Huether Hotel

Schizo Resto

I want to love the Huether, but there is a lot that frustrates you about it. The Huether has a lot of history, a great vibe, and an ideal location. It has a lot to offer - a second floor balcony for the summer, a pub-styled area, and pool tables and arcade machines. In a town like Waterloo, it should be a no brainer awesome bar. However, it seems like the management there have desire to over-complicate things. Want proof? Just try reading their menu in under 10 minutes. Seriously. The food is standard - not poor, not great. It's just stnadard pub fare. But the first thing you'll notice about the Huether, - and it tells you everything about the management style - is the menu. You show up for wings, nachos, or a burger, and you get a 20 page artisan book. What types beer do you have? Well sir, why don't you locate the page inside of the glossary. All the Huether has to do to be successful is serve good food and let the patrons do their thing. Instead, the owners constantly circle around like buzzards keeping an eye on everything and everyone. It makes you feel sorry for the wait staff, who seem like wonderful people, but always overstressed from the constant discord inflicted from the family who owns the bar. Just chill out and let the Huether be the Huether. Remember that there used to be a strip club here, there is know need to pretend to be posh.

Do not suggest or vouch for this place

The Huether Hotel is one of the most inconsistent restaurants in terms of service I have ever visited. I have visited a number of times over the last 4 to 5 years and it has been hit or miss every time. The contrast between service is incredible. I would speculate that like most restaurants in a college/university town the staff are primarily university/college students. So the inconsistency is probably due to luck of the draw in whether or not I get a server that is willing to try hard, even if it’s a temporary job that gets them through school, or I get a server who just doesn't care. I have experienced staff being on the ball and coming by my table every 5 to 10 minutes. However, my most recent visit was very disappointing. I arrived with a date after previously spending an inordinate amount of time discussing where we should eat and convincing her to try the Huether Hotel as she had never been there; I assured her it would be good. When we arrived no one greeted us and showed us to a table. We aimlessly walked around the restaurant until we found a place to sit; we sat for about 20 minutes before the waitress in our area noticed we were there. When she finally did we ordered a pitcher of beer, 15-20 minutes later it arrived. Upon finishing the pitcher it would be probably about 10 minutes before our server came back to our table. When she did she asked ‘would you guys like another one or would you like to see a menu’ my date replied ‘no thanks just the bill.’ It was a pretty embarrassing moment for me considering I (wrongfully) vouched for that place and ended up looking like I didn't know what I was taking about. There is nothing particularly wrong or special about the food and The Huether provides some of its own craft beers some of which are very good. Despite that, I will probably never vouch for this place again and would be very hesitant to go back due to the inconsistency of the wait staff.

Great wings, brutally slow service

Just finished up with the fireworks at Bingemans, so we opted to go to someplace either of us have been to in ages. We opted for the outside patio cause it was a beautiful night out. We got seated, watched two tables of young guys come up and sit and they were getting menus and drinks and we watched the hostess/waitress flirt with them. Finally 15mins later, we get menus and our drink orders taken. Food was great, they do have great wings, fries could of been a little more crispy (but that's a personal preference). No refills on pop and at a 1.50 each for a small glass of mostly ice. Time to step up and offer refills on the pop. Still, there's always a long wait between getting drinks or order taken or bill dropped off. Hopefully they can improve service, but I have no complaints on the food.

Not a bad spot for a beer and trivia

We go to the Barley Works on Friday or Saturday nights after nine pm to play trivia. We have samples seveal of their menu offerings and really enjoy the perogies and spinach salad. April is a great bartender and we are never left waiting or wondering if we are being taken care of. Worth the drive to Waterloo if you like a place to sit and play a bit of interactive trivia. So long as you don't mind that it is mostly a student hangout (and we "old fogies" don't mind at all).

A Great Place to eat

We have dined in the basement, upstairs and on the patio and the atmosphere/service is always very good. Good food with good portions and always hot and fresh. The pub in the basement is an excellent place to hang out in the winter !

It was unbelievable how disgusting the food was. We ordered burgers and fries. It was a safe choice and honestly we didn't think it could be possible to screw up this simple order. 20 minute wait later, we were proven wrong. The bun was actually so stale and old that it was impossible to swallow. The fries were soggy, brown, and cold. The portions were adequate but nothing was fresh or tasty like you'd expect from a pub. It gave me the impression that this place doesn't really care about food quality or freshness at all. The waitress was uninviting and cold (much like the food here). She saw us holding our almost empty coffee cups when we sat down and impolitely informed us that, "we don't allow outside drinks here, so is it okay if I take these?" Lady, you can keep our coffee cups, we're never coming back again.

Great Beer!!! I had my 30th birthday here... If it wasn't up to snuff, my wife would NOT have chosen this place!!! The food is always tasty and the beer is great. There wine list leaves something to the imagination, but with a brewery right next door, you don't go there for wine :) We stop in once every couple of weeks for some free popcorn, a plate of nachos and a couple of beers. Lunch service is usually quiter and even at night, the watressing issues have been dealt with. A lot of the reviewers that have written bad reviews about this place, if you look at their other posts... Well they are negative about those places also. All in all, a good place for a couple of beers and some good food.

