The Pewter Mug North — Restaurant in Florida

As a Naples resident of 32 years, The Pewter Mug is a place not unknown to me. I was excited to take my family to the new location for an evening of great drinks, great food, and great service. Unfortunately, this was not how our evening went.

We visited Saturday November 10 at around 5:15 P.M. Upon entering, we waited for our turn to speak with the hostess, When it was our turn, there was no greeting, no eye contact, nothing. I had to approach her and apparently when I did, I was bothering her. I advised her that we did not have a reservation but asked if any seating would be available. She replied, "I have to tell you that without a reservation we are booked up. You will have to sit at a high top in the bar." I said, "That's fine, we don't mind a high top." Her reply was, "Then go seat yourself!" as she then greeted the next customer warmly.

We sat ourselves at the last available high top and began to wait. 15 minutes later we met our server, got menus, and ordered drinks. My wife and I ordered a Tom Collins each, and a sprite for our son. Another 15 minutes passes and we were presented with our drinks and had to stop our server as he attempted to dart off, letting him know we were prepared to order our meals.

After ordering, he let us know we could help ourselves to the salad bar. After taking a sip of the drink I was served, off we went to get our salads. The drink, by the way, tasted like sour mix with a splash of gin. I am not sure what it was but it was certainly NOT a Tom Collins! We were tempted to send them back but taking into consideration the length of time it took to get the first round, we decided it would most likely be better to power thru the swill we were served.

The salad bar was good. Fresh, tasty. The ranch dressing was superb! After finishing his salad, our son finished his sprite and asked for more. Our server was nowhere to be found. Finally, after 50 minutes, our meals arrived. We asked for another sprite for our son, and a couple of soft drinks for us as the bartender seemed to have an issue mixing a simple drink so we decided to play it safe!

The quality of our meals was less than acceptable. My wife ordered the 10 oz prime rib with a loaded baked potato, my son had the childrens burger with fries, and I ordered the 12 oz "NY Strip Sirloin" with a loaded baked potato.

NONE and I do mean NONE of our food was cooked properly. The fries were soggy, my sons burger (Ordered well done) was medium. My wife's prime rib (ordered medium well) was nearly raw, and my strip (ordered rare) was just short of being a brick of charcoal. The potatoes were TINY with barely ANY toppings. Perhaps the chef was having an off night, or perhaps our server took our order incorrectly, I won't place blame.

I do understand it was busy, but I wonder why our server was a ghost at our table but checking his other tables every 10 minutes? Yes, I was timing him. Who knows. It was upsetting to say the least especially considering the amount of money we were spending for dinner. Quite frankly, we have had better service at an interstate side diner famous for its waffles, and food more properly prepared dining under golden arches.

Upon finishing our food, we sat with dirty plates in front of us for 25 minutes before seeing our server again. When he returned, he had check in hand. No offer of dessert, no checking to see if all was well, no offer of another drink, just the check.

Before leaving, I went to make use of the men's room but upon seeing the condition, I decided to "hold it" as a service station restroom seemed to be the better option. (See photos)

There were several other issues during our visit, but I think you get the point. I am not sure why we were treated so poorly during our visit, but I am sure that we will not be returning anytime soon. I'm sure the management team doesn't care that they lost a family of customers, but I'm sure other establishments in town will care that we will be bringing our...

The Pewter Mug;

I forgot to get our servers name. He was a tall blonde man. He was very good. Super great with explanations, and since it was our first visit, he explained how everything works at the pewter mug. Which was very helpful. Our orders were perfect. Everything came as requested, and he visited often to fill drinks or to check in. We brought our 1.5 year old baby girl, and the restaurant was buzzing with guests, so she didn't disturb anyone. The highchair they supplied was clean & modern. A very great experience. The menu is varied and has many options for everyone. They have a nice salad bar, soup bar, and cheese and bread roll bar. They also have specials. On the night we visited, it was Roast Triple Tail over pasta. Loaded baked potato soup and onion soup. They're known for their premiere Prime Rib Dinners. My wife ordered the 10oz Prime Rib. Well done, baked sweet potato with brown sugar and butter. I had their French Dip, of which came with provolone cheese, and I ordered their loaded baked potato. All entrees come with their salad bar of which had a lot of choice. I appreciated their old school offerings and the more modern salad bar options. What I loved was the Three Bean Salad, The Beets, The Cottage Cheese, Sweet Peas Salad, and Pasta Salad. I never get to have three bean salads, and that was cool. They have some dessert options, but we were thoroughly stuffed and could not indulge. It's all around great place. One that we will need to try over and over again. It's not fine dining but just a good family style restaurant with good food, good portions, good variety, high-quality Prime Rib, and a nice salad bar. They have a variety of starters, seafood entrees, and entrees from the land. Lots of choices. Great for everyone. Great service. Family atmosphere. Lots of conversations and buzzing. I believe they also had a separate bar area and another dining room. So two dining rooms and a bar dining area with tvs playing at the bar with football on my visit. It wasn't bar focused, though. I kind of liked that it was spread out a bit and separated. You'll need to visit yourself to see. I believe they've been in business for over 70 years in their old location. This was for their new building, which is a larger space with great parking. I think I've just about covered everything. Will edit my review if things change in the future. Definitely give them a try. Look out for that tall blonde man who provided my family with expert old school service. It is very much appreciated. Thank you.

(I am a Local Naples Chef: My review was unsolicited, honest, my opinion only, I am in no way affiliated with The Pewter Mug, I am just a local chef, foodie &...

Years ago-Family has been coming for years! Loved the old location! At new location salad bar is still amazing!! Every time we go there now it seems to be the same kind of soup. They used to make a great french onion soup. They changed the fettuccine too. Now it's fettuccine primavera with mushrooms, spinach etc. Definitely not the same taste or quality. Told them to send it back. Ended up not wanting to order anything more from them after that. Please bring back the fettuccine you used to make. My daughter ordered a burger. I tasted it. It was bland. Can get a better burger at Culvers! My husband got a steak was chewy and under seasoned. Never thought I would say this about Pewter Mug but I feel they are cutting corners. Not the same as before..

08032024-We decided to try again, with family, for an extended Birthday weekend for a special little girl! Very happy with the service, our waitress was AMAZING! Food was definitely better than the last time! Husband says steak was flavorful and cooked to perfection! My daughter and I split the adult burger, again flavorful and yummy! I truly can't comment on how the kids would be, as last time it was not too good, hence the reason why we split the pub version on the adult menu. They still have the fettuccini with spinach. I didn't want to try that as the last time we went, the sauce was watered down tasting. I truly feel this is due to the spinach, but again people must like it or I'd assume they'd take it off the menu otherwise. Their salad bar has always been a hit! I give them kudos for having it still, as covid had knocked most salad bars out! We do LOVE a good salad bar, and it's pretty awesome there! Still no French onion soup. One thing we did not know, the Pewter Mug did a Birthday celebration thing? Or it could have been our waitress, Sydney, being so incredibly nice, as she was the whole dining experience! She brought my daughter a piece of key lime pie with a candle! We all sang Happy Birthday! I have to say the pie was pretty incredible! She said they make it 'in house'. We will go back again and give them another try! It seems like they are trying to improve since the last time we were there. Five stars for our waitress Sydney (oh and Happy Birthday soon 🎂!!)!! Now four stars for...