Wintergarden Tavern — Restaurant in Livonia

Wow. I have not had to write a review like this in a long time.

First the good. This place is an easy place to step into. I took my friends here for trivia. It’s unassuming, oldtimey, clean and warm. Pool tables and it seemed like everyone there was enjoying themselves. The trivia was good too even though they were having some technical difficulties. Again, I think a lot of regulars here which is generally a good sign.

The not so good. The service we received was pretty terrible. I ordered the schnitzel which I would not recommend to anyone. It was rubbery and Luke warm by the time it got to me. The roasted broccoli was good though. Our waitress brought the wrong pizza. Didn’t offer to make it right. She checked her pad, confirmed that she had indeed put in the wrong order. Just said “hope that’s okay. thanks for understanding”. We also ordered a few drinks between us. My friend ordered a tequila with pineapple juice. The glass arrives and it’s totally clear. Now, I am no bartender but never I. The history of man has pineapple and tequila been clear. I walk it up to the bar. I realize the bartenders are busy and I end up asking our waitress to correct it. She replied “oh they might be out of pineapple”. So… what was served? Tequila and water? Now, imagine this glass. It’s got two sips out of … whatever watered down tequilaness sits in it. She’s served it to the table. I ve walked it back to the bar. Handed it back to her. She’s set it on the bar. Now she’s walked away from it to go check on the pineapple juice. She comes back and proceeds to grab the gun and add some orange juice to the SAME GLASS. You’re out of your mind. Her version of “making it right” was offering a shot glass or OJ to take back with me to the table.

Once I got back I realized the cocktail special I ordered also had pineapple juice in it.. which made me think - what was in THAT?

Look, I am not a stickler for perfect service. I know things happen. You run out of stuff, you get overwhelmed with customers. I get it. But just plain wrong orders? No correction? Bringing made up drinks with no communication and then charging the same? It’s not right.

Based on my experience I would probably tell people to find somewhere else to go. If you really want to go for trivia, pool, karaoke… then just stick to...

I had a 50th birthday party there for my husband just 2 weeks ago. Kyle was awesome in making sure we had everything we needed food wise to serve about 40 people. It was served buffet style, with soda, lemonade and water and we just did a cash bar. Katie was our server, and she was fun, attentive, and efficient. It happened to be the day of the snow storm, and the power flickered a couple of times. In spite of the weather we had a great turnout, and the kitchen was able to stagger our food to accommodate our staggering in guests. The food was so awesome, and just the right amount. We had half a tray of spinach dip which was served with homemade pita chips and tortilla chips, a salad, half tray of chicken tenders, and 50 sliders, served half at a time. We brought our 12 and 9 year old boys, and some friends brought their similar aged children too. The kids had a great time playing pool, and learning how to throw darts. It was so nice to have a way to entertain the kids so they could be a part of the evening too. They will remember the fun night forever. Overall I would give 10 stars if I could. The Winter Garden will be one of the first places we think to go...

I can only rate the service as we left before being seated. Upon arrival, two booths were occupied, two were dirty & one was clean. The clean one was by a window and was cold due to a draft. We waited for a server to come by and asked her to clean one of the booths for us. Turns out she was the bartender and she was helping the server. She responded with an attitude that she was the only one and we'd have to wait until the server came back. We waited patiently. The server was bringing buckets of ice from the back and asked the bartender why were were waiting. The bartender yells, although the server was right by her, that we were only willing to sit "in one specific booth" and we had to wait. Her volume attracted the attention of the other patrons, who turned to look at us. We decided to leave as it was clear they were understaffed and we weren't welcome. This is unfortunate as we had been there once before and had amazing service. I hope they better staff in the future and teach the bartender about...