Town Hall Burger & Beer Durham — Restaurant in Durham

I want to start out by saying that I wanted to love this place. Wanted to really love it. I moved to the area a few months ago and had been meaning to try it for a while; it was always pretty busy, smelled good from the outside and just looked like it had a pretty good vibe. I was right, it did have a great atmosphere, but Heaven forbid that you should have any dietary requirements...

On arriving, the service was great as we were seated pretty much immediately and the décor is great; there are also a lot of TVs showing different games and the place was pretty busy. We decided to split the mac & cheese burger, some chicken tenders, and some fries and onion rings. We made it clear that we would be sharing all of the dishes on ordering (this will become relevant later). When we ordered, we let the server know that my wife has a severe allergy to seafood, and asked that there be no cross-contamination when preparing her food. The server made a massive deal of reassuring us that fish and shellfish were always kept separate in the kitchen, and that seafood was prepped in its own area within the kitchen. She even said how frustrating it is when you go somewhere and they can't guarantee no cross-contamination. So far, so good.

We had our drinks and there was a great selection of draft beers and hard ciders and we were enjoying ourselves. A person approached the table (we later learned that he was the manager) and told us that, in fact, the seafood wasn't kept separate at all, and that as the mac & cheese patty would be fried in the same oil as the fish, my wife couldn't have it. He explained that the two sides of the kitchen were in fact for bread and non-bread, to cater to those with a gluten intolerance. There are two fryers, again, one for bread and one for non-bread. Neither of these were fish-free. We asked if they would be able to put a pot of oil on the stove to ensure that there would be no cross-contamination but we were told that they weren't prepared to do that. There was no apology, and I asked to see the menu again.

A third server came to take our order and we opted for a plain cheeseburger, and then our original server came back to check if we needed more drinks. She apologized for the confusion, saying that she assumed that they would be able to keep it separate given how rigid they are with the whole gluten thing. Odd, considering how much trouble she went to in order to assure us that there was never any mixing of fish and non-fish but fine, we all make mistakes. It was at this point that it occurred to me that the onion rings would likely be fried in the same oil. I asked the server and she replied, 'Yes, we've just realized that, and we won't charge you for them'. I asked her if we could speak to the manager so that I could ask him a couple of questions. When he returned, I asked him why such pains were taken over accommodating gluten intolerances so carefully, but not a deathly fish allergy. He shrugged his shoulders and said that it was the owner's decision, that 'he probably should do something' but that he, the manager, held no sway. I asked him if he would feed back to the owner, which he said he would do but that it would make no difference. At least on this second interaction, he apologized, and told us our food would be right out.

A few minutes later, I had another thought and dashed over to the bar where our server was prepping some drinks and asked her how the chicken would be cooked. She looked at me almost defeatedly and said 'They'll be fried in the oil too'. At this point, I handed her my card and told her that I wished to pay for the drinks and leave. She was very apologetic, but I find it somewhat ludicrous that they were on the ball enough to notice the mac & cheese patty, but not to mention the chicken strips or onion rings. And then, when I brought up the question of the onion rings, nobody made the connection with the breaded chicken strips. If I hadn't been more alert, my wife could have been rendered seriously ill, or worse. We left feeling very let down and...

I was excited to find this suggestion on Google maps as I was visiting the area on a long weekend trip. The reviews were so positive that I could not pass up the opportunity to dine here. Unfortunately my expectations were either too high or the bar is set fairly low in this area. First of all, the concept of ordering at the counter and not having dedicated servers is not what you expect to find at this price point. The order process feels rushed as other customers are lining up behind you. We had to step aside to view the menu board from afar before approaching again. After making our way back to the front of the line, the person working the register failed to acknowledge our existence and the cashier working on an adjacent line called us over. This was odd being that the customer directly before us in the line was served without issue. Upon asking a question related to what product was being showcased on the flashing menu behind the register, the cashier was unable to recall which sandwich was pictured. With all the menu items being a la carte, the total becomes fairly steep rather quickly. A buffalo chicken sandwich, salad, chips, 2 beers ended up costing $35 which is in some cases higher than a traditional sit down restaurant where you are served (including tip). Our issues didn't only exist with the concept and order process, they continued once the ordering process was completed. We chose to sit outside as it was a pleasant evening. The beers arrived fairly quickly and were cold. It could be said they were the highlight of this experience. Next came the delivery of the buffalo chicken sandwich which occurred approximately 5-7 minutes after ordering. As the food runner approached he started yelling "Buffalo Chicken" while he was still a few tables away and totally ruined the ambiance. After the sandwich was placed, I thanked him to which he replied "Mmm hmm". I'm sorry, but I find such a response to be inexcusable when I am a patronage of any type of establishment. Overall the sandwich was good! The size of the chicken breast was very large and the sauce was nicely balanced to be flavorful without over powering the other ingredients. Then came the salad which was delivered approximately 8 mins after the chicken sandwich was. I also have an issue when food items for the same table are delivered individually rather than together. Our dinner consisted of a part of 2, it would not have been that hard to ensure these items came out at the same time.

Overall we left feeling disappointed and wonder if we came on an off night or if the others leaving such wonderful reviews have never had the pleasure of a dinning experience where customer service, food quality, and value...

My wife and I were in the mood for some burgers on Memorial Day. Some what a disappointment at this location. I had tried other locations and was very impressed with the food and service. Yesterday was no where near what I had told my wife in convincing her to give the Durham location a try. What makes it worse is that we were sitting right next the manager who was working on his laptop possibly doing the schedule the entire time we were there. He saw the issues we were having with our meal and not once did he check on us or any other diners in the restaurant. We ordered two burgers wings and sweet potato fries. Our fries came out with our wings. We were expecting the fries to come out with the burgers. When the burgers arrived, we had told the server that the fries should have came out with these burgers and now they are cold. She said no problem she will bring us more. She took the cold ones off the table. My wife’s burger bun was cold and not grilled. The server said no problem I will take it back and have them grill it. Which she took it back. She came back out with new sweet potato fries and my wife’s burger. They grilled the bun on the outside of the bun and the inside was still cold on the inside and not toasted(grilled). She said no problem she will take it back again and have them grill the inside. When the burger came back out a third time, now the bun had been grilled properly. Both of us ordered our burgers with some pink. Both burgers were well done. At this point, we just were done sending food back and took a couple bites and did not want keep this poor girl running back and forth with no help from her manager who had watched all this take place right in front of him. We asked for boxes and the check. We were charged for two orders of sweet potato fries. Our bill was over $70. For a meal we ended up giving to a man that was panhandling at the intersection close by. That poor server tried but had no support or concern from...