Local 44 Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Disclaimer: I didn’t eat here so my review is solely based on a round a drinks with friends.

The service industry is dying... it seems like some important targets are being missed when restaurants and bars are training their front of house staff and my experience at Local 44 last night was the perfect example.

We (party of 4) walk in, the bar is full we walk toward the back to be seated. The server, a small man with a messy bun and hipster glasses approaches us lackadaisically and says “Are you all eating?” “No” I say “Just having some drinks”. He says something to the tune of “I guess you can sit if it’s that time already.” And walks away, we seat ourselves.

It’s around 11:45pm and the seating area is completely empty, mind you.

We sit in a booth... He comes back and says “You can sit here for now, but if a 6 top comes in I going to have to move you.” Excuse me? You’re going to move us? That is never acceptable, ever. Maybe instead of walking away you could have shown us to the table you prefer, like a server. “Where can we sit so that we can enjoy our drinks and not be moved” I ask... “Anywhere but here.” Wow... We opt to move to accommodate his imaginary 6 top that couldn’t possible be sat in any combination of other empty tables.

Next step in the service process “Here are menus... when I get back, have your ID’s ready”. We are a group of 4 in our mid-late 30’s being spoken to like we’re kids in line to get into a night club. Like I’m in line at TSA. Because your are so busy serving this packed dining room? You’re not busy... you’re just rude.

We order one round. Saw lots of mice running around the dining room so well probably read about Local 44 in Clean Plates any day now. Naturally when it got closer a potential 2nd round/dropping the bill he’s Mr. Friendly. If he was that chipper with his greeting maybe we would have had another round or so. Maybe even food if the kitchen was open, but no.

I wanted out of there, and I won’t be coming back. Owners, your customers = money... pass that simple sentiment on to your staff so they act like they care about make themselves and you and themselves some. This isn’t New York City, servers with bad attitudes doesn’t fly here.

Also remember, people don’t talk about good service nearly as much as they love complaining about...

I would give no stars, if possible. Came in with a couple of friends. Two other groups of people followed after us, but the cashier had his eyes on us from the moment we walked in. A friend of mine had no interest in buying beer, so she just hung out by the door, on her cell phone. The cashier kept asking us, only us, asking if we needed help...following us around the tiny space, pretending to tidy up around us. When we went to pay, he asked all three of us for our IDs, including my friend who hadn't touched or even looked at any beer. We are all 23 years old with valid state IDs, but it's the principle. I told him that only two of us were at the register with beer in hand, trying to pay and he said it was "state law". I attempted to inquire further about said law, when he snatched the beers out of my hand and went to put them away. I am not sure if it was because my friend was Muslim, or because we were all African American, or if it was because this poor cashier was upset for having gone bald so prematurely and was far below the average height for an American male (can we say Napoleon complex?). But we were definitely profiled and treated very poorly from the moment we walked in. No worries, Fresh Grocer has a beer...

I’ve never felt the need to leave a review on a restaurant, but this place needs it.

The food was okay considering the fact that my burger was severely overcooked and the fries looked like they were scrapping the bottom of the pan. The service, however, was terrible. The waiter was not at all welcoming, had an attitude while taking my order and seemed to be ignoring me after delivering my drink. I assumed he was having a rough night and brushed it off and still thanked him until I noticed him laughing and joking with other customers. I would think I was being racially profiled if it weren’t for the server himself also being black! When I finished my food and (watered down) drink I waited 10 minutes with my card out on the table for a check and even resorted to waving at and trying to make eye contact with the server…I was ignored. I attempted to get the attention of another employee so I could leave, but everyone was either busy or not paying attention. I get that I was alone and may have been easy to overlook on such a busy night, but I was seated directly by the door (next to the bar) and multiple servers passed by me to serve people dining outside. I’ve dined here multiple times and have never had a bad experience...