ahhh, I guess we are not welcome at the Farragut House in Southie
Fri, 12/04/2009 - 23:51
I definitely have better things to be doing so I'll keep it brief,Kirk, Leo,Walker and a few other guys who kiteboarded on Thursday Dec 3 2009 went in to the Farragut House as we often do for a beer and something to eat.Well in short the Manager was incredibly rude to the group but Kirk in particular.Essentially told him he and us as a group are rude,obnoxious,and treat the wait staff with no respect and consistently under tip so we aren't welcome.Without expanding on this as I have no interest in the Farragut House and policies to it's patrons.They would have left immediately but had placed an order and taken completely by surprise.I've been with the crew and have never seen anything that would justify such an accusation,it gets worse.Being more than slightly surprised at this I called the owner of the Farragut House to find out what was the misunderstanding.I prefaced the conversation by saying that I hoped he wouldn't get angry and work toward a solution.No such luck..The guy said we are a loud obnoxious group who "take over tables" and use foul language with no regard for other patrons.Also he has caught some of us stealing pictures of his walls.Drinking excessively and carrying on like buffoons, Huh? I tried to explain that I know these guys as a respectful group that lead professional lives and careers and that he must be mistaken,, NOPE he said he witnessed it first hand and would not let me speak ,,he just raised his volume and tried to prove his point by taking a loud agressive tone.
Well as you can imagine I lost interest in resolving a mischarecterization I believe he and his staff have formed of us.I quickly apologised for wasting his and more importantly my time.I frankly could give a flying fuck about him and his bar/restaurant.I'll never go there again as I won't tolerate such disrespectful treatment.I obviously don't speak for anyone but myself but have never seen anyone of us act in a way that justifies both he and the managers actions.No big deal to me,,Odd? Yes very.. I honestly have no idea why this unfortunate situation arose or where and how it started.Life is to short to not be welcomed at places you patronize with positive intentions and behavior.PERPLEXED,,, was a little pissed after speaking with owner until I realized he and his establishment had little relevance in my life,, and now ZERO , If your curious talk with Kirk as he took brunt of the unwarranted abuse,,Leo and Walker were also embarassed needlessly.Just a real stupid situation..Am I missing something?????I'll go else where thank you T
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 02:34
#1
Very disturbing. Is this T
Very disturbing. Is this T of Thanksgiving at Nantasket fame? Nicest guy I know? Had the opposite experience at the Victory Pub in Orient Heights following a session in Winthrop. Maybe drink there more. Weird. Coming to the First Aid course Sunday? We can have drinks afterwards.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 10:36
#3
I say we go there... One last
I say we go there... One last time..... Bring Bail Money! J/K. Didnt someone just write a complimenting review on the place? Of the many people I have met from the masskiting community, I have seen nothing but utmost respect for them selves and others. Frankly this is an insult. F'Em!
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 10:28
#4
Wow. This is very
Wow. This is very unfortunate, cause i really love their curry fries.
Makes ya think of how one or two peoples actions can really sway public opinion of a group. T is right, we are a group of really nice people. It's sad that it came to this. As a group we should be known as fun, respectful, laid-back, big check, over-tippers... maybe some are better at karaoke than others, but whatever!
And who the F steals a picture off the wall from the Farragut house???
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 13:30
#5
I think I saw CapeCod Guy
I think I saw CapeCod Guy waxing his straight skis and robbing pictures off the wall at the Farrugut. The manager seems like a guy who is not friendly to poleboarders and backcountry snowkiters in general. Still, I'm going back to rock out "The Fixer" by Pearl Jam as soon as it makes its way to the Karaoke machine.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 14:03
#6
I intended to speak with the
I intended to speak with the owner before coming to any conclusions, but after T took the initiative to contact him and try to resolve this civilly and was basically told to f*ck off, I won't be giving the Farragut House any further business. This is unfortunate for a number of reasons including that I've had a lot of fun there, but this is a customer service industry and there are many other establishments who are more deserving of my patronage.
Here is a synopsis of my experiences:
I've been to the Farragut House dozens of times, sometimes with large groups and spent a significant amount of money and time there. I've tipped them 20% or more consistently and been polite to all of their employees without incident. Two times over the last year or so, when with large groups of people, we have been asked to quiet down, but there was never any disrespectful behavior from any of the group and I can't think of any reason for these subsequent incidents.
