Rebel Rebel — Restaurant in Somerville

I generally love this little spot, but charging an automatic 20% gratuity for simply pouring a glass of wine is criminal. Maybe if it took some skill and effort like a cocktail, but it actually takes less skill and effort than pouring a proper pint of beer. It's an especially heinous act when you seek out the bartender's knowledge of the wines on their menu for a recommendation and find out that they are completely clueless, untrained, and so confused that they just point to the menu with a blank stare. Not the experience I've come to expect from them.

Update in response to Rebel Rebel's comment on my review...

Woah there, cowboy! I'm not going to take offense to you comment because you are clearly confused about my identity. I was there on Saturday at noon. I was on a date and had no friends with me, as you have suggested. Nor am I anonymous, and I'd be happy to stop in to speak with the manager about both my experience and the ignorant way in which you have misidentified me. While I cannot take offense to you attempting to berate someone other than myself, the tact that you have chosen to take is completely unprofessional and is unbecoming of an establishment I have previously respected, even if it was a misguided attempt at what you may perceived as "justice."

Also, please feel free to address my original concerns... a bartender not being up to speed on the wines you're serving. I asked about them because I knew nothing about them and wanted to learn. And a mandatory 20% "gratuity" (not a gratuity if it's mandatory) for pouring a liquid into a glass. Thanks in advance.

Comment on your recent comment...

My God, lady! This is from three months ago... get a hobby and stop feeding on negativity! Your obsession with my review is unhealthy.

Oh, and thanks for the apology for deriding my character when you were clearly either confused or just making up nonsense.

Again, since you don't seem to have a firm grasp of reality... my review is not anonymous. Do your due diligence. Additionally, I have reached out to speak with you. YOU HAVE NOT RESPONDED! And since you ask why I didn't ask to speak with a manager at the time, it's because there clearly wasn't one on duty. What kind of place staffs a new trainee without any supervision??? Aren't you the owner? Haven't I reached out to you??? I can show you the screen shots.

On an unrelated note... I agree with your social media posts that there are serious issues in our country, and that we need to support each other in addressing them. But holy moly do you seem to be allowing the emotional side of your brain to over power the logical side! Calm down and we can work together to overcome this BS. Your hyperbolic nonsense is counterproductive and only serves to entrench people. If you keep preaching intolerance in response to ignorance you're just going to make things worse for everyone.

P.S. Still amazed at you unprofessionalism... "coward," really?!?! Up your game for the benefit of everyone, including yourself.

April 2025: And now you've apparently deleted all your unprofessional and derogatory comments out of shame... who could have...

Read through the replies of the owner to some of the one star reviews. Supremely immature and unprofessional. They seriously should try treating people with a little more respect.

This place is actually quite cool, but it rips you off with what is essentially a hidden fee. You get a glass of wine that’s listed for $17, but end up paying $25 because of automatic 20% gratuity. I’m fine with paying a tip, but it should not be automatically included. Also, 20% tip for pouring a glass of wine is kinda crazy. I get if I’m seated getting served a meal, or if I’m getting a fancy cocktail. But not for just pouring a glass. That’s barely service. It’s only marginally less insane than asking for a tip at a self checkout counter.

If you need to charge $25 per glass, then please just list that price on the menu. I’d be willing to pay that for a good glass (maybe not at a place with such bad service, but that’s a separate issue). But it makes me irate if I expect to pay $17 and then suddenly get a bill that’s like 40% higher. If you need to trick and rip off your customers to make ends meet, then your business model is a failure and you should...

I usually don’t bother to post reviews but this place really motivated me to warn my fellow residents. Yes, like some other reviewers, I found the bartender was somewhat irritating. The sign clearly says customers need to be vacced to sit inside. I have no issue with that. I am vacced and boosted. But I had no intention of sitting inside. So I didn’t bother to dig out my digital copy from my phone. Just wanted to order and leave. Instead I was quizzed about the card and then quizzed about exactly where I would be sitting when I said I would be sitting outside. So the initial interaction wasn’t very pleasant. But to top it off, the wine was undrinkable. I ordered one white and one red glass off the blackboard. I wouldn’t mind the price if the wine was decent. We drank about half the glass each and decided not to subject ourselves to this dreck any further. My wife at least had a good laugh when I concluded that I would say the wine tasted like $#!+ but it would give $#!+ a bad name. In the future if we want a casual drink we will be going to...