Pickle Barrel — Restaurant in Deerfield Beach

I have frequented this establishment about 10 years. The sandwiches are usually great. For the 1st time today the wheat sandwich bread was not fresh. My husband took the sandwich back to ask if they had fresher bread. The meat cutter touched our sandwich bread with his bear hands and offered to transfer the contents to another 2 pieces of bread, but warned they all felt the same way. My husband asked to have the sandwich redone instead of transferring the contents that had now been touched. The owner overheard and approached my husband with a loud tone saying "I will not make that sandwich over". He continued to state, there was nothing wrong with the bread, it came in this morning. At this point people are starting look at us because the owner's tone is loud and aggressive. My husband proceeds to just ask for our money back. The owner says "you can't have your money back!" My husband is now getting agitated at this poor customer service. I then step up calmly and ask my husband to let me talk to him. The owner continued to talk to me in same rude manner even I used a soft gentle tone with him. I asked to show him where the bread was stale, he told me "I already threw it out!" I said sir, we come here often and I've never had this issue before. He said, "yeah, we have people come here everyday, I'm not remaking the sandwich... I'll give you a different bread with the same contents. I said, we just want the sandwich done properly. He said, you want rye bread, I politely declined (I don't like rye). He said loudly you're being difficult. At this point, I just wanted to leave. Being very embarrassed, I asked for our money back. The owner said " oh no, you're not getting your money back!" I'm still calm, I said, sir is that your policy, no refunds. He repeated, I'm not giving your money back. I said okay sir, you're forcing us to file a fraud charge against your business. He clearly got more upset and told the cashier to refund our money before he proceeded to walk away mumbling some impolite words. The amount refunded was incorrect. When it was brought to his attention, he yelled out, I ain't refunded the tip. I just stood there calmly, as the tip was for good service of which we DID NOT GET. He finally told the cashier just take it from the tip jar. She nervously did as instructed. Please beware of this establishment. If something is wrong with your food, there is no compensation. He refused to refund our money even though that is not the restaurant's policy. His tone and posture was very threatening. I felt unsafe at...

I'm writing to share a disappointing experience my family and I had at your restaurant today, which stands in stark contrast to the positive experiences we've had over the past 10 years as regular customers.

We've always been happy with the freshness and quality of your food, especially the sandwiches. However, today we encountered an issue with the bread, which was noticeably hard around the edges and not soft in the middle. I spoke with the young man who was cutting the meat, and he passed the sandwiches to the counter girl who handled them with her bare hands, which immediately made us uneasy. At that point, we decided we would prefer not to proceed with the sandwiches, and I mentioned the issue to him.

To my surprise, when the owner came to address the situation, his response was anything but accommodating. Instead of offering to make new sandwiches or apologizing for the oversight, he became increasingly loud and aggressive, dismissing our concern by saying the bread had just been delivered that morning. I tried to remain calm and asked for a refund, but he refused, insisting on transferring the sandwich contents to different bread, which was not an option for us. When I suggested that he refund us instead, his tone became more hostile and defensive. He eventually agreed to void the order, but refused to refund the tip, which, as I explained, is for good service -- something that was clearly lacking in this situation.

What was even more troubling was the owner's behavior throughout this exchange. He used inappropriate language and expletives in front of my family, including our young children, and showed no regard for maintaining a professional demeanor. His staff, who were present the entire time, didn't intervene or seem to acknowledge the situation, which made the experience even more uncomfortable.

As long-time patrons of your establishment, we never expected to be treated with such disrespect. We understand that mistakes happen, but the lack of customer service, coupled with the unprofessionalism displayed by the owner, has left a lasting negative impression.

Sadly, this will be the last time we visit your restaurant, as we can no longer support a business that treats its customers with such disregard.

I hope you take this feedback seriously and work to address the behavior and customer service issues that...

Opened in 1974 and family owned the Pickle Barrel is a Deerfield Beach institution. Many of their customers have been coming here for decades. I think they take it for granted that everyone is a regular since they didn't bother to explain anything to us. Selections are on a board overhead and I ended up going with a Reuben and cream soda for $15. I hadn't had a Dr. Brown's cream soda in years and it was delicious. They asked what side I wanted and I chose coleslaw but none actually arrived with my sandwich. The sandwich was not toasted the way I am usually accustomed to having a Reuben but it was huge and the rye was soft and fresh. On the side were several half sour pickles. I ended up only being able to eat half my sandwich and took the rest home for a later meal. I saw people sharing one sandwich and just ordering an extra side to go with it. If I hadn't been so full I would have picked up one of their delicious looking cookies or a bag of chips.

They have a few tables inside and they were full when we first arrived. I think a lot of people get their food to go. If it hadn't been so miserably hot out I would have suggested eating in one of the nearby parks. I found out about the Pickle Barrel from an article about kayaking in the area and they suggested getting lunch to go from here. If it was cooler I would love to get takeout from here and have a picnic in nearby Sullivan Park where you can watch the boats go by. Come hungry because this sandwiches here...