The Down Pour — Restaurant in Wilkes-Barre

So this actually happened a while ago, but since my friend group and I haven't stopped talking about it since, I decided to finally write a review to share the horrible experience we had here. It was a Saturday night and it was a little after 9:30PM. My friends and I (all adults in our early to mid-30's), were finishing up dinner at Thai Thai and we decided to walk down the street to get a nightcap at The Down Pour. There were 9 of us that walked in, and immediately we were being glared at by staff. There were three employees working in the front, a female bartender who I think was pregnant at the time and two males. It was unusually dead for a Saturday, I think there were only two other groups left in the whole place.

We ordered drinks and were chatting at the bar. At around 10:15PM, the female bartender came up to ONE person in our group and said "this is last call for drinks"... the hours on the door and online say you're open until midnight, why are you doing last call now? And why are you just telling one person and not yelling it out like most other places do? We're not unreasonable, it was clearly a slow night. All they had to do was say "hey guys, we're going to close early tonight. So sorry for the inconvenience, this is the last call for drinks." So only half of us got one last drink (our friend didn't realize she was the only person told about last call) and half of us that didn't know it was last call were denied. And literally it was only half an hour after we got there so it's not like we were trying to slam them back, we were just having one or two and then we planned to leave.

Here's the worst part of the story: It was 10:30PM and those of us that did have drinks were halfway through them when suddenly, they cut the music and turned off the TVs. We were awkwardly standing around and talking still, because we didn't want our friends to chug these drinks but it was very clear that the staff wanted us out ASAP. The three employees were huddled together looking at us. Another 10 minutes goes by, we're almost done with our drinks... and then they turn the speakers back on to play Closing Time. Are you joking??? We weren't squatting and we were aware that they wanted us to leave, we just didn't want to have to chug our drinks! All we wanted was to just end the night with a drink or two and we ended up leaving the Down Poor feeling embarrassed and upset. There were probably 100 better ways to have handled that situation, the staff should be ashamed. All of this happened within an hour of getting there and we were kicked out before 11PM.

We used to go to The Down Poor often because we liked the food and the ambience, but we haven't been there since. This night was so infamous in our friend group that we now say things like "we better leave before we get Down Pour'd" and we talk about it often to other friends and family. I'm sure we'll go back eventually... maybe... but for now that night will be our "last call" for...

This is one of the best dining experiences I've had in a while. I like the fact that even though it's in a college town it could have all looked like the first two pictures where you see the bar and the high table seating areas all with the sea green/ blue walls.They choose to include a romantic setting in the back with a separate bar. Here you have the umbrellas high above.The twinkle lights tumbling downward, like rain sparkling in the light. Although it was extremely busy our server were attentive, friendly and smiling. Multiple bartenders are required with that specialty drink menu that revolves with the seasonal changes.A lot of people come in here for the drinks as much as the food.... martinis with names that contain items like pomegranate and fig, pear and Ginger, apple cider old fashions, pumpkin pie, s'mores. Please note the s'mores come with flaming marshmallows! I had my Cabernet to show the wine fill. My friends had assorted martinis. pictures above. I got to taste everything they were all creative and tasty. Although there was no beer at this table they have a large variety to pick from in bottles and on taps and at the bar as you enter there are several large TV screens to watch sports. I ordered the short rib poutine and a caesar salad. The poutine was an appetizer but you'd never guess, it was the size of a meal. The only thing I could say bad about it was that they should have omitted the salt on the fries. Between the white cheddar and the gravy there was enough salt. The meat, melt in your mouth tender. The Caesar salad was perfectly done. A companion had the feta cheese watermelon and arugula salad with a green goddess house made dressing. Exceedingly good. The table also gave High marks to the chicken Cesar wrap and the fried rice balls containing squash and other elements. Same with the ahi tuna appetizer. Guess we should mention there's a specialty menu for appetizers meals and desserts that also rotates frequently with the seasons. None of us got past the mention of pumpkin tiramisu for dessert. Light and delicious.On request they made me a coffee with Kahlua and whipped cream. MMMM... prices are mid range for this area. Please note the specialty menu has no listed prices...so bring a credit card. Appetizers run from 9 to $14 and meals probably 25 to 35 on average. My Napa Valley Cab 9.00 a glass. Oh yes and my pet peeve the bathrooms. The ladies rooms were spotless and quaint. However the bathroom stall doors are the ones that join in the middle with a slide latch. I could see that becoming a problem if someone had three or...

If I could give zero stars I would! Let me preface by saying both my husband and I have service experience (him at a 4 & 5 star restaurants in Pittsburgh) and we were shocked at the service from our server!

We follow down pour on facebook and no special menu or features were posted for today. We asked if we could order off of yesterdays and were shut down. She didn't even want to reach out to the back even though they were completely dead! We were the ONLY people sitting (by the umbrellas).

She then spilt my drink on me & did not clean it up. All over the table, my dress and our appetizer. She asked... "do you want me to get you more bruschetta"? Then left.

When she returned much later with the recooked appetizer, I cleaned up the table and asked for another (cloth) napkin.

She arrived with our main food. And I asked again for a napkin. And then a 3rd time while I was eating my main dish. Finally she brought me "to go" tissue napkins. My husband then told her why I needed a napkin in the 1st place. Did she forget about the spill so soon? Too busy with doing side work so she could leave? Who knows. It was 8pm and they close at 11pm.

I asked for a different alcoholic beverage and she had to go "get permission". What the .... She should have comped the drink and cleaned up her mess!!

I ordered shrimp and lobster risotto. The asparagus was hard and the rice was mushy!

We love the down pour! And I never leave reviews. However, as busy working parents we don't get out as often as we would like. So when we do, we pick places that are known for good food & service. We were sadly...