Devils Backbone Brewing Company - Outpost Tap Room & Kitchen — Restaurant in Virginia

This is at least my fourth or fifth visit to Devils Backbone Brewery, and the second time I've had a sit-down meal in the restaurant.

First, I love DB Vienna Lager, as I mentioned in a previous review several years ago. The overall facility is awesome, the distillery tasting was fun, and the people are friendly. The service is almost always very good, and you can't beat the warm and inviting ambiance. Family and pet-friendly makes a great venue for indoor and outdoor fun regardless of the weather. BD continues to invest in this facility, and it's grown into an impressive venue. It's also conveniently located next to the Devils Backbone camp with full RV hookups and lots of room for tent campers, which I would rate 4 or 5 stars consistently.

The reason this review of the brewery/restaurant isn't five stars is solely on the restaurant. I could look past the price not quite aligning with the meal quality here as the choices of what and where to eat on the mountain run thin and tend to get crowded easily. Please do not misunderstand my comment about the meal quality; it's good, but there's nothing super amazing about food that was prepared ahead of time and brought out in less than 10 minutes. The price does seem a little strong, none the less that alone would not keep me from returning.

We had an hour wait which was understandable for a party of six, so we enjoyed hanging out at the bar for some cocktails. We were there in the bar earlier for lunch, and the food and service there were great. This is about the restaurant's sit-down dining and service only.

Once seated, we were advised that our order had to be placed using a QR code with our phones. There is no other option. We then spent most of our time deciphering and working the app on a small phone to read a large menu to get our food order figured out and then our payments sorted out vs. enjoying each other's company and catching up as we had initially intended.

Further, the payment process is even more confusing and deserves a CONSUMER BEWARE WARNING [just short of a SCAM warning].

It feels like the payment system takes advantage of the patrons who do not know how it works and have had a couple of drinks or so. (What are the chances of that at a brewery and distillery?) The gratuity was automatically added at a healthy 22% for a wait staff that didn't take our order and didn't help with the order and didn't handle the payment. The confusion continues when making the payment, and the nifty "would you like to add a gratuity" options of "20, 22, or 25%" pop up WITHOUT any notifications that 22% was already added.

The last one to pay noticed the scam and added nothing above 22%, while the others unknowingly tipped 42% or 44% and could not go back and make the correction.

One person at the party did speak to someone about it and was only told "sorry" and shrugged their shoulders. We didn't make a scene, as we had some drinks and took it as a lesson learned, and if time permits, we'll address it in the morning. We didn't as we had to leave before they opened.

I'm leaving a review to warn others as it's too easy to overtip the wait staff, that in this case really didn't do anything. I'm a good tipper normally, but I guess the new normal starts at 22% for parties of 6 [not 8 and 18% like it used to be], and now they expect even more for doing less. Perfect, that about sums it up.

Bottom line: Enjoy everything DB has to offer, eat at the bar or outdoor venues, enjoy the facility, and camp. If you eat in their restaurant, lower your expectations a little and keep an eye on how the gratuities work and...

As someone in the industry, I hate that I feel the need to even write this, but I have NEVER experienced such poor customer service in my life. I completely understand that due to a pandemic, many businesses are short handed, the folks working are tired and stressed, and that business may not run as smoothly as one would like, but being rude, condescending and having any sort of disgruntled attitude towards customers who choose to support your business should not be tolerated. Over the weekend our group made two reservations. One was for 8 people and another for 4. This reservation was made on different days, a week in advance but under the same first and last name. Upon arrival we were told only one reservation was in the system and then argued with about the validity of our claim. Even after showing the manager both confirmation emails there was still no effort to rectify the matter and just to get us sat instead we were told we must have canceled, which we didn't. The team was more worried about all the other reservations they had to accommodate instead of the 12 people WITH reservations standing in front of them. After 25 min arguing with our party at the host stand and 20+ other angry customers behind us, the manager finally agreed to seat half of our party at 2 separate high-tops and asked that the rest of us stand until he could find more space. We were frustrated so agreed to take whatever seating was available. The manager did proceed to organize another high-top to be brought over later on and diligently kept checking up on us there after which was appreciated.

Our real issue was the our server, who when greeting us boldly stated she was not "getting in the middle of " our seating arrangement debacle, when we asked if we could all sit together at al large open table right next to us. We found her entire interaction to be very abrasive and she seemed annoyed that she even had to serve our party. All of which we tried to ignore given the fact that we were just thankful to be sat and our order to be taken. The real issue was when she verbally attacked on of our guest after over hearing a conversation two people in our party where having about the chaos that transpired at the host stand. She berated both guest telling them that we should have some compassion for the stress they are under and that we were rude and should be ashamed for basically expecting better service. I did not hear the entire dialog, but when one of our guests finally said " I'm a paying customer I don't have to accept your rudeness" she stormed off without taking the rest of our party's order. We suspect she told the manager she was no longer serving us, because we were then greeted by other servers and the manager who completed our order taking. After that she did not interact much with us, only to drop food and our checks off. I didn't catch her name or a good description as it was Halloween weekend and she was in costume. My check does state "SERVER: Outpost B" for what it's worth. Everyone else who came by was friendly and the food delicious. It's just too bad we couldn't be treated with the same hospitality ahead of time. We've always been a fan of Devils Backbone Brewing, and come to the area in large groups multiple times a year, however this experience has left a very bitter taste and I'm doubtful that we will return or recommend to others who frequent these same...

I enjoy supporting local businesses especially when traveling. The Devil’s Backbone brewery is a local brewery in Lexington VA. The atmosphere generates a vibe that patrons are getting an exclusive experience (hard to get in) in a woke space that appears inclusive (as all places should). Sampling beers revealed a great hoppy ipa, a tart citrus ipa that was not my lane but others appreciated it, decent cider and a middle of the road (safe) ipa choice. I did like the hoppy herbal 16 point ipa. Food was standard fare for a brewery with choices that are limited but tasty. Be prepared though, that nearly everything was salty and steer away from the pulled pork. The wait staff was attentive but this is not a place equipped from a party of more than 8 people at long tables. This was disappointing as we were here to celebrate. Our party was separated into two tables, and the stated reason for not being able to push the tables together was “Covid”. Now, here is my issue, we’d have been spaced better for the dining area and the wait staff and each other had we pushed the tables together. Disappointing as the tag line for the establishment is “Buck Tradition”.

This is where it really got sticky with me. They charged our separate tables as one party with a very generous 20% built in tip. Presumptuous as we could not enjoy dinner together as a party. The tip would have been more generous had the party been able to enjoy dinner together. I offer that to the suggestion box to the brewery management and for future patrons. I wish you well, I will not be coming back and I am not able to recommend to others. I do wish the establishment...