Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe — Restaurant in Tacoma

My husband had been hearing good things about this place & wanted to go for dinner. We asked my mother in law to join us. The local area was where she and her family had lived when my husband & his siblings were growing up and where she had worked. When we first arrived & waiting for mom, all the tables & booths were full, so we had a seat at the bar & ordered a drink. Mom had just arrived when a table opened up so we took our drinks & moved the short distance to the table the server had just cleared and was holding for us. We looked over the menu of very enticing sounding selections of bar type food as well as whole meal items. As we were waiting, mom & my husband related stories about the area and the people they knew from years ago. All the while, more people came in. Some joined the tables of people that were already there. Some had appetizers , some were just drinking and chatting, some were following the baseball game that could be seen on the various televisions around the room. The atmosphere was jovial with a wide variety of people, ages ranging from just legal to up to 70 or 80s, coming & going. At times it was hard to hear what my husband & his mom were saying when a group near us became a little loud. But everybody was friendly, strangers turning to strangers at the next table bringing them into the conversation at their table like they had been old friends. We didn't have to wait long for our food, which was very good! Our servers & the bar staff were very nice, quick and helpful. Friendly with those they knew as well as with folks like us that were there for the first time, well, first time since it became Top of Tacoma. Overall this is a fun & friendly place, with a local watering hole atmosphere. Great food, great staff, good drinks. I don't know if its as crowded every evening or as loud as the night we went. Even so, I'd go again. There were some other things on the menu that I'd like to try, so I will go back, just maybe...

For the past few months, on occasion, I have dropped by to have a drink. The place is OK, generally, but nothing exceptional. Perhaps the great ratings come from regulars, familiars and folks who simply do not know better.

What has been an issue for me is service. Having been there at the same time, usually on the same day, I have been charge wildly different prices for the same essential drink.

Moreover, there are folks working the bar who are attentive without being intrusive, gracious but not obsequious. In other words, kind and caring. However, there are other workers who do not present themselves so.

Recently, when someone took my order, provided it, then saw that it is getting toward its end and asked not if one would like another; that is indifference. And if I, a customer, stand, having placed a bill on the counter, and the server just looked at it and walked away - twice, that was deliberate. To then be charged a random price without receiving a receipt by another server is bad business.

Hey! Do not treat folks differently just because you do not know or recognize them or because your perceive that they are not from Tacoma. And if you judge folks by their appearance, as you appeared to do with me, then grow up.

Because people do not subscribe to your tribe does not mean that you should treat them differently.

As one who has years aplenty and experiences to match, the world over, it is not surprising that Top of Tacoma would be an 'eh' but that it would evince apparent prejudice and bad form is simply bad business.

The "bar" is low at the 'Top'.

Update: Tried again. The condescension overwhelms. Given change. Buried with it, a torn fiver. That only happens when it is deliberate....

Expensive fried food. Poor parking and a long wait for food.

The bartender was kicking a young man out as I arrived, I didn't think too much into it. I walked around and took some really cool pictures of the history of the place, which is laid out, artistically on the walls with hundreds of pictures, flyers, posters, etc.

I asked the bartender (5'10", heavy set, balding man in his 40s) about the history of this once historic place. He said the building is older, but the restaurant itself was only 16 years old.

I know that to be false just from my research before going in to review the restaurant ... let alone the hundreds of photos that go back almost a century.

Anyway, I realize this guy is just one of those insecure type guys who needs to feel a certain way to get through his day, and I left it alone. The pictures are already posted, as well

Anyway, the vibe of the place is off. The energy inside was the same as his. Dark, claustrophobic, depressed ... overall, a very powerful negative energy with a bad attitude weighs over the place, which explains it continued decline this past decade.

Unfortunately, I can now see why this once popular landmark has become a ghost town. It's sad, but it is a great lesson in hiring practices for entrepreneurs on just how important it is to have dynamic & knowledgeable people out front, serving.

99% of my reviews are 4+ stars. I've only rated two (out of hundreds) less than. ...