Sugar Loaf Taphouse — Restaurant in Town of Chester

The experience we had this evening was unfortunate and from what we’ve been told, unusual for this establishment. Nonetheless it was unpleasant enough that it bears reporting if only in the interest of improvement of staff training or management philosophy. We are in town visiting family so this was our first and only experience here. To set the stage we were a party of five adults and one infant. One of the adults has Alzheimer’s and is a bit unsteady, but quiet. All said we were planning on a relaxing, but not a long and leisurely, dinner. Upon seating it soon became evident that there was a bigger crowd than they had expected. So, service was a bit slow, but no big deal. We received our drinks, placed our orders and settled in. When the food arrived, instead of the Delmonico steak I had ordered I was presented with a plate of pork chops. The server delivering the food expressed surprise - he said they had sold out of the Delmonico earlier in the evening. He left with the pork chops saying they would fix it. Our original server then arrived and apologized (rather woodenly) for the mix up, and prepared to leave saying she would return with the steak. We told her we had just been informed the steak was sold out. Further, we couldn’t really wait for a new meal to be prepared - everyone else at our table had been served, and some in our party weren’t really able to just chill out. She asked if I would like the pork chops and I replied, “well, at least they’re ready, so ...”. The server returned with the pork chops and apologized again. A short while later the manager came by to check on our table and he also apologized for the mix up, and mentioned how busy they had been. At no point so far was any consideration of any kind offered, which was disappointing. Toward the end of the meal I was asked if I would like another glass of beer, compliments of the house. I had no interest in more beer and was done with dinner, so I politely declined. A short while later the check was delivered and I was surprised (though not surprised) to see there had been no adjustment made. So, I walked the check to the station and found our server, and simply expressed my disappointment. She paused and then somewhat abruptly declared they would remove the charge for the entree. This was accomplished, if rather stiffly, while I stood nearby. The thing is, the server’s body language and tone throughout the experience was off-putting, as though somehow the mix up had been my fault (a customer at an adjacent table confirmed I had clearly ordered the steak). I left a decent tip, which may have been a mistake, but in the end I feel this was really management’s fault. This server was either new to the job or worse, if experienced, poorly coached. Folks, the art of handling a simple mistake is as old as table service itself (not to mention commerce of any kind), and is not rocket science. I believe a complimentary meal was the correct remedy, since everyone was already served and my ability to choose my own dinner was forfeit. That said, I might have been just as happy with any number of palliatives - a percentage off the check, comp the table’s drinks, a round of liqueurs - anything reasonable (not an “after dinner beer” - is that even a thing?). So what was the problem? Was it inadequate training, or management that doesn’t know better? I suspect the former given the otherwise good reviews I’ve seen of this place, but don’t know for sure. (For the record the food was quite good - including the pork chops - but the clumsy service definitely diminished the...

Update 7/31/2025: Told you we'd be back! Went here on Saturday July 19th 2025 with my parents for a much needed dinner. Decided to go to this place because we haven't been here in a while. Be forewarned, it can still get crowded. Went inside, and there was a line at the host stand, however, we were sat right away at a booth. Server greeted us right away, and She was very pleasant. started with 3 waters, I ordered the Giggle Juice cocktail, my mom ordered the pineapple Margarita, and my dad ordered a titos with sprite. Our drinks came out in a timely manner, and there was something in the drink, but the server fixed it right away and made a new one. Looked over the menu, and decided on The Veggie Burger. Can't remember what my dad or mom ordered unfortunately. But our server took great care of us and constantly checked on us, including how the food was going! We all enjoyed our food and highly recommend Sugar Loaf Taphouse if you are in the area! Paid the check via a credit card and left a cash tip! Would definitely be back if we are ever in the area! Before i start been here before prepandemic, loved their shepard's pie, which am glad to see that they still have. This is a taphouse, so they have lots of local beers, and a beer from vermont actually too! Went here on Thursday March 21 2024 to grab a bite to eat before seeing a show at The Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center which is nearby. Before we left our house,we did call the restaurant to see if there was a wait, they said there wasn't one, however, by the time we got there, they asked us to wait 20-25 minutes. We went to the bar and was able to eat there. Bartender was very nice, as we all started with waters and titos with sprite. We started with the Irish Nachos special, which were interesting as they had corned beef in their nachos. they were not bad and different. For our entrees, my dad ordered a cheeseburger cooked m, i ordered a veggie burger, and i forget what my mom order. Entrees were very good and enjoyable. i enjoyed my veggie burger! only feedback i would provide is that the server/bartender should have made sure i wanted fries with that, because i saw sweet potato fries, and may have wanted that instead. Other than that we had great service at the bar, and enjoyed our food. We also ordered dessert, a brownie with chocolate ice cream on top! That was tasty! paid our bill with a credit card, and left a cash tip. Also used the restrooms this visit, and the front restroom was not flushing, but they had a bathroom upstairs which was very clean, and all was working. Hope to be back...

My family and I love the Tap House. We’re local and come here at least twice a month. The food is always delicious and the service is typically fantastic. However, tonight, I called to place a take out order with the understanding that it was Friday night, they were probably packed, and I may need to wait longer than normal. A woman answered the phone and said okay hang on a minute when I asked to place an order to go. She clearly put the phone down, and then I could hear hustle and bustle on the other end. Again, it’s a Friday night and I knew they were probably busy so I didn’t think much of it until I was on hold for 5 minutes. Still not annoyed because I’m sure they were busy, I figured they must’ve forgotten about my phone call so I hung up and tried to call back. The call wouldn’t go through. I thought, well they probably didn’t hang it up yet but I’m sure they’ll get to it soon. I attempted to call back repeatedly for the next half hour. The phone was still off the hook indicating that they had completely forgotten about the phone even 30 minutes later. I was on my way home and wanted to just pick up food and go home, but figured what the hell, I’ll just stop in and wait for it. When I entered the restaurant, I told the hostess that their phone was off the hook. She rudely stated “oh yeah that’s our bad, it’s probably just a lot of phone traffic”. I politely explained to her that, no, I called back repeatedly over 300 times over the course of 30 minutes, which is about 10 times a minute. She ignored my statement and just told me too many people must’ve been calling and sent me to the bar to order. I then told the waitress who took my order the same thing, just so they knew that they left the phone off the hook somewhere and no one could get through. I wasn’t attempting to complain, but rather just telling them hey your phone is off the hook somewhere. I was told “oh yeah probably, that can happen”. Interestingly enough, I tried to call as I walked out and it went through, presumably because they found the phone off the hook and fixed the issue, despite insisting they weren’t in the wrong. I think management should be aware of this because it seems that their staff doesn’t function well under pressure, is leaving the phone off the hook, and then minimizing the customer concerns in a rude way when it’s brought to their attention. This could potentially ward off business for them if their wait staff is seen as rude and dismissive towards their customers and people can’t get through to place to go orders because of staff...