Otto's Taproom & Grille — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Great food, however, the bar tender, Tom, is a real prick. Rude, condescending, arrogant. I used to frequent this place bc I know the owner, Randall. My first encounter with Tom, he was slow (like 12 mins before he even acknowledged me), and when he did, he slapped a menu in front of me and just walked away. I immediately say to him I just want a double Scotch, no food please. He gives me three side eyes and scoffs as he rips the menu off the bar. Then it took another 8 mins for him to pour my drink. As he sets my drink down, I say to him, "I'm done after this." He completely ignores me and doesn't check back until 15 mins after I've finished my drink. What was supposed to be a quick after work drink became a 40 min layover. What's amazing is, I was 1 of 4 people in the bar!!! I continued to go for a few more visits, but stopped bc of this arrogant man. What a D*CK.

UPDATED 4/19/2024 (Previously a 3 star review) So I recently came back to ottos to meet friends after work. Tom is no longer employed here. From what I heard, he was not only toxic to customers but also the staff as well. It's a shame how one person can ruin an...

Just checked out the old joint we used to frequent before the pandemic when we moved away and the renovations made are wonderful! So classy now. They added food and have an upstairs for additional grille seating. It is still a friendly place as it used to be but now it seems more ppl keeping to themselves than before when everyone got involved in a lively conversation. However we were there in the afternoon and not at night so I can't speak to that yet. Food was delicious! The Armenian beef skewer is delicious as well as the shrimp skewer. The oysters were great! The soft pretzel bites were kinda soft but at least easy to dip into the mustard. Mushroom sandwich is good but more for open-faced cutting and eating with utensils. Drinks were mixed well. We were there early and it was quiet and chill as the afternoons have been historically. Because we were in and out before the sun went down, the night crowd could be different. At least it definitely was when we used to come years ago. So I hope that same lively make-a-friend vibe is still there now that they have added food. Recommend this place and will be...

Second visit with the same bartender, horrible service. First visit I waited for over ten minutes to be served, because the bartender was outside and claimed he didn't see me enter. Then he proceeded to argue with me and even threaten not to serve me. After receiving my drinks I asked when the owner would be in and was told he stops in during the week. Went back again same bartender and once again he was outside kissing a man I stood there until he noticed me to avoid having the same experience as before. I ordered the same exact drink that I ordered not even a week ago and the price just about doubled. I mentioned it and he stated that was the price. I didn't argue with him, I just paid. After I paid he tried to short me out of my change after over charging me. I was persistent about receiving my change, so he then tells me not to come back. It's a shame what my area is becoming, please do not patronize this...