Black River Tavern — Restaurant in South Haven

Dont eat here if you are a person of color. The manager was demeaning when she asked us to move tables on the patio after the hostess said it was our choice whether or not to move. She caused a scene and embarrassed my family. My grandmother was forced to sit in the sun. We would've left if we weren't so hungry after waiting 30 minutes for a table in the first place.

Response to owner The entire new table was in the sun. We talked to several of your staff about your seating procedure and not a single person said there was a party waiting for that table. We waited a solid 20 minutes, even had a drink at the bar inside, BEFORE finally "grabbing a table" as directed by the server and the chalkboard sign you had outside. The only thing I can think of for your manager's tone is her prejudice. I tried to have a civil conversation with her before we left, even empathizing with how stressful her job is, and she was still demeaning and rude and blaming us for the "waiting party" leaving. I was simply stating that the way she talked to me was not without prejudice and that other people of color should avoid this place if that's how they'll be treated (hopefully not). The server, Christopher, and the people on the patio were visibly uncomfortable with the way she talked to us. I understand you don't know me, but I never play the race card. I'm not upset because I was impatient and hungry. I'm upset because I was embarrassed after several attempts to do the...

We ordered two hamburgs. One with their homemade chips and the other with parmesan fries. The hamburger with roast beef didn't realize the pre cooked roast beef was ground with hamburg and cooked with Sweet Baby Rays BbQ sauce. It was tolerable the chips were so hard could not chew. The same with the overly cooked fries. The said came with Cole slaw. It was in a wee 1/4 cup. It was partially ground Cole slaw with cheap mayo and no seasoning of sugar even and no carrots. We asked the really nice waitress to tell management we would not pay for inedible fries and chips. He had a beer and I had water. They took 18% off our bill and it came to 47.69 after the discount. They don't offer VA discounts. Would not suggest going there. The real cook apparently wasn't cooking that night. Our waitress was wonderful.

To owner who replied we didn't eat there. My English is fine! Born in USA and my people were here before the other part of our family arrived on Mayflower. Perhaps foreigners shouldn't eat in your establishment with your attitude. I am trying to post our receipt. We were so upset over the bill husband just paid it. Apparently we paid someone else's bill. I don't drink and husband had one beer and did not have perch he had a hamburg. Whomever was given $3.06 credit so French fries and chips wouldn't have been compt. I am sure you charge more for chips and fries. But charging for an extra beer means you were...

We had an extremely disappointing experience at Black River Tavern. We arrived at 7:50 PM and promptly had our drink and food orders taken by 8:00. Unfortunately, that’s where the good service ended.

Our appetizers didn’t arrive until 8:30 PM, a full half hour later — and by 9:00 PM, still with no entrees in sight, we decided to leave. When I offered to pay for our drinks and skip the food altogether, somehow our meals magically finished right then, as we were about to walk out. We were offered a small discount on only the appetizers and handed fruit snacks as an apology. I paid for our meals and got them to-go. My family and I walk down the street and sat down to eat the food but surprise, the recently finished food was cold.

The explanation? The kitchen was “backed up because they had international and college students working.” That’s not an excuse. it’s your responsibility to properly train your staff and communicate delays to your customers. At the very least, let us know upfront if there will be a long wait.

What was even more frustrating is that three tables seated after us received their food well before we did. Overall, this was a disappointing dining experience. We won’t be back, and we can’t recommend this place until they learn how to manage their kitchen and take care of their...