Panini's Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Willoughby

I want to first start off and say panini's is one of my favorite bar/grill places to go to. However in Nov 4, 2017 at this panini's location me and a friend ordered drinks here, let me say we are both African american women. From the moment I walked in I wanted to turn back around from the uneasy feeling of us being the only blacks in paninis's at the time and the stares we were getting. I brushed it off and we continued to the bar. The bartender took almost 15 minutes to get to us which she kept walking past us before she looked our way. We finally ordered our drinks which was a long island ice tea, my friend went to pay and she didn't want to touch the money that was given to her, she then used hand sanitizer right after getting the money (which is fine to do ) but she didnt do that with anyone else at the bar at all and the bar and restaurant was packed. we received our drinks and me and my friend noticed that they were watered down and also a splash of liquor was in it barely. She didn't make the drinks right and she and the other bartender kept staring at us we felt very uncomfortable, i could tell she didn't want us there at all she she gave me my change back which was sat on the counter not in my hand which i handed her my cash i thought i would get the same respect back. So to not cause a confrontation we left. Its very unfortunate because we just wanted to have a nice time and i didn't even get her name but she was a young lady. I am very disappointed with the service at this location and will be contacting someone soon...

When we first came in I felt that the girl that "greeted" us and the people behind us wasn't very friendly, not to us at least, but she beamed a big smile at the large group behind us. She just seemed as if she wanted to claim the table behind us asap because there was like 8 people. Maybe she was thinking she'd hurry up and take advantage of seating them first so she can have a bigger tip. I could be wrong, but I have served for 12 years and I know that I have worked with greedy coworkers like that many times. She just basically acted like screw us and we had to wait to get seated even though we came in first. We ended up with a really nice server. Can't remember her name. She was blonde but that doesn't help because most of the servers have bleached blonde hair lol. Anyway, the food was just mediocre and incredibly salty. My husband ordered a build-your-own-burger and it did not have everything he asked for and also nasty, mushy sliced tomato. That would ruin any sandwich---YUCK!!! I don't believe it was the server's fault because she read his order back to him. It must've been the cook. I would never come back for the food, that is for sure, but it would be a nice place to go out for a party and have drinks. The place is nice inside and the patio is beautiful. One more thing, which is not a big deal, but the music was loud kind of like rap/hip-hop and it was strange because it did not fit the crowd...

I recently visited this restaurant for their 50-cent wing night. I have been there four times in the past and always had the 50-cent wings while drinking water, as I have dietary restrictions that prevent me from consuming alcohol, soda, or any type of caffeine.

On my most recent visit, I was informed by the server that I was required to purchase a drink. When I explained my dietary restrictions, she insisted that she had to follow the rules to avoid getting fired. She offered to ask the manager, who then came to our table and reiterated the policy. Despite my willingness to show proof of my previous visits, the manager refused to look at the receipts. No exceptions were made, and I ended up leaving the restaurant.

It is disappointing to see that the restaurant's policy does not accommodate customers with dietary restrictions, effectively discriminating against those who cannot consume the available beverages. This policy prevented me from enjoying the wing special that I had...