Great views from the deck, friendly service and delicious food... love the cheese curds and gravy. Cider too! read more

Whetstone Beer - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

Whetstones' was our go to restaurant when family and friends came to visit. Well,that's now a thing of the past. During the pandemic they went to limited menu and waitstaff. We went and understood the changes were necessary. Sorry the pandemic is over and it all remains the same. Limited menu and staff. Have to order via phone at the table , where u sat yourself. The up charges are unbelievable. Want cheese on a burger you pay $.89, chicken tenders with sauce gets you another $.89 for one. Oh and don't forget anything cos you will have to start all over again!! Ordered the tenders and came with FF Asked for well done.. they were but not crispy at all and limp Plus, tasted like the fish the oil as used for! FF and fish on the same-- the worst. The cornmeal coating was way to thick and tasteless. What a sauce on the tenders like buffalo? Sure, they delivered it for me to spread on the chicken!! And, it's not pourable, so one can't get it in the chicken to coat it. Can't they just add it after cooking so it's actually on the chicken?'!?!? Oh and need a drink you have go to the bar and order with a bartender that was busy serving food on the outside deck. Refill get up again !! Bottom line the food is now just okay and my husband's burger with cheese and sauce, one an aioli with pepper that tasted liked mayo and was nothing special and was $20. They make more money and you are at a cafeteria not a restaurant... sad as my past review was stellar... Oh, and I wrote to the owners as it says on its written sticker at the table...haven't heard back and I am not surprised with the lack of response read more

Great views, good food, but expect a 1.5-2 hour wait for food if they're busy. We came on a Saturday afternoon around 3pm and the place was POPPIN'. The place is two stories so there's both indoor and outdoor seating-but it's all seat yourself. You order your food via toast tab on your phone and a server brings it to you when it's ready. Food was good, but not sure if it was worth the 1.5 hour wait. We were just starving by the time we got it that we didn't really pay attention to the quality lol. Other than that, the beer was good. I think they even served cocktails and other non-alcoholic drinks too. The second story views are also gorgeous! Right on the river looking across toward New Hampshire. Very cool and casual place! read more

I used to LOVE this place. It was a great place to bring friends for a lunch or a dinner and enjoy good food and craft beer or cocktails. This was pre-pandemic. During the pandemic they took several steps backwards during the pandemic and they have never reversed course. No longer is it pandemic time, yet the menu is a shadow of its former self. The prices reflect a steep upgrade from not that long ago. Went today for lunch and was thoroughly disappointed. The only thing I liked was the view sitting on the deck. When you go now you seat yourself - finds a place and just go to it. Take a picture of the table sticker and it opens an online menu. Forget your phone? Too bad. When you open the menu the selection isn't that great. It also doesn't change or expand for dinner. It is basically sandwiches and three other non sandwich items and salads and apps. We ordered a pretzel as a starter, put that in the app, the selected our lunches (a burger for me and chicken tenders for my wife. The burger was a simple burger at $14.99. I added cheese (.89), bacon (.89), caramelized onions (.89), and a black Pepper aioli (.89) for the fries. So my 15 dollar burger ended costing almost $20. Craziness. Put the order in on the app and had to pay for it right away and add the tip. The app and lunch items were brought to the table at the same time, so by the time we got to the mains they were chilly. The food comes in these large tin saucers that are very unstable. Weird but I see they wanted to cut down on dishwater and breakage. Might as well have brought it in a plastic tray. My wife's chicken tenders were plain, they had no sauce on them, and you had to pay extra for any sauces you wanted. They looked to be made with cornmeal but they didn't even look fried. The burger was fine, but it was NOT a $20 burger. Fries tasted weird (the oil might have been used too many times, I don't know). I could have made black pepper aioli with the Mayo and black pepper at the table and saved a buck. But, looking back at it, it was a lesson learned and I'll be saving lots of Money here since I won't be going back. Very unpleasant experience. It's not a restaurant anymore, just a food Automat. And an expensive one at that. read more

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I might say go for the beer (if you are excited about 30 varieties of IPA) and the view. Food and service is a crap shoot. Actually it has further declined in appeal and customer service in the past 4 years. read more

