The Whiskey Lodge — Restaurant in Castle Rock

So,  passing through Castle Rock on a day trip,  decided to stay the night in the area since some bad weather was rolling through and really had no place to be the following day. Stopped into this establishment and they were hosting a Bingo night. Pretty good crowd, seemed to be all local for the most part, fun time. As the games concluded the entire restaurant seemed to empty out fairly quickly, seems the game was the reason everyone even came out. Either way, I asked the bar tender, female named Sam, what time they closed, she responded with, "well I still having closing work to take care of, you guys can stay until then". Great, I responded and we went on drinking. Now mind you we weren't the only ones in the restaurant at this point. There was another patron and his son, who actually joined us in our corner of the bar,  and at the very other end of the bar there was a male and female with a small child. Figured they knew Sam, didn't think anything of it. So time rolls forward and it's about 9:45pm if I recall correctly, and we are served our checks (i paid for myself and the buddy I was with) and we begin to get ready to leave. As we give the check back,  I now recall Sam saying under her breath, "I stayed for you guys".  Almost immediately after this happens we are rushed to finish our newly poured drinks and told it's time to close by Sam.  As I'm putting my jacket on I'm approached by the female at the other end of the bar, she asks me, "Did Sam do something wrong?". I reply back, "I don't think so". Then she asks, "was her service not acceptable, we'd like to fix the problem right here and now?!". At this point I'm thinking theres some joke going on because this stranger is in my face asking me all these questions about my visit. I ask her, "are you the manager, why are you asking? ", to which she replys with only a head nod and folded arms. Then the male that was with her yells while walking towards me "BECAUSE YOU LEFT A SMALL TIP FOR YOUR TAB!". Taken aback and now a little upset, I turned to Sam, "hey, wow,  I apologize about that, I've been out of the country for quite sometime". Then I tried to explain, it's not customary in most foreign countries to tip, and admittedly I'd been drinking and having a good time,  I honestly wasn't even thinking about the difference. "Let me rectify this!". As I'm pulling out my wallet Sam, the bartender yells, "I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY!". It was right then I felt down right absolutely disrespected. I turned to the female that approached me and yelled at her asking, "WELL WHY THE F* DID YOU BRING IT UP?!" I'm trying to do what I felt was the right thing to do and she all but spat in my face for it. This yelling match ensues between myself and the "manager" female that approached me initially and whoever this male was that she was with.  Because he keeps attempting to approach me very aggressively at this point and I wasnt in a state in which that should've taken place. The patron that joined me and my friend earlier is also trying to appease these individuals. Saying "I'm going to leave a hundred dollar tip". I told him, DO NOT leave that on my account, if you want them to have that, it's definitely on you. My friend pulls me outside of the doors because there was absolutely no reasoning with anyone associated with this place at that point.

I've been all over this planet with our military, I don't always agree with what our mission is but I do it because I swore to do so.  I've seen some terrible things and I've seen some indescribably beautiful things.  To be treated like this, at home, STILL, with everything going on not just here but in the world is...

Big disappointment and do not plan on returning as-is.

We found this place through Groupon and thought it sounded like fun to try.

Service: Friendly but very slow and not good at paying attention to all tables. Twice, I had to get up to place an order with a server meant for table service.

Food: Hamburger was so rubbery and overcooked that I spit it out thinking there was something inedible in his first bite. My wife ordered the brat and was shocked it was a far overcooked, low-quality sausage with literally nothing else. Just meat on bun. No sides and no toppings. I had to chase someone down just for ketchup, which was the only thing the server claimed they had.

Drinks: The Old Fashioned was mediocre and as good as I can get in most other places. My wife got the smoked Old Fashioned, and we both agree there was zero flavor difference between the two. My biggest gripe on this is that it's called Whiskey Lodge yet doesn't have a proper set up for whiskey! The ice cubes are small, traditional shapes like we expect in sodas. They melt within minutes. Why isn't there (at least) sphere shaped ice for my drink? The glasses themselves held no weight. Again, at a normal bar, that's fine. At a place called WHISKEY Lodge, I expect it to be set up for a great whiskey experience.

Atmosphere: This location is in the old Astro Tap House. They have a decent covered patio with a decent view in a quiet shopping center. Unfortunately, the night we went was Sunday... karaoke night. WOW was that volume cranked up far too high. We didn't go there for karaoke, but most places set up their events so that all patrons can enjoy the experience. Not here. My two top left with sore throats because we had to scream at the top of our lungs just to hear each other... and we sat outside specifically to get farther out of the way from those who were there to enjoy karaoke. Not well managed in terms of volume and how it took over the whole entire bar.

Price: Don't even get me started. Even WITH a $20 voucher from Groupon, we spent $72... left feeling hungry and very very sober.

We won't be returning and we won't be sending our friends...

Be careful here. To start, 100% great service by the young staff. Working hard. Great promotion day with crawfish boil. Big service day. However this place puts $ over public safety. Granted we went there knowing it would be busy. They could not or even attempt to control people coming in. No social distancing at all. Asking people at the door to keep the door shut on a cold day, not a chance. When questioned, the food runners and managers wore no masks. Response.... "you are not wearing a mask." We were sitting at a table making the complaint They don't care about safety. Too bad. Great place. Great food. Great whiskey, bourbon, scotch, beer and food. I am glad they were busy. Glad their staff made $. Just a poor effort for public and staff safety. They said we were the problem. We only asked to keep the door shut on a cold windy day. They claimed they were under the 85 capacity and tbey are doing their best. Sorry. Allowing public to come in and not wear masks. Stand in the walkways behind bar seats with no masks. Employees with no masks and question a table with a $150 tab who ask for some decency and public safety it is sad. We only blame ourselves for trying a new place, local owned business where we frequent Castle Rock breweries and eateries. We only alerted management about the problem to help them with a problem. However we were the problem. Get out so we can get more $. Sad. Sign of the times. I hope none of their staff or patrons get sick. We really liked this place. Management and ownership need to take notice. Problem is that this review and our complaints to tri-County will go un-noticed or tomorrow or next week when someone checks in, this place will be dead and slow and complaint will be swept under the rug. You lost 4 possible regular customers. That is ok. We hope the great young staff to be well and management to get a clue on how to treat their staff...