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| - To be succinct: the service was pretentious, the drinks were confusing and overpriced.
I couldn't quite figure out what Harvard & Highland was trying to do -- and to be honest, I don't think they know what they are going for. Frankly, I found it to be a hipster bar that was trying to class it up a notch, but has since gotten resentful now that the classy crowd has started showing up.
For $10-12 a glass, I expect my drink to top-shelf, unique, made with love, strong, and/or any reasonable combination of the above. They may have been from high-grade scratch ingredients, but unfortunately the bartenders lacked enthusiasm for making them and lacked the creativity to make anything not on the menu. The drinks lacked the wow-factor to make up for the poor service and high price. I'll take a bottom shelf drink from a top-shelf bartender (mixed with some love) any day over what H&H is serving up.
After having enough of the overpriced craft drinks that came paired with an attitude, I asked for a simple whiskey-ginger. I was countered with: "We don't have soda drinks here." Not a "Well we don't have ginger-ale, but I can make you a ginger drink with whiskey in it." It is this sort of pretentious attitude that is keeping me from coming back.
The seating area is unique, and I loved the large windows overlooking East Liberty. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of it, and I found it difficult to engage in conversation with my friends because of the seating/standing situation.
I'm not one to write bad reviews, or any reviews for that matter, but I left H&H grossly disappointed. I had high, if not reasonable, expectations. I've eaten at Union Pig & Chicken numerous times, and will be back to eat. But the service, culture, and attitude that H&H gave off was enough to keep me from coming back. Not to mention the drinks are overpriced and under-made.
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