McMenamins North Bank
| Address: | 22 Club Rd, Eugene, OR 97401, USA |
| Phone: | +1 541-343-5622 |
| Site: | mcmenamins.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–11PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
JO
Jon Jaramillo
Although the setting and the decor are really wonderful, we had a terrible experience. On September 1st in the evening we went with a group of 12 friends to have dinner. Some got there at the agreed time, others came later. The first thing we noticed was that the air conditioning was extremely cold. We asked them if they could turn it off, they told us that they couldnt do anything about it because the thermostat is controlled by the corporate office. The waitress brought us blankets, which we used to cover the air conditioning vents. Some of us used the blankets to warm ourselves, others put on their jackets. Can you imagine a restaurant offering blankets to customers inside the restaurant because they cannot control the temperature themselves? Everyone in our party complained. One person in our party filled out a complaint card on behalf of all of us, asking them to call him. Apparently they gave him a refund of half of what he spent, but when I went in to ask for my refund, I was told by the manager on duty, Dave Walker, that they had done everything to resolve the matter (offering us blankets and refunding one person out of 12 half of the money he spent.) Altogether between the 12 of us we spent over $400. I spent $76 including tip for two dinners and two drinks. The experience was terrible, but we made the best of it, and the waitress was very accommodating. We didnt walk out and go somewhere else because there were 12 people in our group and we all hadnt seen each other for a while and have you tried to relocate 12 people on the spur of the moment, especially after some people had already received food and drinks? Easier said than done. The manager on duty said that we all should have complained and filled out complaint cards and insisted on a refund or a discount at that moment. If we had done that, our whole evening would have been ruined. As it was, the summer pasta dish was terribly bland, no flavor, the french fries with truffle oil were cold.and they were brought out when all the food got served. They ended up being left behind largely unfinished. I dont think I will be returning to this establishment again, especially because of the attitude of the manager Dave Walker, who referred me to his manager, Lisa Brandon, who I have no spoken to yet. Well see if I update this review if she does something to make this right.
RO
Ron Swanson
I had the shrimp skewers. 3 shrimp and a blob of cold white rice that was tasteless. When the server was questioned his response was "it was intended as a garnish." Really? I thought to myself. $6.95 buys 3 greasy shrimp and a lump of cold white rice? (here we go) Next I had the greek food sampler (Ive already forgotten the name of it). The tatziki was good but the pickled veg were disappointingly under-cured, tasteless.. the green beans still had their ends. I did like the green basil sauce that was served with it. Otherwise nothing special - average. The beers were, frankly, boring. I had the ISA first -- average - meh. Then the Ruby. The Ruby had a distinctive grapefruit flavor which made it at least memorable. However its a season - it worked. The service was also a 3 star experience. The fellow was polite but forgot to get me the 2nd beer, seemed a bit mentally scattered, and the comment he made about the white rice made him look like an idiot. Any foodie knows that when white rice and Asian skewered shrimp are served together -- then the rice is a COMPONENT of the dish NOT an inedible GARNISH! (dont be stupid!) All this said.... I wasnt impressed with McMenamins.. If I go back it will be because someone else wanted to go -- and I went along.
A
A Private User
While McMenamins has a wide selection for different palettes, it is consistently bland food on par with some back-woods pub, with gawd-awful service. Our latest visit there has prompted me to finally write to warn off everyone from visiting. Its not worth your time, money, or patience. August 2009, we visited McMenamins: North Bank. The wait to get an outside table was to be 30 minutes, and inside was 15. We chose inside, and after 25 minutes we had groups the same size as us that arrived AFTER us begin getting seated at tables that had been free since we arrived. (no, they didnt have reservations... the hostess was rude to a guest & the guest complained to the manager, and somehow that made it okay to seat them before anyone else. There were still 2 groups of 5 waiting in the bar to be seated outside that arrived 15 minutes before us). After about 10 minutes our waitress visited us to get our drink orders, and 25 minutes after that the waitress returned to get our food orders. We then saw no one again until 45 minutes later, when they brought out our cold, bland food. This would be the first time I have ever walked out of a restaurant after waiting 1.5 hours for COLD food.
KE
Kenzie Newman
The burger and fries I ordered tasted like they probably would have been good if they had been served warm like they were supposed to be. Given the fact that I had to wait almost 30 minutes for my food (even though there was almost no other patrons in the restaurant) Im going to venture out on a limb and assume that my food spent at least 15 minutes of those 30 minutes under a heat lamp in the kitchen while my waiter did... I dont know what. I had to wait an additional 15 minutes for my check after I finished eating. At no point did my waiter come to check on me to see if I was happy with the food. Im not usually the type to post a bad review after a bad experience but the sad fact of the matter is that I have been to several McMinnamens in several different cities over the course of the 17 years that I have lived in Oregon and I would say that the odds of getting decent service and warm food free of bugs is about 1 in 7 at this establishment. I think this company would be better off promoting themselves as a bar. If they didnt promote themselves as a restaurant maybe customers such as myself wouldnt have such high standards about the food and service.
CI
Cindy Peterson
Not terribly busy but service was terrible. Brought to wrong table, had to go back in and wait in bar. (We had 7 people in our party, they told the hostess out front that our table was ready, it turned out to be a table for 4.) The outside hostess was rude and nasty, blamed the other hostess and did not apologize. Nobody took our order in the bar where we sat for 30 min. Finally seated outside - our 30 min wait had turned into 1 hour due to poor communication. Waiter was probably good but was obviously serving too many tables. Food and drinks were good. Ordered dessert but after 30 min. they still had not dished it up so we cancelled. Restrooms were filthy. Paper towels overflowing from can; toilet paper all over floor. The highlight was the beautiful view of the river. Other disappointments: I called twice prior to our arrival. No reservations taken for outside - only inside. When I called back, I was then told no inside reservations for parties under 8. Geez guys - communication and flexibility are both missing. Get some training and support for your employees.
