The Tangled Wood — Restaurant in Pleasant Valley Township

I hate leaving bad reviews, but I feel it’s necessary when you tried other avenues to mitigate an issue and an establishment fails to deliver properly… with that being said, I’ve came to the Tanglewood probably 10 times in the years they have been open and only twice out of those times was I very pleased with the entire experience… something is always lacking; whether the food, the service and hospitality, or the time it takes to get your food… I’m someone who can deal with a low energy server/bartender as long as the drinks show up, and the food is good… the reason I’m writing this review is because it’s long overdue and my last experience left me extremely disappointed.

My brother and I came here on a Sunday, around 5pm, and sat at the bar. The bartender was actually very friendly and was not annoyed with us trying samples before picking a beer on tap - the issue came with the kitchen, and how the manager handled it. I got the Sticky Asian Salmon, which I’ve gotten 3 times prior, 2 of those times the salmon was phenomenal and the green beans I got were cooked perfectly, but the last time it was all around horrible. I expressed that to the bartender and she told me they’ve been going through cooks, and that she’ll make sure everything is cooked right, specifically the green beans because last time I had them, they were extremely undercooked and hard. After my brother gets served his food, I’m still waiting, and 5-10 minutes goes by and the manager comes and tells me they are out of white rice, and it’ll be just a little because they had to “steam more and ran out.” It’s now 40 minutes after I ordered and they were not that busy. I was given the option to get my green beans and salmon now, and just eat the rice once it’s done “soon”. I said I was extremely hungry and that would be fine. The salmon comes out instantly after (which makes me wonder what they would’ve done with it if I had waited for the rice, since it was already cooked in the back waiting) along with the green beans… the green beans again, were extremely hard and under cooked and the bartender told me she could tell by looking at them, that they were not done. So those got sent back, and now I’m just eating a piece of salmon. My green beans come out 10 minutes later, and still no rice. Now I’m eating just green beans by themselves. 15 minutes go by, still no rice. I was so hungry I just decided to leave. The manager “discounted” my food, and still charged me $14 for the single piece of salmon I ate, and I barely touched the green beans because who wants to eat a portion of green beans without enjoying bites of their food along with it? I’ve worked in service, the fact my meal did not get discounted AT LEAST 50% is appalling. The bartender said she was going to give me half off, by using her employee discount (she insisted) but when a different manager came over, she handled the transaction with me and gave me my receipt to pay while saying “so I took off some for the rice, and a little for the green beans since I see you did not eat many of them, but cannot discount the meal 50% since you ate your salmon” and I wasn’t going to argue. I am financial comfortable, and know people make mistakes and things happen, it’s really just the principle… needless to say, I ended up paying $14 for a piece of salmon, $6 for a beer, and the suggested tip amount was based on the price before the discounts - so all together I paid $27 for a piece of salmon and a beer. I wasn’t going to screw the bartender for all her efforts, but told myself I will never ever go back there again unless it’s strictly to have a beer on tap. The food has been mediocre for years, the service has been mediocre for years (with the exception of a few bartenders/servers) and now seeing how poorly management handles these situations, it simply isn’t worth the headache or hassle. I tip well, I enjoy going out to celebrate life and the success of my business, or even to watch sports somewhere, but this place has gotten all the patience I have with one establishment -...

