Pete's Arden Restaurant & Brewhouse — Restaurant in Sacramento

This Pete’s has been the most despicable of all bars & restaurants encountered. Seriously, this place is the worst run bar ever. Is there even a manager that works out of this location? The times I’ve stepped foot into this restaurant to have a drink or order food it’s been unrealistically poor.

The first time I ever entered the building, I left without ordering anything it was such an awful atmosphere; I sat for over 7 minutes without anyone even speaking to me at the bar - no greeting, no menu, no “be right with you”, just ignored.

When coworkers chose the location for lunch I reluctantly came but the wings were decent so have come back for the wings and 3/4 of the times it’s been traumatic. There is never a hostess up front, not any of the times I have come in. The employees behave as if they own the joint - they talk over you loudly to one another about topics that should be left inside their break room such as needing to leave to repair their broken cell phone, whatever activities they were doing before their shifts began, needing more customers to come in so they, “can earn money”, on their cell phones, then discussing the contents with one another when you’re waiting to order, discussing the schedule they are working for the week or the shifts lost, sharing that they don’t want to be on the clock and are ready to leave because it’s slow…

During my last encounter the bartender Jennifer copped the biggest attitude when asked to adjust the channels and turn on an NFL game that was starting. When asked to change from a KVIE 6 program to any sports or the news showing on the back tv while the sports were transitioning to the next venue, she was clearly annoyed. When asked to turn on the soccer playoff game seen playing on the television on the other side I was clearly inconveniencing her. As well, I witnessed her putting her Doc Martin boot up on the bar sink to tie the shoe lace, open a bottle of liquor with her teeth, walked past me at least 8 times without checking to see if I was ready to order a drink or food but was checking on other guests around me; when I finally just blurted out my wings order the sauce I requested was left off causing me to wait another 10-15 minutes to start eating once the food I scarcely ordered finally did arrive, while other patrons around me had multiple cups of various sauces with their food. I even asked another employee who was serving but came behind the bar to mix his own drinks to change the TV and for the sauce in her absence but seemingly he felt it wasn’t his duty because Richard just told Jennifer the TV request when she did return and he didn’t bring the sauce requested either. When Jennifer did finally bring the sauce after she overheard me asking Richard about it a second time as he was walking past, I was certain by this point she had spit in it with the level of inappropriate attitude and service being exuded.

I would say stick to orders to go but while there this last time a patron I was chatting with who came in for a to go order on his work break, left and returned after thankfully checking the order before driving off because he was missing an entire dish under the service of these same employees. Also, why does one side of the bar smell like sewage?...

I've only left a few reviews on here, and never really a negative one, but this was an interesting case. There are plenty of Pete's brewhouses.. this is the third location I've been to and probably the worst one. Service is never stellar at any chain/franchise, I know this. He wasn't bad, but it was just two of us, and he had a big table behind us. Servers work for tips, I get it. Bigger table, better service. Didn't really check on us or our food. Maybe that's a red flag that the servers already know the cooks are mediocre. Atmosphere was meh. It was afternoon lunch time, and for a place with a dozen plus TVs scattered everywhere, only a couple were on and playing things no one watches. Real going-through-the-motions/manager not-on-duty vibes. Food was barely palatable. It's my fault for getting fish and chips, but the other Pete's locations version were pretty good compared to the effort put forth here. And I say "version" because at this location in Arden, they make it differently. It was a whole cod thrown into a deep fryer for too long and with too much batter. The other locations serve them in strips. Draw what you think a dark brown fish looks like. That's what this was. My wife ordered huevos rancheros. Simple, right? Maybe for someone who has had huevos rancheros once in their life. The tortillas were again deep-fried to a brownish color. They are supposed to be fried but not thrown into the same deep fryer as my fish and chips. The oil they use there clearly does NOT get changed out for fresh oil very often, or often enough. It all tasted like used oil and overcooked, and NOTHING was fresh (Chain restaurant. Cost cutting. I get it). They even overcooked the fried eggs on the huevos rancheros. The Cole slaw with my fish and chips was more middle school cafeteria than actual restaurant. If the French fries are the best thing on your plate, you should reconsider your life choices. I know I did. You can walk across the parking lot to the movie theater and, for the same price, get better food, service, and atmosphere. Bonus points for their small arcade even. The only way I'd come back to this location is if all of the other restaurants within 3 square miles were closed down and/or on fire. Or for a significant gift card. I'm classy like that. All that being said, I still tipped 20% because I used to work in the industry, and I'm an adult. However you feel about tipping, everyone has to eat. Just maybe not here. Unless, of course, previously mentioned fires or gift cards occur. In that case, pull up a seat and enjoy your deep...

Sunday, 6/18/2023 - Went to Pete's Restaurant & Brewhouse for Father's Day. Wanted to try a different restaurant. The ones we normally go to are packed today. Anyways, this restaurant is located by the movie theatre, The Container Store, and many other shops and restaurants. Address is 2100 Arden Way, Ste 123, Sacramento, CA 95825. Upon arrival:

Pros

1. lots of parking!! We got front parking.
2. as soon as we walked in, the hostess seated us right away. She was very nice.
3. tables, chairs, utensils, plates, cups were all clean.
4. our server was Vadim. He was very nice and professional.
5. water tasted great. No funky or metal taste. Even the hot water tasted great.
6. we ordered the BBQ Lollipop Chicken and prime rib dip. Lollipop Chicken was great! It wasn't over cooked. Carrots and celery were nice and crunchy. Ranch dip was nice and creamy, not water down like some other restaurants. Prime rib dip, on the other hand... meh.
7. women's bathroom was clean.
8. I saw a bar inside where you can sit there.
9. they had seating outside, seating with fireplace outside, and an area with seating and TVs outside.
10. ambiance was nice. Wasn't too loud. We could hear each talk.

Cons

1. when we finished our drinks, our empty cups were at the end of the table. Our server walked by us several times and not once did he asked if we wanted refills. After the 3rd time, we then grabbed him and asked for refill. He was very nice.
2. the prime rib dip wasn't that good. It was VERY mayonnaisey. That's my new word. 😆 Not much flavor. The horse radish had no spicey kick what-so-ever. It, too, was way too mayo-ney. Another new word. 😆

Conclusion Nice restaurant. Staffs were very nice. Lollipop Chicken was great! Restaurant clean. Bathroom clean. Water and soda tasted good. I know the server was probably very busy. But it'd be nice if they checked on tables more, make sure to refill empty cups, check to see if each table needed anything else or wanted to order dessert or anything vs having the patrons keep looking for the server to ask for things. Prime rib dip had no flavor except for a very mayonnaisey flavor nor did the horse radish had any spicey kick to it. We were very disappointed in the prime rib dip. But we ate it anyways.

Over all, this restaurant is ok. If you haven't tried this restaurant yet, try it. You may like it more than me. Me... I may try it again. Just to see how other dishes may taste like. But will see. I love that there was no wait when we arrived and staffs were very friendly and...