I was in Brattleboro for business and decided to give this place a try. We went on a Tuesday night and it was a good choice. It was trivia night with Geeks Who Drink. We had a blast! Besides having a chance to play trivia with other groups of people, the food was really good. This was not only my first time in Vermont, but my first time eating some foods, like pierogies for example. I decided to try their pierogies and I was not disappointed. The crunchy outside and the gooey, fluffy inside put these appetizers on my best app list. They were served with sour cream that had bacon in it. Love, love, love!! Moving on to my entrée - I ordered the Fish Tacos. It came with a corn and bean mixture, which I didn't bother to eat. The fish tacos was enough for me. I loved the seasoning on the fish and the salsa added a next texture to the meal. I was expecting smaller tacos but to my surprise, they were a nice size. You get two with one order. Very good good! The atmosphere was pub like but cozy and welcoming. Our waitress was nice and informative. I really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. I would surely return to try more options on the menu. read more

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Fast and friendly service with delicious beers. Limited parking at the brewery, but public parking is located nearby. The atmosphere is great with optional seating outside. read more

Whetstone Beer - Rug Life Amber Ale Draft - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

Absolutely fantastic place to have a beer! They have a nice selection of craft beers on tap. The food is average, but it serves its purpose. For the love of God, please stake a spot on the upper deck overlooking the river, especially around dusk. It is nothing short of magical. read more

Whetstone Beer - Mojo Workin' - Beer and Coffee.... My two favorite things! - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

If I could give zero I would. It took over 2 hours to get food and after asking multiple times we got cold food that ended up being an undercooked burger and half burned flies. There were bees and flies everywhere. read more

Whetstone Beer - Undercooked burger - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

Sunday lunch and many patrons were families with children, the music was so loud it was next to impossible to hear the the person next to you. Ordering system, new three weeks ago was difficult use, and if you did not have a cell phone, it required going to the bar to order. The wait staff interaction was limited to delivery and pick up of the food. My meal of bratwurst was flavorless and greasy .... This was a return visit for us. Their location is wonderful, but the improvements done recently made the experience terrible. We will not be returning. read more

No tables. Have to wait around and stalk a table. My friends have been here a year ago and loved it but they got the same meal they had last time (bbq pulled pork Mac and cheese) and this time was not good at all. I ordered the rueben. Super dry, dry bread, very hard and dry pastrami and hardly no thousand island or sauerkraut. The only good thing I had was the fries. Those were delicious and fresh! The drink I ordered (the Paloma) tasted like seltzer and lime juice. And no alcohol. Open arriving the tables are dirty and stinky. This place was such a disappointment! It has a nice location with a beautiful view but I will not return to eat here. Try somewhere else!! read more

Whetstone Beer - Dry yucky rueben - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

Cute spot, we grabbed a couple beers and an appetizer. Everything was great & staff was friendly.

This was my 4th visit to Whetstone. Always a wonderful place to enjoy a date and a good meal. Well- it WAS. Things have changed since the pandemic. Today I was greeted by a "scan this with your phone and order everything online" sign. Ok- we did. It was impersonal. It felt like trading an old friend's house for an automat cafeteria. Order fries. They come with sauce! 27 freaking flavors! Want to ask your waitress for a recommendation? Too bad. Got a question about a dish or appetizer on the menu? Too bad. Figure it out! No one is talking to you- just order and we'll bring it. Oh- and you wanted those appetizers to come out first? Tough luck! On the plus side? When you order the food, any "special requests" get tagged directly to the item- no "waitress forgot to tell the kitchen" here. I requested the bacon cooked to crumbling? The kitchen NAILED IT perfectly. Oh- I ordered a Penguin Porter. Flavorless. Very disappointed. So I ordered an Updog Stout? Gross!! The menu mentioned the hops and chocolate malts- it never mentioned overpowering cinnamon and nutmeg! Never finished half of it! My date ordered a coke. Free refills? Yeah- and YOU fill it! They drop off a plastic cup and leave (as if you're supposed to know how this works or where the machine is??). Bratwurst was flavorless. Tomato soup was tantamount to a bowl of marinara, and the one sauce we ordered didn't show up. So- the food was mediocre (it never used to be), the service was automated and lacked all personality, and the "sanitized table" had food all over the place. The salt shaker? Food smeared/spilled and dried on the cap. The overhead light? Covered in sprayed, dried food (see the pictures!), even the "sanitized" sign had food on it (look at the N!). I guess if it's warm enough to sit outside l might recommend WSS just for the beautiful location and scenery- but otherwise? I'd avoid it until they get a handle on things and go back to the way they used to be just a couple years ago. read more

