Whiskey Tavern — Restaurant in Laconia

Hi guys. I'm posting this because it's a new place that really seems to need some legitimate constructive criticism to get their stuff straight. I acknowledge that this may feel like I'm going for the throat on this, but they've been open for a month, and the owner also had Old School, so there's no real excuse for not getting your staff up to speed.

Starting at the entrance, the host station was being run by random people who seemed to have no sense of ownership. There were clearly open tables, but on multiple occasions I saw a server/host just stamd there with a family looking around for a full minute before finally just picking one of the tables to sit them at. My advice is to have a dedicated person keeping track of the tables and clean/seat people as those spots open up.

Drinks - They finally got a drink menu since opening (they didn't have that last time we came, nor did they have the ability to serve half of their items then, so we didn't stay for dinner). Pretty frustrating to see that they have like 8 very simple cocktail options, and yet it took them like 20 minutes to get us our first round. The saving grace was that the drinks were very good, and I was feeling the first one a bit, so they're not short-changing you.

Food - We ordered the southwest chicken egg rolls, and they were really good! In terms of entrees, the food was pretty good. My wife had the fish and chips, which she said seemed very fresh (great to hear), and the in-laws had similar responses. I had the ribs, which were tough (probably not slow-cooked) with the broccoli (great), and the mac & cheese (good texture but bland, needed either more salt or a better cheese for the macaroni like an American).

Service - This was the big ugly mark on the experience. The server took our drink and appetizer order and didn't bring anything over for a good twenty minutes. She forgot that they "ran out" of fried pickles and didn't tell us until 15 minutes in. I had finished a large whiskey sour by the time she came with any food. I ordered a Rambler at that point and didn't see it until probably another 20 minutes or so. This was annoying because the drink menu is so limited, and the drinks they do have take like 3 or 4 basic ingredients to make.

When she arrived with the app, there were no plates or silverware, so we just worked from that until she came back 10 minutes later. At this point, she brought 3 plates for the four of us, so I had to use the plate with the egg rolls on it as my own. Now, I'm not going to cry about not having my own plate, but it takes next to zero effort to just count and bring the right amount. One of the rolls of silverware was bare, so I didn't have a napkin to work with. Again, it's just like, "What are we doing here, guys?"

The server then forgot the Cole slaw and the tartar sauce for the fish and chips, but the worst part is thst every time something was off, missed, wrong or late, it was chalked up to "growing pains," which I guess is fine for the first week or two, but we're a month in and they still haven't figured out some basics like managing the host station well or getting food/basic drinks to the table in a timely manner.

Atmosphere - The lighting was fine when we came in, but then some dude with a bandana that worked there started messing with the lights every five minutes: first too bright, then fine, then not. Just leave em alone, bro. The whole time, the Lights were blinking in brightness, which I think could be an issue with the contactors in their electrical distribution equipment, so it was just annoying.

The car theme was fine, but I didn't see anything that tied it to "The Whiskey Tavern," and there wasn't anything obvious about the history to connect it, so it felt random. While aesthetically, it was fine, functionally, the bench you sit at while the staff debating between the many open tables to sit you at was probably the least comfortable bench I've sat on. Again, I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, but if it already seems unfitting and then you add uncomfortable, it adds...

