1860 Saloon, Game Room, & Hardshell Café — Restaurant in St. Louis

Watch your credit card statements! You're also supposed to be aware of the $10 minimum that is posted ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE in the bar for anyone to know. I was here a couple Fridays ago with a group of about 10 people for a 30th birthday celebration. Not only did I get passed over to order a drink for about seven minutes until I finally blurted out my order, but the bartender was extremely rude. She made crude jokes to patrons behind me who were not even ordering drinks at the moment and never acknowledged that I was waiting to order. I was unaware of the minimum, but the bartender, Mandy, oh so kindly ran my card for $7 total then proceeded to tell me that there would be two transactions hitting my account. I asked for it to be corrected and to let me get the $10 minimum and she wanted no part of it. After a few minutes of waiting, again, I asked her if I could get another beer and if she needed my card back to do so. Since she's clearly the most professional employee they have, she got a beer out of the cooler and slammed it down on the bar in front of me and with her snarky voice said "do you just want another beer?" and walked away from me. I wound up signing my receipt and took my copy of it with a big fat zero in the tip line. The next morning I see my card has been ran for $9. There were not two transactions pending like I was told there would be, just the $9 that Mandy decided to give herself a two dollar tip on and steal money from guests at the bar. The manager wound up resolving the issue, after it took four days to finally speak to him... but I will never go back here again. Most people don't get copies of their receipts when they're out drinking and have no idea what they spent and would never know they're being taken advantage of and stolen from. My advice is to take your copy home when you can and remember to or just stay away from this extremely overrated...

The food was good (burger and crab cake sandwich - both with fries), prices were great. The waitress was attentive and friendly, I have bad hearing so I didn't catch her name and didn't see it on the receipt. The gumbo was soupy, he only had a few bites; but there are high expectations for that when you are comparing St. Louis food to Memphis and New Orleans. And we didn't taste the jalapeno cornbread; we both prefer regular. We will probably try to sit inside next time to get a real feel for the place, especially the live music, and maybe stay for a few drinks. It seemed like everyone inside was smiling and having a good time. It's been a while since we ate downtown on a St. Louis summer, Saturday night. A homeless man decided to sit at our table for a little bit and left when he didn't feel part of our conversation, a few cop cars pulled up across the street (a presence is good at night around bars but curiosity and worry set in if they stop, get out, and stay for a while), there appeared to be a large security staff here and across the street, a few people who probably had reached their limit were pretty loud and needed a lot of space, and maybe a few who shouldn't be trying to parallel park near a sidewalk with people sitting outside. I felt a little under dressed compared to the women but the guys were very casual. Definitely an interesting place to go. Good food, a great waitress, and inexpensive. We look forward to trying out the inside of...

Although this is my favorite bar in the neighborhood, they keep hiking up prices and not putting money back into the establishment. I love the people who work there, and that is about it anymore. The food is ok. The desserts are pretty good because they're made in-house. The environment is sort of a run-down old neighborhood bar. I like it, but for the prices they're charging, it makes me think what the heck is it going towards? After selling 3 or 4 drinks, they should be making back the price of the bottle. Don't get me started on the seltzers, as 1 costs as much as a whole pack in the grocery store. I think it can be a fun spot since they usually have live music in the Saloon. The Game Room has some bar games (darts, golf, claw machine) like the name says. Then, the Hardshell Cafe has a small patio outside. If you're into sports and concerts, they have a shuttle that runs for most large events downtown - that is worth it, I guess. I just wish they'd do more for their customers if they're going to be raising prices. I'd recommend getting new chairs, buffing/smoothing the metal bar or simply removing it from the bar in the hardshell cafe, re-vamp the floors (epoxy maybe?), changing the locks on the game room bathrooms since I've cut my fingers on them so many times I can't count. I think there are some simple things they could do to attract more customers and new clientele. Overall, it's an okay spot. It's...