McMenamins John Barleycorns — Restaurant in Tigard

Good food, terrible service. So here's the scoop. My partner and I recently moved to the area and passed by this great looking building from the outside, we stopped in and we were pretty impressed. As we sat talking we decided to read thru the reviews, many of them as you'll see point to rudeness and terrible service. Well we thought nothing of it and decided to return again in the future. A few weeks later we chose to eat here again as my daughter flew in from Arizona and we wanted to take her somewhere new. So we came by on a Friday, my partner dropped me off at the front door as I went inside to check on the wait time. Upon entering I was not immediately greeted you could tell they were a bit busy.. a few minutes later a brunette came up and asked I needed anything and I asked for the wait time for a table of 3. She immediately took me around the corner and said "sit here" I was a bit taken back as I didn't know what that meant whether to sit my family there or to sit here and wait to be seated.. I asked "is this where you're seating us then?" She said yeah and walked away.. so I called in the rest of the family and waited to order.. well I cant quite remember the next interaction with the waitress but as she returned my partner then mentioned to me how rude she was and then I explained to her what I experienced moments ago. I then walked up to the front to request a new server where I was then headed off by our waitress who then asked me if I needed something. I explained to her how we all felt she was coming across with her service in which she explained that she was busy and would try to practice more patience. We finished our meal, paid, and I left the waitress a $20 tip just to help her have a better night. As we left I accidentally left my credit card in the bill folder, I didn't notice this until the next day so I called as soon as I knew (as I was paying for breakfast the next morning at this time) 930am, I immediately called the restaurant and a female named Melissa I believe, maybe michele.. picked up the phone.. already I could hear the tone of voice.. it wasn't cheerful.. I explained where I was and what was happening and the fact that I had left my card there the night previous, she asked to hold and checked to see if my card was there. As she returned she said "yes it's here we open at 11 you can come get it then." Now look I get protocol, covid precautions and whatnot.. but when a customer calls and tells you they're virtually stranded at another establishment with their only form of payment in your possession wouldn't you kindly try to get it to them as best as you could? So I then asked her "maam, this is my only way of paying for anything at this moment may I please come get it?" She sighed loudly and said fine come down.. as I got there I told her that I didn't appreciate the way I was treated and talked to recently.. she turned and said as I was walking away.. "I don't care you chose to come here"... so.. there ya go Melissa.. I certainly won't be...

SHORT VERSION: Where we were seated in the restaurant was not the greatest location or arrangement for visiting with each other. However, we were a party of 12, so it's understandable that the options might have been limited. The service was great and the food was good.

DETAILS: First off, to be fair, we were also a party of 12... at 6pm... on a Sunday. I was not the organizer for our group, so I have no idea if anyone called ahead to let them know we were coming due to the size of our group, and that we planned to be there during the latter half of the dinner rush. But, I think they had trouble finding room for us. So we ended up sitting at tables set up in a L shape around part of a railing that was in the middle section of the room. Those seated on the 2 inside parts had our chair backs against the railing. That made it kinda hard for those on the inside to talk to each other because half of us had our backs to each other, or had trouble seeing everybody because another of us was seated directly between the others. It was a tight enough space that the people that were seated on the outside of the tables couldn't push their chairs back at all, because the aisle was already narrowed to only 2 feet wide when they were seated. We were also right between the men's & the women's restrooms.

Our server was excellent though! She was always smiling and agreeable. She accommodated all our requests and was just the right amount of attentive. Which was pretty impressive considering the servers also had to greet and seat people as they came in, since there didn't appear to be a separate Host.

The drinks, appetizers, food, drink refills and finally, to-go boxes were all delivered within a more than reasonable amount of time. I can't speak for everyone else's meals, but my food was good. I was sad that I couldn't get a chocolate martini because they'd run out of chocolate syrup. Alas, issues with supply shortages are still a common issue everywhere these days, so it wasn't their fault and I do not hold that against them in my rating.

My advice to larger groups (more than 6-8 people), is to be sure to call ahead and at least advise the restaurant you're going to that you're on your way. Even if they don't "take reservations", any good host (or server, if covering the front) will consider as they seat others that you're coming, and when you expect to arrive. That way they'll likely be better prepared to seat your group in a shorter amount of time. It's also in their best interests to seat larger groups quickly, because they fill the lobby while waiting to be seated. A crowded lobby can give people just coming in the door the impression that there will be a long wait for a table. The restaurant runs the risk of people deciding based on that assumption, to turn around, walk out and go...

Seriously, I appreciate all that McMenamins has done for the Oregon craft beer scene, I really, really do. Now, onto what I don't appreciate. First, I don't like that it has become this place that all who left Oregon over 10 years ago remember as one of "the places" to visit. Really? This is Portland, there is better food, better beer and most importantly (finally) better service. This place blew it right from the start. We had a largish party, we were seated at this overly awkward table in their cove window. They make a U-shape with 3 tables. The table at the bottom of the U is fixed, then they use two smaller (not the same size as one another) tables for the sides. So our out of town guest, who had to go to McMenamins, was a full 10 feet away. We decided to move the tables into the most square shape we could so we could be much, much closer to one another. We were immediately stopped by the server. Saying loudly from a ways away "don't move those tables". No please BTW. So now we had hosts of other customers look at us being embarrassed. Thanks for that. You know what her reason was? It made it more difficult to serve us. I said, we will be 10 feet away from our visitor from out of town. Her solutions were 1) I could change seats with another family member or 2) she could sit at the inside base of the U. Guess what would suck? That. Sitting at the base of that U would put her roughly 18" away from the person in front of her. Making it a truly awkward seating and footsie situation. And did I mention the people seated at those some spots would be looking at the back side of her head of she scooted in? The server didn't care to hear logic. Decision was made, this is easier for her. Well, welcome to 2018. My decision has been made as well. I haven't been to John Barleycorn's in over a decade. I regret going back. This will be my last visit. A tip for you McMenamins, I have been 21 as long as I have not., I have been to probably 10-15 locations over the years. Your service, on average, is some of the worst in the city. I know it is one small thing, and a single event. But this type of treatment, what is best for the server, and not the customer, is why you have a poor service reputation. Do yourself a favor. Find another spot. Honestly, it doesn't feel as Fancy, but Flyboy is blocks away, beer is much better and servers are nice. 2 stars because the turkey sandwich was fine. And bad on me...