it was a issue on my side or if they were irratw. He said do you want me to make you a new one? And I said no, we have already been here 2 hours, we need to get going. He said he needed to go find his manager to see what he could do. After several minutes he came back and had taken the drink off the bill. Which by this point I was tired of the bs and accepted that. Even though my meal was completely wrong, my daughters under cooked. We ate it only because it took so long to get and we hadn't eaten all day. The gf bread was falling apart and not that appetizing, the horseradish sauce turned out to be plain mayo, the mushrooms were rubbery, the burger itself was delicious and cooked perfectly for me. He did not ask my daughter how she wanted hers cooked and she does not like medium rare. As cool of a look and vibe this place gives, as well as the candy shop. There was only one ladies bathroom stall working and the bathroom wasn't super tidy and your service is absolutely the worst service we have ever experienced in our lives. I left a small tip, but I wanted to walk out of there paying nothing as it was so horrible. Pretty sad that the night before, another establishment we ate at made an allergy error (tomato's, and dairy in a salad). The server kept apologizing profusely, along with kitchen staff and the manager. I couldn't give them any higher praise. Manuel you need to find a job where you don't interact with the public ! Oh and one other thing, there was a photographer who would go to every single table offering to take pictures. They...

Everything from the old lady at the front door (everyone isn’t meant to be a front facing customer service this lady needs to be retrained or place in the back never should your ever be part of the problem) all the way up to management and in between. We were seated out server came 10 min after provided us water. 10-15 mins later came back took out drink order and food (since we had enough time to go over the menu) we had no choice but to be ready..

Drinks and food ordered..

Onion rings and fries came out first .. which was cold.. wasn’t delivered by our waiter..

No one assisted or came back.. we are with kids naturally they are hungry so they ate, we ate… drinks came out..

Food came out a short time later.. not delivered by our waiter.. mind you we haven’t seen him since delivering the drinks..

Issue with food… was brought to the waiter attention plus we were right under a vent complained that the vent is causing us and the food to be cold although it came out cold..

Waiter said they would address it.. came back and said they have turned it off.. NOT…

Food issue resolved… no waiter no where to be seen.. no check up is everything ok.. do we need water napkins.. are talk done with this or that. Did everything come out ok.. do you need anything… nothing…

Finally! Waiter.. we asked for Togo items.. brought .. asked for bill brough.. asked for it to be separated by 2 brought.. bill included 20% gratuity.. (shocked) service was not 20% worthy.. Went downstairs to speak to someone.. was told a manager will be to our table..

Got up stairs after making a stop..

Manager walks up already on the defense said they heard we wanted to speak to a manager I explained 20% was excessive especially when we didn’t receive 20% worth of service..

Was told the reason why they took long to come out was because they were watching the tapes. ( hmmm why watch the tapes first)

Manager being argumentative and loud which causes me to be loud.. (my grandkids were there plus other patrons) as I (we) attempted to explain our position manager was not hearing it. Manager attempted to say.. they can’t adjust the gratuity but the next time we come in… Me: There will NEVER be a next time.. especially after the treatment and the lack of service we received.

Manager went on to say the waiter only needs to attends to us 4 times.. and if we had a complaint we should have asked for a manager. Me: who were we to ask.. the air vents ..

I frequent lots of eateries around Boston and various city’s.. never have I ever been treated like this.. it wasn’t even about the bill it was the principle of the automatic 20% gratuity which we didn’t receive 20% assistant.

We (me) wanted to adjust it to 15% and the way their piss pour attitudes were 10%..

Tips is based on the level of service .. and this place service is TRASH!!

Anyone calling this place amazing is just here for the vibes or the decor. The food’s honestly just okay, nothing special. There are way better spots around with better service, food, and management—places where you’d actually feel good about...

I typically don’t leave reviews, but my experience on April 24, 2025, compels me to share a serious concern that significantly impacted what could have been an enjoyable evening.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, I was immediately met with a hostile and uncomfortable environment—created entirely by the manager on duty, who was wearing what I believe was a salmon-colored shirt. While I didn’t catch his name, his behavior was unmistakably unprofessional and concerning. From the moment I walked in, he projected a negative energy that affected everyone around him. I overheard him speaking poorly about both guests and his own staff. One particularly inappropriate comment directed at a customer—“before you get more pissed off”—was jarring and completely out of line. He also told other guests that one of his hosts “doesn’t even know what she is doing.” Such remarks are unprofessional, degrading, and unacceptable from someone in a leadership position.

Our party had made a reservation in advance, which the restaurant failed to honor. Instead of owning the mistake, we were given multiple, conflicting explanations. I remained calm and tried to de-escalate the situation to find a solution that worked for everyone. I politely asked the manager—more than once—to lower his tone and stop addressing me with an attitude. Rather than take accountability, he responded childishly with, “Well, before you got here they were giving me an attitude.” Even after I agreed to wait, he continued repeating himself, keeping the mood unnecessarily tense.

Let me be clear: this 1 star review is directed solely at the manager. His conduct was unprofessional, unhelpful, and toxic. In my opinion, he should not be in a position of leadership.

Thankfully, the rest of the staff saved the night. Andreas, our server, was nothing short of incredible. He handled every task with patience and professionalism—serving, bartending, bussing, and running food—while making guests feel welcomed and cared for. It was clear he was essentially on his own to manage the upstairs, while the actual manager was nowhere to be found.

Despite being spoken about so poorly by her superior, the host remained kind and composed. The support staff—including bar backs, food runners, and bussers—were just as helpful and hardworking.

If Andreas ever chooses to pursue a managerial position, he’d excel. He exemplifies the kind of leadership and dedication this restaurant truly needs more of.

While the evening started off with deep disappointment, it ended on a better note thanks to the incredible team—especially Andreas. I sincerely hope this feedback is taken seriously. No guest or staff member deserves to experience the kind of treatment...