Just over 3 months ago, JW and I dropped in for dinner and a few pints after a session at Pbay. It was early and although there were no seats at the bar, not more than one or two tables were occupied so we grabbed a small table on the side and ordered pints of Guinness. A waitress came up and was immediately rude, barking at us "Are you eating?" We answered in the affirmative and proceeded to be treated very poorly by this hostile waitress. Everyone can have a bad day so I wasn't really perturbed by it, however, when the bill came, we were surprised to see that she had applied 18% gratuity to a 2 person bill. This seemed fairly odd to both of us and we concluded that it was either a mistake or an obvious f*ck you. In the total of our experience, neither of us had ever had obligatory gratuity applied to a two person table and considering that we would have both tipped 20% or more, she was actually defeating our generosity. Winslow politely asked the waitress to explain why she applied the gratuity and she returned that it was her choice to apply it to any tab. She furthermore informed us that we had been trouble in the past and they had to "talk to us about tipping before".
Winslow and I were literally dumbfounded and offended; what could she possibly be talking about? After explaining that we thought if was very odd to apply the gratuity to a table of two and that in no way were we responsible for slighting the wait staff we asked to speak with her manager. This woman backed her up and acted just as rudely to us. We tipped the usual 20% despite the altercation, explained again that they must have us confused with someone else and left. Winslow mentioned that he would probably never return to the bar.
Fast forward to Thursday afternoon. I just returned from 3 months in Brazil and after a quick session on the bay, Leo, Walker, and I stopped in for food and a pint. I stopped back to use the restroom and greeted the barmaid with "how have things been?" to which she responded, "better without you here..." Thinking it must be an off color joke, I returned to take a seat at the bar to a full blown confrontation with the woman. She started into how we mistreat the staff, never tip, and I don't even know what else. I calmly explained that there was some sort of misunderstanding and that I had always tipped generously and never done anything disrespectful to the staff. She basically called me a liar and that I wasn't welcome there. At this point my patience was exhausted; I've been insulted without cause and was faced with an unreasoning and uncompromisingly hostile manager. I told her that I didn't want to be offended and that I didn't want to hear another word about the matter. I intended to bring the issue up with the owner and ask for an apology, however T already tried that tack and was similarly mistreated.
I can't think of any reason to return to this establishment without a full apology and plan to have my after session beer elsewhere. I encourage everyone else to do the same.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 14:05
#7
Also....
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find that the wait staff have applied gratuity to other bills with the hope that the clientele wouldn't notice and they would double tip.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 14:07
#8
The Banshee..
Looks like Southie is getting a bit gentrified. Will someone remind the owner that he's in Southie not the South End.
It's not like we were doing sake bombs or something there.....were we?!LOL
Never been to the F House. Looks like I won't be going there anytime soon. I think the owner is jealous of our big air!LOL
I vote for The Banshee to be the new hangout on Dot Ave, right up the street from Columbia. I've hung out there and you would practically have to dance on the bar to get thrown out of there. Great drinks, food and beer. Old school meets new school atmosphere. DOT is still gritty as hell.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 16:15
#9
I can recall a gratuity being
I can recall a gratuity being put on our check and not disclosed when bill was presented.There were four of us and thought it was odd as I thought it was a party of six or more,Regardless at least let the party know it has been applied,I honestly NEVER can recall not leaving 20% anywhere I dine out at.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 19:15
#12
Bottom line, humans are
Bottom line, humans are social animals. We thrive on the good relationships we have with others, and we languish with the bad. Some bad juju is brewing in that establishment, maybe the staff is burnt out on serving drunk people. Whatever the reason, there is no excuse for mistreating others in this way. Furthermore, the vibes they send out will reverberate right back, you are probably just a few in a string of ugly altercations. They may not like our tipping, they won't like it much more when people stop coming in. Southie's full of watering holes, let's go to the friendly ones.
Sat, 12/05/2009 - 23:17
#13
yeah i told you not to piss
yeah i told you not to piss in your wet suit while sitting at the bar, but no one ever listens to me 
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 09:43
#14
MY FAULT, sorry guys. went
MY FAULT, sorry guys. went there once like 2 yrs ago post pbay session. the waitresses have been in denial and withdrawl ever since i havent been back, the stress must have finally caught up with them.
kirk - touble maker! you know your welcome in oregon and south padre (except for those couple spots you've been banned from for life ) big world buddy, no worries!
