North River Tavern — Restaurant in Sandy Springs

This review comes after nearly a year of visiting regularly (2-6 times a month) and is written in some distress. I really like this restaurant and the location is great; however there are some problems. I had been noticing inconsistent service for the past month or two; sometimes service would take 30-45 minutes to be served or waited on and often drinks remained empty and I had to ask another server for assistance just to get our check well after we had finished eating.

On the same days of the week (as I often visit during the burger specials on Thursdays and Saturdays) the service may be excellent and the burgers perfect but about one-out-of-five visits recently there have been big problems like horrible wait time or the burger being burnt on the outside, diluting the flavor. You can either get an AMAZING craft burger here or a very rushed burger that is evident in the burnt flavor, lack of flavor, or lack of sufficient sauce/toppings.

What prompted me to write this review was the cause of much distress for me from my last visit and affected me beyond the single evening: I was pegged as a rude and unruly customer by the wait staff, which caused them to avoid me and was explained to be the reason for the long wait times. I am a believer of speaking up when something is wrong and as such I will make a complaint when the burger is overcooked, too raw, or when the wait time is egregious on several counts - I believe in the local community and that my input may assist in guidance toward bettering an establishment.

The general manager, Chris, approached me last night regarding my complaint on a burnt under-cooked burger (middle was raw/much more pink than I am comfortable with for a Medium-Rare burger and the outside was blackened with a burnt/charred flavor in each bite). By the end of the conversation he apologized and stated he thought there may have been a misunderstanding as to me as a regular customer because he had been informed that I regularly made complaints in an extremely rude fashion and was often rude with servers and used foul language.

I spoke with Chris and planned/plan to come back on a set day where I would like to try and speak with the wait staff to correct this impression but I'm currently still so distressed by the whole ordeal. I hate that I feel I want to stop coming to one of my favorite local joints simply because of a misunderstanding/unfortunate situation. But it overwhelms me to think that if I visit again in the future I may be seen this way and I honestly just want to sit and enjoy good food in peace. I often would come and dine alone and occasionally would carry on pleasant conversation with the wait staff as a way to wind down my longer, more stressful days.

In closing, I also should add that Chris tried his best to console me after I became overwhelmed and distraught upon hearing about the misunderstanding and he took off our meal cost though we told him several times we wanted to pay regardless. We had made another complaint for nearly the same reason, just worse, in mid-December (burnt burger, egregious wait times) in mid December and had received a gift card and the cost reduced. A different manager at that time had apologized and explained he sent staff home because of a slow day and then customers unexpectedly picked up and resulted in the long wait times - we had stated we wanted to order a cellar beer and then no server came back to take our drink order until we had finished our food and then waited until we flagged another server down to at least get our check.

We felt better after that and service was good since then but now again, almost a month later, we had the same issue at a lesser extreme. Because this was the second time in 30 days I stated that I just wanted a good burger and didn't want the cost reduced. Chris gave me his business card and a gift card to try and clear up this misunderstanding but I have considered giving back the gift card regardless of another meal. I am undecided on if I will come back again but when the burgers are good I...

With 3 tables and a booth left when we walked in, we 5 were seated at a table for 4. Immediately after seating us, a couple was sat in a large booth and a 5 top of adults at an 8 person table. There was one 4 person table left. We asked our server to either swap us to be more comfortable or drag the remaining table over. The manager on duty (7:30pm 1/17/19) came over and opened with “what’s the problem?” My husband and I proceeded to explain that we were kind of crammed and uncomfortable. He responded that what he saw was two kids sharing a side of the table and it wasn’t a big deal. I responded that my 10yo son and 9yo daughter were too large to share a side and that we weren’t asking for much but to please be more comfortable. That guy said well, it is what it is and you guys are gonna have to be ok with it. He said he was saving the last (wobbly) table and wasn’t dragging it over for us because in his opinion we had plenty of space. I said so you’d rather us leave than stay and be comfortable? He responded with “Pretty much, yes” and walked away. My husband stood up and said “sir?” And the guy kept walking....my husband said “sir” a little louder and the manager turned around and aggressively said “Don’t yell at me.” By this point my kids and I were walking by and my husband had had enough and just walked away. Once outside I decided to go back inside. Sometimes, folks just need a hug....well I walked up to the guy laughing and telling what appeared to be the two other guys in charge that he just threw out a family because the dad was yelling at him. I told him that was not the way it went and it was the most horribly handled thing I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. He said he’s been in his position for 12yrs and he didn’t need “this”, shut the door to the bar in my face and asked me to leave. That “manager” has no idea how uncomfortable my son gets that close to people. He never asked us if he could squeeze 5 people into a 4 person table and he never offered us any resolution. Please, if you’re looking for a good experience, don’t go to NRT. It’s a shame, because we go there 2-3 times month and enjoy the food, beer and service. Once a manager in the food service gets to the point this Jim is at.....he/she should find a different profession. The owner should be mortified that this joker is representing them. We will never be back. We hope to tell as many people as possible to not patronize...

In response to NRT feedback: This is not just a few times, it’s about 30 + times over the past year this has happened. No jumbo wings every time maybe regular sized and many times even wingets… these have in fact reached many of your customers and when customers had asked about it nothing had been done. You get the wings in by weight but sell them by the piece…from your 20 year supplier..the weight never changed…therefore the smaller wing the larger the quantity of wings. Never have I seen extra qty of wings on my friend or I’s plate(if anything many time 1or 2 less). In turn NRT makes a larger profit selling by the piece but buying by weight(that extra weight does not get passed down to the customer). Wether is was your intention or not it’s already been done. If the manager/management has been the same for 20years then they would know exactly what they are doing…..maybe since the individual product size & weight changed due to supply then something else needs to change..cough cough (quantity of wings/portion size or reduced price)

So i’ve been coming here for years. I normally get the Jumbo chicken wings. In the past NRT used to have delicious Jumbo wings that were to die for but things took a turn in the last year or two with taste. The price for the wings are absolutely outrageous and now the wings aren’t even Jumbo, actually I got wing-ets one time and told the manager about it and he didn’t do anything to make the situation better. At this point NRT is creating an illegal marketing tactic called Bait and Switch/ False advertising. You see coming in here for years ordering a product on the menu comes with consistent portion of food. Now under the same price and descriptions advertised the portion size has changed because the wings are no longer “Jumbo”. I thought maybe they will change & update the menu but it never happened. So now while prices soar they advertise Jumbo wings (that are regular sized not jumbo at almost ~$2.00 per wing). NRT is going downhill, they don’t care & have no pride in running this bar. NRT and Suburban Tap have the same owners. I live closer to Sub Tap but they let themselves go too so I went to NRT and now are always disappointed going into both. The servers are fantastic and seem to know but don’t say anything ( probably in fear of argument by manager or loss...