Ale Mary's Beer Hall — Restaurant in Royal Oak

I am writing to express my profound dissatisfaction with my recent experience at your establishment in Royal Oak on Saturday (8/3). As someone who teaches hospitality, leadership, and sales at a university, I have a keen understanding of service standards and expectations. Unfortunately, my experience at your restaurant fell far short of what one would expect from a reputable establishment.

My family and I were in town for a funeral, having spent the day at the funeral home laying my father-in-law to rest. After such an emotionally draining day, we sought a place where we could find some solace and a simple meal before returning to our hotel for the night. To our dismay, we encountered significant issues at your restaurant, despite it being relatively empty at the time.

Upon sitting at the bar, we were met by the bartender and requested both food and drink menus. I had not been drinking throughout the day and was simply emotionally exhausted. When I began asking for recommendations from the drink menu, it was clear that the bartender was irritated by my questions. This was particularly surprising given that she had only two patrons at the bar, and her apparent lack of interest in assisting us was unwarranted.

My husband and I ordered drinks and nachos to start. After finishing my drink, I requested the drink menu again, as the bartender had been unhelpful earlier. At this point, the bartender informed everyone around that I was being cut off for intoxication. This was not only incorrect but deeply upsetting, given the context of our day. I was neither slurring my words nor displaying any signs of inebriation. My family, who were aware of our circumstances, were equally stunned by this accusation.

I requested to speak with a manager to address the situation. The bartender, however, refused to facilitate this and informed the servers not to involve the manager. Instead, I was asked to leave the premises while the rest of my family remained inside. I was in an unfamiliar city with no local support and was unjustly ejected under false pretenses.

Afterward, I did have a brief conversation with a manager—a lady whose name I did not catch—but it did little to mitigate my distress. The treatment I received was not only humiliating but discriminatory. With 20 years of experience in hospitality, including managing some of the largest clubs in Panama City Beach, I have never encountered such a level of unprofessionalism and disrespect.

I will be sharing this experience with my students and colleagues as a cautionary tale about the importance of fair and respectful customer service. Your establishment should foster an environment where guests feel welcome and respected, not subjected to unwarranted accusations and dismissive treatment.

I hope you will address this matter seriously to prevent similar experiences for...

This review is specific to the outdoor igloo dining experience. We made our reservation online and received a verification with a menu attached. The menu we received was over 2 years out of date! Some items were no longer available and the prices were drastically higher. When we arrived and checked in at the front, we were not greeted and had to say hello to the hostess first. Odd, but fine, whatever. She eventually led us to our igloo. The heater in our igloo barely worked. The heater itself got warm, but the fan was very weak and did little to add heat to the igloo. The outside temperature was around 35° and it was a little warmer in the igloo. A server entered, introduced herself, and almost immediately realized we weren't her table. We waited a few minutes for another server. He took our drink order and was back in about 10 minutes, drinks in hand. He then took our dinner order. When our food arrived, I realized the reason we got it fast was because it was rushed. You know when you get a fast food burger and everything is out of place, the patty is falling off the bun and the toppings look like they were just thrown on with no consideration?That's how this burger looked. Only half the cheese was on my burger, the other half was on the plate. The bacon was falling off, the tomatoes actually had fallen off and I had to put them back on. It was a mess before I even picked it up. My wife's meal was better prepared, everything was in place, and the brussel sprouts were delicious. Our son received mac and cheese, even though we requested buttered noodles. We knew it was a special request and made sure to ask if it was possible. The server told us it was no problem, he'd take care of it. But we ended up receiving something else. The thing that really annoyed me was that the server forgot a set of silverware and ketchup for the fries. While we got the food quickly, these things weren't brought until we were nearly done eating. His response? "Oops, looks like I'm too late." Then he left. Every time our server entered our igloo he left the door wide open! Any heat we had accumulated was gone. That part was very frustrating. Lastly, the speakers played Adam Sandler's Hanukah song 5 times while we were there. They were all different live versions, and it's a good song, but come on! It was too much lol... We spent about $30 per person to get an entree and one drink each. We were cold the entire time, and our food was 2nd rate at best. I have had drinks and appetizers with friends inside Ale Mary's before and had a wonderful time. This outdoor dining experience, however, left much...

UPDATE: I have to update my previous 5-star review and recommendation because Ale Mary’s has really gone downhill. We have been regulars since the pandemic, so almost 5 years. We would come in once or twice a week every week. We’ve been drawing most of the beer signs above the bar for the past year (and even bought the chalk markers). We found it odd that in all the time and money we spent there, the latest location manager and the GM have never once bothered to introduce themselves or even just say hi. They would just sit in the back of the restaurant. Half the staff is fantastic, the other half is unprofessional and just don’t seem to care. The prices have gone way up while the quality of the food has gone down. They recently had a mac-n-cheese special on the menu that was a ridiculous $29. Was it worth $29? Heck no. You can get a better version of the same dish down the street for literally half the price. And it’s SO inconsistent. Order the same dish 4 times and it will be different every time. It seems they care more about getting you in the door with the latest trendy food on social media. I blame management on every level. They don’t care about their regulars. They don’t care about keeping their talented staff. They don’t care about training their lackluster staff. They don’t care about keeping the prices at a level that matches the quality. They don’t care about food quality and consistency. They just don’t care. Can I recommend Ale Mary’s? Maybe for the beer selection (but how long will management care about that?). And maybe because they have a full vegan menu. Aside from that, I’m not sure I see a reason to go back unless there is a complete management change, especially now that our favorite bartender/server is no longer there.

PREVIOUSLY: We are regulars at Ale Mary’s. We love trying all the craft beers and it's great to see something new all the time. The food is really good, from the specials to the regular menu. I appreciate that there's both an omnivore and vegan menu so I can take friends who have dietary restrictions. While I choose from both sides of the menu, the vegan shakes are great for someone like me who is lactose intolerant. The atmosphere is warm and comfy. Parking is easy in the Center Street parking structure where the first 2 hours are free. But what keeps us coming back? The service. With Amy, it's...