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 12:03
#15
hmm so where is our new spot
hmm so where is our new spot then?
Beergarden?
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 12:16
#16
absolutely CHris
Yeah man the whole situation is a joke,,closing thoughts on the issue.Knowing you guys and been around a bit,The kitesurfin' crew is I'd say in the top 10% of respectable bar patrons.Respectful,well mannered,non agrresive,cordial and in regards to being demanding to waitstaff and under tipping??????????? c'mon give me a break.I am only dissappointed that I tryed to clear up the issue and wasted my time.As I said I apologized to the owner via the phone for wasting his time as well as my own.Beergarden is approx what a half mile away.DONE
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 12:18
#17
Yep, been pretty much like
Yep, been pretty much like WTF when I walked in there on Thu and heard the manager bark at us. For my part, I've only hit this bar for like five times, and have neither ever treated anyone there with disrespect or tipped less than 20%, nor have I seen any of the kite crew being a dick to waitresses or whatsoever. So hearing this lady basically telling us to fuck off was somewhat disturbing and offending. I mean, this is Southie, I am sure there are rougher crowds around than Kirk, JW, Walker, T, Mike, Rogers, Neto, Hujol, me...
Bottom line, they can go fuck themselves. Might drop by there one day to give them some attitude, but thats about it for me.
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 17:02
#18
It's a shame because really
It's a shame because really like that place. Fuck'em, we can find somewhere better to drink, eat, and tip.
Doesn't Tommy's wife work there now? We could get some inside info....
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 21:11
#19
Wow! I have been out with
Wow! I have been out with some of the Bean-Town Boyz at the Nun (Chatham) and had a good time with nothing but respect and some fun laughs.
As Jean said bummer to have some bad juju. The post session beer with some bud's brings the whole day up to the next level.
Well f-them. And my next question is why go to the "Faggot House" anyway?
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 21:45
#20
Farragut House Resteraunt
Boston, MA
Farragut House Restaurant
149 P Street
South Boston MA
617-268-6348
Gateway to Castle Island.
Located in the heart of South Boston and adjacent to the famous Castle Island beach. The Farragut House is serving the best of local fare. Open under new ownership since December 2006 the Farrgut House is known to some as the gateway of Castle Island.
The Civil War set the stage for many tales of bravery, especially the tide-turning decision by David Glasgow Farragut, the U.S. Navy's first Admiral. During his attack on Confederate Fleet in Mobil bay, Farragut decisy advanced his ships through abundant strings of aquatic mines known as torpedoes. He pushed forward in spite of the danger of the mines and rebel cannon fire, issuing the most famous orders in U.S. Naval history:
"Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
Having been a frequent visitor to Boston, sailing from our Navy yard as a young officer, The City of Boston erected a statue honoring Admiral Farragut on August 14, 1895 at South Boston's Marine Park overlooking Boston Harbor and Castle Iseland
Finbar Griffin
Born to Michael and Eileen Griffin in 1971 in Dublin, Finbar began his career in the Dublin hotel industry, working at 5 star establishments such as Jury’s, Fitzpatrick’s and the Four Seasons. At 22 and seasoned, he became General Manager of The Ormond Hotel on the Quays, A Dublin City Landmark.
In February 2002, Finbar and his family moved to Boston, MA and opened Tommy Doyle’s Restaurant in Cambridge and Newton MA. He currently owns Tommy Doyle’s Irish Pub in Newton and local favorite Farragut House in South Boston.
Farragut House
Sun, 12/06/2009 - 22:09
#21
LOL... awesome JD. And yeah,
LOL... awesome JD. "farragut house southie" in google, we come up 6th.
And yeah, someone should talk to Tommy
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 10:48
#22
info for friends
Johnny D wrote:
T,Sorry buddy but if it was your interest to share your story then maybe leaving these other details will help other people searching Google read your review.
