McCleary's Caldwell — Restaurant in Caldwell

the Great! Nicely remodeled. The band (420 to Mars) was awesome!. Great atmosphere. The two servers (a male and a female) who brought our food and kept our table clean were very friendly and attentive. Food was good and it arrived quickly.

Not So Great.... Sure miss the table service, but would understand ordering at the bar more if the process weren't broke. One person to help the line, and another one or two there were very selective with who they helped... even when there was a long line. Service is very slow. Hit and miss friendliness from the bartenders.

the UGLY Unbeknownst to us (were not told and did not see any signage... did I miss it?), a 20% tip was automatically added to our bill. I did not know this because the bartender only gave me the credit card copy to sign (not the itemized). He watched me sign it and add a tip. Luckily I asked for an itemized receipt and discovered I had now tipped over 35%!! A very nice gentleman adjusted our bill, and even took off the poppers upgrade off instead of reducing the price (I thought it said a $2 upgrade on the menu instead of the $4 I was originally charged).

Back to the auto-gratuity though.... he told me that the bartenders were getting stiffed, so that's why it was added.

I strongly object to that. a gratuity is not Deserved..... it is EARNED.

I tipped at 15% because we had to order at the counter (drinks and food). We had to wait a long time to be served at the bar each time. I did not feel the bartenders cared about providing great service. I did not necessarily tip the bartenders, but tipped in hopes that some of it would go to the people that served our food and kept our table cleared of empty cups/plates.

We may come back - the patrons, some staff and the band were great... but I urge everyone to look at their bill and not get overcharged. I almost feel scammed, because the staff knows about the auto-gratuity and could...

Easily the worst bar experience I've ever had in 20+ years. Went from bad to worse. To start, couldn't or wouldn't make an old fashioned due to not having the ingredients(bourbon, simple syrup, and bitters). The gal taking our food order didn't write down our order and came back twice to ask for our order again. My wife ordered the loaded tater tots per the recommendation of the employee and she received loaded fries. I had to ask a third time for our appetizer to be ordered. The tater tots that came with the burger were the highlight of the food. Three employees and not a single ID was checked all night...not to mention the signage on the front door about attire allowed in the bar is not enforced whatsoever. The topper to our night was having a severely overserved customer helped himself to the seat next to my wife. After insulting my wife, she told him to leave the table and he refused. So after putting hands on my wife, I intervened and let him know who I was and he'd be wise to rejoin his friends. Bar staff watched the entire time and did nothing. First and last time I or any of my family or friends will spend a single cent in this place. Wasted $300 between all of us last night. McCleary's will be their own demise by not checking IDs and continuing to overserve underage customers. CPD is already aware of their practices, unsurprisingly. 1 Star is too high...

4-26-24 update - great place to stop in a grab a cold drink and some food. Food is good and the service is always fast and friendly. I like the fact they're bringing in live music. it's nice to see local establishments bringing in live music mclearys is one of the few places to have live music. They also have a good crew of employees that work here they're always fast, polite and friendly. Love the fact that it's non smoking. Great job guys!

12-16-22 **UPDATE As expected McCleary's is having no problem packing people in. Their kitchen is up and running, pouring great drinks and best of all nice and clean! Great atmosphere, good mix of people makes for a great time!

Nice clean place, not very many people but they just opened so give it time and I have no doubt...