Open Flame — Restaurant in Hales Corners

My husband and I went this past Friday - 3/6/2020. We both got the prime rib which is 16 ounces; it was nice to have leftovers to take home for another meal. He had the french onion soup that he really enjoyed, and my salad with ranch was decent (the tomatoes and lettuce were fresh and not wilted). We got the mozzarella triangle appetizer and that was fantastic, I highly recommend. I liked the bread basket too, the bread was warm and soft and the olive oil they serve with it they season (we were told it has pine nuts, which we're not allergic to, but FYI). We were too full to have dessert. Price wise it was reasonable - with an app, two orders of prime rib, a water and a soda, it was 70 and change, and 84 with tip. It's definitely not as expensive as Ward's in Milwaukee - if you're wanting prime rib but don't want deal with the traffic, it was a good substitute.

The service was so-so, starting with the host and hostess. We walked in at about 5:15ish and were told it was only a 5-10 minute wait and were given a pager (number 106). We both went to the restroom and then sat at the bench by the restrooms and the entrance, so we weren't really in view of the host stand (which shouldn't have mattered). When we walked in, we were the only people in the waiting area so we should have been the first people to be sat. 25 minutes later and our pager still hadn't gone off, so we switched to sitting at a high top table for two that was right in front of the host stand because I wondered if they forgot about us. As we were moving to that spot, a family of four were being brought back to be seated that had walked in about five minutes earlier. A minimum of four groups of people had walked in after us and none of them were waiting up front.

Why in the world would you assign pagers and then not use them, especially with two people working at the host stand? The restaurant was busy, but not busy enough to have a long wait time for a table (unless they forget about you). It wasn't as busy as Amore across the street because we went there first (it was a 30 minute wait and the waiting area was packed). We would have been better off just staying there to wait since it ended up being the same amount of time.

Our server was very nice, but she was definitely frazzled. She stopped by to introduce herself and told us she'd be back to get our drink order, and then came back 5 minutes later for the drink order, the came back later with drinks, and we weren't ready to order yet but we did put in an appetizer order. She came back and got our orders about another 5 minutes later. Someone else dropped off our appetizer about 15-20 minutes after that. Overall she was decent, but as I said, we could tell she was a little frazzled (the table across from us in her section that was sat after us had the same thing happen as well) and the food took a little longer than maybe it should have. It was a Friday night, and her section was full when we first got sat - I was a server at a Darden restaurant for 3 years so I get it, no big deal. When we left she had a couple tables in her section open so it had slowed down.

Would I recommend it? Yeah, I'd rate it at 3.5 stars, and we would go back, especially for that mozzarella appetizer (it really was delicious). But I don't think I'd go back on a Friday night and risk being forgotten about - we'd probably go during the week or perhaps at an earlier (or...

Every dining room server we interacted with was great, very attentive, on top of it.

Overall the food looked great but was ok at best. My BF’s prime rib looked awesome! It was oddly flavorless, served with a SWEET glaze/gravy w/ mushrooms. NO au jus or horseradish on the side?! Parm crusted tenderloin medallions, were good & cooked perfectly. My mom had a black & blue burger, again it looked great but was just ok. Salad that came w/ my dinner had great cheese dressing. Really enjoyed the warm bread w/ olive oil and calamari! Lobster bisque that came with my BF’s dinner, not great. Total bill was about $150 w/ tip.

We over looked the lack of flavor, and missing standard prime rib side. Not to mention the 5 gallon bucket wedged under ceiling tile to handle a roof leak. What happened w/ my mom at the bar, after dinner, was a joke.

After dinner my mom walked to the bar. Grabbed pull tabs & another drink, her 3rd drink, specifically. She no longer drives.

After winning a few bucks, she got a couple more pull tabs & just hung out at the bar. She was having a good time talking with a gentleman at the bar & wanted to stay a little longer. We stayed for a drink, my first of the night & my BFs second. The gentleman my mom had been talking w/ tried to buy us drinks, this was when my mom was told she was cut off. Pretty sure they meant the 3 of us. The pulled our empty glasses off the bar & signed bill.

They told us this was for my mom’s safety because the manger heard her slurring her words. They could not serve her anymore for her own protection & the security of their liquor license.

Please keep in mind I’m a reasonable person. I’ve been a licensed bartended for years and worked across multiple types of venues/establishments. The need to stop serving someone is a very real thing, I’ve had to do it plenty of times, it’s not something I take lightly. I fully respect an establishment’s right to refuse service to anyone at anytime. I also appreciate their concern for patron safety. However, in this case it was completely uncalled for.

I’m very curious about why this actually happened. Was it because they closed with in the next hour? Or that my mom is considered disabled & walks with a cane? Or because my mom voiced her opinion about the legitimacy & pay outs of their pull tabs?

Whatever the case, it was an absolute joke. Last night your establishment only succeeded in losing good customers.

Your restaurant was one of my grandfather’s favorite places, my mom & him would eat a lot when he was alive. She still loves going there, it reminds her of her dad.

Not only did you tarnish that for her, you also succeeded in completing embarrassing a 60 year old retired lady, that doesn’t get out that much anymore, who was just trying to have a nice Saturday night out with her...

Horrible experience. I will never eat at this restaurant again. I arrived at 11AM on Father's Day with four other guests. We were told there was a one hour wait for a table. After putting our name down and ordering a drink at the bar, it became apparent that there were a number of open tables on the outside patio as well as inside the dining room. I am typically pretty patient and understanding so I ignored this fact for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, at which point I inquired at the front how much longer it would be, as there were clearly a number of open tables. "Could we at least sit down and have some waters?" The reply I received was, "The kitchen is backed up. We are trying to catch up. It will be another 15 minutes." Ten minutes later a party of 7 walked in the door and they were seated immediately. My sister approached the front to inquire about this and we were finally allowed a table. Upon being seated, before even placing an order, we were informed it would be another 45-60 minutes until we would get our food. When asked for a lunch menu (since it was clearly past breakfast time), we were told it would be another 30 minutes until they were giving out lunch menus! We asked to speak to a manager. The manager approached the table and said, "So I hear you want a round of free drinks." We all looked at one another. No! We want an explanation for the 2.5 hour wait and your refusal to provide us with lunch menus. At this point, I had already had 3 drinks sitting and waiting to even sit down! Needless to say after much debating, we finally received a lunch menu (actually dinner menu - they must have decided to skip lunch all together). Any "special requests" (i.e. hold the tomatoes; egg whites, dressing on the side) were shot down. We did get food, which I would rate as average. Oh - we did get a round of free drinks. Honestly, probably the worst part is no one was apologetic. The attitude was "Yea we are crazy busy - take it or leave it." We should have left it. I will never set foot in this place again.There is a clear problem...