RIVER — Restaurant in Denver

I was a this bar for the first time to support a dear friend of mine who was performing this evening. We had ordered two drinks and they were well mixed and delivered as promised. I made a wing order and paid around $21+ for the food and tip, the bartender asked me for my phone number to text me when the food was ready. I told her and noticed she was writing it down incorrectly, so I politely reaffirmed that the number was different. The bartender placed my order and I sat back down to enjoy my drink.

After about 20 minutes I was checking my phone for a message regarding the food, but had received nothing. I looked at the “food window,” and saw a basket of food sitting there. I waited another 10 -15 minutes and had not received a text message or a notice from the kitchen or bartender. So I kept track of the basket of food at the window and checked periodically to see if it was someone else’s order. I never saw the basket of food get removed from the window after another 10-15 minutes, so I was curious if it was my food order and approached the bartender to inquire about my food order.

The bartender was immediately defensive and pointed to the basket of wings and sides that had been sitting in the food window for at least 15-20 minutes, and stated that they texted me and that I must have told them the wrong number. She also went on further to say that it “wasn’t her problem, and that I needed to talk to the kitchen.” I walked over to the food window at the kitchen and did not immediately see anyone in it. After around 3-4 minutes an older woman came out from the back entrance of the kitchen. As she walked towards the window I told her that I had not received a text for my food and that the food I ordered was cold and would need to be remade, before I was finished explaining the situation, the bartender yelled towards her that I had given her the wrong phone number. I pulled out my phone and showed the manager/owner that I had indeed not received a text message from them.

The manager or owner, was extremely hostile and aggressive from the get go and instantly got defensive when I asked that the food be remade and that it had sat there for at least 15-20 minutes. She mentioned that that she had said at the beginning of our conversation, while the bartender was yelling over our convo, that she would remake the food but that I was “being rude.” Because of this she said that she didn’t have to do anything, I am a bit fuzzy on what she said at this point because the live music was loud, and I was frustrated by the reaction to the whole ordeal.

I told her that I would just dispute the charge and that they didn’t need to worry about the situation and walked back towards my friend and wife. The manager or owner, followed me over to my wife where I told her and my friend that I was leaving because the River Bar staff were extremely hostile and disrespectful. The “owner” started saying that I needed to “leave the bar immediately.” I replied that I was doing exactly just that and we walked out after chatting with my friend who is performing tonight.

I just want to say that I was not hostile, rude, or aggressive when I approached the bartender or kitchen about my food. I was merely inquiring about my order to make sure there was not a mistake made. Instead, I was immediately blamed by not only the bartender, but also the “owner” who made me feel extremely unwelcome. I am not a regular here, it was my first time. However, I will NEVER recommend this place or support this owner if this is how she treated paying customers and the supporters of the local artists that bring in revenue streams for her business.

I find it odd that neither the bartender or the owner sought to verify my phone number prior to the hostility and accusations. Perhaps the “owner” of the bar was having a bad night, perhaps she misunderstood me, perhaps there was an honest mistake made with the texting order notification. Either way, her handling of the situation was unacceptable and I did not deserve...

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I give reviews as an ex-bartender to balance out the negative reviews I read by grumpy people having a bad day. This is my first 3 star review. I actually LOVE this place, and think the atmosphere, wall hangings, bathrooms, etc. are incredible, but I think it is confused about its identity. We were heading to a concert at Globe, had a nice bartender, but 1 White Claw, 2 Voodoo Ranger 12 ounce cans, and 4 Breckenridge vodka shots (poured to the white line on the shot glass and not the top) equaled $70. If you are a fancy place, charge fancy prices. If you are a dive, charge dive prices. I recommend going here without a doubt as it is SO unique, but check your tab at the end of...