Powder Keg — Restaurant in Hercules

Definitely pass. The waiter here was pretty inefficient. He hardly let us tell him we wanted water then we ordered oyster shooters. He came by ten minutes later, still no silverware or napkins on the table and He was surprised we didn't get our shooters. Shouldn't it have been him to bring them out??? He went to the bar a few minutes later and dumbfounded brought them over. Then about five plus minutes later he took our order. He didn't even ask what side I wanted and I had to remind him myself, as the meal came with it. He asked which kind of fries I wanted looking at me like I should just know the difference. His tone was completely condescending. Then after the rest of our order he asks us to separate our table. That's fine I guess because we only needed half. Then I saw a spot at the window opened. I asked if we could have it and more attitude from him saying other people get it.

Finally about five to ten minutes later he comes back to me saying we're out of oysters. He should of told me that awhile ago!! I was annoyed and wanted to leave at that point. I asked to talk to the manager and guess what, more attitude from this guy. Eventually a manager came out and agreed to give 10% off and adjusted the bill on the computer. So instead of this waiter closing out our bill quickly at that point he proceeded to ignore us. I ended up getting another waiter to bring our bill because this one was so incompetent he couldn't even do that.

I'm pretty sure I got the worst waiter tonight of the two. The other one seemed competent. The oyster shot was decent but zero for...

I needed to really think about what I was going to write after my experience.

I love the bartender and his enthusiasm towards his job. He kept me amused the entire time.

However, he placed my order wrong, which then allowed me to feel what I felt towards the food I ate. I originally ordered mussels with garlic parmesean fries (It comes as one). That is not what I received. I received mussels in some sort of green sauce. He had to fix my order by getting the fries on the side. I ordered 2 glasses of wine. Their wine section is outdated. I asked about 2 or 3 of the 6 or 7 wines that were on it, and they did not have it.

The fries had garlic and parm on then, but the garlic did not seem to be cooked in. The garlic was cold, and the parm was sprinkled light. I ate them all because I had to pay for them. The mussels came in some sort of green sauce, which the bartender let me know was garlic, olive oil, and something else. The sauce was very bland and luke warm, which I told the bartender when he asked if I enjoyed it. He told me that the sauce was from yesterday because the cook can store it for 3 days before throwing out. That immediately sent my stomach into a bad feeling because I thought that what I just ate was made to order.

Maybe I'll go back and try something else because the place was packed, the music was good and the bartender was great. I would most certainly go for the drinks. Maybe I'll try a burger because no one can mess that up..lol.

The bartender comp'd my meal, which I most certainly...

If you eat here, CHECK YOUR BILL before you pay. The food was delicious, but I'm giving 1 star because of the shady service I received. And it is strictly for this reason that I will not be returning to the restaurant. When I arrived to pick up my order, the woman who tallied my bill automatically entered a 25% tip and flipped the clover to my side and casually asked me to just put in my card. I never do that. I always look at my total first and do a rough calculation in my head to see if everything adds up. I always tip 10%. Even when folks give me bad service, a firm rule I have is to always tip a minimum of 10% to the service industry. It is the vibe and caliber of service I receive that then determines how much more I tip above the 10%. To have someone decide what I'm going to tip them on a pickup order is definitely not high caliber service. If you are going to demand (not even suggest!) a 25% tip, have it clearly written somewhere easily visible to the customer. Or be sure to state that while the order is being placed over the phone or online. Otherwise, it just comes across as tactless stealing. Yes, times are hard, eating pricey(ish) seafood is a luxury, and the restaurant industry has been hardest hit by this atrocious pandemic and poor National leadership. All these things are still no excuse for this type of behavior. The whole thing turned me off and seriously killed a little bit of the good vibe I had going all morning. Let's do and be...