My husband and I went for breakfast. It wasn't too busy. The food arrived very promptly and the portion sizes were generous. They used real eggs (a little on the cool side, but it's hard to avoid this). The home fries were absolutely delicious; fruit was fresh and sweet. Coffee was good, though not bottomless.

visited the Heuther upper restraunt barley works...

visited the Heuther upper restraunt barley works on a saturday afternoon around 1. WILL NEVER RETURN. we sat at a little table by the washrooms and were deafened by the WAY TOO LOUD band!?!?!??! what on EARTH is management thinking!?!??!?!? THEN the bartender and the waitress kept looking at us, whispering and snickering...this went on for the entire HOUR we were eating. VERY RUDE. These two girls have worked in this establishement for YEARS and i have no idea why. We will NEVER return, we do not need to go out for lunch and be snickered and whispered about by childish waitresses. Good bye Heuther, theres MANY places to take our money to

Really enjoy going to this place

Always had great food - whether 2 of us or 10. Everything has always been great, other than the service. Everyone is nice, just too busy - but, if you go there expecting it, then it is a great experience and I don't hesitate to go to the bar and ask for things - quicker. I look forward to my next visit.

Good but not quite great

Mid week with 6 in our group. The cottage brewery had some great offerings to taste - very nice. Sat to enjoy the patio, but there was an faint underlying smell of a dumpster nearby or under the patio. Ordered the wings - asked for battered, came new York style, but still tasty. Waitress was long between visits, but friendly enough. A few simple elements would make this a great pub-style experience on the patio. Move the dumpster, speed up the service - probably could have drank another round if the waitress visited more frequent, and pay attention to the little detail. Will try this again sometime. Need to add wheelchair access to the upper levels.

Decent Quicky

Felt like sitting on a patio and enjoying a beer and a bite. Pizza was delious and was a fair price. The only negative I would say is that it was not hot when they served it and the beer was warm. I prefer cold beer and hot pizza but, all in all it was good. In my opinion this place is relaxing if you want a quick bite (pub food)and a good beer.

I could not bite into the rice crispie square...

I could not bite into the rice crispie square because it was so old (seriously) and it seemed as though the waitresses thought they were too cool to care. Beyond the worst service I have ever received.

The short of my review is that you and your money...

The short of my review is that you and your money are too good for this establishment - and I don't even know you! The events which support my statement are described below. My main dish, cedar plank salmon, was a disaster on all fronts - it was presented poorly and tasted worse than it looked. The salmon was placed on a sliver ridden board that was set atop a curious mount of yellow-tinted rice (at least that's what they said it was). The salmon was overcooked to the point that it chewy and bland, the flavour of the rice was akin to what I can only assume asphalt must taste like and was further accentuated by its chunky, congealed texture. Thinking that things coudn't get any worse, my company and I went upstairs for coffee. The counter staff was abrupt, rude and unaccomodating...which, after talking with a few fellow patrons, is apparently the norm at the establishment.

Shocked to see all the bad reviews here - The...

Shocked to see all the bad reviews here - The Huether is where we always go when we have visitors and want to take them somewhere with a damned fine selection of moderately-priced beers and perfectly good food. They are linked to the Lion Brewery right next door, so always have a good selection of splendid beers on tap. The menu is great, and I've never been at all disappointed with anything I've ordered there. My only (minor) issue with the service would be that they're often very overworked, always busy, always rushed!I'm an ex-Brit, so perhaps my beer is important to me and perhaps I'm used to far worse service? ;-)

I ordered the Chicken tenders on the...

I ordered the Chicken tenders on the recommendation of one of my dining companions. I found them to be heavily breaded and possibly deep-fried; they were tough to cut through and tough to eat. The fries were good enough, but I would order something else another time. Also, the coffee was good at first, but after I started eating, it tasted horrible - don't know what was responsible for that! Service was good - waitress (Traci) was fun and attentive.

What happened here, 2-4 years ago the food was...

What happened here, 2-4 years ago the food was awesome, now it's terrible, too bad

When we entered the place, it seemed dirty. The...

When we entered the place, it seemed dirty. The staris were wet (slipping hazzard). The staff were rude, walking by us as we were standing there waiting to get seated. Finally once we go seated, our wairess was terrible. Didnt know too much about the menu it self, and replied "ya its good" to all the items we asked about on the menu. Finally after what seemed like 15 mins, our beer arrived. Yea, the beer is great but such a shame we had to wait so long for it. THE FOOD IS NOT FRESH!!!! My chicken wasn't thats for sure. I can tell a good chicken from one that has been sitting in a bag for a couple of days, it was very bland in taste, not moist at all. My daughters tortallini was sloppy, once again not FRESH. it was frozen and popped into boiling water, very bland in taste aswel. If you're looking for a nice relaxing lunch, do not come here. I think the wait staff need serious adjustments in their attitude, and have no clue about Customer Service, I reccomend this place to No One, as like many you will be disapointed

The food was gross and cold, waitstaff was rude...

The food was gross and cold, waitstaff was rude and seemed annoyed at customers, managing staff was no help and totally unprofessional and The restaurant was dirty and unappealing. I will never go there again, and would never recommend it.

EXCELLENT!!I had heard about this place thruogh...

EXCELLENT!!I had heard about this place thruogh friends so when my husband and I finally were able to get a night from the kids we headed to the Huether. When we first walked in from King St we were ovewhelmed at the many options we had. We could have had a great casual meal in the cafe or catch a sporting event in the Barley Works, we thought about eating while shooting a game of pool in the game area but we decided on the cozy dining area on the lowest floor in the grand building. I had the salmon dinner and my husband had wings and a spinach salad. We both throughly enjoyed the dinner, the atmosphere and especially the beer. There is no other place like this in Waterloo, it as a real unique experience. We walked around a bit, looked at the pictures and discovered the rich history of the building and the Adlys family, who have owned the Hotel for over 50 years. Manager ,Bernie, one of the three sons who are caring on the tradition, even gave us a a little tour even though it was a very busy. When I read some of these reviews I was shocked and then I thought, well alot of these people probably have been there once, had a bad experience, and needed to vent. For me I don't think I can say I've ever been to a restaurant where all the servers are in a pleasant mood. Well for the record we loved it and will be back for Valentine's Day and anyother day we can get out for a relaxing night on the town.