William Oliver's Publick House

To the owners and management of this establishment, I try not to write negative reviews. However, this experience deserved some attention. We wandered into your restaurant on Thursday around 9 p.m., eager for some much-needed “mom time” and a couple of late-night snacks to curb our munchies. As locals who are regulars at William Oliver's (shoutout to the New Orleans bartender, who makes the best Sazerac in the land), I had high hopes for your place. Spoiler alert: I should have known better. We were greeted promptly by a young redhead who, let's just say, didn’t exactly radiate warmth or enthusiasm. She approached us with all the energy of a tired houseplant, but hey, we’re moms out for some rare, carefree fun. We laughed a little louder than the average library crowd, but nothing too crazy. Apparently, Miss "I Haven’t Seen Fun in Years" was a little put off by our joy, though, because it was evident she could not have been more annoyed. My husband orders a beer (the first drink of the night, mind you), and here’s where things take a turn. We had just returned from an event in Denver and hadn’t had a drop of alcohol all day. But, we did partake in a little legal plant beforehand, because, well, it’s legal and we’re adults. But according to our lovely server, we were already over-served. Yes, you read that right: “over-served” when we hadn’t even taken a sip of anything. LOL. Look, as a former industry worker who has taken the TIPS class more times than I care to admit, let me just say this: her ability to assess intoxication was a level of wrong that could only be described as spectacularly misguided. Maybe she needs to stop playing judge and jury and stick to a job where her ‘intuition’ isn't needed—like, I don’t know, filing papers? And let’s talk about TIPS for a minute, because in that class, they teach you the basics—like, if you think someone’s had too much to drink, you immediately offer water. But nope, not a drop of water offered. We had to ask for it. Thanks for nothing. Oh, and by the way, my friend is gluten-free, so guess what was forgotten? The bread. But, of course! Because why not throw in a little extra touch of incompetence? At this point, we’re just trying to get through this disaster of an evening. This girl seriously needs a lesson in customer service. Honestly, she’d be better off in a job where she doesn’t have to gasp interact with other humans. Perhaps a nice desk job where she can stare at spreadsheets without worrying about things like “service” or “smiling.” She seemed to realize her lack of judgement and tried to make it right, but that ship had sailed. We took our money elsewhere. Long story short: we won’t be back. If your staff can’t tell the difference between laughter and intoxication, or figure out how to treat people like human beings, maybe it’s time to rethink your hiring strategy. Better yet, invest in some real training for the folks you employ. We'll stick with other local establishments where the drinks are great, the staff actually enjoys their jobs, and no one’s accusing us of being "over-served" before we’ve even had a sip.

Cozy atmosphere with a delicious, original menu with gluten-free and dairy-free options. I loved the gourmet hot dogs and the salmon crostini. They also have Tullamore Dew nitro shots: a new favorite of mine!