The Kensington Pub — Restaurant in Cleveland Heights

While the anticipation of this new Hts pub was something that I've been excited about for quite some time, I was met with a rather lackluster first experience. Our server was pleasant enough upon first arriving, however, she seemed to leave us be for most of our stay. Twice I had to stop her to get more cocktails, this after my glass sat empty for quite a while. It appeared that there was enough staff to handle the floor, and the restaurant isn't that big anyway. So, I was quite surprised by the absence.

The menu was surprisingly plain. I was expecting more variety, or at a minimum more depth to the dishes. However, we ordered ordinary bar food that was certainly pricey, but hopefully worth it.

Upon receiving our food, my cheeseburger was surprisingly missing the "cheese" part of the name. However, after a quick trip to the kitchen, it was remedied. Although the burger and fries were tasty, it seemed rather lacking in size and presentation for the $13.00 price tag. Our Caesar salad must have had homemade Caesar dressing, as it was very heavy on the horseradish and not what I've been familiar with normal Caesar. It was actually rather unappetizing to be honest. However, we ate our small dishes and I found myself needing more food.

So, I figured an order of fries and some tenders would suppress my appetite. After nearly 30 minutes later, I received my fries figuring the tenders were right behind. However, the fries were gone and the basket empty for about 15 minutes before a worker removed the basket. Still no tenders. So I stopped the server to advise to cancel the tenders, but before I could say anything she said my fries and tenders would be done soon. I had to explain that the fries were consumed nearly 20 minutes ago, and that it is now pointless to bring the tenders. Our table was ready to leave by this point. She was certainly apologetic, but I'm not sure she understood the extend of the apparent lack of customer service.

All in all, I was not impressed. However, they did have an entree selection, all near or above $30, that I'd like to try. Maybe it was a bad day and another try is warranted. I'm not throwing them to the...

Update: Owner is pretentious & rude but i certain he's oblivious to this fact. Which explains why he has a high turnover staff rate.

Kensington Pub in Cleveland Heights used to be my go-to spot until tonight's culmination. It all started over under cooked fries. I voiced my concern, but the owner intervened abruptly, creating tension.

His refusal to listen when we declined the fries but offered to pay turned the situation sour. His repetitive use of "ignorant" hit hard, feeling like a racial slur in 2023.

The owner's escalation, continuously calling me "ignorant" despite my attempts to explain its impact, was hurtful and disrespectful. This experience tainted my view of a place I once enjoyed. Overpricing and ignoring reasonable requests contradict basic customer service.

Blaming me for insufficient tipping and his reliance on customer tips seemed unfair, especially with high price stuff like $10 corn dog, $9 fries or 3 flat chicken tenders for $12. His dismissive and racially charged language made it clear that this place isn't welcoming for people of color.

This encounter shattered the good experiences I had here. The decline in customer service, particularly from the owner, has made it impossible to recommend this place. I hope for improvement, but until then, it's not a place I'd suggest for anyone, especially if you're a person of color.

Please note: tonight's rudeness and disrespect is not an isolated issue but it...

Being a person of color we are NOT WELCOMED here, the bartenders will ignore you as much as possible and once you get service it is poor. This is my 3rd time trying this place and each time I’ve been treated terribly, I am made to wait while other customers not of color were shown attentiveness, quick and personable service. I literally waited 20 min just to pick up a call in order when there were not even 10 people in the bar with 2 bar tenders working at 12:30am, my 2nd experience there were 3 people in the bar and I was ignored not even acknowledged for 15 min while the bar tender stood right in front of me while talking to another male not of color while polishing glasses after I said excuse can I place an order please. Another time I went in with a friend and had the same experience where we were ignored while others that were not of color were greeted promptly and helped with attentiveness with not even 10 people in the bar on the late night around 11pm. This place is not representative of the neighborhood which is very diverse, I grew up down the street from this place and I’m very disappointed by the treatment people of color receive when...