I thought it would be a great place to grab dinner while in town. First time to this place and last time. We walk in and not busy at all. The server was not very nice or welcoming. She seats us and walks away. We sit there for 10-15 minutes before she came back. They sat us close to the door and was super cold. We asked if we could move. Wait staff gave us attitude about it. We did end up moving, but after our food came to the table waitress never came back till we called her over for the bill. Food was ok but was not great. Pretty upset that it was a horrible visit. I should of never even took a seat.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Mitch
Really good beers and burgers! They also make their own rootbeer
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Peter Mitchel
Never grumpy at the Grumpy! Unless it's too crowded. Definitely popular and deservedly so.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Cheryl Kooiman
Yummy, yummy, yummy is all we can say!! Waitress was exceptionally nice!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anna Jamiolkowska
Great place for dinner while visiting Mt. Horeb! It was definitely busy on a Saturday but even when we were quoted at a 20 minute wait, we got a table much faster than that. They have a variety of beers that you can make a 4 beer flight from, plus a pretty extensive list of THC drinks (not super common in most restaurants!). The cheese curds were warm and delicious, and all our food came out quickly and was great! The standout was the Beer Cheese Soup. We would definitely come back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Bingham
The food was amazing!!!!!!! Will definitely come back again!!!!¡
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan's Wopat
The service was amazing! The pizza was delicious! definitely recommend if looking for a place to eat:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Connor Henning
The Grumpy Troll did an amazing job hosting our banquet dinner of 40 people. would definitely come back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kimberly Clapper
Dined in on Friday night for the first time and everything seemed off. We arrived around 7:00 so there was no wait. I was quite surprised with how bright it was, felt cafeteria like with zero ambiance. It felt like there was tension amongst the staff, our waitress seemed flustered and behind. I will say, the host was hustling and working hard, all while wearing an aircast boot thing; great employee!! The food was meh, mediocre at best. Unfortunately, as a service industry person, the food could be out of this world but if the service is terrible it ruins the entire experience. All in all, disappointed because you hear so much about The Grumpy Troll being a must visit place.
Although there were only two other people in the restaurant, the service was mediocre at best. When we attempted to pay the bill, the waitress refused to split the bill. My food was not bad, so the lack of customers at lunchtime must be because of the poor attitude and service. We will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Shaun Ezrow
Overall Impression This was our first visit to The Grumpy Troll and it offered a mixed bag. The atmosphere was excellent, and the menu looked incredibly promising, suggesting a truly delicious meal. Unfortunately, our excitement was quickly overshadowed by extremely disappointing service and an issue with one of our main dishes.
The Food The dishes we tried were a study in contrasts. The Nono Chicken Sandwich was fantastic—perfectly cooked and seasoned. However, the pork belly sandwich was significantly undercooked, making the meat so tough and chewy it was inedible. We had to send it back. The fact that one dish was great shows the kitchen can deliver, but the issue with the pork belly was a major failure.
The Service & Management Failure The service was the biggest issue of the night. Our server seemed overwhelmed and disorganized. They took so long to check back on us that one of us had already finished their meal before we had the chance to flag the issue with the pork belly sandwich and request a replacement.
The most shocking part, however, was the management's handling of the situation. After the issue was brought to their attention, the manager never came to our table to apologize or check in. They initially tried to charge us 50% of the returned sandwich, claiming it was because we ate the accompanying fries—a confusing and frankly absurd rationale.
Our server had to go back and forth and eventually returned with a bill where the item was finally fully comped, but the manager still never appeared. For a restaurant to not have a manager address a significant food quality complaint directly is poor customer service. While the server was clearly trying their best under difficult circumstances, management's lack of engagement or apology suggests a major flaw in their operations.
