CopperTop Tavern North Syracuse — Restaurant in Town of Cicero

This past Saturday (4-19-25) I, my husband, and our two friends had a most disappointing evening at Copper top. We, and our families represent many happy visits, and generous money happily spent at this establishment. On Saturday when our server Fonya began introductions and asked for our drink order I was surprised when he singled me out to ask for ID. Two weeks earlier I celebrated my 63rd birthday and thought this was a cute attempt at joking and flattery as he persisted to wait till I produced my drivers license (while winking at my friend). Keep in mind there was no one under 50+ at the table. Fonya discovered that on my birthday my license had expired, and proceeded to say he could not serve me. Relevance? Thank you? It didn't change my birthdate or the fact that I am older than him and have been drinking legally for 42 years. He immediately walked away to talk to a manager....WITH MY ID! With ID fraud what it is , this was more upsetting than the ridiculousness of a drink that I would gladly have passed on to stop the theatrics. After time and a visit from the manager with Fonya we were told that they reserve the right to ID anyone 40 and younger to ensure they comply with the state and laws, etc...both had dismissive attitudes and insincere apologies....while I kept trying to be polite and get past the whole incident. After this my ID was handed back to me and Fonya proceeded to address me with; "You okay "Pumpkin?" and stated "you aren't gonna cry?" I did ask Fonya to not talk down to me, but as you can imagine the rest of the evening was uncomfortable at best, and No, I was not okay. After all that, my drink order came wrong, didn't even get to keep the one they brought. There was no offer of compensation- yet who cares, at this point. I did tip 20% against the advice of all at the table, but I'm sorry to say that I will not be returning any time soon, and I will be sharing my experience with others. So...

I was misdirected to the CopperTop while trying to find an Irish pub to eat at. I have to say I'm very fortunate I was. Walking in I was immediately taken by the interior. Soft lighting that was warm not gloomy. Hard wood features, the whole ambience was pleasing. I was immediately greeted by Taylor the hostess, and to her credit when I said I was dining alone she didn't bat an eye. I travel for work and eat alone frequently and many hostesses seem to hesitate or have a moment of fluster, personal anecdote. She seated me and my waitress, Samantha was there just as I was perusing the drink menu. Instead of hovering when I wasn't quite decided on a drink from the bar, she offered to bring me a water, which was great because then I didn't feel rushed. I had my doubts about eating here when I opened the menu, plastic pages with ads, a large menu with no singular culinary theme, a local cheesecake factory clone is what I thought. Typically large menu means shoddy food. I was wrong. I ordered the Italian eggrolls as an appetizer, and the Wednesday special of Rib Eye parmigiana. The appetizer was enough for 2-3 people and the fact that the texture of the Jalapenos inside indicated fresh not pickled was awesome. They come out very hot so don't dig I too quick even though they're delicious. My main arrived and wow! Two huge thinly hammered rib eyes, breaded and fried, perfectly al dente rigatoni, the sauce was very rich and not too acidic. What impressed me most is not a single piece of tough fat or gristle in the meat. I wish I could comment on dessert but I could only finish half of what I ordered. Definitely give this place a try but as I left, there was a wait, on a Wednesday. So get in early because I can see why they're busy in the middle...

DO NOT BUY GIFT CARDS FROM THIS COMPANY! There are shenanigans and scams at play .... You have been warned.

Now, despite our giftcard kerfuffle (a $75 card with only a $25 value) the food is edible, the wait staff great. Was one of my favorite places to eat, but has gone slightly downhill (2 beers, 2 dirty glasses tonight, but beer is beer I suppose).

Giftcards .... here's the deal, I had a $75 card that ended up only having $25 on it. The manager 'investigated' and determined that my card was purchased for $25 not $75. I acquired the receipt that showed the card was indeed supposed to be for $75. The manager gifted us $5 promotional cards to apply towards our bill for the confusion, but this did not equate to the loss. Manager contacted me a few days later and verified mistake on corporate side, was sending me a $50 gift card. I instead received 5 cards. I foolishly assumed (I know, I know) that they must be $10 cards. Went to dinner tonight only to find out the cards were actually $5 promotional gift cards with a value of $25 total. Again, another kerfuffle with an innocent waitress who offered a manager (again). Having had enough of gift card shenanigans, I declined and took the loss. I don't know what the deal is, but something is afoot with Coppertop gift cards. How management can't figure out that in today's world everyone is a critic online and capable of leaving a public review is beyond me. Why management wouldn't ensure that the customer is taken care of appropriately for the inconvenience and acknowledged corporate issues, is further beyond me. Long story short, avoid gift cards from/for here and if you by chance received one as a gift...