Rusty Moose — Restaurant in Spokane

My family has been going to this restaurant even before it became the Rusty Moose. One of our sons worked for RM during his high school years. So, we, our extended family, and friends have always used the restaurant as our gathering place. My husband and I frequent the awesome lounge. So yes, we have been long-time promoters of the Rusty Moose. That all changed last night at 7:30 with a haggard, stringy-haired receptionist who bustled around as if she were so important and busy until it came to our party. Her attitude, facial expression and urgency of bustling all changed after informing me that our 2 month old nursing baby would be counted as a paying customer (to 'push' our party number to 8 so she could inform us that we could only pay with one check and that a 20% gratuity would be added to our bill, and assured me that even if we sat at two tables as two separate parties, she was still going to charge us as a party of 8!) I questioned the rationality of counting a non-customer infant as a customer and charging two separate- paying groups as one party of 8, to which she curtly replied "it's or policy." I went outside to our party that was just arriving to tell them the news. After much deliberation and discussion re: this ridiculous 'policy' we decided we would stay and deal with it since it was now 8:30 and we had a 3 year old, a seven year old and the infant as part of our group. All three were becoming antsy. We entered the facility to be 'greeted' by Cruella, and she said it would be a minute for her to set up a table. So we watched as she sauntered to the back and proceeded to bring 8 glasses of water for 7 able- to -drink- people and walked back and forth from the table to the kitchen doing who knows what? She came to the reception area twice with a scowl and acted like she was doing something important on the register then disappeared to the back. After 15 minutes of standing in the foyer with 3 restless and hungry kids, my son asked her what the hold-up was and she replied I'm organizing the server. My son asked if there was only one server on and she said "no" with some added information which I blocked out being fed up at that point. My daughter-in-law, who had been walking around the foyer with her nursing baby. asked if we could just go sit at the table while she did the final preparations and the receptionist rep[lied "no" at which point I didn't listen to her explanation seeing that it was 8:45 pm, there were less than a handful of customers, a number of un-busy employees milling about and absolutely no logical reason why we could not be seated. My son said "Let's go." When she saw us leaving she hurried up to us and said "Your table is ready!" we said "no, thanks" and left. Aside from the lounge, which my husband and I thoroughly enjoy, we would firmly recommend not going to the Rusty Moose with a larger party (especially if you have a baby that will be included in the count.) In addition, if your 'greeter person' fits the description of the one we encountered, we advise you turn around and leave before engaging. This one pathetic experience has not only forever altered our opinion of the RM as a gathering place, but has cost the restaurant the income of not only a party of 7 but all the extended family and friends who will discontinue their patronage there as a result of...

We recently visited The Rusty Moose for my grandma’s 89th birthday, and unfortunately it was one of the most disappointing experiences we’ve ever had there. Clearly, they were disorganized or short-staffed, but instead of admitting that, they spoke to us rudely as if it were our fault.

About four weeks before the dinner, my uncle made a reservation at 6:00 PM. Since I wasn’t sure how many would be in my group, I made a separate reservation for my family of six and called to ask if we could be seated near my grandma’s party. The staff said they couldn’t guarantee it but would do their best, which I appreciated. I even called again closer to the date, and they confirmed it was noted that we wanted to be next to the birthday group.

When we arrived there were several open tables near my grandma’s party, including two booths and multiple six-person tables, but we were taken to the complete opposite side of the restaurant. The staff told us those tables were reserved, but they definitely were not when I made my reservation three weeks earlier. According to my family, most of those same tables stayed empty the entire evening, even after my grandma’s party ended.

When I asked why we could not sit in one of the empty tables, a supervisor came over and immediately took a rude and condescending tone. He told me to “let him explain his side” and not to interrupt and I could offer a rebuttal when he was done. He was speaking so loudly that nearby staff and guests could hear. I asked him to lower his voice, but he continued to talk over me. He kept focusing on their “party” policy and automatic gratuity, which was never the issue. We’ve celebrated other birthdays at The Rusty Moose before, covering the entire bill ourselves, and have always tipped generously.

When I went over to say goodbye to my grandma who was just sitting down with the rest of the family, my aunt politely asked the server if we could sit at one of the nearby empty tables or if two of our people could join the main group. The server curtly said no because they had “already started putting waters on the table.” That response said everything about the lack of flexibility and customer care that evening.

It was clear they had no interest in trying to accommodate us, even slightly. This was my grandma’s 89th birthday, and she’s been in poor health. She and several family members drove a few hours to be there. We weren’t asking for special treatment, just to be near our family, as we had planned weeks in advance.

At that point we decided to leave and not dine there. It was heartbreaking that a restaurant we’ve supported for years handled such an important family occasion with so little care or professionalism. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and reminds their staff that hospitality is about people, not policies. As far as I’m concerned, I will never go there again and I assume the rest of party would never dine there again.

Not related to this particular birthday party, but during a previous visit to The Rusty Moose, our daughter became violently ill after eating their food. I had assumed it was a one-time issue and hadn’t planned to comment, but given our most recent experience, it feels...

This place was busy and were told we could sit in the lounge. Even though neither one of us drinks, we decided to sit in the bar. My husband works for WSDOT and they had driven over from Union Gap and worked a 10-1/2 hour day. I drove over from Selah and was in pain and exhausted( I'm disabled and use a walker.) I had the prime dip and fries, both were so SALTY! My husband had the fish and chips and the fish was overcooked. We would have asked for something else if the server, Elizabeth had checked back with us. I had finished my sandwich and my husband had eaten 2 of 3 pieces of fish. We were so hungry and tired that we decided to make do. When she finally came over and asked about the food, first we asked where the tartar sauce was because the sauce we were served was a pink color. She replied that it was a house tartar but, she couldn't tell us what was in it. When we told her the fish was overcooked she replied, "Oh, you didn't like it?" My husband said he'd had better. She asked "Well, what would you like me to do?" Since the fries came with the meal, I told her, well, it's not like you can deduct the cost of the fries. No apology, no offer to comp the fish. I heard constantly apologizing to other customers for forgetting things or making them wait for sevice. I was able to speak to the manager who comped the fish and chips which was very much appreciated. We were both disappointed by the service, food and atmosphere. Music was playing so loud we had to speak loudly to each other when sitting together. The place was super busy with about 15+ people sitting in the waiting area. We don't mind paying higher prices for good food, but not when the food and service are sub-par. I have to say it takes a LOT for me to complain about food. I understand it was busy, but clearly this server needs some customer service training. We are not picky eaters, we just expect to get...