Bearfoot Tavern — Restaurant in Macon

I want to preface my review by saying that I never write reviews and I never complain or send food back or tip poorly. If I get something I didn’t order or it’s wrong, I typically either don’t say anything or let the server know and make sure they know it’s not a big deal and I’m just informing them for their own knowledge. If I get poor quality (undercooked or not fresh), I’ll send it back and ask for something else. Until today.

When my girlfriend and I first walked in, we were greeted by the hostess and told it would be a 15 minute wait. No big deal, it seemed to be the after-church rush, so a 15-20 minute wait is perfectly reasonable. We were given a menu to review while we waited, and were seated in about 10 minutes. Off to a good start.

After a reasonable amount of time, a server came by our table and told us that she’s not our server but she’d get us started as our server, Matt, was cashing out a large party. No big deal. She asked what we wanted to start with, and informed us that they had no Pimento Bacon Fritters (what we wanted) and no Southwest Egg Rolls (our second option) and that they also couldn’t make any pizza. So, nearly half the menu gone from the start. We settled on the Fried Green Tomatoes that were advertised as “fried to perfection” and we ordered water to drink. Our drinks were brought promptly, in plastic cups, and our app was brought in timely fashion. However, the tomatoes were not fried to perfection. They were undercooked and soggy, and the breading came off in the sauce rather than the sauce sticking to the tomato. This app costs $9 and came with three tomato slices. Overpriced even if cooked correctly. We each ate one and left the other one on the plate.

The first person who came to our table (not Matt, who we’d still not seen) brought us the app and she asked if we were ready to order, which we were. My girlfriend ordered the Blackened Chicken Salad and I asked for the Kickin Chicken Sandwich, to which I was told “We don’t have the kickin bourbon sauce so it comes with chili on it instead. Is that ok?” I replied, “No,” and changed my order to the Buffalo Bleu Burger. She took our order and said she’d return soon with more water and some “silverware”. We never got more water at all and I put silverware in quotations because when the “silverware” came out it was actually a clear plastic fork and knife. Also, that’s the first time we saw Matt. We joked about the plastic utensils and how ridiculous it is to be at a place charging $9 for three tomato slices, $16 for a burger, and $14 for a salad only to receive plastic utensils and water in a clear Solo cup. But what the heck, the pictures of the food looked good so it would be fine because our food was coming. Boy, were we wrong. First, we were offered a “complimentary” serving of the tomatoes “for our wait,” which we rejected. My burger was edible, but was clearly a frozen burger patty. The fries were your average fries, but I dipped them in the leftover Bearsauce from the pitiful tomatoes and that stepped them up. Then, there was my girlfriend’s blackened chicken salad. Blackened is a stretch. Putting salt and pepper on chicken and grilling it is not what blackened is. Blackened is its own seasoning, and I’m not sure that piece of chicken has ever been in the same room as a container of blackened seasoning. But that’s not the worst part, because the chicken was still edible. The worst part is that she spent more time pulling brown lettuce and romaine ends out of her salad than she did eating.

Matt came by and asked if everything was ok. “No,” I replied, and politely explained to him our complaints. He told us he felt like we were directing everything at him and seemed offended. I refused to pay for the salad and tomatoes, paid for my burger, and left without tipping. I couldn’t take my food that I paid for because they were out of to-go boxes. This got blamed on a 40 person party they’d known about for 3 days (Matt told me this.) Also, the first server told us that “Sundays are...

TL;DR - Great atmosphere and unexpectedly delicious pizza.

My group of four ended up at Bearfoot Tavern for lunch on a Saturday, a little afternoon, and the place was basically empty. There wasn't really a hostess at the hostess station and the bartender had to go get one to seat us. It was also a bit weird because there was nobody in the back once we were seated but all of the sudden a few waiters appeared out of nowhere and someone stood at the kitchen window and started expediting food. It was almost as if they forgot they were open until we showed up. We had no issues with the staff and all were very friendly. Our waiter recommended drinks and was very attentive. The food expediter also brought dishes to the table and was helpful finishing dishes and added more powdered sugar to french toast, etc.

Anyway, the decor of the place was really different and reminded you of something you'd see in a Harry Potter movie. Lots of details on the lamp and a mix of fleur de lis patterned wallpaper on the walls made you feel like you were in a historical bar in Europe. Overall a cool vibe.

The menu was quite varied and everyone in our group was able to get something a little different. One had a salad, one had french toast, and two had pizzas. The french toast came with fruit on top, and was clearly homemade. Toast slices were full slices (not cut diagonally) and was decadent. I had the new yorker pizza, which was mozzarella and pepperoni. It was oven baked and absolutely delicious. It was the closest I've had to New York style pizza in years. All the ingredients were fresh, and you could tell the mozzarella was placed in blobs and allowed to spread out because not all of the pizza was 100% covered. The pizza was a little big for one, but not big...

We ended up here because the other two places we wanted to eat at were closed. When we walked in, there was no server or hostess even in the building. She was outside talking with another worker. She finally came in a few minutes later and sat us in the back. There was only one other couple in the entire restaurant, and they had already finished their food.

Our drinks came out quickly, and we ordered right away. My husband got the hickory burger, and I got the Reuben sandwich. We watched the cook finish our food and put it in the window. At least 8 minutes passed before I went looking for our waitress. I literally could not find her anywhere. She came out with our food a few minutes later, seemingly from the back area. While bringing napkins and ketchup, she got a phone call and left the area again. She said it was her child on the phone, and she needed to take the call. The next time we saw her, which was about 15 minutes later, we asked for our bill, since there was no clue as to when she would be back again.

Our food was mediocre at best. The burger had chunks of pork fat on it and an uncooked, nearly inedible onion ring. The Reuben had 3 pieces of lunch meat on it and a pinch of sauerkraut. Fries and tots were clearly frozen and not seasoned at all.

Luckily, we were just passing through Macon and will not be back any time soon, but if we do find ourselves here again, we will not be visiting this restaurant again. I’m sure it’s good some days at some time, but we did not have that...