Old Market Pub & Brewery — Restaurant in Portland

I joined a group for happy hour and our server was very rude from the get go. We were not unruly or impolite in any way. We took up two picnic tables (outside, 12~16 people at most) and many more were available when I got there. It was not busy. We are all vaccinated and wore masks until being seated.

Half of us did not receive water. Multiple people ordered food and did not receive utensils, napkins, condiments, etc. About an hour and a half in, while most of us still had food and drinks, after some people had closed out, the server asked us to consolidate tables. We were already in the middle of doing so. As she walked away she said they had lots of people waiting, again with a really nasty tone of voice. While it had definitely gotten more busy, we were all still ordering food and drinks.

A while later, I closed out. I tipped more than 20%, because it's a pandemic and I know working in the service industry can be grueling. I figured our server was just stressed out or having a bad day.

I was worried about overstaying our welcome after the server's comment, so as the last of us closed out and we were still talking, I kept an eye on the entrance. Nobody was waiting, inside or out, and at least 3 large picnic tables (we were seated 6-8 at our table) were free.

I know it's a pandemic and many servers rely on tips to supplement their criminally low income, but by the time we were all done ordering, eating, drinking, and had paid, there was lots of space available.

As I was literally standing up to leave (4 others were still seated), a different server came and said "okay ladies, I have to ask you to leave, we have people waiting." At least she was polite, I guess? But I would have preferred she be honest and just say "you've all closed out and we'd like to make these tables available again." No need to lie.

I'm confused more than anything. Were we supposed to make a reservation? We were there for ~3 hours but it was only full/busy at the time we were ALL actively eating and drinking. Had it been busy when we were all or mostly done, we would have left. We were seated at picnic tables that they just quickly wipe down and we didn't make a mess. We were polite. We tipped. I didn't think it was unusual to stay longer at bars/pubs, as you are usually drinking over time rather than eating a full meal.

Thing is, we work closely together every day and I can't imagine ANYONE in our party was needlessly rude or deserving of rudeness. For many of us, this is the first public outing we've had in more than a year. I'm sorry if our manners or pandemic dining etiquette were lacking, but it would have helped if someone had been polite and honest with us.

If the food were awesome maybe it would've helped, but the two items I had tasted like they'd been fried in stale or dirty oil. I don't think I'll be returning. It's a shame, because they have a huge outdoor seating area which is really desirable during...

Since the owner decided to reply with an inappropriate response let’s layout a time line of my terrible experience

I arrived and sat at the bar When the bartender decided to acknowledge me I asked about the amber on tap and she was very short with me and asked if I just wanted to try it. (This was not in a friendly manner she clearly didn’t care about helping me decide) she handed me the sample and she walked away... She finally comes back and ask if I liked the beer and I explained I didn’t care for it and requested the IPA. Happy hour has just begun and while looking at the happy hour menu I order a beacon cheese When I reviewed the recipes it showed a $14 burger so I asked her about the happy hour menu in terms of pricing She then snaps at me saying I didn’t specify the happy hour burger and that’s a completely different item and she turned her back on my clearly annoyed A lady and her son sitting at the bar noticed this as well Her tone was unacceptable At no point has this bartender asked me how my days was, engaged me in any sort of posting I’ve way and this was all done in front of the owner who responded to this original review At this point I hadn’t played a video but after the garbage treatment I started to play on my phone to try to avoiding getting more upset I watched two videos two, in a bar full of people and music playing It’s 2018 and customers watch videos from their phones it’s pretty normal but again this didn’t happen until after the terrible treatment I received

In addition, I don’t leave bad reviews for places and chose to due to the response the owner gave me while sitting at the bar which is reflected in the crappy response he gave this review

Good food and good beer, terrible experience! Between the bartender and the guy with the laptop sitting at the bar, couldn’t have felt more unwelcome. He chastised me for watching a video on my phone and she made me feel like an inconvenience. When I ordered from the happy hour menu she put in for a burger from the normal menu... once I caught it I tried to give her a heads up and she made it seem like my fault... happy hour just started, you’d think she would have asked if that’s what I was ordering... I let the gentleman know how unwelcoming they were and he said he wouldn’t miss me

For the record your hard working bartender was very rude to me twice before I could even have a chance...

5 videos huh? Interesting!

Interesting how the response is to attack the patron even more...

It’s 2018 people watch videos on phones at bars... this wasn’t fine dining and I was sitting at a...

Twelve years in the restaurant and bar industry and I've never been so frusted. This place may be great for the beer but the food is sub-sub par bar grub with an attempt to appease Portland Foodies while also slapping too high of a sticker price on it.

Our night started out with a large party of 7 people, 2 of which were late arriving - yes, this can cause frustration to waitstaff. Upon ordering our meal (it did take a while to get everyone to settle), four burgers were ordered and requested at different temperatures with a few modifications, all of which Brittney (our server) assured us "sounded great" and were "no problem." Mind you, their burger menu is comprised of many organic, grass-fed beef options so we were looking forward to juicy, seared burgers weighing in at 1/3 lb each, or, in the case of the Maple Bacon Heart Attack (or whatever it was called), 1/2 lb. Fast forward to receiving our food: All of their burgers are cooked well done. Wait. Then why was it "no problem" to order them mid-rare and rare for those of us wanting to capitalize on the flavor of specialty beef? Oh, because she forgot to tell us about how "all the burgers are cooked at the same temp to ensure proper health code regulations"... AFTER we ordered. Do you see our confusion here?

Fifteen minutes later (not the industry standard 2-minute check-back time) she asks how everything is doing. My fiancee, having had a long day and not being able to choke down her well-done patty, orders something to replace her Burger King-worthy arrangement. Brittney, after smiling to our faces and quickly scampering off, rolls her eyes unbeknownst to me observing her. God forbid she misrepresent her establisment's menu and then need to make up for it.

Meanwhile, everyone else is finishing their food and steadily drinking their water and beer down. Empty plates and cups quickly fill the table and the party is starting to get thirsty to no avail. No one comes to bring water until I flag someone down. No manager is ever seen throughout our stay, including to ensure that we were happy with the final result, a gyro that my lady was able to stomach.

End result: my fiancee and I are pissed but fed, the bill had BOTH the omitted/overcooked burger and gyro removed. I gave 2 stars for rectifying your screw-up and for the other servers who happily accommodated us as we moved to the game room later. My suggestion to readers: go for beer and games but eat...