Morgan's Tavern & Grill — Restaurant in New Bern

We got to Morgan’s Tavern and put our name down for dinner…We were told that it would be an hour and a half wait, which was fine. We are from Pigeon Forge, TN…We are used to waiting for everything. lol.

We took the kids to a nearby playground, and it started to rain…so we walked back to the restaurant, and we were sitting in the little hallway in some chairs. (The hostess(es) saw us sitting there). It had been 25 minutes.

Apparently, when we were walking back in the rain, my phone got the text that our table was ready…but I didn’t hear it. So, a couple of minutes after we sat down in the hallway, I was checking my phone and saw it.

I immediately walked up to the hostess (who was standing there taking selfies) and told her that I had gotten the text a few minutes ago, but i just now saw it…

She said, "Um…Unfortunately, we already gave your table away." I said, "Gave it away?" She said, "Yep. We only hold it for 10 minutes." I showed her the text. It had been 8 minutes…and I also said, " You saw us sitting right there. You could've easily motioned us up here (no one else was standing inside waiting). She said, "Give me a couple of minutes, and I'll get you seated."

35.minutes.later (longer than our actual original wait time)…She took us to a corner table (alongside a huge party that was celebrating a birthday).

Our waitress was overly distracted and overly concerned with the birthday party…It took 20 minutes to get just our drinks and bread…and when she brought those, she still did not take our food order…

By the time she came back to take our food order, we needed refills…So, 10-15 more minutes…and we finally got to order.

It took 45 minutes to get our food…and that would've even been fine…except I specifically asked if she could bring out my 2 5-yr-olds food asap (one ordered a salad and the other ordered mac n cheese).

She came to the table once before we got our food (about 20-30 minutes later), and I asked her about the kid's meals…She just said, "They're still working on those."

When our food came, everyone got their meals…except my kids…and all she said was, "They're still working on those."

Instead of going back to check on the food for my kids…She was more concerned with accommodating the birthday party by getting the cake out of the fridge in the kitchen, putting candles on it, lighting them, bringing it to their table, and singing happy birthday. (We were seated in a position to where we could see the kitchen…and watched her do all of this…While my kids still had no food!!!)

I had ordered the King Shrimp Roll, and with my very first bite, I pulled out a VERY LONG, DARK hair!!! It was so gross. It made me gag…When she FINALLY came back to our table, with their food, I told her…and she literally said, “Sorry, this doesn’t happen THAT OFTEN”…and took my plate. 😱

The manager returned 15 minutes after that with a new plate of food for me…and said, “There’s no charge for this.” 🤔….Unfortunately, I just didn’t have an appetite by that point.

Our waitress only had 2 tables, and our dinner took THREE HOURS. We got a total of 3 refills in that amount of time, and our food was fine, but definitely not worth...

As a frequent patron of Morgan’s Tavern & Grill, had always considered it a reliable spot for family and friend outings. However, my recent visit left me deeply disappointed and emotionally traumatized due to an incident involving racial discrimination and an unprofessional restaurant manager.

Upon entering the restaurant, my family and I were excited to enjoy a pleasant meal together. Unfortunately, our experience took a distressing turn when we were subjected to the inappropriate behavior of two older patrons who engaged in racial antagonism. It was disheartening to witness such bigotry in a supposedly family-friendly establishment.

What made matters worse was the restaurant manager's handling of the situation. Instead of addressing the issue promptly and professionally, the manager displayed a lack of experience in deescalating and resolving conflicts. Her attitude was dismissive, and it felt like they were indifferent to the emotional distress we were enduring.

The emotional trauma that resulted from this incident is something my family and I will not easily forget. It is deeply troubling that a place we had considered safe and welcoming failed to provide the support and protection we expected when faced with discrimination.

While the food and the service from the bartenders at Morgan’s Tavern & Grill has always been decent, the distressing encounter with the manager and the two antagonistic patrons overshadowed any positive aspects of our visit. I sincerely hope that Morgan’s Tavern & Grill takes immediate action to address issues of discrimination and unprofessional behavior among its staff. Until then, it's difficult to recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a genuinely inclusive and respectful...

(1) Hostess was a grouchy and snobby brat that looked miserable.

(2) Our appetizer was very low quality pre-frozen mozzarella sticks. They brought out cocktail sauce instead of marinara. When they fixed the problem our mozzarella sticks were cold.

(3) My French onion soup was room temperature, and the provolone cheese on top wasn’t even melted. Very flavorless and more onions than actual broth.

(4) My Caesar salad was so cold it was almost frozen and definitely a LOW quality Caesar dressing.

(5) The pork chop was supposed to be a “molasses and bourbon glazed” They brought out two pieces of pork that was sitting in some kind of watery liquid that had no taste. The pork chops weren’t seasoned and definitely over cooked. Could barely cut it with a knife.

(6) We got a chicken sandwich to go and when we got back to our destinations, there was a whole lemon cut up and squeezed in the box. Never seen anything like this before and it definitely ruined it..

(7) I had an empty glass of water the whole dinner. She got me a refill with the check.

(8) When the waitress brought our bill out, she never took the French onion soup off. When she brought the new bill back out, she took the French onion soup off, but then added a side that was supposed to be with the pork chops, that was not on the original check.

I’m not gonna mention how much our meal cost because it was ridiculously overpriced for the very low quality frozen food they were serving. The whole experience definitely ruined our evening. I suggest anybody from out of town DO NOT go to this place!! There is a handful of amazing restaurants within a half a block to only one block away. This whole establishment and management should be...