Went here for the first time Friday night (St. Patrick's Day weekend). Was pretty busy, as expected. Checked in with the hostess and was told it would be about an hour wait. She told us we could go outside and order drinks and appetizers from the bar and they'll text us when our table is ready. Took awhile to get drinks and food ordered, but totally understandable as busy as it was. We were told to check back in 20-30 minutes to see if our food was ready. About 20 minutes later, I got in the line that appeared to be the food pickup line. Pretty sure I heard my name when I walked up. After 3 people picked up their food and I was next, the bartender walked away and began helping customers on the other side. Just then I got the text our table was ready. We decided to sit and have our server get our food. After waiting about 10 minutes, a very rude woman approached and asked if we wanted more to drink. We both ordered another drink and explained the situation about the appetizers. She then proceeded to tell us that any food ordered at the bar is "to go" and must be consumed outside. I said ok, then I want a refund for that order and we'll order something else. She then went and got a manager, who was probably the rudest person I've ever met in a hospitality position. She told us the same thing the server did and concluded with, "for future reference." I began to respond to her but she just rolled her eyes and walked away. Because she said for future reference, I assumed that meant they would make an exception this one time. About 10 more minutes later, the rude server returned and said, "so what are you gonna do? Get your food and go back outside?" So we got up to go back to the bar to get our food. On the way, I saw the rude manager at the hostess stand. I stopped and told her she should probably tell the hostesses what she told us so they don't tell more customers that it's OK to order an appetizer and drink at the bar and then still get a table inside. She said she already did that and again rolled her eyes and turned her back to me. I looked at the two hostess standing there and they both looked like they had no idea what was going on. We went to the bar and stood there for another 10-15 minutes to get our food, which by now was cold and soggy. Worst experience at a restaurant or bar I have ever experienced in my life. I can't believe how incredibly rude the server and manager were. They never once smiled. They never once apologized. They both just looked at my wife and I as if we didn't belong there and shouldn't have come. I wish we hadn't. If I owned the place, these two women would be fired! We would anyone want someone like that representing their business?!? I will NEVER return to this place ever again! When an employee tells a customer something, a good manager will follow through and back what was said to the customer and then explain to the employee what they did or said that was wrong. You don't take it out on your paying customer as if they did...

Been wanting to try this place for a while, heard relatively good things. Some friends were coming into town, so we suggested The Tangled Wood. Probably not the best decision we've made lately.

When we arrived, our friends were already there, sat outside. It was nice, no problem, although VERY loud when the band started up a way's away on a large stage shortly after we arrived.

Before we arrived, our friends had ordered nachos and poutine. The nachos came out about half an hour later, right about when we arrived. The poutine....well, we'll come back to that in a couple hours...

The person who brought the nachos asked if there was anything else he could get us. My wife and I spoke up since we just arrived and needed some drinks. He promptly told us he wasn't our server and then walked away. Not sure what that was about. About half an hour after we arrived, our actual server came by and we ordered drinks - drinks we did not see for at least another half an hour.

Around this time (an hour or so after we arrived), two nearby tables cleared out and new customers arrived. They seemed to get their drinks very promptly and ordered. We had been there an hour and just got our drinks and our dinner order.

I can't speak for anyone else, but the simple pepperoni and mushroom pizza I had was decent, but way too much cheese for that thin crust, and the crust had zero flavor.

Not only did it take an hour to get our drinks and take our food order, it was another 45-ish minutes before we got our food, and not all of it was out and some of it was incorrect.

Finally, the poutine showed up, after multiple inquiries from us and assurances from our server that it was "coming soon". (If you're keeping track, this is nearly two hours after we arrived and over two hours since the poutine was ordered...approximately.)

Those other tables near us who had customers come in after us? Already nearly finished with their dinner and on their second drinks.

While this does not cover all of the issues this one visit had, if this is indicative of this business, we will certainly not be back and this is the first and last time we'll recommend this restaurant.

(Note: Yes, I'm aware staffing shortages are plaguing the service industry, and I did take that into consideration. The customers arriving well after us and getting food and drinks promptly before us kind of made me give up on that. There were just way too many people there for the amount of staff. Need to close off some of the outdoor area if you can't keep up with the customers, or cut back your hours of business. Make sure the customers you do get have a good experience.)

Also, for those who care, like myself, there wasn't a single mask in sight on staff or customers, but the tables (at least outside) were well social distanced.

The only saving grace was that the outside area, while large, was very nice, with games and plenty of socially...