This business is operating illegally on two fronts: Not ID-ing all patrons - I purchased a margarita and wasn't asked for my ID. False advertising & price gouging: They prompt you to scan a QR code for their drinks menu. They have a dedicated section for to-go cocktails, with their prices. When you order one of these, you are charged nearly double than the advertised price. See attached picture.
Oh, and Emily, the "manager", should unequivocally be fired, and she should not seek employment in a customer-facing environment. She's negligent at best, belligerent, aggressive and discriminatory at worst. More on this in a moment.
I attended the Summer Nights market on May 23rd and ordered a margarita from Westbound. Innocent enough - I wasn't carded though it was literally poking out from my wallet ready to be taken out, but OK. I noticed on the QR code menu they prompt you to look at that they have a separate take-away cocktail menu alongside their prices. Cool, I thought. I'll have a cocktail now, and take one home to have tomorrow once I finished browsing the market. How wrong I was to think this would be a smooth experience.
I come back several hours after I have my first cocktail to order a to-go margarita, which is explicitly listed on their menu for $10. Imagine my surprise when the bar staff turns up with a bottle and charges me $16 for it. When I show her the menu on my phone which clearly states the pric eof $10 for a margarita within the "Purchase our cocktails to go!" section of their menu, the staff member says she'll get the manager. The manager - Emily - came over to say that the bottle is actually two servings of margarita at 16oz, and therefore the price is higher. I asked how I - or any consumer - would know this, given that there is an explicit menu for take out cocktails with pricing. She attempts to gaslight me into thinking I'm the problem with a condescending "you're the only one who has ever been confused by this." I'm not confused - you're explicitly lying to cover up. She then asks me what I want. I said what I want is simply what is actively advertised - a to go margarita at the price stated. She then abruptly turns around and - with the maturity of drunk 5 year old - grabs the bottle and literally pours 2/3rds of it down the drain. Seriously - picture included. She comes back with an unsealed bottle with about 3.5 inches of liquid in it. I ask her what that is and she says "6.5oz of margarita" (it wasn't that amount) which, besides this whole obscene and wasteful performative act, wasn't even half of the original bottle which was 16oz. Before I could even say anything she says "I don't need to serve this to you." Emily - it's clear to me by now that neither common sense nor customer service are within your mental capabilities, but for future reference, you can't refuse service to someone who's not even attempting to buy your unhygienic, despoiled unsealed liquor. I walk away, but that that point I didn't actually have Emily's name yet, so I asked the original woman who I tried to order from for the manager's name and was met with a very aggressive "you can ask her yourself." I see aggression is a shared staff theme (see other reviews), but in case it wasn't obvious to this staff member, I didn't ask Emily for her name because she was on the other end of the bar from me. I waited patiently till she turned around and asked her, then let her know I'd be reporting both the lack of ID checking and the false advertising to the relevant entities. Friends, we are still not quite done yet though:
On my way out, I ended up speaking to the co-owner of the whole market. She was appalled with the lack of ID checks, the aggressive behavior demonstrated by Emily and the false advertising of prices. The kicker? She said WESTBOUND HAS HAD THIS FEEDBACK BEFORE. She said she'd be speaking to them as well. It's only a shame I couldn't witness it myself, but no worries, I suspect I'll be hearing back from the DLLC & BBB on those lack of complying with state liquor &...
Read moreThis place has a great atmosphere. I love being able to sit outside and have a drink on a patio. There are umbrellas and shady areas, but if it is busy you may have trouble finding decent shade. Now the bar itself only has a couple of snacks, like popcorn and chips. But one really nice feature of this place is that you can go order food from any of the surrounding restaurants and bring it over to eat. Probably the best part about this place is the service. I ordered a drink that sounded really interesting, but I absolutely hated it. I can't remember what it was called, but it was the only frozen drink on the menu, and I was really hot. It also came in a juice box, and I couldn't resist trying it. It was not to my liking so my friend brought it back up to the bar. They immediately gave me something else without a second thought. I ended up with a glass of wine instead. I love a place that cares more about your experience than making a few...
Read moreWe went there to celebrate my girlfriends birthday on a Thursday since she loves Tap and Bottle and Kukai is right there. The service was very unpleasant. We were told hi by a very unfriendly bartender and never asked if we wanted anything to drink. We asked her if we could get the counter wiped down for us since there were sticky marks from previous drinks and when she came back to wipe the counter she proceeded to roll her eyes while doing so. She did not seem like she wanted to be there or enjoyed helping anyone. I have had bad service before at other places but I didn't expect to receive it at tap and bottle. I think someone from management should probably look into this because there were plenty of other people who were also receiving the same experience from this bartender. I will say when we finally did have a different bartender serve us she was nice and got us the...
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