Dive Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in West Haven

AVOID THIS PLACE BY ALL MEANS!!!! My friends and I came into town for a celebration of life this past weekend from on of our brothers. We walked in 3 of us being of African-American & 3 others being Caucasian decent. We gave them a heads up that others would be joining us later and we could tell there was some hesitation. We were then asked to give our ID’s which we politely obliged as we sat down, we sat there for about 10 minutes and after awhile we wondered, where our ID’s were. An older lady who was so polite came back and said 3 of our id’s weren’t coming up valid. Mind you, the youngest being 27 & the oldest turning 31 in 48 hours. At first we thought it was a joke until the owner came back and rudely stated how she had scanned all of our id’s 30 times and wasn’t going to do it again. At this point we’re all shocked because there was only 3 different state ID’s within the group, as she proceeds to show us how she scanned our id on her iPad. Take a guess whose id’s weren’t working..So it’s not a joke and we ask if we can just order food then because we all drove several hours for a funeral. She proceeds to look at our group and say, “I cannot serve you unless you have a parental guardian accompanying you.” Pardon!? All of us looked at each other in shock, because, who tells a group of grown adults, who look way out of their early 20s something of this sort. I - an African-American - ask, “can we call the local authority so that they can verify our ID’s because this is the same ID I just used to fly last week.” The walrus of an owner starts throwing a fit as she walks away without having a decent conversation as a human. “Oh you want to call the cops!? Please!! Go right ahead!!” Throwing her hands in the air and walking away, literally refusing to serve us. I politely walked out and went next door to Rip Tide where the lovely Kelly took great care of our immediate group and those who came later on in the evening, showing such grace and class. While talking to the locals, I was informed that the rhino of an owner is known for being prejudiced and racist. So, I repeat, AVOID THIS PLACE BY ALL MEANS AND DO NOT SUPPORT IGNORANCE...

Very rude staff. When we came in, the bartender asked for our IDs so while she was checking them, we took a seat. When she finished checking and scanning them she walked to the end of the bar and yelled "Um hello?", while waving our ideas in the air, and looked to a patroon to her right, rolled her eyes, and said something under her breathe. When we ordered a dive bowl ($40), the patroon that she originally spoke to about us was having a conversation with her regarding our drink. He said something regarding our drink being a "safety" drink, meaning that there was not a lot of alcohol in the drink. When watching her make it, less than half the bowl had alcohol in it, and there was even ice coming out of the top of it because of how much ice she packed in it. When she delivered the drink to our table, instead of asking if we needed anything else, like food which we were going to order, she said "that's 40 dollars". Typically, the bartender shouldn't ask for the money for a drink unless the patron is finish and ready to leave. While we were there, we were quiet, friendly, and didn't bother anyone. While we were there, we were never once asked if we needed anything, nor did the battener even approach us unless she was asking for the recipet. Upon our departure, we were told "don't come back", probably because we didn't tip. Being that I work in the food industry, I know that there are rare occasions that someone would not tip, one being that the service wasn't deserving of a tip. After the bartener saw we didn't tip her on the receipt, she still didn't come to ask if we needed anything or if she could help us in any way. I am very disappointed because I enjoyed going to Dive Bar, but the staff is always rude and frequently speaks poorly about patrons to regulars. I would recommend you find somewhere else to go, because the service is that poor and unprofessional. And if the bartender is to see this, I do not appreciate your attitude. People often think less of people on the food/beverage industry, your attitude fuels...

I’ll start by saying I’ve been here more tan two dozen times. Had everything from fried pickles to tacos burgers and poke bowls. Friendly staff and attentive. Went for my wife’s birthday as she picked the place and kids home from college. All was well until a bus person asked if we could finish up because the people we were sharing an eight top with had more people coming and they needed the table. Excuse me???? Can we hurry up and leave? She didn’t ask me she asked my daughter! I was unaware until I was told by my daughter that was rude. I asked the person who the manager was she said she didn’t know. I asked our server and she pointed person out. Same person that was just doing a shot with people at our table. Hmmmm! She proceeded to tell me they do this as a regular practice and that sometimes they’ll buy the displaced people a drink! What??? I don’t want another drink!!! It’s absurd. She couldn’t have been more disinterested in my concerns about the way we were being treated. I was in the restaurant and catering business for 20 years and have never heard of such a thing it was obvious staff was familiar with the party that wanted our table. We had zero plans of hanging out and talking and just taking up space!!! We’re well aware of importance of turning tables in a restaurant. Extremely unfortunate Dive Bar. No one person or party is above another in the service industry I only write this as the manager coyly said she would tell the owners and went over to our table to sit with the other people Nice Happy...