Vinson's Pub + Eatery — Restaurant in Clayton

My girlfriend and I of 3 years stopped in this place just to get out. We were greeted by the hostess and she took our name down. Being that this is a new restaraunt and many people are unfamiliar... we thought she would let us know how long the wait was as there were many tables that were open. Instead, we were confused if this restaurant was by reservation.

We waited outside for 20 mins... great estimate on the wait time. We were shown to the table and about 5 mins later we were blessed with the presence of our waiter, Jason... an aspiring person with an interest in networking (I'll explain later). He took down our drink orders... I ordered a beer and a water and she ordered a soda. He brought over a soda and explained that my beer would soon be on its way but only after complaining about the computer system on the fritz. Understandable being a new establishment. My beer soon followed about 7 mins later. The water was lost in the sea of binary numbers in the computer system so it never reached my table.

About 10 mins later we ordered our food. My lovely lady decided to partake in an alcoholic beverage and decided on a Vinson's. After about 15 mins and watching our waiter wrap silverware... we decided to investigate. He apologized and simply stated, "our bartender is slammed." Then miraculously, it was ready.

Just watching the atmosphere was unbearable. The lights hang down in front of the tvs... we noticed that tables were getting their plates 15 minutes in-between within the same party.

35 mins after ordering our food... it met our table. I ordered the Man's BLT and the lady ordered the Philly. Hers was great! Mine was like chewing on an old car sponge... hence the name Man's BLT because you can wash your car with it.

Shortly after we started eating, our waiter sat down with a couple of girls dining next to us. I heard all about his interest in networking, how one girl works at a certain place and how the other girl works at another place, found out my waiter's favorite food, found out where he was going to school, etc etc. This went on for about 15 minutes. Realizing he wasn't going to help us, we went and got our own napkins. He immediately apologized and said he would talk to a manager because by this time were not pleased at all. He stated that they were trained to sit and talk with the customers. If this was the case... why didn't he sit with us and tell us that the bartender was slammed? Oh... because we weren't 2 young blondes. Understandable for a new waiter who just went through puberty.

Our waiter, Jason, stated that "Phil" would come talk to us. Jason didn't tell us who "Phil" was so I assumed he was talking about Dr. Phil because he never showed up until 11 am the next day on WRAL.

We'll try this place again maybe in a year... and hopefully they can do A LOT better!

So to sum it up: Rude Slow Bad atmosphere Unorganized I liked the plates (the reason...

Long story short, don't go here if you actually want to eat.

We had been really excited about Vinson's opening in Clayton - it looked like it had a great outdoor space to eat with our dogs - something Clayton is really, really lacking, but the bad reviews had kept us away. Tonight, we decided to give it a go. The parking lot was packed! We were immediately seated on the patio! Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Oh, how wrong we were.

First off, we ordered drinks - pretty standard, right? I got a pepsi, he got a beer. I got my pepsi...about 15 minutes later after flagging down the server, who didn't remember that BF ordered a beer, we finally got him his beer. For an appetizer, we ordered the bavarian pretzels with beer cheese - it took an inordinately long time get our pretzels - from someone else - with no appetizer plates, and no refills of drinks at this point either. The pretzels were soggy and greasy (my dog, who eats cat poop out of the litter box, literally spit it out...I am not kidding) and the beer cheese was inedible it was so gross.

We waited..and waited...and right about the time we considered just putting some cash on the table and leaving, our waiter finally came back to ask if we wanted anything else - mind you, we've been here for about 30-40 minutes at this point. Sigh fine, we're here, we might as well try it. BF ordered a plain cheeseburger, I ordered a Philly with mushrooms. Not so hard, right? The waiter looked very confused. We did not have a good feeling about this.

We were right.

Another 25-30 minutes or so goes by...no food, the waiter hasn't come to check on us. We are not the only people on the patio, by the way, he very quickly took the orders of the people at the table directly next to us when they sat down. I finally get my Philly, and we're told that the BF's cheeseburger would be out in a minute. My Philly was ice cold. Luckily, a waitress came outside to ask if she could pet our dogs. Sure! But my sandwich is cold! No problem, we're told, we'll go heat it up for you. So yay, they're probably going to stick that very disappointing, sparsely filled sandwich in the microwave...wonderful. About 10 minutes later, the table next to us, who ordered a good 30-40 minutes after we did, gets their food. My sandwich never came back out. BF never got his cheeseburger. He finally went inside and told them to cancel the order, we weren't staying. The waiter came out a minute later and said the manager said he'd take care of it.

We waited another 5 full minutes, expecting the manager to come out. Nope. Apparently, he didn't care he had just allowed his restaurant to provide the most abysmal service, nor was he willing to at least apologize for it.

We should have listened to the reviews. I'm now eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which is legitimately better than anything I put into my mouth...or...

Edit: May 2025, many urars after last visit. Althoughbwll we live about 3 miles away, we just couldn't come back based on previous experiences. This most recent visit has all changed. Mushroom burger, medium rare, chicken avacaso sandwich, buffalo broccoli and crab cakes. All good. Only issue remaining is they really need to compare wing quality and pricing two the two popular places right down the street. Some are going for a buck a wing now. Being originally from near Buffalo NY, the wings and $9 for (6) with no side just doesn't cut it. I saw them on another family next to us and ummm, I'll pass.

But, in any event, we'll be back for the burgers and chicken.

End of edit......

A lot of thought and planning went into the design and landscaping, however the staff and menu will need some time to evolve.. I read best burgers in Clayton since 1918 so, since I had what I beleive to be the worst burger in Clayton since I moved here two years ago I asked where they got that from since they've only been open three months. Showed the well overdone burger to the waiter and the fact there was barely one whole button mushroom sliced and placed sporadically over my dry leathery lack of cheese burger. Wings were flash fried earlier and waiting for the lunch crowd. Mine barely warm in the center. Best blue cheese in Clayton, 50 cents extra for an extra ranch... not a problem but please TELL me before I order, don't just throw it on the bill. Cobb salad was great. Wings were acceptable enough that I'd return for them. Definitely far from XXX hot as the menu claims. Burger I'd never even come close to trying again. Beer cheese with the darkened pretzels, see photo. Coagulated oily, starchy, floury, muck. others have complained about this cheese yet they do nothing about it?? Get some good meltable cheese, please. Mushroom swiss burger, see photo below. There were certain aspects that we liked enough to come back and try again but I'll wait until they get a bit more experience and have been open for a while longer, however three months should be enough. mentioned to waiter to tell manager about the burger and cheese so they could use it constructively and no one showed at out table. $32 lunch for two and left 1/4...