Final Takeaway We enjoyed the atmosphere and the Nono Chicken Sandwich was a highlight, but the combination of undercooked food, slow service, and especially the poor customer service from the management makes it hard to recommend. The management team needs to step up and realize that the way they handle problems is just as important as the food they serve.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Jeff Anson
Stored in for a beer and a pretzel. Wonderful service and good beer. Enjoyed my visit and will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Biological Angler Productions
Food was good, beer was great. Service was very good. It took a long time to get the food but the server did a good job letting us know about the delay. Will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Abe Maurice
We had terrible service. We ordered an appetizer (nachos ) with our drinks and 20 minutes later we were told that they were out of nachos. And we ordered pizza on a Sunday at 5pm and they said they said they couldn’t make pizza after 5pm on a Sunday even though the menu said 8pm. I ordered a southwest quinoa bowl and they didn’t the ingredients to make it. I have worked on the industry long enough to know what’s acceptable and what is bad management and service. This is my 2nd time eating here and it is not worth the stop. Beer is ok. Diacetyl was in their red ale. Hazy IPA was oxidized. I am a certified taste tester for Boston Beer Company, and this beer was very mediocre. Very disappointing
I thought it would be a great place to grab dinner while in town. First time to this place and last time. We walk in and not busy at all. The server was not very nice or welcoming. She seats us and walks away. We sit there for 10-15 minutes before she came back. They sat us close to the door and was super cold. We asked if we could move. Wait staff gave us attitude about it. We did end up moving, but after our food came to the table waitress never came back till we called her over for the bill. Food was ok but was not great. Pretty upset that it was a horrible visit. I should of never even took a seat.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Really good beers and burgers! They also make their own rootbeer
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Never grumpy at the Grumpy! Unless it's too crowded. Definitely popular and deservedly so.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Yummy, yummy, yummy is all we can say!! Waitress was exceptionally nice!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place for dinner while visiting Mt. Horeb! It was definitely busy on a Saturday but even when we were quoted at a 20 minute wait, we got a table much faster than that. They have a variety of beers that you can make a 4 beer flight from, plus a pretty extensive list of THC drinks (not super common in most restaurants!). The cheese curds were warm and delicious, and all our food came out quickly and was great! The standout was the Beer Cheese Soup. We would definitely come back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was amazing!!!!!!!
Will definitely come back again!!!!¡
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The service was amazing! The pizza was delicious! definitely recommend if looking for a place to eat:)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The Grumpy Troll did an amazing job hosting our banquet dinner of 40 people. would definitely come back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dined in on Friday night for the first time and everything seemed off. We arrived around 7:00 so there was no wait. I was quite surprised with how bright it was, felt cafeteria like with zero ambiance. It felt like there was tension amongst the staff, our waitress seemed flustered and behind. I will say, the host was hustling and working hard, all while wearing an aircast boot thing; great employee!!
The food was meh, mediocre at best. Unfortunately, as a service industry person, the food could be out of this world but if the service is terrible it ruins the entire experience.
All in all, disappointed because you hear so much about The Grumpy Troll being a must visit place.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Cod sandwich portion seemed a bit light on fish
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Although there were only two other people in the restaurant, the service was mediocre at best. When we attempted to pay the bill, the waitress refused to split the bill. My food was not bad, so the lack of customers at lunchtime must be because of the poor attitude and service.
We will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Overall Impression
This was our first visit to The Grumpy Troll and it offered a mixed bag. The atmosphere was excellent, and the menu looked incredibly promising, suggesting a truly delicious meal. Unfortunately, our excitement was quickly overshadowed by extremely disappointing service and an issue with one of our main dishes.
The Food
The dishes we tried were a study in contrasts. The Nono Chicken Sandwich was fantastic—perfectly cooked and seasoned. However, the pork belly sandwich was significantly undercooked, making the meat so tough and chewy it was inedible. We had to send it back. The fact that one dish was great shows the kitchen can deliver, but the issue with the pork belly was a major failure.
The Service & Management Failure
The service was the biggest issue of the night. Our server seemed overwhelmed and disorganized. They took so long to check back on us that one of us had already finished their meal before we had the chance to flag the issue with the pork belly sandwich and request a replacement.
The most shocking part, however, was the management's handling of the situation. After the issue was brought to their attention, the manager never came to our table to apologize or check in. They initially tried to charge us 50% of the returned sandwich, claiming it was because we ate the accompanying fries—a confusing and frankly absurd rationale.
Our server had to go back and forth and eventually returned with a bill where the item was finally fully comped, but the manager still never appeared. For a restaurant to not have a manager address a significant food quality complaint directly is poor customer service. While the server was clearly trying their best under difficult circumstances, management's lack of engagement or apology suggests a major flaw in their operations.
Final Takeaway
We enjoyed the atmosphere and the Nono Chicken Sandwich was a highlight, but the combination of undercooked food, slow service, and especially the poor customer service from the management makes it hard to recommend. The management team needs to step up and realize that the way they handle problems is just as important as the food they serve.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Stored in for a beer and a pretzel. Wonderful service and good beer. Enjoyed my visit and will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was good, beer was great. Service was very good. It took a long time to get the food but the server did a good job letting us know about the delay. Will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
We had terrible service. We ordered an appetizer (nachos ) with our drinks and 20 minutes later we were told that they were out of nachos. And we ordered pizza on a Sunday at 5pm and they said they said they couldn’t make pizza after 5pm on a Sunday even though the menu said 8pm.
I ordered a southwest quinoa bowl and they didn’t the ingredients to make it. I have worked on the industry long enough to know what’s acceptable and what is bad management and service. This is my 2nd time eating here and it is not worth the stop. Beer is ok. Diacetyl was in their red ale. Hazy IPA was oxidized. I am a certified taste tester for Boston Beer Company, and this beer was very mediocre. Very disappointing
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
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