Distillery (The), Sacramento

With the door to the kitchen open, I witnessed our waitress making our salads. They were part of The Distillery's legendary French Dip meal, but in this case, I think it will be the last one for me. As I was seated facing the kitchen, I noticed that the door to the kitchen was open and I watched the waitress reach into a bucket of lettuce with her own hands, grab some lettuce, place it into the salad bowls, and then add some sliced beets, again using her own bare fingers. This was after bussing table of dirty dishes and handling currency. I don't have to tell the average person how unsanitary this is, but apparently I did have to tell the waitress. I spoke with her about it after paying for the meal. I've learned never to complain about food or service at a restaurant, until all the food has been delivered and the bill resolved. I guess I could have complained about it before paying the bill, but when I asked to speak with the manager, she said the manager wasn't around, but I could speak to her. After telling her about my health concerns of her preparing food in an unsanitary manner, she thanked me for the "constructive criticism". Anyway, you'll see good reviews for this place, just ask them to close the door to the kitchen if you come for a visit.

I went on a Saturday night which is usual busy as expected. My friends and I had gone in for dinner and ended up waiting at the bar for 30 minutes for a table. The bartender was very nice and attentive and knew we had waited long for a table. Finally, we get seated but never introduced to any waitress. The dining hall was only about half full with 2 waitresses but we were never greeted nor did anyone come to take our order. The waitresses walked right past us and did not bother to even mention a word to us. We sat 15 minutes with nobody coming to our table. We flagged down a waitress who was walking by and she said we were not her table and it was the other waitresses table. The other waitress said that we were not part of her tables either. The bartender went to the waitress who was suppose to be serving us but she did not bother to even come by. Worst customer service, rudest and most inefficient waitresses. Management definitely needs to be advised on what poor service their staff provides. DO NOT GO TO THE DISTILLERY!

I agree - this is the best garlic steak sandwich I've EVER had. YUM!