American Ale House — Restaurant in Patton Township

We came to American Ale House last Saturday to celebrate my husband’s birthday. As we walked in, I politely asked if they did anything for birthdays — a complimentary dessert, a candle, anything — as many other restaurants do. For example, when we went to Grace, they brought out a small chocolate cake with a candle and warmly wished us a happy birthday. But here? We were told bluntly, “No, we don’t do that.” Not a big deal, but it definitely set the tone.

Then came the service. Our server, Sharon, was noticeably impatient from the start. As my husband and I each ordered one entrée, she immediately reached to take my menu. I told her I wasn’t done ordering, and she questioned me — “Are you sure?” — not once, but multiple times. I went ahead and ordered a third dish, and again, she grabbed the menu out of my hand before I could finish. I actually had an appetizer in mind, but at that point I felt so rushed and uncomfortable that I gave up.

To be fair, the food was really good — significantly better than the last few times we’ve been here. So credit where it’s due. But the experience was far from enjoyable. There was no birthday acknowledgment whatsoever — no greeting, no small gesture, not even a simple “Happy Birthday.”

And now for the biggest issue: they overcharged us. I signed for $160.98, and as I always do, I took a picture of the signed receipt — thankfully. When I checked my bank, I saw that $168.98 had been charged instead. An $8 difference may not sound like much, but it’s the principle. I immediately called the restaurant. The man who answered first asked if I paid with a credit card, saying they add a 3% surcharge (which, frankly, is another issue worth noting — restaurants shouldn’t pass on card fees to customers). I told him I used a debit card specifically to avoid that fee.

Once we confirmed it was indeed a mistake, he asked if I could come back to the restaurant to resolve it. I’m sorry, but why should I take time out of my day and spend more gas money to fix your billing error? I told him that was not acceptable and asked for the issue to be resolved immediately. He then asked me to email a copy of the signed receipt, which I did right away.

It’s now been over 26 hours — and I’ve heard absolutely nothing. No follow-up, no refund, no apology. So I’ve filed a dispute with my bank.

While the food has improved, the service is lacking, and the way they handled this billing mistake is unacceptable. If you do choose to dine here, double-check your receipt and watch your charges carefully. I won’t be returning — and neither will my friends.

Updated: it’s 2 days now, still got no reply from them. Very...

Though I bike past this restaurant many times during the summer months, I have only eaten there twice. Both times, I had a poor experience, I do not plan to return, and you should not either.

This restaurant advertises an extensive menu, which had several dishes in which I was interested. I was surprised to find out when I arrived that they handed me a single sheet of paper, stating that they were serving a "reduced graduation week menu." This is an outright bait and switch that is ethically questionable, not to mention bad business. You can't advertise all sorts of great products and then when customers show up, you tell them that none of those are actually being sold. When I asked for items that were advertised in the website, the waiter's only answer, repeatedly, was to apologize that it was "graduation week."

The only reason I didn't leave was because I was there with a large party, and the pulled pork sandwich I was forced to order was not worth the $10 I had to waste on it. The pork was sour and the potato salad unappetizing. The cranberry juice I ordered was served in a tiny glass costing $3 that was barely enough to quench my thirst. Some may call that "class;" I call it being cheap, seeing that the Olive Garden can serve pour the same cranberry juice from bottles into much larger glasses for a lower price.

The server, while initially attentive to our needs, encountered significant difficulty when it came to dividing the check. Many mistakes were made getting the correct entrees billed to the right people, and processing all the credit cards took over 20 minutes. I decided to pay in cash and felt bad about leaving while the rest of my coworkers were still waiting for their cards to be returned.

There are far better local restaurants in this area closer to the downtown, or the chain restaurants down the street far outperform the Ale House if you don't want to drive. Don't get ripped off...

Having gone to the restaurant for a couple of times, I found last night's experience (12/14) an absolute nightmare. Mediocre service, cold food, and extremely lengthy waiting time for everything from beginning to the end. I made a reservation at 7PM for 12 people for my birthday celebration. I arrived at 7, and all my guests arrived before 7:20. Those who came a bit late were not approached and asked for drinks until 10 minutes late. No one came to us asking if we were ready, so I had to call on the waitress to tell her that we were ready to order. Initially, three of us ordered Gumbo, and some of us ordered duck and scallop, and others burger and steak. Two of my friends particularly requested to add spicy sauce/flavor to their duck and scallop. I also ordered some oysters, fried calamari, and mashed potatoes for all the guests.

We finished ordering at around 7:40; however, not until 8:10 were we told by the waitress that the steamer for Gumbo was not working. I don't understand why it took the them 30 minutes to figure this out. Terribly unprofessionally. Consequently, the three of us ordered duck and scallop.

The food came at around 8:25, which was not bad, but they did not come together; one friend had to wait for extra 10 minutes for her duck and scallop to be served. What became the most immense disappointment was NO DUCK AND SCALLOP was added spicy flavor - even though we EXPLICITLY ASKED TO DO SO. Meanwhile, some of our duck and scallop were cold, and the steak another friend ordered was just extremely salty. I didn't want to make a fuse about everything because it was my birthday - I also didn't want to ruin everyone's mood; however, everything was just handled in a highly unprofessional and mediocre manner, ranging from...