The Bay Bar & Grille — Restaurant in Bozeman

I’ve never left a negative review of a restaurant previous, but must due to the egregious behavior of a Bay employee.

Myself and 6 others came into the The Bay for an early dinner Saturday, 11/11. The dining area and bar were very busy as a MSU football game had just finished. A brief wait and a table for 6 was available, there being no other available seating. Being the 7th in the party, and from out of town, I elected to sit at the bar, have a beer, order an appetizer and catch up on my phone.

A bartender named ‘Kim’ - (black hair, glasses, black shirt) served me a single beer. A young woman was seated next to me, and we had a brief, but friendly chat. In the conversation I learned she and the bartender ‘Kim’ were roommates. As I sat, drinking the single beer I had ordered, Kim rudely told me I needed to “get up and move”. “Excuse me, why?” was my reply. She informed me I was bothering her roommate and needed to move.

Incredulous, I asked the woman seated to my right, “is this true, am I bothering you?” I was told “no, you’re fine”. At the time I was told to move, I had said nothing vulgar, had used no curse words or other offensive language toward anyone. I was not actively pursuing a conversation with the woman.

I told Kim I was not moving, and that her request was ridiculous. Another staff member, a male colleague, came over and requested I move. “No” was my reply. I informed the employee he could close my tab however, but was told “your tab is already closed”. About this time, a Bay manager came up to me, from behind the bar (gray beard, gray hair) and told me I needed to leave.

“For what reason? I’ve done nothing, I’m not bothering anyone, I’m quietly sitting here”. I motioned to my other friends seated at the table down from me “Where am I supposed to go, sit, it’s standing room only?”. I informed the manager if he wanted me to move, he could call the police. He said he would do so. I finished my drink, stepped away from the bar, and informed the rest of my party of the situation.

As my friends were shocked, a friend left the table and requested to speak with the bartender ‘Kim’, and was told by Kim, “you’re standing to close to me”. Kim was behind the bar when this was said, my friend on the other side. The waitress serving my friends spoke with another Bay manager, came over to the table and apologized for the behavior of Kim, and that I had done nothing wrong, saying “the staff working behind the bar tonight are the problem, not us.” - bizarre situation.

The waitress informed us that all 6 meals were being discounted and that no one had to leave. By that point sadly, all of us were disgusted, to go boxes were requested and, as a group, we decided to leave.

To Kim the bartender, I can only speculate to the level of crazy you possess. Was this a power trip? Were you on drugs? Did I remind you of an old boyfriend? What I know for sure is that you’re a liar, and to go so far as to put a manager/supervisor in the position of possibly involving the police and a potential loss of my freedom (being asked to leave) - over what? I still don’t know.

The attempt to do so, ‘Kim’, displays you as a truly vile, rotten individual. I ask The Bay ownership/management, that if integrity is something you value, this staff member should be fired for her conduct.

While I won’t speak for my friends with me, The Bay has lost my patronage...

We've stopped by The Bay several times, over the years, when we pass through Bozeman. Yesterday, on our way home, we realized it had been awhile, so we decided to swing in for late lunch / early dinner. Turned out to be a good call.

We arrived around 4pm. We were greeted & seated immediately. We were the first table to be seated in the Dining Room. Our server, Jillian, stopped in several times to check on us, as we settled in. It took us around 20 minutes to actually get to the point of placing our food order. Jillian was patient & very helpful with suggestions & recommendations.

Since it was Happy Hour, we opted to get some apps & a drink. Here's the run down:

I ordered a Moscow Mule & The Wife ordered a Strawberry Martini. Both drinks were very tasty & presented well.

Shrimp Wontons: Crispy, nice temp on arrival, lots of cream cheese, decent amount of shrimp. Both sauces were great. Overall these were really good.

Chicken Sliders: Awesome app! There's a ton of flavor packed into these little cluckers. The texture was perfect & the chicken was moist. Home Run!

House Made Chips & Onion Dip: Mixture of potato & beet chips. Chips were just a smidge over cooked. Not much, but just. We all liked them & the Onion Dip was quite good. Little Guy really liked these chips. Dragon Tenders: We got 1/2 Buffalo & 1/2 Dragon. The chicken was cooked well, both sauces were great. Wife said Buffalo won, but I'm on Team Dragon. The Ranch & Blue Cheese which accompanied the tenders were both top notch. Probably the best Blue Cheese I've had, at this level of restaurant.

Little Guy opted for the Cheese Pizza from the Kid's Menu. He loved it! This kid knows his Pizza, so take notice. Kid's meal comes with an Ice Cream Sundae, which he enjoyed as well.

The Space: I wish I had better news here. The Dining Room is in need of an immediate update. The tables are very worn, the carpet (yes carpet), in the Dining Room is tired & homely & the driftwood on the ceiling, of the Dining Room, is just nasty looking. Wife said the Ladies restroom needed a custodial visit. The better news is this: None of these things equate to what's on the plate. However, they still should be addressed.

Service: I'm just gonna say it, Jillian has been the best server we've had in Montana, in at least a year or two. She was on top of her game & we noticed. A+ If you appreciate a Veteran Server, who knows how it's done, ask to be seated in her area. I almost forgot to mention, the Manager also stopped by our table to ask how everything was. Well...

This is not the Bay Bar and Grille that you once knew. In fact, it is kind of hot garbage. I grew up in Bozeman and have been to the Bay dozens (manybe hundreds of times) and I can say that tonight, we are officially donezo. I have had subpar experiences with them the last few times eating in, where the food was either over-cooked, something was wrong with the order, or it was just subpar at best. This restaurant used to be known as the place where you would go and have a kinda upscale meal, with generous portion sizes and a lot of consistency. No longer.

I don’t know if switched owners, but for the last several years, this place has gone downhill. The portion sizes are MUCH smaller now, while the price does not justify what you get. Tonight I ordered chicken nachos and the smaller cup of chili to go. When I get there the total comes out to nearly 30 dollars….wait, WHAT? I then realize, on further looking at the online at the bottom, they charge an extra 10 dollars for any protein. Yea, no. And then they charged extra for sour cream, which it normally should have come with. Fine, whatever. So I get home and open the (7 dollar smaller charged cup of chili-not the bowl). And it is not even half full. At this point, I am over it. But—the fun continues. The chips and chicken are dried out, oily, and just not good. I don't even finish them.

So fast forward to me rage writing this review. Having wasted thirty dollars and feeling kinda (see: thoroughly) irritated. I do want to note, I have almost always had really good service when I've been there. The waitstaff are kind and for the most part really attentive. They also have a good bar & I have never been disappointed with their drinks. But, as for the rest of...