Montreux Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Summerville

(Changed from 4 stars to 1 star). I had the worst experience at Montreux tonight. This was solely because management failed their customers and failed their employees. My family and I went to for dinner this evening. Part of our party arrived at 6:45 and requested a table outside. They were provided with a pager and informed they would be called when the table was ready. They proceeded outside and ordered a few drinks at the bar. While waiting, they sat at one of many empty tables. The rest of the party arrived at 7pm and joined them. After an hour of waiting and no information being provided, we inquired about the wait as most of the tables were not occupied and we still had no waitstaff helping us. The hostess informed us that the kitchen was backed up and not taking any food orders. They said that there was a rush of 120 people all at once, and this overwhelmed the kitchen. We were told that it would not be long until we were seated & served. Finally, at 9 pm (two hours after arriving), we were provided with a server. We were told a different story than the first, and that the reason for the kitchen hold/delay was because two of the employees walked out. I’m not sure if either or both stories are true, but that’s not the issue.

The issue is the way that this was handled. This issue is entirely with management. If we were informed upfront (at 7pm, or even 8pm) that there was a kitchen hold on food orders, we would have enjoyed a few drinks at Montreux rather than becoming more angry and impatient while waiting with no indication of the situation (and, as we sat with many empty tables around us). Furthermore, we never received any apology or acknowledgement. Management wasn’t anywhere in the area to address customers. The poor waitstaff were tasked with delivering the unfortunate message. This was not their fault, and management did absolutely nothing to provide customer satisfaction nor support their staff. On top of the lack of communication, lack of acknowledgment, lack of responsibility, and lack of ownership, management did nothing to compensate for this disaster. We sat for 2 hours without a waiter/waitress. We purchased our drinks from the bar (if the kitchen was backed up, couldn’t the waitstaff attend to the customers in the interim??). We were not offered a drink/appetizer/dessert/anything as an apology. We were not even offered words of empathy. This was an unfortunate circumstance that should have been gracefully handled. Management failed. They failed the paying customers and they failed...

We visit this bar several times a month especially in warmer weather, usually on Taco Tuesday or weekends for live music, and we were there last night. We arrived around 8:30 and ordered a couple drinks. I gave the lady behind the bar my Amex card and she kept asking if I wanted to start a tab, which I did. When we went to leave and close out the tab around 11, another bartender lady gave me my bill but not my card. I asked to have my card back. She said it is not their policy to hold customers cards. I said the lady that was here took my card and held it. She insisted that's not their policy. She then looked around the cash register and could not find my credit card. I insisted that I gave my card to the bartender who was there around 8:30. This lady says that's no help to me that she doesn't know who that is, and went to find someone else. A few minutes later two guys come over to talk to me. I explained that I gave my credit card and they held it. Again they insisted it is not their policy to hold credit cards, and basically accuse me of making a mistake. At this point I am getting a little frustrated and so are they, and all of our voices are getting a little loud and customers are starting to notice. We are going back and forth for several minutes when the bigger guy gets a little huffy and stalks behind the bar, grabbing a stack of credit cards that I assume have been left by customers over time. He pulls out his flashlight and starts looking through them. Miraculously, he finds my credit card. He hands me my credit card and reaches over to shake my hand, which I accepted. We both apologized. As a customer, this was awkward and embarrassing to go through, and I was proven correct. I was not intoxicated or yelling out loud, having had only three drinks in over 2 and 1/2 hours. If someone would have checked that pile of cards in the first place, none of this would have occurred. I was not happy with the customer service I received on this issue. In the end you would think the least they would have offered after this situation was comping my bill or a free drink....

So, we’ve heard good things about this place and after a great brunch at the Shukin Shack my family and a friend (all adults) decided to walk over and a few drinks. We walk in and the young hostess is pleasant great. We decided to go to the outside bar. It was full so we sat at a table and informed the hostess the bar was full so we sat at a table, she said she would let the wait staff know we needed service. While we were waiting we all commented on the great atmosphere. There were several empty tables around so after 10 minutes of sitting with no attention we stopped one of the servers to inquire if we would be assigned a server to receive beverages or a drink menu. The young blonde stopped a brunette, who had just seated another table. We explained the situation and the long haired brunette states that there is a waiting list and we would need to go back to the hostess in the front to put our name on the list and wait for a table. There were empty tables on the outside patio and in the inside of the front....and no line it the front door and no waiting list. Instead of treating us as patrons we were treated like trash and she blamed the younger hostess in training for the ‘mishap’. Instead of being hospitable she told us to leave our table. We decided to leave. On the way out I told the younger hostess in training some of the staff outside were blaming her for us not receiving service, claiming they were not told we needed service. She was not the issue, she was professional. So, I apologize to you... the Kingdom of Montreux in the country of Summerville, SC...these ‘peasants’ will never darken your doorstep again. We wouldn’t want to inconvenience you with our...