Avoid Yabby's in Williamsburg like the West Nile Virus

[Alex]

I cannot express in civil terms how much this place pissed me off this weekend. A group of us were looking for an afternoon snack and a few drinks outside on Saturday, and after striking out at a few preferrable places (Miss Williamsburg, Relish, etc) we finally stopped in Yabbys. We sat down and after a few minutes were asked what we would like. We ordered some beers and asked for a menu. We were informed that the kitchen would not be opening for another 20 minutes as they had a busy lunch. When the waitress brought our beers back we pleasantly asked for a menu so that we could order food as soon as the kitchen opened, as we were starving. The waitress told us "sure," then proceeded to studiously ignore us and avoid our table for about 15 minutes - avoided eye contact, seemed to go out of here way to circumvent our table, etc. Granted, she was the only waitress there, but she was beginning to get short with customers, and we noticed other people were getting upset with her as well. We noticed her talking on her cell phone, smoking, and complaining about customers to the bartender while we still waited for menus. One patron asked for a burger (at this point it was after the time she said the kitchen wold be open, and we still had not received menus), to which she responded "I am kind of busy right now, I'll get back to you later." We finally demanded menus again, got them, but by the time she came to take our order, we had decided we had had enough and we just got the check. Other customers seemed to be doing the same thing. This was the only time I can remember were I did not leave any tip (actually, we did leave a tip of a few cents, just to show that it was a conscious decision and reflection of her service, not a general oppositioin to tipping). One other thing we were confused about - the menu indicated that their kitchen is open all day Saturday, so I am not sure if she was just saying it was not open because she couldn't be bothered to take orders, or what the deal was.
But to bring this rant to an end, I would highly advise anyone from frequenting Yabbys. The service was far beyond miserable, actually offensive I would say, and the food didn't sound that great anyway.
On a positive note, we then went to Teddy's Bar & Grill on 7th and Berry, had a few great plates of nachos, a few beers, and excellent, friendly service.

[Philip DePaolo]

Hi Chowhounds,
That turning a negative into a positive.
I love Teddys.Great beer selection great bar grub and great atmosphere.Well done.

Phil

[at203]

If you go there, however, avoid the guacamole. It was so weird and bad!

How do people mess up guacamole!??!

[John]

Leaving a few pennies tip is the greatest insult you can give a rude waitstaff for incredibly bad service. Sadly, I've had to do this on several occasions. However, when the service is great, I always tip generously.

[mrnyc]

fwiw i like drinkin beers at YABBY but it would never occur to me to eat food there. the kids that wait on you are are always pretty slow even with just the beers.

i feel for you though, i know how it is when you are trouncing around hungry and that happens. the tip issue is your judgement call and as you descibed the scene i can understand it. thank goodness it's usually a rare occasion.

[JackS]

I have to agree with mrnyc. I enjoy drinking at Yabby, partly because it is outdoors and you can have a night out without coming home stinking of tobacco. But ordering food there is another story. I had a not-bad experience with their food service about a year-and-a-half ago, but it's not really a meal destination.