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Great little spot in Brattleboro. The food menu used to be more extensive and delicious. The food is very good but the options are limited now. Great spot to hang out and have a beer or coffee. read more

We had an enjoyable dinner here, good beer, had a great setting overlooking the river. A negative would be that they want you to download an app and use that to order and pay for your food and beverages. It really wasn't working for me, so a server came over and bailed us out. Once we got past that app, the service was excellent. Recommended. read more

I'm super bummed to give this type of review but we've been coming here for years and have always had awesome service and food however, this was NOT the case. We were here the end of June.. They weren't busy at all and we waited 15 minutes for someone to come to our table then waited another 25+ minutes for our order to be taken. They have the option so the customer can scan the QR code and place there own order but we weren't able to (issue on their end) the waiter was super rude and had an attitude. They used to have an awesome food selection but know it's VERRRRY limited. When the food [finally] came out, it was awful. The table and floor was also very dirty (both were sticky). Not sure if they have new ownership but we were super bummed and unfortunately, will not be coming back! read more

I visited the beer bar outside while visiting Brattleboro. I found the service to be below par (can't believe I have to go up to the bar to order food, then they want at least an 18% tip). Had to go back to the bar and ask where my food was, it took way too long for the food to be served. The ketchup at the table was empty, asked one of the servers for another bottle. I guess she forgot, because I eventually had to get up to retrieve a bottle from another table. No one even followed up with us to see if everything was satisfactory. The food was mediocre at best. I won't be going back. read more

I have no idea what happened to this place, but the quality of service and food has dramatically declined, which is very unfortunate because the view is great and there aren't many other options in Brattleboro. My family came to town and us went to lunch last Saturday at the Whetstone, but it was so bad I honestly was embarrassed and we will not be going back. I understand that we went on a Saturday during leaf season, but the unbridled chaos in this restaurant was truly unfathomable. When we arrived there was a line of 15+ people that stretched into the parking lot.... waiting for the bathrooms, not to be seated, which was very off putting. Once inside, we had to seat ourselves, which is odd, but okay, however, every single table was either filled with other people dining or overflowing with food trash / used plates and cups. We were hungry and wanted to eat, so I personally bussed a table myself. I cleared away another family's dirty dishes, cleaned the table, and got waters and silverware for my family. While I was clearing and cleaning our table multiple other restaurant guests asked if I was a staff member because they were also being ignored / needed assistance. When we sat down we learned we were required to order food via a smartphone app called "Toast", which was available via QR code sticker on the table. (This wasn't necessarily a problem for us, but this might not be a viable option for people with disabilities and I think that should have been more clearly stated.) We followed all the directions on the Toast app, placed our order, and I got a confirmation on my iPhone that said my order had been successfully placed with the kitchen. And then we waited.... and waited. While waiting we did see and flag down a busboy who confirmed to us that the kitchen was indeed working on our order (but there was no update in the app, which is a big missed opportunity), yet in the end we waited an hour for our food, and most of our orders had been messed up when they finally arrived. I thought this was particularly odd since the Toast app forced us to be SO specific with our selections, toppings, sauces, etc. And yet everything was jumbled up. With respect to the food itself: everything was just average or slightly below average... certainly not worth the prices. I used to live in Montreal and was very excited to order the poutine which was described on the menu as, and I quote, "Best poutine south of the Canadian border!", but sadly, it was not. Not even close. I have a lot of empathy for all the restaurants and small businesses that really struggled in the pandemic and didn't survive, but honestly someone needs to pull the life support plug on the Whetstone and start over because it's really just a stain on the perfection that is Brattleboro at this point. And judging by all the other reviews, this serious lapse in quality has been going on for quite some time. read more

