OTB at the North Park Boathouse — Restaurant in McCandless

Sadly I have to change my review.

Public needs to be made aware of shallow business practices.

Still 5 stars for delish food. That's the only reason.

OTB has amazing food, a unique variety and an awesome atmosphere. Right on the lake, nothing is better than sitting on the lake with a cold one and enjoying a piddle paddle panini!!! However, I want to talk about their business ethics. My husband was hired here in May of 2018. He worked there up until September 20th 2018. He was a great employee at the boathouse, never called off, never suspended, never disciplined or written up. On September 16th he put his 2 week notice in to his boss. The boss offered no response. Very unprofessional to begin with. The reason he decided to move on was because the prior week the area suffered massive amounts of rain and weather that did not draw business. He was called off work. Twice. We decided it best for our family financially that this was the best decision. He worked Thursday the 20th. That evening was particularly busy, and the weather very warm. During his shift he was continually harassed by a co-worker, berated, belittled and essentially verbally abused constantly for hours by this co-worker. In his own defence, yelled at her in obscenities, basically telling her to shut up but in a more creative way. She got into his face, they were very close to getting into a physical altercation. Long story short, he threw a bowl of fries (not at anyone) and it turned she also threw something. Both of them yelling obscenities. No physical assault took place. He left work because the situation was headed towards becoming worse. This is all on surviellence camera. I'm not saying my husband should not have been fired, as he most certainly deserved to be fired because he should have handled this situation a different way!!! The problem we have been faced with is that the other employee was not also terminated of duries. Bullying in the work place and verbal abuse should not be tolerated. She swore and yelled and threw things just as much as he did. There was no reason provided to us as to why this Co-worker was not terminated as well. Go here for great food, please, but keep in mind while doing so and drinking your ice cold beer scarfing down your chips and panini you're supporting a business with poor ethics, failure to provide a fair workplace, and does not maintain professionalism. Not very family friendly is it? Oh, I also want to add in that my husband had to leave work one day for heat exhaustion because they have no source of significant air flow in their kitchen, also and one of the days the refrigerator temperatures hit above 50 degrees, meaning anyone who consumed food that day ingested food that was stored at temps that are considered "danger zone" in the food industry. That's how much they care about their customers. I also know of other major safety issues. Health department needs to do a check up here. Once again, before you go back please consider not supporting a business that treats people this way. Thank you. Have a great...

I must say that this review has been long in the making as it's one of the first restaurants i've visited since moving to the Pittsburgh area pre-COVID19 17 months ago. There is VERY good reason why OTB in North Park sells socks, shirts, and hats... this place is a not so hidden gem that's most definitely worth your time.

First things first let's start with the bar and bar area. You can find one of the most kind, friendly, and informative bar tenders in Jamie. No matter how busy it is she always seems to have a smile on her face and is ULTRA attentive. OTB North Park indeed is a gem... and Jamie is most definitely a large facet of it being that.

Side note: Whoever is in charge of the beer tap selections not only does a phenomenal job in restaurant but also with their online presence. I am constantly updated with the often revolving taps (keep restocking Lawson's "Sip of Sunshine" and you'll make me go broke!). Although I don't know your name I most definitely recognize your work! 10 out of 10 in the Pittsburgh area. Untappd App users take notice!

Now we've had numerous good servers here both inside and outside... but Jim takes it to the next level. Just as Jamie brings her A Game to the bar area Jim does the same to the serving areas. Always willing to give sound advice to any dish with a quick hand getting you refills of whatever you're drinking. An excellent experience is waiting for you if Jim is your server.

Now to the food. There isn't one bad option on this menu as at this point i believe I've tried everything at least once (and that's even including the salads!). I will say the "Babes On Bikes" sammich with grilled chicken and their BBQ Aoli is multiple tastegasm inducing.

Sticking with the faceted gem analogy that brings me to the Lead Chef Eric. Eric to simply put it is AWESOME. He not only does an absolutely amazing job in the kitchen but he's experimental as well. Some may realize that there are now 3 OTB's in the 412... 1 getting a little more love with eclectic menu options on their social media presence. Well... don't be afraid to ask if Eric can try to replicate the other OTB's menu options! He admits he doesn't have all the necessities at times but he will definitely give his 110%. And that 110% is pretty darn tasty! Again if you're reading this THANK YOU and keep up the excellent work!

All in all OTB North Park is most definitely worth your time. The bar to the dining to the food experience is just perfect. The scenic views North Park provides is really just the cherry on top of this 5 Star sundae. Make the trip! You won't regret it.

IYRTFBH (If you've read this far bar hack): The jukebox is of the online variant. You can easily download its respective app and add credits/play tunes from your seat. Making an already enjoyable experience...

It took forever to be seated, despite having multiple clean tables. The hostess took forever, even while we were holding a small child (infant or toddler). They clearly don't understand the priorities of people with children. Would not recommend. The server spent all of her time talking to what seemed like her family. She barely checked in, took forever to take our order, didn't ask if we wanted anything else to drink, she even walked away once while we were asking her for something. The hostess took forever to seat us; she told us a table was dirty and they were waiting for it to be cleaned, then she left and cleaned a different table that no one was sat instead of the one we were apparently waiting for. This entire expeirence was the definition of slow.

Reply to the business reply where they called us "difficult customers" who didn't know what it was like to "work in a restaurant": First of all, it's hard to be a "difficult customer" when no one ever even talked to us. Second, i've literally worked on front-of-house hospitality from Olive Garden to fine dining over about ten years. But if it makes you feel better to be unapologetic about bad service, that's one way to run a business. lol Meanwhile, your server walked away while we were talking to her and asking for something and we had to ask someone else instead. Amanda was too busy talking to her family to take our order or follow up on anything. She never "check back, check down", or checked in after a few minutes. The foam on the one beer (we were never asked if we wanted more to drink after we finished them, so only one I guess) was gone by the time it made it to the table. But hey, sounds like we were pretty "difficult" customers. Embarrassing service, embarrassing business, there's a reason there's been a rising list of bad reviews. You would think after the umpteenth "service was slow" review, you'd have the wherewithall to realize as a business owner that maybe it's a YOU problem. And what kind of business owner attacks a customer instead of trying to find out what went wrong? You deserve every one. Fwiw, our food was very good. So kudos to the kitchen. But the service was embarrassing and the...