The Bearded Pig

Reviews 4

LA

Lauren Shepherd

My husband and I recently decided to try lunch at the Bearded Pig for the first time. I feel it prudent to state that neither myself, nor my husband are a malcontent. I am scrupulous when deciding to post feedback on a negative experience. We walked into the restaurant, unsure of how the seating was structured . There was no hostess and also no sign directing patrons on whether they should wait to be seated or if they should seat themselves. It was between the time of lunch and dinner, so the restaurant was not busy at this time. There was a bartender on shift, and a few other employees, all of which were in the direct sightline of where we were standing. We stood for about 5 minutes waiting for an employee to acknowledge us. When that failed to happen, we decided to find a place to sit. My husband then went to the bar to order a couple of beers and ask about the process of ordering food. The bartender informed him that we needed to order at the counter and then returned to cleaning glasses. He stood there for a couple of seconds, got the bartenders attention away from cleaning and ordered two beers. We then went to the area where you order food. We stood yet again, for a few minutes waiting to be acknowledged by the employees standing only a few feet from us. We got the attention of a staff member and told them that this was our first time at the restaurant. They clearly did not care and had no intentions of explaining the menu, which is common protocol when you visit a restaurant for the first time. My husband stated that he wanted to try the turkey, and that we had some questions about ordering a la cart as opposed to ordering a meat combo. The immediate and only response was, "how many pounds?". He was taken aback by the rude and abrupt question, so he haphazardly ordered turkey and a couple of sides. At this point, we were both feeling extremely uncomfortable about the whole situation. However, we were trying to stay positive and enjoy our date. After not being directed as to whether we should pay and be seated or stand at the counter and wait, we sat back down to sip our beers. We had a little conversation about the extraordinarily terrible service that we were receiving. However, we remained hopeful that the food would be so delicious that it would make up for the terrible way in which we were being treated. A few minutes before the food was up my husband went back to the counter to pay, so that we could eat and get out of there. He came back to the table after a few minutes to inform me that they did not have change for a $100 bill. Neither of us had any smaller bills on hand. Had the staff been more welcoming, we would have stayed longer and had beers at the bar. Of course we could have used a card, but took this as a final sign that we should not eat at this restaurant. After sitting at the table and discussing this for a few minutes we tried and failed to make eye contact with any one of the employees to let them know that we were leaving before the food was up. Not one person looked up or acknowledged us walking all the way through the restaurant and exiting. There were only maybe, 6 other people eating at that time. It is apparent that the front-of-house management has either A) no idea that their staff is behaving this way or B) knows and does not care. The Bearded Pig may have great food! Unfortunately, we will never know. You have to ask yourself the question, "If this is happening in the front of the house where everyone can see, what is happening in the kitchen? Where customers can not see?! How tight is kitchen Management, where food is being prepared and dishes are being washed!??" As a business owner myself, and working in the service industry, my hope in giving this feedback is to encourage the owners and managers of The Bearded Pig to address these issues with staff. It is a problem to have customers be dissatisfied with the quality of food. It is however, a much larger problem to have such poor service that people leave without ever even tasting the food.

CH

Charlie Cox

Im a BBQ connoisseur - hunting down good BBQ is one of my favorite things to do in places I visit. The Bearded Pig delivered what I wanted: good brisket, juicy sausage, tender ribs (with a nice bark, too) and moist chicken. The bar is half-kitschy with its nitro brews, never-heard-of-it IPAs and micro brews... but the ones we ordered were all good. Once we wrecked a platter of poutine, I had the 1/2 South Bank - a staggering quantity of food - including 3 gigantic ribs (see above), 1/2 chicken, BBQ beans (which were not remotely like anything i expect when I ordered them, but they were exceptional), collard greens, fatty brisket and a sweet sausage. You will not leave hungry unless you come in broke. Great place, and too cheap for what you get. Missing one star because the bar stools are heavy, butt-numbing contraptions designed to frustrate the average human into sitting somewhere else. If the other chairs are available - use them. But dont let them keep you away. Note to diners: 5 sauces to try... I only made it to #2 before I found what I needed. That spicy one with the ghost chilis isnt nearly as hot as it sounds, but the flavor is good enough that I bathed half of my food in it.

RO

Robert Watts

Second time they are today. Nice easy-going restaurant with ample parking across the street. The first time it was five star perfect experience. Today it was still good but the service was not good and so many dirty tables hadnt been bussed. I hate going in a restaurant thats the first impression you have. Didnt even really look like anyone was making an effort to bus them. The lady just came and sort of Slam the food down on the table and walked away. It was odd. No one ever came back or said anything. I noticed new customers coming in for the first time who were unfamiliar that you had to order in the back and every time they asked they just got a very curt answer. Lets hope this was an off experience today since the first time was so positive. They still have the best brisket in town although today I asked for them to cut it lean which they offered and it was fatty on both sides. Ill give them one more try before I move on.

LE

Lep Stewart

I met some friends for lunch at The Bearded Pig the other day. They had just sold out of the daily special, the ground brisket cheeseburger (which I hear is excellent). So I chose the brisket sandwich with the veggies as a side and an unsweet tea. We got a side of beans to share. The Bearded Pig’s version of all items listed was refreshingly unique. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. We sat outside under the misters. Yes they have an extensive misting system to help beat the Florida heat that helps enhance a very comfortable outside porch complete with a game area. The porch also has ceiling fans multiple tvs and access to the bar. While enjoying our meal which was excellent we were checked on by multiple members of staff who kept the conversation so involved that we ended up sitting around for about 3 hours. The whole experience was incredibly pleasant; I plan on bringing friends and family regularly in the near future.