Good beer, nice setting, careful what ya order. totally clueless bar & wait staff. If you love rude service, go here! Even during a pandemic, no excuse for bad manners! I've given this joint many opportunities to reinvent themselves and they are not making it on this Main St. See photos. read more

This place went to utter and complete trash. Out of wings and pulled pork, and we got here 10 minutes after they opened. Medium rare burger would have helped the bruins make it all the way this year. Mayonnaise is left out in the 90 degree weather all day. Food and service complete trash. Decided to give it one more go and this will be the last time. Beer is mehhh at best. View is nice though! read more

the view here is incredible. Unfortunately, we were here for an hour and a half before a food came out, and we ordered pretty much immediately. The food was sub-par. We ordered a bacon burger medium and it was well done. The bacon was pink so we took it off the burger even though it cost an extra dollar. Coming here for drink and a view would be great, but if you're looking for food I'd recommend going elsewhere. read more

Whetstone Beer - "medium" burger - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

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Not what it used to be! Menu is more limited, and now you either have to place your order on your phone or squeeze up to and wait in a line at the bar! I don't want more apps on my phone nor do I want to navigate some damn app to place my order or wait for the wait staff to finally come around to see if I have any questions. Too bad, we used to enjoy the more robust menu and the service we received when at this pub vs this new cafeteria style limited menu use your phone BS. read more

The place has an industrial nautical trendy look to it. The seating outside, if you're lucky enough to catch an open table out there, is the way to go. It has such a nice view of the water. The first thing you do when you get in here is find a table. Each one is QR coded. You can either order from the app on your phone at the table, it go to the bar and order for your table number, and they will bring it out to you when ready. The burgers were excellent. The fries were really played up on the menu, so I was expecting greatness, but we were let down. Luckily, the burger was ridiculously good, so that made up for it. We ordered the delicious pierogi's as an appetizer, but they didn't come out until after we had finished our meals. Another table had received our order. The table order system isn't flawless, it turns out. Food was good, drinks were good, fries not so amazing, staff was friendly enough, but pretty inattentive. This would have been a 3 star review, but that burger was just too good. read more

Wow, so happy that we stopped here for lunch while visiting Brattleboro. They brew their own beer and I tried the Penguin Porter and Stoner Double IPA and they were both great! They were slammed when we arrived so it took a little while to get the food, but we enjoyed our beers and the breathtaking view of the CT river. The burgers were excellent and worth the wait! read more

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Came for lunch today with my husband. We sat at the bar near the window. The counter under all the glasses was filthy dirty, there were dead bugs on the window sills, and trash under the bar area. Most of the menu items seemed to have disappeared and what is on there is super pricey!! And what happened to prices on the menu ???? They no longer exist!!!! I got a grilled chicken breast sandwich that was plastered with some type of spicy bbq that was horrible. I had to scrape it all off. The bacon consisted of two tiny super super thin slices and you couldn't even taste it. Strangely the French fries were bi-colored. Some were super dark and chewy and some were super light in color and mushy. The beer is always good and the service was great. The place needs to be cleaned up and items added back to the menu ! Of note : when we were leaving there were dozens of people waiting to get in and the restaurant was about empty. Apparently the kitchen was backed up.... Making what I don't know. The menu is so small now. This was our fourth bad experience and sadly we won't be back. Please note the the dozens of poor one star reviews also recently posted to Google. read more

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All self service through online site. They don't even bring waters. Never saw a waitress except to dump a couple of beers at our table. Ordered 2 beers, 2 apps and a burger. Well over an hour and a half before everything showed up at once. Won't be going back! read more

Whetstone Beer - PB Burger, pretzel, Buffalo wings - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

Absolute class here at the whetstone station, it's a wonder why so many mug members have decided to go elsewhere as one of the original members from 2012 I have been coming here for 11 years and the past few have been terrible, the lack of good beer, terrible, unsanitary restrooms, a staff that wants nothing to do with the place, unattentive and an unkind place to come and a management crew who could care less about the people who made it what it once was, it is a shame. It was the place I would go to 5 days a week, see great people and friends, and now I stop by once or twice a year. I wish it didn't change. I'm saying this here because no one else will, but yet we talk it it all the time. read more

