Highlander Beer - Missoula Brewing Co — Restaurant in Missoula

The Highlander used to be somewhere I thought of as an all around friendly and most importantly, family-friendly place. Unfortunately, after the disheartening and disrespectful experience I had today; I will not be returning and I recommend anyone with kids to avoid it. That is unless, you want to be humiliated for the very basic act of having children.

I arrived around 12:30 today with my daughter (10/17) to meet my friend and her two kids for lunch. We spent over an hour sitting, eating, and talking before I’m assuming, a manager, came over to tell us we couldn’t be there if our kids were screaming. The only kid who had screamed while we were there was the youngest in our group, just barely over a year old. While this was happening, I looked over to the kitchen and made eye contact with a very tall woman working. She had the biggest smile on her face watching us; it was very obvious she was very satisfied that we were being spoken to in this way. This is completely unacceptable and just downright disgusting behavior on both that individual working the kitchen and the whole staff of the Highlander.

There is no reason for an establishment to have a kids play area if the people working there hate kids, and it’s obvious they do.

Edited to add:

The child did not scream for an hour. She screamed at most three times, one right after the other, before her mom picked her up and she stopped. She is a one year old who has little verbal communication skills, as do most one years olds. She communicated in one of the only ways she can and shortly after this one and only incident of screaming, we were confronted by a manager. The most disturbing part is your staff gloating while this was happening and my friend walking back in because she forgot her keys, to walk into two of the staff members talking poorly about her. That is disgusting behavior and it is very unprofessional and disturbing that the people who run this restaurant do not...

Who likes drinking good beer and hanging out with a bunch of screaming kids? NOT ME!! I used to love coming in here for the best beer in Missoula and great atmosphere.

The beer; great.. But now I avoid my favorite brewery. It's now known as the place for wild kids running ruckshot in the kiddie corner. I can't even walk to the bathroom without running the gauntlet of wild kids and their entitled parents.

I once brought a visitor from out of town here on a packed Sat night with music for what i thought was going to be a Missoula brewery experience but hardly!.. Children and their parents seated at the bar; root beers, pizza slices (ps; the pizza isn't good) and ginger ales in tow. Valuable seats at a full bar occupied by children. I remember when you could sit at a bar at a brewery have a couple craft beers and it didn't matter if you cursed a little with your mates about BS, but not anymore with 4 year olds around!

Ive talked to staff and management and unfortunately, the once gem - Highlander (aka the "Toddler Play Centre".. that happens to actually have good beer) sadly now cater more specifically to this type of clientele than the average beer drinker. Parents whom happen to drink, as opposed to say Big Sky Brewing which does NOT make the atmospere condusive to bringing in a gaggle of yelling children. The former being reminiscent more of Chuck E cheese's or the play palace at McDonald's than a Brewery. Certainly not a place i want to go and...

Highlander used to be one of my favorite places to bring my family because of what felt like a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere. Unfortunately, my last two visits have been extremely disappointing and disrespectful—for myself, my children, and other moms with their kids who were with us.

The first negative experience was in July during a quiet lunch hour. A bartender/waitress was very rude to my children and essentially told me we weren’t welcome because they were “out of control.” My children are not perfect, but they were not disruptive that day. Even if they had been, her comments were unprofessional and could have been handled with far more respect.

The second experience happened this past weekend, also during lunch. A cook made passive aggressive remarks toward us and went so far as to say she “dreads” when we walk through the door because of our children. This was shocking to hear—especially since our kids were simply playing in the designated play area, while we were seated at the table right next to it.

There seems to be a major disconnect between the staff’s attitude and the “family-friendly” environment the restaurant advertises. If children are truly not welcome, then the play area should be removed to avoid misleading families.

Needless to say, I will not be giving Highlander my business again. I hope this review helps other families avoid the shame and disrespect we felt during our...