You are correct I wanted to let you guys know Johnny my only interest was to share this with you guys the kitesurfing crew whom I consider friends.As far as google reviews I don't have the time or interest.As stated earlier it's a shame as we have had a great time there in the past,they may be nice folks who run the place,, possible???however completely disagree on the issue of our behavior and working towards clearing up the anomosity towards us.So after explaining to the owner,,he did'nt seem open to that and in fact cited examples of our misbeavior and rudeness??He said he was unaware of gratuity issue being put on checks and also didn't say he was concerned about that or that he'd look into it.I think this should have concerened him (MY OPINION). I don't know them,I can only speak to our collective experience.There are a few other of our friends Walker,John Winslow for example that would either post her or tell you first hand,, definitely been mistreated and would tell you of there experience and may if they see this post.How they run there business is there business(OBVIUOSLY)My point was to let our friends and social group have an accurate read on how we are perceived and it's clear this isn't an isolated occurence.Honestly,,I was disappointed but I could care less at this point. On a brighter note I'm looking forward to hanging out with the crew elsewhere T
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:31
#23
I thinks its all mike h's
I thinks its all mike h's fault. He thinks he is superior to everyone b/c he rides in a heli all day sipping capuccinos!
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 18:01
#24
Farragut
Wow, it sounds like they're having a bad day. My guess is that they don't like having big groups in to drink and bother the regulars. I can certainly imagine the volume to be a little over the top as we brag about our powered kiteloops over the walkway at Pbay, but to say we stole something off the wall sounds like they're looking for an excuse. I can't imagine why the waitress would want to turn away a big table of heavy drinkers, or maybe that's their point, they don't want rowdy folks taking seats up for their regulars.
Time to switch bars but i'll have a hard time walking away from karaoke night. I'm liking the idea of the Dot ave joint, or even L Street Tavern. They're close and I've been happily over served there.
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 21:03
#25
good craic
I sent this link to T$ but wanted to share with the group.
I might contact my old poleboarder buddy that owns The Field in Central Square and see what he knows about the Faggetaboutit House. The guy sounds like a royal douche.
Wed, 12/09/2009 - 13:26
#26
Faggot house
The owner is an asshole
the bartender girl is a bitch
and the manager - ess is a bitch
thats from my inside source
( hint )
there is no reasoning They suck and they are the ones with the bad attitude
so i say f em
l st
beergarden
playwright
shamrock and on and on
they will treat us better
so lets never set foot in faggot house again
peace
Wed, 12/09/2009 - 23:09
#27
SOLD! which one has less of
SOLD!
which one has less of a crowd in the evening? Lets sponsor them!!!
Wed, 12/09/2009 - 17:13
#28
Farragut House Boston - Tommy Doyles Harvard, Cambridge, Newton
So that is it after reading other reviews I see the same thing. To know Finbar Griffin is a jerk to customers and his employees then he should expect poor reviews. Plus if the food sucks then why go..
Funny that other reviews have the same rude reviews.
Well thanks for the compliment Dunoyer,,not sure if it's accurate haha, yeah just a strange situation,A little more backround,I live 100 yards away from the place and know it well.How well? I use to work there as a bartender (under different ownership/ management),I don't go in there with the exception of after kitesurfing with everyone because of friends of mine have told me of similar situations with the manager in the past few years.I guess Thursdays incident was the last straw in some regards,So I figured I'd ring the owner on the phone( we have a mutual friend)and politely explain and try and help the guy as he has a major financial investment and part of a neighborhood bar/restaurants success is to make it's patrons feel welcomed,and at least he would want to hear what was happening and the customers point of view so he could formulate a better opinion of this situation.In short NO.He listed all the reasons which I outlined earlier and raised his voice in a tone ,,to which I asked if he would let me speak and he just kept trying to over power me with volume and (facts)???I quickly realized that this situation has little or NO bearing on my life and don't think he got the point and only angered him further,As I said not my business and so much for giving a sincere effort to clear up what I still believe to be a mischarecterization.However I have not been with the kitesurfing crowd EVERY time they go to the Farragut House.But knowing everyone and shared drinks and dinner at many different bars,,just can't imagine his evaluation to be accurate,Perhaps it is( I doubt it).Hey It's his House so it's his RULES,He made that clear as well as his manager.As we all live busy lives I have no inclination to resolve an issue that is none of my business other than to say I don't and won't patronize an establishment that makes me feel non welcomed and very uncomfortable,too bad as we had some laughs there,I have NO interest.I use to frequent the place as well as friends of mine.This can't be the business model for success.Again no interest.Not my problem
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nothing is fu*^ed here dude