If I'm in the area again I'm definitely going to stop here again. The food was good, the beer was amazing and the outdoor seating was mesmerizing. The river water was so clear I was able to see huge schools of fish. Being from SoCal and seeing all the trees took me back a little. Great place to just turn off your phone, order some good eats and enjoy a mixed drink or in house made beer from the brewery. I'd recommend all the IPA's. read more

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When can I go back? Seriously. How cool that this place is right on the river and you literally can sit in New Hampshire or in Vermont and have your drinks and meal? We loved the Covid style service where you ordered online and they bring it out to you. Everyone was still attentive but it helped cut down on the face-to-face part of things. The beer selection was great and the view was even better. Get the pretzel. We now have 2 favorite brewery pretzel favorites in the US and the other is in Kentucky at Troll Pub. My chicken sandwich was perfect and so was my wife's burger. We'll be back. read more

We were accidentally served the cheddar soup instead of the chili. But what an amazing mix up! The server did not hesitate when we mentioned we had ordered chili and not cheddar soup - she said "enjoy the cheddar" and promptly brought the chili. We also shared wings, which we ordered with sauce on the side. The wings were cooked to crispy perfection and the Carolina BBQ sauce was my favorite. The guys enjoyed their beers. Sitting outside and enjoying the historic e bridge and river views capped off a great meal. read more

The food here is ON POINT. Very, very, very good. The service is pretty bad, though. I'll explain. First off, this restaurant uses the fancy new "order from your phone" method of ordering. No one comes to the table and greets you. There's no way to ask for a glass of water. There's no one to ask about the menu. We selected drinks from the drink menu. About 20 minutes passed and I started wondering where our drinks were. The bartender apologized and showed that she had our ticket in her hand (I get it, weird post-lunch, pre-dinner hour...probably a shift change, getting everything ready for dinner and switched over, etc...she missed the ticket and as a chef/boh manager/foh manager/bartender/server/host...I ain't even mad. Been there done that myself). I asked a question about the wings (because there's no description on the menu,) and she gave a killer response. This goes a long way with me because as a chef, no one is allowed to work in my restaurant until they have complete and total menu knowledge. Hers was 105% perfect. She spoke in prose and was a professional. She had definitely done her homework. I love that! I had another question about another wing flavor and asked a different bartender. She told me that the Firecracker wings "were probably hotter or something". Well, what is it? Is it hotter, or something? "Do you want me to ask the chef?" Yes, I want to eat food here and I'm trying to decide what to get. Ask the chef. Turns out, firecracker wings aren't hotter, they're sweeter. Glad I asked. Our delicious soup came (devoured before I could take a photo,) and the runner brought us two tablespoons. Both were dirty/gross and I caught it instantly. She apologized and brought two clean soup spoons, which is what she should've done in the first place. Bartender #1 shows up with drinks we didn't order. She simply stopped at the wrong table. I see a star player who is carrying more than her fair share of the weight and it's effecting her. Long story short, speaking from 28 years of professional experience at every level of restaurant + consulting, the food is great but this restaurant could benefit from some management. I'm not talking about appointing a "shift lead", etc, I'm talking about hiring a floor manager. If they have a floor manager, then that manager needs either more training or replacement. Every person we talked to was either running hard and in a fog because of it, or just in a fog of incompetence. These are not employee problems, they are management failures. I'll come back for the food one more time and hopefully they'll have done away with the terrible phone ordering app thing and fixed their other service issues. There's no good reason to have to give this place less than 5 stars other than the aforementioned problems. They can do much better, no excuses. read more

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I have to agree that the current service model is a fail. You can order at the bar, but table service is gone. Order via your phone, thank you very much. I hate it. The ambiance is still great; the beers are still above average. And the burgers pass muster. But there is precious little for a non meat eater like my partner. For example, we ordered the "crispy" cauliflower bites and it came out as some crazy dish of tiny pieces of cauliflower swimming in a sweet, fake-butter tasting sauce. Qu'est-ce que c'est???? It was gross. I should have said something, but to whom?!? So, in conclusion, a pretty limited menu of *overpriced* pub appetizers, good burgers, fair beer and great views. It's still crowded and popular, tho!!! read more

