Three Penny Taproom — Restaurant in Montpelier

Today was the 4th time I've been to the Three Penny Taproom. Must say, the first three times was very impressed with the food and service. So I thought I would introduce my friend to this restaurant. All three times before were orders that had no special request. Today though, my friend ordered a burger with no cheese and the pickles on the side. She received her burger and took a bit and immediately tasted cheese. She lifted the bun and there it was, cheese. She called the waiter and returned the burger. The burger came back within 3 minutes give or take. My friend was surprised that it was so quick but once she took a look at her burger...no wonder... it was the same burger with the cheese scraped off and the bite taken out. She took another bite and wow again.... tasted pickles. She flipped the burger over and lifted the bottom bun and there they were...the pickles. So again she called the waiter over and asked for the burger to be returned and asked to receive what she had actually ordered. This time it took a bit longer, but when the burger came back, again it was the one with the bite taken out. She had to call the waiter again and ask that a new burger be ordered as she had originally requested. By the time she received the burger we were ready to leave. Not only that, but during my dinner time, I requested an order of toast with a bit of mustard on the side. When they brought the final burger out I asked the waiter where my toast order was and was told that because it was so busy that it takes a lot of extra time to get these special request out. I gave up on the toast and requested our bill. I did notice that the toast charge was on the bill. We were putting our coats on when the toast order came out. The waiter asked if we wanted to take the toast and "pate" home. I told them that I did not want to take the toast and "pate" home and that I would not be paying for the toast order as I was leaving and never received the toast in time for me to eat it. Our neighbors, at the next table, were exposed to all this. At first, think they thought we were a bit demanding until it was their turn. They ordered, received their food but no utensils were served. They waited a while for the waiter to come back but no waiter came back to check. When we got our 3rd burger back, we asked the waiter to bring our neighbors some utensils so that they could eat their food. It's too bad that this had to happened because I would have said, this place has great food and service... but.....today.... was not good. Let's just hope that this...

Disappointing Experience and Poor Customer Service

I had one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever encountered in the US at this establishment. We stopped for lunch and decided to sit in the bar area since the restaurant itself had an unpleasant smell, like a fish market. Unfortunately, our experience only went downhill from there.

The person who served us, who turned out to be the bar manager, was shockingly rude and unprofessional. He barely made eye contact, offered no greeting or welcome, and gave only grunted responses when we asked about the menu. We placed our order and noticed a complete change in his attitude towards the next set of customers (who seemed to be local Americans). They were greeted warmly, informed about the specials of the day (which we were not), and generally received friendly and attentive service — a stark contrast to how we were treated.

As an Irish traveler accompanied by two Americans, I couldn’t help but feel singled out or even discriminated against. The food itself was mediocre at best (burgers, tacos, and potato tots), and to top it off, the drinks we ordered were left at the bar for us to collect rather than being brought to our table. We had to go up to the bar to pay the bill as well, with no effort made to clear our table or ask if we needed anything else. The bill was thrown on the bar without a word, and the bar manager walked off without any pleasantries.

This was definitely a case of poor customer service, and I wouldn’t recommend this place until the staff, especially the manager, receive proper training in how to treat all customers with respect and kindness. I'm sure there are far friendlier places to eat in Montpellier. My advice to anyone visiting is to choose somewhere else where you’ll be treated with the hospitality...

We stopped for lunch around 1:00 on a Saturday. We were greeted and seated right away. There was a carafe of water on the table, which was a nice touch, unfortunately there was something black in the bottom of the carafe. We didn't complain, just stopped drinking it when we noticed. Our drinks arrived in a reasonable amount of time and we ordered food. Two burgers, a cheese steak and a small salad. We waited OVER AN HOUR for our food to arrive. About 45 minutes in, our server asked if we wanted more drinks and said they were working on our food order.

When the food finally arrived, the server pointed out that one of the orders was wrong. (Ordered a double burger but got a single). Asked if we wanted a second patty, but knowing how long it took to get our food we said no, it's fine. Said they would take it off the bill. They didn't actually take it off the bill, but just changed it so we were charged for a single instead of a double. Which is fine, we paid for what we got, just don't say you'll take it off the bill if you aren't going to.

The food was delicious. I had the farmer's salad with grilled chicken added for an up charge which is pretty standard. The chicken was so flavorful and the dressing was really good. The burgers were 4oz smash burgers, which didn't come with a side, so the kids split a side of fries. They also don't come with lettuce and tomato standard, so make sure you add that if you want it. The kids said the burgers were really good, and my husband really liked the cheese steak. The beers were also really good.

Lunch for a family of four came to $130 before the tip which seems pricey for what we had.

TL:DR Pros: Really good food and beer Cons: Extremely slow service, dirty water carafe, order was...