The Mad Hatter Winery & Smoke House — Restaurant in Jim Thorpe

This is the most racist, slowest-serving, and worst-tasting restaurant I have ever been to.

I’m sorry to leave such a review, and I want to acknowledge that the hostess who seated us was very nice. However, the rest of our experience was absolutely unacceptable and incomprehensible.

We dined as a group of eight, which was indeed the largest group at the time. However, having more people is no excuse for such poor service. If your restaurant cannot accommodate large parties, you should set a limit on the number of guests, rather than responding to a polite inquiry about our order (after waiting for over an hour) by saying, “It hasn’t been an hour, just 50 minutes.” For the record, from the time we sat down and took our first photo to when the first entrée arrived, 68 minutes had passed.

We ordered nine entrées in total, and here’s what happened: • Two steaks ordered medium-well were served well-done; another steak ordered medium was nearly fully cooked. Not only were the steaks overdone, but their taste, texture, and quality were completely inedible. • Seven burgers arrived, but five of them—including the fries—were stone cold. One burger was completely missing, and when we asked about it after an hour, we were told it was ready but, since we didn’t want to wait, it would be canceled. Yet ten minutes later, it was brought to us—hot. If a burger can be served hot in ten minutes, why did we wait over an hour for cold food? I can confidently say that McDonald’s or Burger King offers better, faster, and more affordable meals than what we endured.

What made this even worse was the lack of communication. Nobody came to explain the delays or to kindly ask for our patience. Yet we noticed other tables receiving polite updates, being told their food might take some time but would be worth the wait.

The most infuriating part of this experience was the attitude of one server. While she was courteous to other tables, she stepped on our small dog, did not apologize, and even rolled her eyes at us. Later, she was seen whispering with another table and glancing at us in a way that felt hostile and discriminatory. If your restaurant is not dog-friendly, you should simply say so, rather than treating customers and their pets with such blatant disrespect.

The entire experience was a downward spiral of disappointment, shock, and anger.

We demand an apology and fair treatment. If your restaurant cannot provide basic courtesy, professionalism, or edible food, you should not be in the...

Respond to the seller’s comment:

It’s incredibly disappointing to see such an unprofessional and defamatory response from the management of this restaurant. Instead of addressing valid concerns raised by multiple customers, you have chosen to attack us personally, mischaracterizing our behavior, and resorting to baseless accusations. “Rude, entitled, arrogant children”: This is an uncalled-for personal attack that reflects poorly on your establishment. We are paying customers who expected a basic level of respect and service. Order complexity and delays: Yes, we were a large group, but we ordered straightforward meals—burgers and steaks—not an unreasonable or complicated request for any restaurant. The issue is not the size of the group but the fact that the food was excessively delayed, served cold, and improperly prepared. That is your responsibility to manage, not ours. Accusation of lying about our dog: The fact remains that your server stepped on our dog. Instead of offering an apology, she rolled her eyes and behaved dismissively. Denying this incident and labeling it as false is simply dishonest. Race-based accusations: Your comment implying we made accusations of racism because your staff is white and we are non-white is deeply offensive and unprofessional. Our complaint was not about race—it was about how we were treated compared to other customers and the overall lack of respect shown to us. Tips and your entitlement to them: Tips are based on the quality of service, food, and overall atmosphere provided by your restaurant. Your food was inedible, as you likely noticed from how little we ate. The service speaks for itself—unapologetic delays, cold food, and dismissive attitudes. Am I supposed to tip for the racial discrimination and blatant double standards we experienced? Absolutely not. “Punishment through bad reviews”: We have every right to share our experience publicly. Bad reviews aren’t “punishment”; they’re feedback for others to make informed decisions. Rather than taking accountability, you have chosen to gaslight and insult your customers.

Your response confirms the lack of professionalism and accountability that we experienced during our visit. Perhaps you should reflect on how you treat customers instead of blaming them for your failings. Your attitude is precisely why this incident warrants a...

Terribly disappointing. Went here for lunch on a Friday afternoon with my 2 friends. Waited to be seated and were greeted by (after 5 mins of standing there) by a very miserable employee. Told us to sit anywhere. Sat down and watched and listened to this employee complain to the only 2 other table of people who were there that he was the only one working because the waitress called off. After another 5-10 mins of sitting there, he finally brought menus over and asked for our drinks. Ordered 2 sodas and a water and said we have no ice is that ok? Well I guess it got to be ok since we dont have a choice. Brings the drinks after another few minutes and we order our food, 2 of us got broccoli cheddar bacon soup in a bread bowl and my other friend got an adult grilled cheese sandwich. Didnt take too long to get the food. Soup was steaming but was lukewarm at best. It was steaming because it was absolutely FREEZING inside. For being a $10.95 soup it was lacking to say the least. Tasted like a canned cream of potato base with 3 pieces of steamed brocolli thrown on top with a few bits of chopped bacon and lightly sprinkled shredded cheese on top. Also, my bread bowl was more like a bread bucket while my friends bread bowl was about 1/2 of the size and 1/2 the amount of soup as mine. My other friend had no complaints about her sandwich. We finished the personable employee brings the bill. I ask if he could split it so we can pay our own. He looked at me like I had 3 heads and said I dont know how to even do that. I took the bill (which was just his own handwritten slip of paper) and showed him how I had a soda and soup, my friend had a water and soup and my other friend had a soda and sandwhich. He took the paper from me and walked away muttering how he isnt even sure how to run the register. Comes back with 3 slips of paper with our totals (handwritten) for us to pay. We pay and leave and on the way out this employee just stood there by the entrance, didn't even say thank you or goodbye. Absolutely HORRID customer service, mediocre food at best and stale atmosphere. Also watched a couple walk out after just ordering water because they were so annoyed by the employees poor attitude and complaining of "being the...