Tom's Watch Bar - ilani Casino — Restaurant in Washington

Dear Tom Ryan, we've visited this location previously and were happy with the experience. Pleased enough, in fact, that we returned. Because I like dining experiences that linger long after I leave, I previously tried the Pickle Brined Chicken and Cornmeal Pancake. Even though this dish was outside of my comfort zone for breakfast, it was fantastic! My husband had the Breakfast Platter, which was your run-of-the-mill Bacon and Eggs. It was average. Upon return, I wanted to have the Chicken and Cornmeal Pancake Breakfast again. We placed our orders with the server. I had a red beer. My husband had coffee. She returns with my husband's coffee and a Bloody Mary Beer. But that wasn't what I ordered. Bloody Mary mix is a little spicy and on this day, spicy was not working for me. So she had them make me what I ordered (a red beer). About 20 minutes later, she returns to inform us that her tablet lost our orders and that they were now out of chicken. I ask for a menu to make a different choice. She brings a menu and I order the Breakfast Platter and ask if I could get a Cornmeal Pancake. I was advised that no, I could get a regular one but not a Cornmeal one. I don't want a Breakfast Platter and Pancakes. I really just want the Cornmeal Pancake. She explained that I could have the Chicken and Cornmeal Pancake if I wanted to pay for the full dish without the chicken. Doesn't this sound absurd? Could she not have charged me to add a regular Pancake and then comped me a Chicken and Cornmeal Pancake dish, not have brought the plain Pancake, brought the Cornmeal one without the Chicken and the restaurant still would have come out ahead. Her logic had no sense. So I just had Bacon and Eggs. Well, things continued to go south. They brought out the Breakfast Platters and couldn't tell who's was who's. The items were the same except for the made to order eggs and my husband had crispy cheesy hashbrowns and mine were regular. I had over medium eggs and my husband had over easy. So whatever they did, they had my eggs on his plate and his on mine. I had to ask for another plate to slide my eggs off on to and then swap the hash browns. When all was said and done, my eggs were hockey pucks and his were over medium. The bacon is thin and you get 2 tiny pieces. The choice of bread is English Muffin or Sourdough. It ended up being a memorable experience, Tom. Just probably not in the way you would have strived for. Might I suggest that your manager empower your staff to be able to make some exceptions for your guests when things don't go as well as one would like? In addition, your kitchen staff needs some training and your ingredients, like bacon for instance, needs to be a better quality to be memorable. I just don't feel like this went well this time, Tom. I hope they show you this review so you can consider my suggestions. You lost a customer over the unwillingness to make an exception and the added insult to injury of poorly prepared food + serving errors. It is my sincere hope that you take my suggestions to heart and consider some changes you...

Upon seating our party of 3, the hostess informed us that if we scanned their QR Code and created a 5 Star review, we would receive a free order of Chips and Queso. We declined that offer.

The hostess was friendly, a little soft spoken but polite and professional. Our server was also friendly, prompt in service and checked back with us to suggest drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Our issue was with the food. We ordered Creamy Macaroni and Cheese with Crumbled Bacon, the Deep Dish Nachos with Adobo Chicken, and the Prime Rib Dip. Both the Nachos and the Dip are listed as their signature items. The Macaroni was the best of the three dishes ordered but still nothing to brag about. Very little flavor, sauce was watery, not the rich and creamy sauce one would expect for macaroni and cheese. The top was over baked and dried out but it had plenty of bacon. ($21)

The Deep Dish Nachos came out in a cold to the touch deep dish pan with a generous portion of house made tortilla chips and drenched in watered down, mild queso sauce. They topped it off with about 3/4 of a cup of Adobo chicken that had very little flavor to it,a 1 oz scoop of guacamole, 1 oz scoop of sour cream with 5-6 pieces of sliced green onion, no pico de gallo and no jalapenos as listed on the menu. Using the descriptor of Deep Dish Nachos is misleading. within just a couple of minutes, all of the ingredients in the dish were just as cold as the metal pan they were served in. ($18)

Their other other signature dish, the Prime Rib Dip is described as, "shaved prime rib, Havarti, horseradish cream, brioche roll with a side of demi-glaze". The presentation looked promising, served on a wooden board with a basket of garlic fries, all the sauces to go with it. That was short lived as the sandwich was not shaved prime rib, it was rubbery, thick slices that looked like they had been steamed and the sandwich was served with melted American Cheese, not Havarti as the menu suggested. We flagged our server and told her that the sandwich was supposed to be served with Havarti and she said, "Yes, it is but that is the only cheese we have right now." We can understand running out of something, although if it is your signature dish, you should have ample supply on hand, but to swap out an ingredient for a processed cheese food product without letting the customer know was the wrong way to handle it. We ultimately sent it back to be remade without the American Cheese. The garlic fries, while they looked and smelled good, were covered in so much salt that they were inedible. ($24)

They also tack on a 2% Fee to your bill for Non Cash Payments.

Don't believe the high review scores since they are basically trying to buy them and don't let the menu pix...

Who knew losing your money gambling could build up such an appetite! Unfortunately, we learned this while celebrating our 30th anniversary at the Ilani casino! 😂 I’m not usually one for sports bars. I don’t drink and I fall asleep watching most sports! But, I didn’t want something too heavy, and after looking at all the culinary choices offered (there’s a lot of choices!) we decided on Tom’s Urban. Their menu offers a good variety for differing appetites. Burgers, wings, sandwiches, salads and even a cheesecake if you want something sweet. I partook in the Rotisserie Chicken Salad and my husband chose the Prime Rib Dip. The salad was chock full of fresh greens, creamy goat cheese, sweet tomatoes, avocado, almonds and the tastiest brioche croutons the size of Texas! Well, maybe Paris since brioche is French. They weren’t hard and crunchy; more of a soft and toasted texture that really paired well with the goat cheese. Very good. My husband’s review of the Rime Rib Dip was basically, “I don’t want this sandwich to ever stop”! He even gave me a look of consternation when I snagged a stray piece of beef that dropped from the sandwich to his plate. Usually a man fine with indulging my desire to taste test everything, I knew I had over stepped that privilege when he glared at me and said, “I can’t believe you did that. I was saving that for later!” After being properly chastened and apologizing, I hastened to remind him that it WAS our 30th Anniversary, so that alone should have at least entitled me to some grace for my actions. It was a precarious moment, indeed, and a testimony to how much he enjoyed the sandwich! Wannabe taste testers beware! The waiter was engaging, witty and attentive to our needs. Excellent service. The restaurant was clean minus straw papers that needed to be swept up. It was a bit loud with all the TV’s blaring, music being played and loud men yelling at the games they were watching…but, it’s a sports bar, so duh! This is not the place to go if you want an intimate, subdued meal. But perfectly fine if you know what you’re walking into. Needless to say, if you find yourself experiencing hunger pangs after losing your shirt at Ilani, Tom’s Urban is a tasty and vibrant place to satiate your wounded soul…but not necessarily your wounded...