Last Chair Brewery & Restaurant — Restaurant in Plymouth

Last week we stopped in for dinner and sat outside at one of the dog friendly tables. It took about 15 minutes for anyone to come out and acknowledge that we were seated there. The drinks took about another 15 minutes to come out. We then all sat with empty glasses for 10+ minutes before our server came back to take food orders. We put in food which was also delayed in coming out. You can imagine how the service went for the rest of dinner and by the time we got the check, we sat there for almost 2 hours to each get 2 beers and food. I assumed that this was just a fluke as service is typically decent, however, this appears to be the norm for the dog friendly tables. We decided to give it another try yesterday on the way home from the lake. Again we were sat at a dog friendly table and sat there for 20 minutes without anyone coming over. During that time, the server who had the next table over made eye contact with us but still no one acknowledged us. We finally decided to throw in the towel after sitting out in the heat. As we were walking out, we figured we would try the new bar that serves tacos as this was self serve. We placed orders there and sat at a different table. We noticed from across the patio that someone finally came out to presumable take our orders at the dog table and realized we had left and that was about 30 minutes after we were initially seated. We obviously assumed our previous experience was a fluke and gave it another shot. But unfortunately it seems like the dog friendly tables are routinely neglected even during lower traffic hours. In fairness, the tacos were great. However, I think we are all in agreement that there are better options in the greater Plymouth area that are also in close proximity to the highway. To go and get horrific service for a third time in a row would feel pretty dumb so this was the last time for us.

Edit for the owner's response I had to delete my first paragraph of the initial review due to character restrictions Could we have found a manager and verbalized our displeasure? Sure, we could have. However, given our visit the previous week, we were on the same timeline trajectory sitting at those tables. The people I was with had time constraints. Had we spoken with a manager, I'm sure someone would have then come out to take our initial orders. However, we then would have been committed to a likely lengthy dinner which we could not risk at that point. That coupled with the fact that the hot exhaust was blowing on us from the AC unit at the 3rd dog table made it pretty undesirable. As to your question of "what's the end game?" by writing a negative review: Of course I would not wish to see you "out of business because we mistakenly didn't serve you fast enough and instead of letting a manager know, or just leaving, and not coming back". Of course you did not "try to ruin your night", and I certainly never implied that the lack of service was intentional. Reviews quite literally exist for this purpose. It is not the customer's obligation to personally reach out to the owner after having 2 consecutive negative experiences. Your comment of "hopefully no one will ever do this to you if you make a mistake" feels a bit personal and unprofessional. However, with a quick review of your other replies, that seems like the baseline. If I owned a restaurant and had a customer have back to back negative experiences while seated at the same type of tables, I would take a hard look at my operation and make sure that the customer was in fact wrong and that there isn't a clear trend of poor service to those tables. That seems like the appropriate response rather than personally attacking someone for voicing said poor experiences. This will be my last response as I will not continue going back and forth with a defensive business owner by editing google reviews. I do in fact hope that you take a look at the service being given to these tables and improve and continue to grow. But people can read through this thread including how you decided to respond and decide...

Last Chair Brewery & Restaurant offers a combined experience of craft beer and food, deserving a comprehensive review of both aspects.

Beer Selection: The Plater Pull Coffee Porter stands out with a strong coffee taste and pleasant chocolate notes. This porter is a solid choice for those who enjoy a rich coffee flavor in their beer. My favorite, however, was the Ramrod DIPA, an IPA that boasts a delightful combination of fruity hop notes, including citrus, pine, apricot, and stone fruit. It offered a vibrant and refreshing profile that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Powder Bear HAZY IPA was less impressive, lacking the typical hazy characteristic and falling somewhat flat in flavor. When compared to Bissell Brothers' Nothing Gold, which is a Double IPA, the Powder Bear seemed quite plain. The White Peaks Wheat Ale and Valley Run Fruited Saison were decent, but they didn't particularly stand out.

Food Selection: On the food front, I sampled a variety of food, including the Cheese Pizza (from the kids' menu), The New Englander pizza, Spicy Cauliflower Bites, and Cheesesteak Eggrolls. The pizzas, while having a good overall flavor, suffered from a dry, cardboard-like crust. Both were thin crust, bar-style pizzas but could benefit from a more flavorful and less dry base.

The fried items, particularly the Cheesesteak Eggrolls, showed potential. The Cheesesteak Eggrolls were flavorful but slightly overcooked. The Spicy Cauliflower Bites, while a creative dish, were fried for too long, affecting the texture.

Customer Service: The customer service was great, though our waitress seemed undertrained regarding the menu. However, she was very kind and attentive, ensuring a pleasant dining experience despite not being knowledgeable on the beers offered.

Overall Experience: Last Chair Brewery & Restaurant offers a mixed experience. The beer, particularly the Ramrod DIPA, is a highlight, but some beers lack the expected depth and character. The food, while flavorful in parts, needs refinement.

Update (August 3, 2024): After my initial review, I received a response from the management of Last Chair Brewery & Restaurant. Unfortunately, the response did not meet my expectations for a constructive dialogue. Rather than acknowledging the detailed feedback and indicating any steps towards improvement, the reply seemed to undermine the issues raised, particularly regarding the food quality and beer selection.

Constructive criticism, especially when given with specific examples as in my review, should ideally be met with a willingness to understand and improve. Effective customer service not only involves delivering a good experience during the visit but also handling feedback professionally and with an open mind.

Given this interaction, my overall experience with Last Chair Brewery & Restaurant has been somewhat tarnished. While the Ramrod DIPA remains a standout beer, and the service was attentive during my visit, the lack of acknowledgment of the areas needing improvement in their response impacts my perception of the establishment’s commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

This experience highlights the importance of not just the product and service offered during the visit but also the manner in which feedback is handled post-visit. For future customers, I hope the establishment takes this as an opportunity to reflect and grow, ensuring that both the culinary and brewing aspects, as well as customer relations, reach their...

After reading all of the establishments responses to reviews that are less than five stars I hesitate to even leave a review.

We were seated @ 1932 and received our food approximately 2030 which was not the issue, it’s a holiday weekend, we knew we would wait anywhere we went. The problem was that all three of the burgers we ordered and their accompanying sides were burnt. One burger had a whole in the bottom where they presumably had to scrape it off the grill. One of the members of our party took them two of the burgers and showed them to the wait staff with told them they were the last burgers in the restaurant so they could not replace them. When that individual returned to our table, another member of our party went up and asked to speak to a manager. As he approached the waitstaff they were complaining about us saying something about our burnt burgers. We waited for the manager to come out, she never did she sent someone else. He graciously offered those who had burgers chicken sandwiches or a round of drinks however we had arrived at the restaurant 1822, were seated at 1932 and by the time the individual offered this it was 2047. At this point we just wanted the check and to leave.

We were offered compensation for the burnt food, so yes, some of your staff did try to take accountability and offer customer service. However, the rest of the staff were rude and at one point one of them said, well the cooks have been for 12 hours. The waitstaff, with the exception of our waiter who was stuck between a rock and a hard place blatantly pointed at our table and gave us the dirty looks. In addition to have been there so long, there is no way we were going to accept any additional food from a staff that was so obviously displeased. The burgers were removed from the bill as they were inedible and we received a discount on the pizzas we ordered. The individual representing the manager did try. But the rest of the staffs reaction overwhelmed his attempt.

We have eaten here many times and never experienced this. To be on the defensive after reading other reviews I only leave reviews for those experiences that are exceptional. Exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. We are an easy going group who respond to situations where there are issues good naturally, however the staffs reaction to the situation is warranted...