HOP & VINE TAPROOM — Restaurant in Stamford

Gf and I got a late takeout order, having gotten to Stamford rather late so there weren't many options left still open in the area.

One set of the two wings was so salty they were almost bitter....but that's not the worst. A few more bites in, we realize a lot of the wings in order were undercooked (as in bone still red, still got some blood red). That was the only thing we had to eat that day but given the quality of the food we just couldn't eat any more...but that's not the worst. Both my gf and I started (to not be too graphic) light symptoms of food poisoning throughout the night and morning...but that's not the worst.

I called back once the restaurant opened for the day. I explained the situation to try to ask for a refund on the order...but the person who picks up who claims immediately started yelling at me and basically refuses to. She claims that these wings were first baked an obscenely long time before being fried, so we must be wrong about it being undercooked. Plus she claimed she was the executive chef and a paramedic and that it must've been our problem (something else "environmental" is what she kept trying to deflect to) and that we would've been in the hospital if we had food poisoning. I guess "level of severity" doesn't exist in her world...but that's not the worst. She also latched onto how she kept her kitchen open and staff late for our order and how she regretted it now that I was calling back to complain about the food. We definitely appreciate the restaurant taking an extra late order but that doesn't mean we have to accept bad food.

Food gets badly made now and then - it happens, but this is by far one of the nastiest attitudes I've ever encountered from a restaurant anywhere in the world hands down...and to think this came from a executive staff of the place. No apology and even ended the call saying we should never order with her again. I guess we at least agree on that part. To her credit, she did say she will refund the order...but let's see if she follows through.

TLDR: nasty staff attitude if you're not satisfied with your order. Be ready to back up your claims lol. Would give 0...

Food is absolutely disgusting. We were four people with different tastes and likes and everyone agreed.

We ate:

Fried mutz - just ok. A piece was just a fried shell with no cheese in it. 3/10

HVT cheesy bread - bread was good but cheese sauce was gross. We basically did not eat this. (Wasted $) 2/10

Sweet potato fries with a ranch dip- best thing I ate. Above average. Only food I recommend. 10/10

Texas Twinkies - extremely spicy and not for any of us. Nice presentation but we couldn’t eat it (wasted $) 1/10

Pork belly burnt ends- NOT BURNT. CHEWY AND A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. DID NOT EAT THE WHOLE CUP BEIDES TWO PIECES . (Wasted $) 0/10

Truff buff wings- like very average / slightly below average. Not crispy and not great tasting. Ok but would not get again and do not recommend. 2/10

Chicharron de pollo- did not like. Sauce is not good. Bad taste and yucky flavor. We barely ate any of this big dish. (Wasted $) 1/10

Taps are good and full bar is nice for those who don’t like beer/wine. Games are cool. Space is nice enough.

The blonde hostess on 4/18/2024 had the absolute worst attitude and got mad at my friend for wanting to pay cash.

Dear owner, Please put up signs and make it be known that paying cash is a problem.

The blonde hostess was so awful. Like she really upset us. We just wanted to pay the bill. She was so rude and mean for no reason. Was upsetting

I would go back for beer and that’s it. Not a great...

The ambiance and idea is cool, but the variety of choices left something to be desired. Disappointingly, there wasn't even a single cider available on tap. Our drinks lacked fizz, leaving them flat. To add to the disappointment, I paid a hefty $24 for a mere four ounces of kombucha, a price that seemed excessive and left me empathizing with anyone else who fell into the same trap. Non-alcoholic drinks shouldn't break the bank, and I never imagined kombucha could be so pricey. Some staff members appeared uninformed about the available beers on tap, indicating a need for better training. Additionally, attention should be given to fixing the taps to ensure proper carbonation. As the sister of a brewer, I can discern when a keg isn't maintaining its carbonation properly. I do think this place is a cool spot to check out and hopefully will get...