Shanghai Tunnel Bar & Venue — Restaurant in Portland

I want to preface this by saying that I've been working in restaurants across the country for 10 years. I've seen all manner of bad service and egos (I've worked with Guinness record holders and TV personalities who thought more of themselves than was really justifiable). Having seen what it's really like to work in the industry, I'm always very forgiving of servers and have never in my entire life failed to leave a tip.

This is the first time that I've ever been truly angry over bad service. And the first time I've ever written a negative review. This was the absolute worst service I have ever experienced in my 29 years of existence.

It started the instant we approached the bar. It was about 6 pm on a Thursday, totally dead inside, leaving no possible excuse for bad tempers. My friend asked what cocktails the bartender recommended and received a curt response in an openly hostile tone: "You're out of luck. I don't know you, I don't know what you drink."

We brushed it off, my friend ordered a drink at random, I ordered a double Jameson, we sat down at a booth and chatted. After a few minutes, we decided to step outside for a cigarette, so I placed a coaster over the top of my half-full glass- the universal symbol for "Don't bus this," and stepped outside.

When we came back, our table was cleared. Honestly, that happens. I've been around long enough to know that sometimes people make mistakes and I was fully prepared to forgive it. When I flagged the bartender down (took about five minutes of standing, even though there were maybe three other people in the entire building), he made it absolutely clear that he flat-out didn't believe me. He pulled his busser aside, asked him whether there'd been a coaster on top of my glass, the busser said he couldn't remember, so the bartender says "That really sucks, but you know, it's money out of my pocket, so..." and then walked away to help another customer, leaving me standing there. A few minutes later, he comes back like I'm an afterthought and asks, "How can I help you?" So I told him I wanted him to replace my drink.

He pours it, hands me a coaster, and says in a sarcastic, condescending tone, "Make sure you use this if you step out so we know not to take your glass."

I wanted to punch him.

The jerk billed me for both drinks, too.

In all my years of food service, I've never encountered a restaurant that didn't have the unspoken policy that, when it's a matter of one word against another, you give the customer the benefit of the doubt. Especially if they're first-timers, especially if all it takes to make it right is one lousy drink. That's food service 101. Basic human courtesy 101 is don't be openly hostile and mocking of people who have been nothing but polite to you, particularly if you depend on them for your income. Up until this guy reacted the way he did, I was planning on leaving him a heavy tip in exchange for the trouble of fixing a mistake, as it was, I left him a dollar. Will never return.

So if you ever go to the Shanghai tunnel and see a bald 20-something lanky white guy in thick-rimmed glasses behind the bar? Order something complicated and stiff him. You have the blessing of a representative of...

If you had asked me two days ago where my favorite bar in Portland was, I would sing all kinds of praises about this place. After yesterday, however, it's another story. The B.O.M.B. is literally the best veggie burger I've ever had. Drinks are average price with a pretty standard beer selection. The thing I always loved about Shanghai was the staff and ambiance of the place. That changed in a heartbeat last night. The bartender we had was a total D.B. Treated us like total garbage for no reason. Business was just average. Not slow, but not crazy either. He just talked to us like we were dirt. I understand that everyone has a bad day, but in my nearly 15 years in the industry, I never once treated a guest with so little respect. Long story short, there's too many great spots in Portland to give these punks...

Pros: Food Drinks Pool

Cons: Price

-Food- Food here is probably the best food I've had at a bar, except for maybe bars with a pizza oven. They make all sorts of interesting dishes and they are all rather good.

-Drinks- They make the best drinks in town... well the one bartender I've always had makes the best drinks in town. I've gone there at least 20 times now, week days and weekends, still always got the same bartender. Still makes a fantastic drinks.

-Pool- They have pool and a few arcade machines if you are into that.

-Price- Let's just say it is more expensive than it should be, but still not bad. So I really only go here when I want good drinks made, if I want cheap drinks or strong drinks, I'll go...