Tuggers — Restaurant in Port Byron

I drive through Port Byron pretty much every day for my job. In the more than two years since working at this location, I've never stopped anywhere in town either on the way or from work, and given recommendations for bars and restaurants recently provided by coworkers I felt it time to try something in the downtown. Tuggers would be the first stop in this effort.

I feel like it's not really necessary to state this, but the downtown of Port Byron along Main Street is not huge. It encompasses all of about three or so blocks. Tuggers is on the river side of this area, near the northern most part of the businesses lining the street. I'm a little bummed I haven't stopped by sooner - even in the winter, the walk along the street was quiet, with the sound of the river adding a certain calm to everything.

Tuggers is definitely a stand-out among the places around this area. Their establishment is in a newish looking building - or a very well refurbished one. Regardless, the interior is similarly sharp and new looking. Weathered looking laminate wood floor lines the space with black drop ceiling and recessed light fixtures above. There's a mix of booth, high table, and normal table seating through the space, as well as a few stools at the bar. Additional incandescent globe fixtures are spaced between the wine racks above the bar. The old looking brick and mortar walls add additional character to the space. On the whole, it's cozy and a little dark - I like it.

I opted to sit at the bar, even with the dining space mostly empty. I had a Hendrick gin and tonic, which was really well balanced and otherwise tasted great. I only needed to burn about 30 minutes, so I only ordered a side of seasoned fries to snack on. The fries were soon out and I snacked away. They were really well seasoned, tasted great!

At the urging of a gentleman at the bar, I need to come back for a future visit, possibly during the summer so as to sit on the big patio. I'm looking forward to this return trip and some more time in Main Street Port Byron....

What we liked: the decor, the view, and the tots. What we didn't like: we went on a day they were doing an event with another restaurant and therefore had a different and small menu. We wanted to try the regular menu and weren't told this by the hostess. My husband wanted to leave, but I was hungry so we stayed. We weren't the only ones upset by this, we overheard two other groups complaining about it. But it was the staff that ruined our experience. Our waitress and runner were great but there were at least 5 staff members just chatting right in the middle of the restaurant, not working at all. At one point I used the restroom and when I came back to my table, they were in the way. After saying excuse me 4 or 5 times, the hostess physically pulled one of them out of the way. She not only didn't acknowledge me, but she didn't even stop talking to her friends. If that wasn't bad enough, we waited a long time to get our bill processed. It was either a manager or owner who noticed and asked one of the talkers to take care of it and she said "not my table" and turned back to her gossip fest. Why pay people who don't work and talk back to you?? We're usually very patient and forgiving diners, but there's no way...

Horrible service. Rude manager and incompetent server. Waited over an hour for our meals. Drinks were late, even the ice had melted. We had to cancel all our orders. In addition, we had to order a second appetizer and that one did not even come either. The tables around us that came in 15 minutes after us got their meals just fine. Server said he forgot because our table had 6 people and it was hard to manage such a large group. All other tables had 2-4 people. Manager came over and said the reason they have not started our dinner was because they wait till we are done with appetizers but what he did not realize is that we ate those like 45 minutes back. Needless to say we are darker people than the rest but what they fail to realize is that we are proud military men that tip very well. Your loss and you guys can Tug on this. Would have given a zero if it...