Stowe Cider — Restaurant in Stowe

I recently visited Stowe Cider and had one of the most frustrating experiences I've ever had at a brewery. Right from the start, the layout and rules made absolutely no sense, and it seemed like the staff didn’t have a clear understanding of them either. Upon entering, there’s a waiting area where no drinks are allowed. Directly ahead is the drinks-only section, which has its own bar and supposedly no wait. Then there’s the sit-down area with food, also with its own bar. Here’s where things get confusing: the bar on the drinks-only side was closed, so everyone had to order on the food side. However, if you’re only there for drinks, you’re not allowed to sit in the food area. So, if you order a drink, you can’t take it back to the waiting area, because—again—no drinks allowed there. To make matters worse, if the sit-down section is full, they’ll make you wait in the drink section or the waiting area with no drink until a table opens up on the food side. After a 20-minute wait, I finally ordered nachos, but I had to sit in the far back corner of drinks only side of the building with no napkins (had to snag some off another table), under lights that the staff jokingly said were meant to chase out drunk people. On top of that, people were throwing darts right next to me. Imagine tryying to eat and drink with your spouse while darts land right next to you and people reach behind you to get chualk and write on the score board. Another group was seated nearby and told they could sit wherever, get a drink, and order food. Why was I forced to go through the waiting room process to get a table that others were able to sit at without the hassle? The whole experience was frustrating and confusing, made worse by a lack of accessible seating. I’m disabled and ended up sitting at a high-top with no back support because I was tired of waiting and jumping through hoops just to get food and a drink. I drove four hours expecting a great time, and instead, I was jerked around with senseless rules and staff who didn’t seem to know what they were doing. I’ll stick to store-bought cider from now on. This was the worst experience I’ve ever had...

The cider might be delicious but we barely got to find out. Our server could not have been more disinterested in us from the minute we stepped inside. As she was carrying 2 boards of empty flights back to the bar she told us “we aren’t offering flights today.” When she came to our table to take our order I confirmed that we weren’t able to order flights- we both chose a 16oz option. Our server moved to the next table (of 4) and quietly offered 8oz pours when they were frustrated with the “no flight” rule. We finished our pints and when she finally came back around to us we asked for 2 8oz pours. She immediately refused and said that was an exception she had made for the other table. She mumbled something about being short staffed. Cool, cool - that was the end of that. A second server stopped at our table at one point solely to ask us if we needed both of the menus on our table. When I offered to return them both to her she told me they had plenty, she just didn’t think we needed two. At least, from what I heard, that second server at least tried to explain to other patrons that they only had one bartender on staff…. on a Saturday… in summer. Can’t help but think the mostly empty bar area and patio have a little more to do with the (lack of) service than the...

Let's talk about the good stuff, bad stuff and weird stuff. The good = the food was terrific. Just surprisingly great. The ciders were pretty friggin yummy and so much variation with the seasonals...... Now the not so great. The place was not busy at all when I was there. But the bar services was pretty slow. You have to walk up to the bar to order food and drinks. There were a few people at the bar and there was only 2 other tables of people. The bar staff was always occupied by something else. Now the weird. I have no problem with single stall gender neutral bathroom however the bathroom setup her is just friggin weird. The two gender neutral bathrooms were obviously originally men's and women's. The one gender neutral bathroom has one toilet stall and two open urinals. As as a biological male I chose use the urinal. While doing so I could clearly hear and see the door opening behind me, and women opening the door, seeing me standing at the urinal, gasping and leaving. Just...