I knew I had picked the right place for lunch when there is a line waiting for it to open. Started off with the Double IPA and then the Off the Rails IPA. Could tell the double was a bit stronger, but both were great. Went with the Carolina BBQ for the meal. Being from the south, the bbq was actually pretty good. The Carolina sauce was outstanding. read more

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I've been here about five times over the past two years, and I have to admit that I dig it. Despite of the lack of seating and table service and broad food selection, I can appreciate this place for what it is and that's pretty satisfying. Straddling the Great State of Vermont and the not-as-great State of New Hampshire, this brewery is a great place to take friends for a drink and not-too-bad signature dishes. Outside those few signature dishes, it's fairly straight-forward pub food. But you can also get a variety of burgers and sandwiches. I think people really go here for the beer. I don't drink. And yet this place is still appealing. It can get fairly crowded on a Friday or Saturday evening and it's 'seat yourself', so it can be a bit of a madhouse sometimes. But, ski-lodge vibe on the inside and the seating deck on the outside is worth the wait. And part of the deck is covered, so if it's raining or on the chillier side, you can still enjoy your time looking over sneeringly at New Hampshire (what's with that motto anyway?). Is there better food in Brattleboro? Sure. Are there other waterfront dining opportunities? A few. Can you reduce your anxiety a bit by going somewhere quieter or making a reservation elsewhere? Absolutely. But, whenever I bring friends into the area and we want a laidback spot to just eat bar food and enjoy a nice riverview, then Whetstone is the spot. Bottomline: If you're visiting Brattleboro and you want to check out a place that won't break the bank, Whetstone Station is fantastic. 4.5 out of 5 read more

The view is excellent. The building interesting. The food not good, and waaaay overpriced. I had clam strips w no clams in them fried to hell, poutine w Parmasean cheese and fried curds, and a bad pickle. The beer is ok. The parking is terrible. read more

Chucky cheese food...not the vt standard. Wings were undercooked and sauce was weak. Poutine gravy was decent but why was the cheese fried. Beers are Mids at best. read more

View, food, and beer are all wonderful. Also great service. Has non gender bathrooms. Highly recommend. read more

Whetstone Beer - View from rooftop beer garden - Breweries Near Me - Brattleboro, Vermont

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I was passing through town for work. I sat at the bar overlooking the Connecticut River. The atmosphere is pretty cool. Apparently the part of the restaurant that hangs over the River is technically in New Hampshire so there's a sign in the bar departing Vermont from New Hampshire. I went with the brisket plate on the recommendation of the bartender. I'm not sure why I let someone talk me into BBQ in Vermont. That being said it wasn't terrible. The beef was more shavings than slices so that seemed a little odd. I liked the slaw because it wasn't dripping in mayo like slaw usually is in the South. It comes with one cornbread muffin that is sliced in half. The cornbread is nice an sweet. The mac-n-cheese was served in a skillet separate from every in else. Baked Mac-n-cheese is my favorite. The beer selection is pretty solid. It's primarily local stuff but there are some bigger names like Two Hearted. read more

Over an hour for food to arrive. No check in, no apology. After an hour and a half the soup was cold. I complained, she said a fresh pot had just been boiled, but the soup that came back was barely warmer, in a hot bowl (ie microwaved). The rest of the food was barely warm, Chios were cold as if out of a fridge. Then we were offered free chocolate mousse for the trouble - sounds like a dessert they're trying to get rid of. This has been our go to stopping place after VT weekends, we will never be back. The beer is ok. read more

The one star is for the river. The up stairs deck was beautiful BUT the music was so loud and the station was for the 15-25 yr old pounding that you could not talk to your parties. So we moved to the lower deck. Then the god awful menu ONLY ON LINE. That was a feat in itself. The food was sub par. Our appetizer came out with are main course. Had to get up and go to the bar if you might want another beer while eating dinner. The bar line was always 5 deep so when you got back to your food it was cold. We watched the four people struggling with the menu. Laughed and told them it was going to get worse. Their reply was "never coming here again). That was our sentiments exactly. read more