The Fourth Bore Taproom & Grill — Restaurant in Orinda

Went to a fun summer show (the Ripplers?) here with friends, and returned last week for happy hour. There is seating inside and outside, and a fire pit and heaters in the courtyard keep patrons toasty.

Food is tasty, but expensive for what you get in a bar with TVs on every wall. For example, the artichoke appetizer is perhaps 1/2 an artichoke, in 4 small pieces, for $13. The BLTA salad would have been better with the advertised avocado they neglected to include.

Happy Hour is 2-5 (who is drinking cocktails at 2 on a weekday??) and after 9 pm. Drinks are a deal during that time, but prices for some things double at 5 pm. We arrived for Happy Hour at 4:50 and although the restaurant was almost empty, the waitress didn't come to take our order until 5 pm, at which time -- you guessed it -- Unhappy Hour had begun. The waitress declined to honor the Happy Hour pricing, despite our polite inquiry.

The Fourth Bore is in a posh postal code, and the high prices help keep the riff-raff out. It's a bar that's comfortable, with food folks will pay for, with sportsball on every screen. Wait staff could use...

I wanted this place to work out. I really did. This was my first time coming here and I brought along my wife and 5 year old. We were told to sit wherever we wanted so we chose outside. The place was empty. This was Sunday at 11:45am. The dining area was a great atmosphere. We were told we couldn’t order off the regular menu until 12pm sharp. What kinda nonsense is that. We ordered a bucket of garlic fries as an appetizer and my wife and I both got the fried chicken tacos. Long story short our bucket of fries never showed up, our fried chicken in the tacos were way over cooked, the waitress never came back once to see if we needed refills or to see how everything was. I was livid and hungry. Our waitress was TERRIBLE and food was TERRIBLE. So terrible that I left her a 13 cent tip on a $50 bill. I have never done that before but there was no excuse. The couple sitting next to us ordered steak salad. The steak was so raw that it was purple/blue in color. I mean you cant make this stuff up. If I could give a negative star review I...

Pizza and Beer was great

However

I was hoping to leave a much more positive review because our evening started off well — the first bartender who helped us was friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately, after the shift change, our experience went downhill.

The new bartender, Jennifer, appeared to prioritize other guests while overlooking our table. Even after I went to the bar to kindly request a drink, she declined to serve us and said she would get our server, who never came by. Meanwhile, she continued serving and closing out other tables nearby.

I truly believe great service should be extended to all guests, and it was disappointing to feel ignored. I hope management can address this so future guests don’t have a...