Mike & Denise's Pizzeria & Pub — Restaurant in Bristol Township

I am one of the said “managers” at this restaurant, truly there is two sides to every story. Understandably the party was upset, they had just came from a funeral of a loved one, and I’m sure we all can relate to how hard that is. But that being said, we did accommodate the party to each of their needs - it might now have been in the exact way they wanted it, but you also have to understand we have a restaurant to run for other paying customers as well. More seating was provided as soon as it became problematic. When another manager went in to the space provided for the party, she realized there was lots of empty seats in between each group of guests. We were informed later that the reason for this was because there was a family feud between numerous parties. Obviously we cannot provide two entirely separate rooms for this party just because of a family fight going on that we knew nothing about, or that couldn’t be set aside for a passing in the family. As for all the food being “absolutely terrible, greasy, and just not edible”, they ordered 6 more pizzas on top of what we provided and we have the receipts to prove it. I understand things did not go the way anyone expected that night, but I had a man join me Tuesday night from the party telling me how he had a great time and he’s usually in bed by 9, but him and his fiancé were having such a good time with the band, he stayed till 11 to enjoy his time and the music, and continues to be a regular every Sunday at one of our three restaurants. Part of us building this business is that we pride ourselves in customer service and will try to accommodate every need possible to make our customers happy. but sometimes things can’t get done, like the entire restaurant on a Saturday night with a very popular band in the area was not on the list. We provided 7 tables in their specific server’s section, as well as the entire indoor patio private room that they rented out, and on top of that, our outdoor patio was completely open for them to sit where ever they liked - we also have the cameras and footage to prove that. The other tables they were trying to sit at belonged to other servers, so letting the party sit there when they paid for a packaged deal would be taking money away from the other servers, as well as other customers that would’ve liked to have dinner - I believe we can all agree that is just simply not fair. I am truly sorry this is how the situation escalated, but I believe I did everything in my power to make them satisfied customers. I tried to have multiple conversations with the party, and each time I was told to “go away”, “we won’t give you the time of day”, “f* this”, even when I never once was anything but kind, nor did I raise my voice in any way that they’re accusing me of - which I also have on camera. Everyone is allowed to have feelings and get upset if something doesn’t go how they planned, but at least give us the chance to try and fix the situation. I am always open to have a conversation about what happened and hopefully come to a consensus. Building a business today is already hard enough without people trying to tear you down. If you are a person that has been reading these reviews - I ask you to ignore them, the good and the bad, and come try it out for yourselves - I hope you won’t be...

Food is good, but service has been poor quality every time. When you walk in the hostess rarely is at the counter, and isn't pleasant or doesn't acknowledge you in friendly manner. A lot of times the look your greeted with is almost annoyance. The seating isn't very family welcoming, or for parties greater then 4. Once you have been seated it is usually 20 or more mins till your server returns for your drink order, and even another 20 mins before your food order is taken. Most of the time the server is a young, fresh out of high school inexperience wait staff that is more like a deer in the middle of the road with looking into headlights experience. It almost like there is a lot of constance guidance being given on how to be a server or wait staff. I am all for young people getting employment experience, but that should be addressed during training, and not seem like it's their first time being in a restaurant working, every time they wait in you. Which has happened regularly. I known Mike and Denises since Aurora, which that location, is slightly better on service and the food their is what made me have higher hopes for the Yorkville location. After usually 25-45 mins of beverage refills, then your food may arrive at your table within hour, hour and half. Which has been consistent order taken and food brought out turn around time, with my over 10+ times dinning in within 12months or less. If your not here to drink adult beverages while sitting at the bar, your most likely not getting good service. Same applies if your not buddy buddy with the family owned and run business. I would say if your not their as personal acquainted with the owners, or apart of a sports team locally with your entire team eating in, the service is poor. Who knows that may not improve your service. They need to be more attentive to prompt service, better table turn-around, and less focused on hoping everyone there is looking to drink fast and linger with slow conversation while they stand in the back for social hour. This has happened on multiple occasions, and I frown on going here to eat, because I have felt the service is not at par for a well known local pizza pub place. I had high expectations comparing my familiarity to the Aurora location, and realize Mike and Denises is really just another bar for drinkers and lacks the service quality of great restaurant. I even suggest Bar Rescue, guidance for the service issues. The food is good but not Delicious or Fantastic, so it must be the seeking of a sports pub focused on youth athletics that makes the adults that do go here feel it's kid friendly, but maybe they too have not had quality service thus are unaware at what is lacking or just there for drinking. Needs...

Oh I’m sorry? Is there 2 Denise’s? We spoke with her every time except the day of payment over the phone because when we called back to make payment she was out of town in Vegas for a week. Thankfully I have 2 gmails since my response on my initial review is too long to add to it. This is for Alex siddon.

Let’s set the record straight. There were no tables reserved under our party’s name in any section of the dining area, which is precisely why we were told to move. The “7 tables” you referred to were clearly marked as reserved for other people. One of them, in fact, had the name “Tina” on it. For reference, my mother’s name is Jenny, not Tina. These were not in “other servers’ sections”, they simply weren’t reserved for us.

There was no “family feud” as suggested. Every single table in the so-called “indoor patio” (which consisted of about 25 seats, 4 tall tables seating 10 each and 1 short table seating 5) was occupied by our family and friends. Meanwhile, the rest of our group, including my sister, we’re told they couldn’t sit at adjacent tables because they weren’t considered part of our party. That’s not just poor planning, it’s outright disrespect.

And yes, we had to order six more pizzas because what was initially provided fell drastically short of what was needed for a group of 45–60 people, even with several guests purchasing separate entrées. That alone speaks volumes about how poorly coordinated this event was.

I appreciate that you’re beginning to acknowledge the day didn’t go as expected, but let’s be real: it was beyond disappointing. It was unprofessional, disorganized, and frankly, embarrassing. Part of running a successful business is knowing how to treat your customers, not just when things go right, but especially when they go wrong. And as someone who’s worked in customer service management, I have to say, even your approach to responding to Google reviews is nothing short of a joke.

What’s even more of a joke is having your employees and family friends jump in to minimize and deflect from honest, firsthand feedback, feedback from a grieving family who was treated with anything but compassion while mourning the matriarch of our family and standing by her widowed husband. Denise Siddon, presumably your mother, was the one overseeing this experience. Imagine if the roles were reversed and you were attending her funeral luncheon, only to be met with the chaos and lack of care we endured.

While your response did come across as sincere, and it’s clear that you may actually care, perhaps it’s time she takes a few lessons from you about what it means to run a business with empathy and professionalism. Maybe then you wouldn’t be receiving feedback like this in the...