Thirsty Lion — Restaurant in Dallas

I usually love this place and come here often but this place went all wrong from when I went here a couple weeks ago… I went in there yesterday and asked to sit in Megan’s section , I got sat in a Random new servers section, I asked if Megan worked here and she said i have no idea, I’m new but I heard multiple people quit including a manager. I only asked about Megan and this server decided to treat my dinner like gossip hour, by the time I let her finish talking I finally got my beer and it was wrong, then my appetizer was wrong, I asked for sliders and got the happy hour ones, I asked for new one and she said let me get my general manager, I never saw her, even asked if she was coming by and she said she normally doesn’t talk to tables but she discounted the check.

I finally got a the bbq burger and it was good but the ketchup was missing, I ate whole Burger before i got ketchup I even asked many times for it not trying to be a bother… So I wanted to expressed my desires to talk to general manager but once again all i got was a burger taken off check.

I saw a nice Hispanic man help run food and be more visible , apparently that’s the sous chef, WHY is a chef running more food than a general manage? I have worked in the restaurant business in the past and I know this by being in the service industry in the past that this is NOT OKAY. Also, I don’t think servers should be telling me that there was so much turnover not only being told be hearing it while sitting there.

In my opinion if your gonna lose that many people then id be out there talking to the guest that are wanting to talk to you instead of hiding.

This place literally felt like no one was running this place and made the atmosphere feel extremely uncomfortable , I was scared to find out why but till they have some stability, even the bartenders are new each shift then I won’t...

UPDATE As planned, we returned to the Thirsty Lion in Preston Hollow to try different entrees. Much improved from our first visit! To start, we had the Artichoke Spinach Dip, this was very good; I recommend ordering the full portion instead of the Happy Hour portion (the latter is pretty small for 2 people). For mains, I had the Jalapeno Pepper Jack Burger with bacon added; the burger was perfectly cooked and flavors of jalapeno and pepper back were well balanced. My wife had the Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich; also quite good and not too spicy; it is a large sandwich so my wife couldn't finish it - I tried a bite and the chicken was well prepared, the buttermilk batter was crispy and full of flavor. For desert we had the Deep Dish Chocolate Porter Brownie, this was outstanding, definitely a favorite desert. I'm leaving the review at 4 stars only because the service was slow. It was not too busy during our visit and we were seated promptly - but the drinks took a long time to come out... to the point that I felt like we should order drinks ahead of finishing our first one because it was taking so long. But again, it is a good place and we will return to try more items from their menu.

---Original review--- Nice gastropub. Really impressed with the service. Food was a little bland. I had the fish and chips. The fry batter was oily and missing some crunch, but the fish was well cooked and flaky. My wife had the Southwestern chicken salad, it was a disappointing choice. No flavor, the dressing was sitting at the bottom of the dish. Perhaps a little more careful preparation would make a difference. For desert we had the apple crumble, this was quite good, maybe the best dish of the day. I also had the Texas beer flight, it was a nice tasting of Texas beers. We will return and try some of the other entrees. Maybe we'll find a dish that is their...

Just moved to the area from living in McKinney and this place is close by so I figured I’d try it out. I’ve been here twice within the past month. The first time, I found hair in my food and commented to the waitress about them putting their hair up. I was told they aren’t allowed to. Which is a little gross if you ask me but whatever. They replaced my meal so I was good but low key wondered if the health department knows they wear their hair down.

Went in again this week and sat at the bar. It was HOT by the bar. I asked the bartender about the AC and she said one is broken but they just replaced one and she wasn’t sure if or when they were planning to replace the other one that broke. I asked why they didn’t open the windows to get a breeze and they said they weren’t allowed right now. I’m sorry, but that’s a little ridiculous. Texas is HOT y’all. And this place not only makes the females wear their hair down, but they aren’t even willing to provide not only the guests, but their staff proper air conditioning in the middle of Texas summer. And we ain’t even at the hot part yet.

My take is the food and drinks are good, but pricey. For the price, I expect no hair in my food and a comfortable temperature within the building which doesn’t seem possible here. And as someone who works in the healthcare field, I can’t support a place that is willing to let their staff suffer in the Texas heat so they can save some money on AC. Probably won’t be back. At least not...