Waxy's Irish Pub — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Watch your bill, they may try to cheat you. Our experience was not too bad at first. The service decent, but I kept having to ask for things for my meal, ketchup, blue cheese instead of the tartar sauce they brought me for my wings. Food was ok, but my wings were a little salty. Drinks were good and cheap. It was Ladies night, so certain drinks were $5 (1/2 off original price). Then I got the bill. This is when things turned. The bill was $44 for a $5 drink, wings, chicken tenders, a lemonade and 2 orders of fries. That seemed a little high. When I checked my bill they had charged me for 3 orders of fries. The bill showed one fry at $3.95 and the other fry as 2@$3.95=$7.90. When I asked the server about it, she told me I was only charged for 2 fries, not three. She only looked at the two lines on the bill that said fries and not what the charges were. Well, she fixed it after I pointed out their math error. Then when she brought back the adjusted bill, I noticed they charged me for the $5 drink, then applied a $5 discount, but somehow the bill still totaled as if the discount was never applied. I pointed it out to her again. I told her I didn’t have an issue paying the price of the bill because I know the drink was $5, but they way the bill read, it should be $5 cheaper. The manager was gone for the night so I spoke to person in charge at that time. She proceeded to tell me that they had just been open for two years. Which I caught her in a lie because I had been coming to Ft Lauderdale for my previous job for the last 10yrs and they had been there the whole time. She then changed her story to say, they had been closed for 8 months for remodeling and just reopened not long ago. (Side eye) I moved on from that argument. That’s easy enough to prove or disprove. She then said the got new cash registers with the remodel and it wasn’t programmed right. She supposedly “notified the manager”, but he didn’t listen to her. I told her I would come back and talk to him because anyone that can add based on what the bill showed would agree that the total should have been $5 cheaper. (I did break out the calculator on my phone to verify.) I went ahead and paid the total on the bill only because I knew that was the correct charge for what we ordered even though the bill was incorrect. Then after all that, I was going to give the server a tip, but when I asked for change for a $10, she gave me two fives. I asked for some ones and she told me that’s all she had. Well by now, I agitated. After taking forever to bring the correct condiments for my food, then trying to overcharge me for fries and drinks, you couldn’t even check with another server to get a few ones, I was done. This was the first night of our vacation and we were still going to tip her after all that. Unfortunately, she lost that when she couldn’t even find us change for it. If you go to Waxys Irish Pub, just make sure you pay close attention to your bill. They want you to get wasted so you won’t notice the...

Incredibly disappointing experience overall: Incompetent service and mediocre food.

We were ignored for quite some time upon arrival, but we were not in a hurry. Finally our drink orders were taken. It took a long time for our drinks to be brought to our table, but, again, that didn’t really move the needle for us.

Apparently, our server was the only waitstaff working when we arrived. She seemed overwhelmed when we innocently asked about ingredients due to a dietary restriction. She must’ve given up because the hostess took over from there. She, too, seemed willing to be helpful when we had a few questions and then placed our order.

Everything went downhill from there. My husband’s appetizer and entrée were brought simultaneously. We politely told the server that we wanted our entrées after finishing the appetizer.

I had to go outside to take an urgent phone call. When I returned to my table, despite the fact that my husband was still in the middle of eating his appetizer, our entrées were sitting on the table. I mentioned this gently to the hostess who took full responsibility. She claimed that she did not realize that some people wanted their entrées only after finishing their appetizer. She took full responsibility.

A manager named Mark approached our table and we calmly explained what had occurred. He agreed that it is the most basic concept in a restaurant that entrées should not be served until after an appetizer has been finished. He blamed himself for allowing his hostess (who used to be a server) to take orders. As compensation, in his mind, he brought us a complimentary dessert.

So everyone was taking responsibility for the mistakes...but how about the lackluster food? The lettuce and tomato served with my just-okay burger were wilted and sad. My husband gave all three of his dishes (even dessert!) mediocre ratings.

And what about the potato question? I was hoping for any form of ultra-plain potatoes: roasted, boiled, baked. Our server stood her ground and said there were no substitutions for sides with burgers. When I offered to pay an upcharge, she said she would check with the kitchen, but never returned with an answer. The hostess did not realize that mashed potatoes probably contain milk until I mentioned it. Nobody said anything about the availability of the boiled potatoes which came with my husband’s entrée.

And, finally, we were seated at a table right near the entrance, so we could smell all the icky cigarette smoke coming in from the patio where some guests were dining outside.

It’s too bad that the experience was so disappointing. It’s impossible for me to return to this establishment. I’m sure they’ll stay in business, however, because some people just go there for drinks, and are not fussy about the limited selection of beverages.

If you’re looking for a fabulous Irish pub, try The Field in Dania or Paddy Mac’s in Palm Beach...

While in town during a business trip, I decided to hit this place up, hoping for a relatively peaceful dinner. I mostly got it at Waxy's.

The bad: The service was quite slow. I sat at my table for a good 10-15 minutes before waitstaff acknowledged I was there. I was just about to leave when a stressed-looking guy said he would be right with me. It was almost another 10 minutes before someone entirely different stopped at my table. By this time, I had decided on what to order; Guinness & water to drink and a Waxy Burger to eat. Order placed, it took another 5-7 minutes before my drinks were set down. So, 25-30 minutes total sitting before I got any kind of beverage. Not a good stat. And after I received my meal, no one came by at all, even to drop off the bill. I had to ask for it. I honestly think I could have just left and no one would have noticed.

The good: The food itself came out pretty quickly and tasted great. The meat was tender and the toppings fresh. The atmosphere was moderately busy, but not overpowering with noise or bustle. Almost a low-key sports bar with full menu vibe, which was exactly what I was looking for that evening.

Overall, while the service was not great, the good food and atmosphere is enough of a draw that I will mostly likely give it another go when...