Gatehouse Tavern — Restaurant in Wake Forest

A Lot to Like / A Few Disappointments

Gatehouse is a tavern the whole family can enjoy. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly; and the service comes with a smile. For beer-lovers, there are over 30 draft options and over 40 bottles and cans of all the old reliables, plus many locally brewed craft specialities. It's also a great place to hang out and watch your favorite teams on TV. Their promise is: "If it's on, we'll find it."

We started our evening with the House Nacho Tray ($11 - add Pork, Chicken or Chili for additional $6) and Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds ($12). The Nachos were some of the best we've had; and were loaded with plenty of Queso, Sour Cream, Black Beans, Salsa, Scallions and Jalapeños. The Fried Cheese Curds were crunchy on the outside and warm and melty on the inside. The tangy Marinara Dipping Sauce was just right.

The Double Bacon Smash Burger ($17 with Fries, Chips, Pasta Salad or Green Salad) was everything you want in a big, juicy burger. The flavorful House Burger Sauce is the perfect finishing touch.

For a real treat, try the Smoked Brisket Burnt Ends with Pickled Jalapeños ($17 Sandwich - $20 Platter with Cole Slaw & Potato Salad). Sandwiches are served on a fresh-baked Brioche Bun.

I also recommend the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich ($16 including a side). The Steak was tender and tasty and covered with Peppers, Mushrooms, Onions and Provolone. The Hoagie Roll was the star - perfection. My sandwich came with just a dribble of cheese; but a quick return to the kitchen solved the problem. The Potato Salad was a nice addition.

The disappointments were the Tavern Chili ($10 for a large bowl) and Fish and Chips ($17). Even with the Cheese, Sour Cream, Scallions and Jalapeños, I found the chili to be bland and uninteresting. If you are a true Chili aficionado, I recommend getting your Chili fix somewhere else. The 'hand battered' Fish was breaded (not battered) and lacked that distinctive crunch you expect from properly prepared fish and chips. The two medium-sized pieces of fish reminded me of the ones you find in the frozen food section of a local supermarket.

Give Gatehouse a try; I'm sure you will find some of your favorites on their...

Stopped in on V-Day 2023 with my family at 5:45pm. After placing our orders (appetizers, drinks and entrees), we were asked to leave because apparently outside food is not allowed. I totally get that rule, but the way our situation was handled was outrageously unprofessional and embarrassing. For context, my kids went next door to Big Al's while my wife and I patronized Gatehouse Tavern. They met us there after getting their food to go. Regardless, our bill would have been north of $100 even for the two of us.

After arguing with one of the servers (not our table server) about the 'unlawfulness' of our transgression (yes he said that), I asked to speak with the manager. Prior to the manager coming to our table, we were served all of our food. FTR, our table server is not in the picture here.

We were asked to leave by a random server as opposed to kindly letting us know about their outside food rule, and letting this one-time hiccup slide.

The outrageous part was the random server's expression of inordinate joy with asking my family and I to leave. It was almost as if he couldn't wait to enact their 'no outside food rule'. No apologies, nothing! We all stood up and pushed our chairs in while waiting for the manager.

As the manager and I discussed my family's expulsion, my kids started walking towards the door (because shock & embarrassment), leaving my wife and I at the table. It was at that moment the manager started to back-peddle and offered us a "new route". Too late! You've already embarrassed my family and I for making a huge spectacle of our situation. Did you really think we'd sit back down after standing there, asking us to leave?

Regardless of rules and restaurant policies, you failed miserably to handle our situation with respect and professionalism.

Apparently Gatehouse Tavern has more money than they know what to do with. We won't be back, my friends & my in-laws won't be back.

Happy...

Worst customer service I’ve ever had at a restaurant. The waitress was awkward, not friendly at all, and when I explained that I have food sensitivities and wanted to know if there was gluten or dairy in certain dishes I was met with a snarky “for people with severe food allergies, we can’t guarantee that everything will be free from that.” Ok, great, I’m well aware of cross contamination and all of the risks of eating out with my food issues. Got it, don’t need a lecture or education on it. I also never said I had “severe food allergies” so why are you jumping to that and being rude? Do you think it’s not annoying for me personally to have to ask everywhere I go? It’s exhausting. But I can’t have those foods so I HAVE to ask. I’m sorry it’s such an inconvenience for you to do what you’re being paid to do-serve customers. Since you clearly don’t know how to respond in these situations, let me clue you in. What you SHOULD have done was say, “you know what, I’m not certain but I can go ask the chef.” It’s not that hard.

No wonder there was zero wait and hardly anyone in the restaurant. With service like this it’s no wonder. So much for trying to support a local business. I walked out and will not...