The Hardware Store Cocktail Bar — Restaurant in Oregon City

I want to start by saying that I’ve always enjoyed my previous visits to this bar. I’ve been here several times with friends and have always recommended it, which is why it truly saddens me to say that this past weekend’s visit will be our last.

My husband and I came in for a couple of drinks and dinner. The bar wasn’t very busy, and a polite young man seated us in the back. We sat for about 10 minutes watching a male server, whose name I later learned is Will, check on the three nearby tables but never once acknowledge us. We assumed he wasn’t our server since he never made eye contact or said a word.

After about 10 minutes, Will came over, loudly set waters on the table with no greeting or introduction, then walked away. Several minutes later, he returned and said, “What can I get you?” We ordered our drinks, and his only response was, “Cool,” before walking off again. He didn’t ask if we wanted to start with anything, even though it was clear we had been waiting for quite some time.

About 25 minutes after we arrived, our drinks finally came out. Will asked, “Who had what?” I had ordered a red drink that came with a lemon that lit up something my husband and I thought was neat so we started to record it. Will threw some cinnamon over it, quickly shoved the lemon into my drink, said, “Cheers,” and walked away. Normally, servers take a moment to explain the drink or make it interactive, but the rushed, dismissive attitude made the experience uncomfortable.

He never returned to ask if we wanted to order food, so I went to the bar and asked the bartender (a young woman) if we could please have a different server because ours seemed too busy to tend to us. She quickly responded yes. Will overheard and said, “I am your server and I’ll be right over.” I told her again, “I’d like a new server,” and Will immediately replied, “NOPE, I’ll be your server,” before walking away. I repeated my request to the bartender, but she said, “Well, he’s in your section.”

At that point, I no longer felt comfortable staying and asked for my check. Will came over and asked, “You ready to order?” I told him, “We’ll just be having our drinks.” He laughed and said, “You already have drinks,” before finally saying, “OKAY,” and walking away. (It was clear both bartenders had spoken; he was aware I wanted my check, yet continued to act like nothing had happened.)

We came out hoping to unwind after a long day but instead left frustrated, hungry, and disappointed. I’m leaving this review because if customers don’t speak up, servers like Will will continue to drive loyal guests away. Unfortunately, we won’t be returning or recommending this bar anymore. No guest should ever be treated the way...

Experience: Finding the code to open the picture is pretty cool, for a first timer. This is a first impressions review and I’m always for giving a place another chance if my first time is lack-luster.

Atmosphere: Much better once the live music comes on. The woman who was singing accompanied by playing her own piano has a beautiful voice and the stylizing was fitting of the times.

Service: I found it to be a little slow… but I think that’s part of what makes it a speakeasy. I watched a lot of the waitstaff and I think they all kind of move in a little bit of a slower fashion because that was the point of a speakeasy: It was a place where you could grab an illicit drink and hide out for a good period of time. It wasn’t a “wham bam thank you ma’am” kinda place to get a quick bite to eat, as far as a sit down goes. You enjoyed your illicit activities at a snails pace and maybe met with a lover or business partner for an extended time. So, based on that, service is probably historically accurate.

Food: My food tasted good, but didn’t exactly match the description. There was steamed baby spinach on my hazelnut pesto cavatappi, which I was okay with but it wasn’t even mentioned… so a little weird. But good. I’d heard in other reviews that the food is often overcooked, which is why I chose what I chose. My husband ordered the Friend Cornish Hen… which did appear to be overcooked but not to the point of it being dry. The mustard dipping sauce was VERY vinegary… the coleslaw was absurdly bland. The salads looked great from what I saw of wait staff carrying it around so I’d probably go for that if I ate here again. Probably won’t order the bread… it didn’t have any presentation. Overall—I probably won’t come here to eat again. Saving the best for last—

Drinks: the drinks were actually quite yummy. The 18th Amendment drink is probably my favorite. I haven’t been drinking a lot so I didn’t sample everything, but I do know what I like and these crafted cocktails and mocktails are something else. There’s a fantastically long list of spirits available, most of which—per historical accuracy—were whiskeys, bourbons, scotch, ryes, etc.

Bottom line: I’d come for the drinks/music and stay for the pretend seedy conversations in a historically accurate atmosphere. Save your money and come with a full belly, for a drawn...

I love The Hive Social upstairs, so my friend that lives near there suggested we check out the speakeasy. The initial entrance is neat and the inside is really cool but that’s about all. We were sat at a booth and it took over 15 minutes for anyone to come up. Katie approached us as though we were the biggest inconvenience and very bluntly asked what we wanted (no greeting) I had just gotten off work from the hospital and wanted to eat, so I ordered prime rib and then my friend was about to order and Katie just walks away and says she’s going to grab waters. She came back and dropped off water and before we could say anything she walked off. We sat there for a little bit longer completely flabbergasted and watched her go around to other tables and even wiped down an empty table. We decided to leave and I decided to be courteous and let her know we were not going to be staying due to the lack of service. When I approached her she acted like she had no idea that she already talked to us/just walked away before finishing taking our order. She said she was busy (it was not that busy/several empty spots but even if she was busy, she should have been coming to us and setting proper expectations. As a former server/bartender myself, I would never just walk away when a person was in the middle of ordering but if I did, I would apologize and try to make sure to make it right). This was hands down probably the weirdest interaction at a restaurant/bar I have ever experienced. Highly recommend they retrain their staff or maybe hire...