what a HUGE let down.

went here on a date because my date said they like the place, and i was so disappointed with both the service and the food. before we were seated, the hostess gave no indication about the QR menus nor did she ask if we wanted to use that or physical menus instead. when we were seated, the server also gave no indication that the menus were online by default, nor did he point out or direct us to use the little plastic stand with a QR code to find the menus.

the appetizer - pretzel with beer cheese - was baked well and had good texture, but was for some strange reason slathered in butter and was very under-seasoned. a light sprinkling of kosher or finishing salt would have made it taste great. when the waiter brought our appetizer, he didn’t even wait until we’d even gotten halfway through that before he put the main courses on the table, for which there was almost no room and which he also made US make room for the plates. so awkward. while we were eating the appetizer course, i needed something from the waiter, but the only staff in the entire restaurant was the 2 bartenders, who had to fetch the waiter for us from back of house. mind you, there was only one other table he was waiting on, so he was not swamped with food to bring out or tables to check on. after he delivered the main course, he never came back to check to see how the food was, because if he had i would’ve told him about the issues there were. my date’s fries were under-seasoned and mine weren’t seasoned AT ALL. the burgers were also… under-seasoned. probably the only thing on the table that WAS seasoned properly was the bottled Heinz ketchup. i had asked the waiter very clearly for extra mushrooms when i placed the order; my date didn’t want any (both of us ordered the classic cannon burgers) and i said “i’ll take theirs, lol but in all seriousness i want extra mushrooms.” not only did i not get extra mushrooms, but there were exactly 2 very thin slices of (cremini or button) mushrooms on my entire burger. i had to once again get up, search for my waiter, and ask for the mushrooms. he seemed oblivious to the request that i’d previously made but got them for me promptly. when they came out i tasted them and, guess what? under-seasoned. they were clearly pan sautéed in nothing but unsalted butter. as for the roasted red peppers that comes on the classic cannon burger, each of our burgers had only one slice each that was as large as my thumb. if the kitchen was running low on ingredients, they could’ve just said so instead of giving us such ridiculously small portions of toppings like that.

and lest i not forget to mention, i ordered the Fresh Blend cider and it was flat. you’re a TAP HOUSE and you serve flat beverages that are supposed to be carbonated? talk about embarrassing!

i severely regret having to tip the waiter, but since restaurants subsidize the wages of their waitstaff through tipping, it felt wrong to not pay him for his time even though he was absolutely terrible at his job. what i wish i’d done was pay him his tip and get my money back for my substandard meal, because at least the other members of the staff that contributed to our awful dining experience get paid hourly.

will i ever go back? probably not. will i recommend this place to anyone? not only will i NOT recommend it, but i’ll go out of my way to make sure everyone i know is aware that the chefs here are afraid of a little salt.