Beware of the "takeout food" here!!!!! This review mainly pertains to the takeout. I just got off the phone speaking to a woman who stated she's the G.M. here because I asked for the manager or even better the owner. 1st my husband and I have eaten here a bunch of times over the past couple of years and the food was always great when we ate in the building. Last night we decided to have some takeout. It was really late and we were both hungry. My husband ordered their B burger, which he's ordered many times before well done. I ordered chicken wings half garlic teriyaki flavored and half plain extra crispy, along with an order of their scallops wrapped in bacon with no maple glaze ( which I had never tried here before). I begin to tell her what I had placed for my order and I asked her, is your typical order of scallops... She jumps in and says, yes, it's an order of 3. You got 3 scallops and I said, well, I ordered it without the Maple glaze, and it came, she goes, yeah, on polenta. We serve it on polenta and it says that on the menu I said, oh, it does.?? Hmmm. (See pics) I then proceeded to tell her that I had ordered the chicken wings and how somebody had put the container down on something hot, which melted a hole in the bottom of it and all of the sauce came out all over the other two packages, stuffed in the one white plastic small bag, all three styrofoam containers were shoved intoit. My husband's burger was ordered well done. You can see in the picture. It's medium-rare at best (I typically order medium-rare) and there were finger holes in the bottom of his bun. She proceeds to tell me well, that's "takeout food" "it doesn't travel well". I then said, oh, give me a break, seriously, we live right up the road from you not even a mile the way. After lying to me about the menu description or be in a GM who's not familiar with menu items, she then proceeds to insult me by offering me fifteen % or fifteen dollar gift card for the next time. After being talked to in this way, I let her know there would not be a next time and that I wanted to give her an opportunity before I made my review to make things right. She never asked to see the pictures, if we ate the food, to replace the order correctly or offer a reasonable refund. I have worked in many restaurants and have never been met with such immediate defensiveness, and just being trying to be brushed off with a fifteen % or fifteen $ gift card. To show that I was bold face lied to a few minutes ago on the phone. I've added pics of the menu online from which we ordered and it does not anywhere mention that there are only 3 scallops or that they are served on polenta , it does, show the price that you pay for 3 scallops wrapped in bacon. I will let the photos speak for themselves. As I stated, we've eaten here before in house, and the food was always really good and presented well. I highly recommend staying away from their "Take out food" as their GM stated on the phone doesn't do well once it leaves the building by these pictures, you can see it wasn't doing well before it left the building. Also a quick mention. If you go in there late at night, prepare to stand there, wait and be ignored while the bartenders are joking around behind the bar instead of coming to see if they can hand you your order that is getting cold on the counter behind them. I paid $52 for this food and experience and ridiculously tipped the girl who ignored me and handed me the food two dollars. Why I don't know, but I did. This phone call was really quick. I have never experienced such a sense that someone really didn't care if their customers were unhappy or received such poor treatment and food as i just did from their GM. TO KEEP THIS HONEST AND REAL I HUNG UP ON HER We will never be a customer at this establishment again!!! Also, there's another local establishment that serves six scallops wrapped in bacon for 14.99 and they are equally as amazing. Search local restaurants...

When Whiskey Tavern first opened it was a staple of my lunch plans, largely because I loved the Ahi Tuna dish and there was plenty else on the menu for someone who doesn’t eat red meat. Then, there were a few occasions where they were “out” of the Chloe (wine) which is the only drinkable dry white on their menu. We learned to ask before we sat down if they had Chloe or not. Took visiting family there based on the menu options and atmosphere. Last time I was there I was with some family members who are picky eaters and haphazard orderers. It was great as there were options for everyone and (most) people were satisfied. I ordered the California Wrap (Turkey, lettuce, cheddar, bacon, avocado, mayo, and tomato) others ordered burgers, fries, Mac & cheese, various appetizers….etc. I waited nearly an hour and 15 minutes while EVERY other food portion for the table was brought, even those that were ordered 20-30 minutes after my wrap. It came with Turkey, lettuce, cheddar and tomato (I had asked for no tomato) and nothing else. Not even mayo. It was accompanied by what was clearly the scrapings of the fryolater — tiny, burnt, fry scraps I couldn’t even eat. Giving them the benefit of the doubt thinking that it was a staffing/ last 2 weeks of summer issue — I went back today. I had to leave after waiting 55 minutes for the California wrap that never came. One glass of Chloe before they were (yet again) totally out of it. I know from experience that the other available whites are a BIG mistake. God only knows if this California Wrap would have been correct or not — I couldn’t wait long enough to find out as I had an appointment elsewhere. I was told that the hold up on the order was the fries (which I hadn’t been asked if I wanted as my side, but was fine with…..if they had ever come.) My frequent lunching companion had shied away from her usual Ahi Tuna order as the previous time she had ordered it, the tuna was not particularly edible or prepared as advertised. End of story: I’ve given this place EVERY last chance possible and I’ll never go back. AND I still haven’t had lunch and I’m...