The People's Pub — Restaurant in Town of Chatham

I recently visited this restaurant and, unfortunately, my experience left me with serious concerns about food safety. I initially chose to contact the owner directly rather than post publicly, hoping they would take my observations seriously — but after 10 days with no response, I feel it's important to share my experience here.

During my visit, I was seated facing the open kitchen and witnessed several troubling practices:

— An employee plated French fries by grabbing them barehanded from a seasoning bowl.

— Another employee picked up a utensil that had fallen to the floor and returned it directly to the storage bin without cleaning it.

— I did not witness employees washing their hands as they moved between tasks like handling containers, opening the refrigerator, and preparing food.

One employee eventually put on a single glove while cutting tomatoes directly on the workbench.

Having worked in the restaurant industry myself, I understand that kitchens can get hectic — but these practices go beyond the occasional slip-up and reflect a concerning disregard for basic food safety.

Out of respect for the owner and their business, I reached out privately to express my concerns, believing they would want to know and take corrective action. Sadly, I received no response.

I take no pleasure in posting this, but I feel potential customers should be aware. I hope this restaurant addresses these issues because with improved sanitation practices, they have the potential to be a great spot. Until then, I cannot recommend...

Mid-scale rating, the People's Pub, with an accent on beer and other alcoholic drinks I give 4 stars. Room fir some improvements. My burger was made to perfection. The fries were a bit dry, but at least they were made on site. My daughter's fries were served with 3 sauces. And while she was waiting, she was watching/observing the kitchen staff preparing plates. She was engaged in conversation and treated to a few "extras" which she was happy about. Our server had a great sense of humour, albeit with a bit of flare. He walked with a bit of authority, and I mistook him for the owner. Overall a much nicer ambiance and character than the Philmont Local, and some peculiarly named menu and brew items. I would like to go again so I can aim for a 5 star rating. One off-putting ditty was that when a french fry dropped off my daughter's pile onto the table, our server imnediately scooped it up and tossed it in his mouth and winked at me and smiled. Humourous, yes, but not entirely appropriate. A little too aggressive with refilling our waters as well... if you are going to leave our refill water on the table, let the customer handle refills. This is constructive criticism, meant to be noted. Thus the 4 stars. Great place for families and couples, reservations or not. I would...

The wings were the only highlight from a limited menu (4 apps, 4 mains) of uninventive bar food. Although the food here looked good, ultimately it tasted below average. The menu suggests the burgers are severed without fries (in fact they are served with fries) and our waitress had no interest to clarify this point, happily allowing our group (encouraging different ends of the table of 9) to order 4 sides (2 large plates of fries & 2 large servings of potato salad).

The waitress left a bad taste in our mouths (aside from the bland food) by not being clear when people asked what others had ordered for the table; she gladly allowed multiple people order an excessive number of pork buns to share for the table ($11 for 2), most of which arrived at the same time as our mains and went uneaten along with the excessive orders of fries/potato salad.

Ignoring that the waitress did her best to take us for a ride, the heavy food was lathered in far too much sauce and tasted decidedly average. On the positive side, the atmosphere in the bar and dinning room isn't bad and the beer list is extensive. Ultimately, we won't be back here in a hurry, thanks especially to seeing so much of our order...