by Steven Doyle
Last night I was out with a friend for dinner and we decided on Tei-Tei Robata Bar for a little relaxed sushi and sake action. Dinner was sparkling and we even happened to see former Tei-Tei owner and current Tei-An chef-owner Teiich sitting alone at the corner of the bar perusing the menu.
After a few rounds of sushi we thought to have a cocktail and happened into Strangeways, the new brew hall on Fitzhugh very near the new Herrera’s and Red Fork. The new bar is owned by Eric and Erica Sanchez and it is their foray into the hospitality business. The bar is festooned with interesting Mexican artifacts and loaded with plenty of beers on tap and over 100 bottled. A great selection.
Upon entering the new bar we were happy to see the place was half filled with familiar faces. We were immediately told by the familiars not to order a cocktail, and I wondered why since the bar had originally touted that they would be serving pre-Prohibition style cocktails, which takes a cool hand of experience to pull off.
Not Strangeway's - We Promise
We were told by the friends at the bar this was not the case, and I was asked to sample a simple vodka and soda that had to be ordered three times. It was not right with all three attempts.
In fact, on the third attempt Sanchez met the woman that ordered the drink face-to-face, nearly touching noses, and said if it wasn’t right the first two time why did she f***ing think it would be right the third time.
Good point.
It was then I foolishly decided to take a photo of the interior and was met with similar rudeness, but in all fairness the bar belongs to Sanchez. If he does not want photographs, I get that, and quickly deleted the photo since he threatened to call the police if I didn’t. I assured Sanchez no profanity was needed.
The few additional minutes we spent in the bar went equally odd, and without going into great detail we figured out why the name of the bar was called Strangeways. There are at least twenty of us that won’t be back for sure. If you are a psych major, you may wish to study further.
Still wanting a cocktail the group decided to jaunt over to The Goat, the East Dallas dive that features incredible karaoke with a live keyboard and drum-set each Sunday.
Here the night took an upswing and we heard the song styling’s of Dallas luminaries belting out tunes from Sinatra to the Beatles. The drinks were friendly as the crowd that bonded to the magic of song.
We all promised to make Sunday’s special and visit our favorite barnyard animal and beer hall again, The Goat.
Rest in pieces, Strangeways.
steve – a lovely recap of the evening! it was soooooooooo much fun! (even if strangeways was a little strange!)
Much love for Lota’s Goat. or as its called now “The Goat’. just as fun on non karoke nights.
if you like blues, some of dallas’ better axes play there on the open mix blues nights.
I’m curious what happened. I’ve been there quite a few times and haven’t had an issue at all.
Whether or not this guy does this each night I cannot say. Your mileage may vary. It looked like it could have been a cool place to hang out. We will never know.
And how many is quite a few? It just opened.
I was there opening night. They couldnt handle the work load. No one screamed at us but they sucked. The neighborhood is dangerous too.
I went last week and left after 10 minutes.
Why are so many places ruined because they don’t understand good service and the need to make customers happy?
Amen, Chris! Good question!
Steve, I’m shocked. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an article from you like this. I appreciate the warning. I can’t imagine what you must have left out!
You are so correct Margie. I wrote this with a heavy heart since we simply prefer to leave the hard criticisms to others. CraveDFW prefers to relay info on places and activities that are pleasant, giving the reader a break from the normal on-line negatives.
This can be a challenge somedays if we happen to hit 3 or 4 places that are problematic and have little else to write about.
What you are saying is fine if it happened to you that is too bad. But
you can’t try to damage someone’s image that is trying to form a
business. Your comments don’t just reflect on the owner but the entire
staff who is behind this restaurant and bar and who works hard to see it
through. We know him as a boss and as a person.
I would suggest he use this as a wake up call, his reputation is his own to damage.
who think you are?James Bard foundation,just because you have a pour blog that you maniplate to your convinians
He must have been upset you kept ordering the drink several times. Why order mixed drinks at a bar with 40 beers on tap? I went and liked it. And had some good food too.
Why offer mixed drinks if you don’t want anyone to order them? LOL
I’m always amazed at how people react to articles like this. All Steve did was write up his experience – and accusing him of wanting comps when you weren’t even there observing things is ridiculous. Defending the owner is admirable, but if you read this site you know it’s rare for Steve to write things like this, so something was definitely amiss. I applaud Steve for having the guts to write what happened.
Again, it’s the establishments responsibility to treat their customers well. This article has been echoed by other people’s experiences as well. Eric seems to be a hot-head who thinks he’s always right before the customer. With that attitude, maybe he won’t get “taken advantage of” by the people that DO go to bars with an agenda. But, he will absolutely drive away some customers too. Steve won’t be back. I know Jesse won’t be back. Those are influential people that were treated poorly. That’s Eric’s choice, but good grief – those choices have consequences, so don’t defend him and think everyone should still go. You should only go if you like that kind of stuff.
And CM: Steve “lavishes” time on all his blogs – lol. He has moved on – mentioned it in the article. Again, Steve’s experience was his experience and he has a right to report it. He’s not alone – I know several people that have had similar experiences in the past 3 months.
My advice? You can go, but you might have an issue that won’t be handled with customer service like other establishments. But, on the plus side, there’s hardly ever many people there so you can always get a seat.
I visited Strangeways for the first time last night, and was impressed with atmosphere, staff, and concept. Eric was very engaging with my wife and I. You should try it for yourself.
I’m surprised this critic has lavished so much attention to this blog, and not just moved on to an establishment that suits him.