McCormack's Big Whisky Grill — Restaurant in Virginia

My daughter had her 30th birthday dinner here. The night we dined the restaurant had less than 10 tables dining so they was not busy at 7pm. Issue is that they should not have certain menu for large parties! But if they want to continue with a special menu have a printed menu on the table that list details of whats in each dish. That way the waiter wouldn't have had to repeat our choices when some of asked. The spefic menu was because they didn't want to mess up order,but still 3 orders had to be reordered. We asked our waiter if the meatloaf or shrimp and grits had pork in it, his reponse wa "No" and there was bacon pieces throughout the shrimp and grits (some people arre allergic to pork people)! Again if they had a party menu WITH THE INGREDIENTS OF THE DISHES those 3 people in our party would have eaten with the rest of us. Also with a party of 14 where was the side salad or bread to hold us while we waited over 30 minutes for our dinner. Lastly when giving dinner bill let the party know that gratuity is NOT included, and thank us for dining with restaurant.

3-7-2019 Since I cant respond to the person that that responds on behalf of the restuarant I had to add to this post. Take notes to get all 4s or 5s. Seems that when you DONT get 4 or more stars you get into your feelings and post negative information and that WILL cost your resturant money. Work on getting some etiquette when responding to the people that contributed to your restaurant! IT WAS bacon in our four orders of Shrimp and Grits! LEARN that the customer is always right (Especially since you wasn't there to wait on us personally). I gave a suggestion that YOUR restaurant should print a separate menu for parties to make it easier for customers that have NEVER DINED there! But all you saw was a comment that didnt say that "every thing was great". Our table WAS NOT TOLD that there was any salad choices. We were told about corn bread!?!?!?!? We asked for Brussels Sprouts and was told that there was none available that night. And dont forget a bad experience spreads faster than a virus throughout the Richmond restaurant community! Funny that I do know the job of a restaurant because my family owns one of the best restaurants in Richmond for years! SO sweetheart I DO know about the tip process! Your waitress should have told us BECAUSE that's a part of his job! So keep in mind that most people that come into your restaurant are business owners...

I guess 8 September 2018 was not a good day for this establishment. Three bad reviews and this will be the fourth for the same day. Truly worthy of ZERO stars. My son and I arrived at the Big Whisky Grill at1800 and the place was empty except for two tables (a couple and a small party of four I think). It was EMPTY. The appearance of the place is as depicted in the picture, very impressive atmosphere (seats a hundred or so).

We waited several minutes (may be 10) for a host to acknowledge us BEFORE being seated. We almost walked out and in hindsight, should have... Once seated the waiter proceeded to make me feel unwelcome with his vast experience and knowledge of Bourbon, so much for a polite education experience as noted on the website. I am not an expert by any means but a smile and nod from the waiter (name withheld) would have been fine without the attitude, felt stupid should have walked out. This is how you treat a customer?

I ordered the Prime Rib. The waiter told me they didn't have it and suggested the Rib-eye. I ordered the Rib-eye "Medium" (pink middle) and proceeded to sample the Blanton Bourbon. Being that I was visiting with my son, I didn't worry about the time. But... at least thirty minutes later, I have no steak (any food). My son indicated the cooks (which are visible from the floor behind a window) were NOT preparing any food on the grill during our talk. Wasting still more time, I guess they had to either go to the store to get the meat or butcher the cow out back... not sure which. The steak finally comes to the table (much, much later) black as coal. I am not sure what it was before being overcooked (but now, it's well-done shoe leather about half inch thick). It was terrible.

The waiter brought the bill, my credit card but NO pen. My son pulled a pen from the host table. I signed and we left, won't be back to McCormack's Big Whiskey Grill. I hate to see this place go out of business. I appreciate the the extensive amount of spirits available and the outstanding atmosphere. It all costs money but you can't make money when this is the experience.

Going to the bar and skipping dinner isn't a choice when I was there, no bartender. Booze and atmosphere are not a solution for poor wait staff or bad food, have to be losing money at this location. Not even John Taper at Bar Rescue could help this place. I'll pass on this location, might try the other...

Disappointing, saddening, and terrible customer service. The owner was helpful with choosing a menu and stated that he would cater to our budget needs. We decided on a $25 per person rate, this included non-alcoholic beverage, salad, entree, tax and tip. Not a bad deal! The owner stated that he would arrange our table in a U shape so that everyone would be able to comfortably have conversation. When we arrived there were two tables pretty far from one another - so we pushed them together. We had met with the owner and discussed that guests would trickle in between 1:00pm - 2:00pm. He agreed this was fine since they were new and not many people knew of their location. About 1:15pm the cook said "These people need to get here now and place their orders because I'm leaving at 1:40pm today!!" About 1:30pm our waiter came to me and was very angry and said in a demeaning tone "Can I bring out salads now or what?!!" (Keep in mind this is a Saturday at lunch time, there was not a single soul in the restaurant, nor had the waiter even checked in on us since pouring our water) He brought our salads in and then began taking orders for lunch. The server did not announce the choices so I told everyone what their choices were. Everyone that received sandwiches said that they were okay. Many others ordered Salmon entrees, 4 of these entrees were COMPLETELY RAW. They looked like jello - I think the fish were still breathing. When the guests asked the kitchen to cook the salmon a bit longer the chef was very disgruntled and stated "That's just how I was taught to cook it!" - instead of just cooking it a bit longer. At one point I asked the owner if I could have an extra set of silverware - he said "Well, you would have had enough had you not moved the tables I set earlier!!" instead of just giving me a set of silverware. The service and salmon were a nightmare. It's very rare that my group of friends ever complain, so it really bothered me. I will very sadly never dine again as a guest at McCormack's Big Whisky Grill. I don't believe any of my guests will either....