The Velveteen Speakeasy — Restaurant in Stillwater

We visited your establishment on Saturday June 21st and had a very unpleasant experience. I hope you take this feedback and use it to improve your customer service and your business.

We arrived and were seated around 6:00 p.m. After we seated it took almost 15 minutes for us to get service. I understand it was busy but it was very disappointing. Our server was Amy and she seemed very flustered and overwhelmed.

We stopped in for drinks. Yes we had a party of six but only four of us ordered a drink. Two of us had water so there's no reason you should have automatically charged us a service charge. I think it is completely rude to target groups of six or larger and force them to pay a 20% gratuity. We should be allowed to choose what we want to leave the server. We ordered four drinks so the tip should have been no more than a dollar a drink. Yet you charged us $15.

You have no prices for your drinks on your menu which seems very shady. How do we know if you are changing different prices depending on the day of the week or the time of day.

I think it is completely lazy that if you have six or more people that you will not split up the tab. This just shows how lazy your servers are.

When we got the receipt the server just handed it to us and was very abrupt. When we tried to pay four of us had issues with your QR code. The fifth person was finally able to scan it. We learned and realized it was because you only allow people to pay with iphones. This is completely ridiculous. She never came over to check on us and ask if we needed to give her a card to pay. What would you have done if no one had an iphone. Give us free drinks? I highly doubt it.

When we finally did pay when the app came up it automatically tried to charge us another 20% on top of what we had already paid. This is very shady and you should not have your app automatically select 20%, it should be defaulted to no tip. Each customer should have the right to determine how they felt their service was and what extra money is needed.

Thank you for reading this I'm sure you do not care but we will not be back to your establishment I really hope your customer service improves because if this is the way you treat people you're not going to be in business very long.

Good luck in the future and hopefully you take this feedback and improve.

Thank you Customers from...

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✅Check out my IG for more news, insight, pairings and other fun related content. I was very excited to visit The Velveteen as I enjoy speakeasy vibes. When we got there the door was open and you could just walk down. This is not a "secret" speakeasy.

😕customer service was ok when we were there. Our server was very nice and knowledgeable of the menu. I was most disappointed in the service from a social media perspective. I reached out letting them know I was going to be celebrating a 16 year wedding anniversary, to which they did nothing for me as a customer. It was our first time, and probably the last unless they really provide a better experience.

🍰we enjoyed some late night snacks with cocktails. We did need GF options and were able to order chips and salsa, and flourless chocolate torte. The cake was great, but the salsa was very very spicy.

🥃With any speakeasy, I was looking forward to some fun bourbon options. Sadly, the whiskey menu was short and basic (almost bottom shelf) options. Very disappointing, and I would not recommend going here for bourbon.

💦 The water was really bad. Tastes like chemicals.

🍸We ordered the illusionist and I order an old fashioned with 1oz four roses / 1oz knobs creek rye. Both cocktails were reasonably priced and work good.

🕯️The ambiance could be very nice, unfortunately it seem very bright. I really thought the entrance and waiting area was a cool vibe and unique to many speakeasies I've visited.

Overall, I think Matchstick is the best option for whiskey enthusiasts, and I would rather check other bars along...

I'm going to start with the bad because I prefer to end my review on a positive note. In February of 2020, myself and five others visited The Velveteen for some drinks and dessert. Our waitress was not thrilled to be waiting on us. We tried to kill her with kindness, but were met with some eye rolls and what seemed to be frustrated venting regarding our group from across the room. It was uncomfortable, and she seemed to have formed her opinion from the first moment she saw us. I'm not sure if our laughs were too loud, if she assumed we would be inadequate tippers, or if she simply had a headache and badly needed her shift to end. The customer service from our particular waitress, reasons unknown, was awkward and unwelcoming. We brushed it off, enjoyed our food and our night away from the kids, and moved on. This is my only reason for giving four stars as an overall rating.

Now onto the atmosphere. It was amazing. The vibe of the restaurant was incredible and I could live there. It was clean, organized, and just plain cool. The bathrooms were also clean, if that matters to anyone. I'm throwing that tidbit in for the sake of being as thorough as I can.

The food? Wow. I had the cheesecake and I can't lie, I ordered a second. Make it count while you can, right?! I'd take a beating from any waitress just to get to have that cheesecake again. The drinks were great as well.

All in all I'd absolutely go back again, but with fingers crossed and the hopes that we can't possibly get that unlucky to have a server having a bad day two visits in a row.

But if we did? Yeah, I'd still go back. The cheesecake...