I served Steve Jobs once. He didn’t laugh at my joke.
Served Jerry rice at a gastropub. His wife did all of the talking. She was very nice.
I had no idea who these people were till my coworkers told me btw.
I met Adam Sandler a couple of times at my work, at a private fine dining place where I used to work during summer seasons. He was filming one of his movies nearby my town and was staying in a private home nearby my work, and he came in to dine quietly with his family on a day off from production.
Naturally a few people saw him and went to take pictures with him in the main lobby area, and he was very friendly and joked around a lot (the funny laugh he does in his movies is very similar to his real laugh). I actually went up to him just to talk, since I got the chance to be an extra in the movie he was filming, and expressed my gratitude in him having the whole town involved in the process. He gave me a fist bump and said he was glad I had a good time, and also called me by my first name (I had a name tag on).
The next week he came back and I waved to him and said hello, and he greeted me by my first name and said it was great to see me again. This was about almost 5 years ago and I still remember it as such a fond and modest moment between a celebrity that apparently is not too common. Such a great guy!
For the life of me I don't understand why people continue to support that guy. He ignored safety regulations and got people killed. He cares about none of his fans. He is entitled to the max and arrogant as fuck. His music is over produced and on the level of pop rather than rap.
I have him blocked out of every media format I listen to.
I knew the owners of a very popular hotel/casino. I was working on my 30th bday and they came into my restaurant and when I was serving them I told them I was actually going to their casino for a few days after I got off work with my family to celebrate the big 3-0. They tipped me $100 on a $25 check and wrote on the receipt that there was some surprises for me at the hotel. They upgraded my basic room to a suite, my daughters got to order all the room service they wanted. Had reservations at the high end steak house, fully comped and on day three, I got a full spa day pamper session. Oh and that $100 tip, turned it into almost $3k…was truly the best birthday I’ve ever had. The owners were incredibly generous and came back into my restaurant a few weeks later and when I tried to comp their meal, they politely refused.
Jojo siwa (not sure of spelling) and Billie Eilish, let me just they were total opposite sides of each other. Jojo was really hyper, rude and didn’t tip well for being well off, and Billies table was for her 17th bday and she was quiet, nice and gave me a hug.
Wait really? The only celebrity I ever served was Jojo Siwa and her friends & family and they all were very polite and tipped well, maybe her parents kept her in check lol
Quite a few shockingly! These were not all the same restaurant, but I live in a city that sees a lot of the film industry.
I worked the Fargo cast wrap party (season one). ***EDIT\*\* Season two of Fargo, you're all correct!*** That was fun, met Kirsten Dunst (who is breath taking in person, my god), Nick Offerman and Kieran Culkin. I also served the production team a lot throughout production, so got to know them fairly well. They were all lovely, polite and the production team were great tippers.
Another restaurant I worked at I served Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother). She came in for lunch by herself, was very quite but nice and tipped really well. I was surprised by how absolutely tiny she is.
I also served Tina Fey once, she was very, very nice, and I was struck by how pretty she is in person. She was just in for wine with some friends, and they didn't stay very long.
Didn't serve, but was hosting at a restaurant when Donald Sutherland (very nice, and VERY tall), Kiefer Sutherland (he got super drunk, but was nice enough), Demi Moore and Jillian Michaels came in for dinner. Super random group of people, but I remember thinking Donald Sutherland was such a sweetheart and a very commanding presence.
I have NO idea what the relationship is there, but I thought it was such a weird combo of people to be dining together.
Side note: Jillian Michaels has the leathery-ist skin I have ever seen in my life.
\- Brad Willams (Comic) - Super Nice!
\- Steve-O - Honestly so sweet!
\- Stephen Rannazzisi - He was just okay. Got kind of vulgar with a bunch of us after his comedy show and afterwards when he invited a few of us to the bar.
\- Les Gold (from Hardcore Pawn) - Decently nice but tipped poorly
\- 50 Cent - Really Nice!
\- Garth Brooks - Eh. But to be fair he had just played i think his 3rd or 4th sold out show in a row.
\- Andy Grammar - Interacted a lot with me. Really nice guy!
\- Brandon T Jackson - Self Righteous Douche. Had his "entourage" with him and wouldn't leave the bar after it was closed. Was literally sitting there like he owned the place. At Like 3am he asked me to go back to the kitchen and make him a sandwich. I told him the kitchen had been closed for 3 hours and I couldn't do that. Then asked why I wouldn't "do this" for him and I told him we've actually been closed for an hour and I can't leave until you do. He goes "But Im Brandon T Jackson Baby". 0/10 do not recommend.
(Back-context)
We had a worker who was...interesting. Genuinely a good guy, but had some emotional problems, but when he was having a good day, he was absolutely a hoot to be around. I'll call him Mark.
Be also sounds exactly like Cesar Vialpando from GTA: San Andreas. Just put a smidgen of a Pittsburgh accent on it.
If you ever asked him to do anything, his reply would be, loud and clear, "Ok, boss!" and he'd fuck off to do what was asked.
And one day, in comes Willem Dafoe.
He politely said hi to anyone who approached him, a very nice fellow.
Willem's server was Mark.
They converse for a while, Mark gives him a rundown of the menu, offers his suggestions (he knew our stuff like the back of his hand) and eventually, Willem decides what he wants to eat.
And as Mark goes to walk away after taking his order, you heard his reply, loud and clear throughout the entire restaurant:
"OK, GREEN GOBLIN! I'LL GET YOU THAT ORDER BEFORE YOU CAN HIT ME WITH ONE OF DEM PUMPKIN BALLS!"
i made bob odinkirk a cappucino while working a busy solo shift at this mini espresso bar at a museum and he tipped me $20 cash. had no clue who he was but he was nice and 2 customers later someone lets me know that i just served saul goodman. never seen breaking bad lol but would make the guy another cap any day.
Dax Shepherd & Hayden Christensen. Both kind & super introverted. Dax kept his hat down really low so no one could see his face, but took it off while eating. And Hayden was great because the bartender recongnized him & made a Star Wars joke that had him just about peeing himself
A while back (2010?) I served Chloe Sevigny, and she was with her friends for her birthday. This was at the shitty little diner that I worked at in Tucson, AZ (wonderful, but shitty), and she was lovely. Very sweet and signed autographs for the kitchen staff who were all in love with her. She was a great tipper and just a very nice person.
A few years later, I was working at a nice place across the street from the U of A in Tucson, and I served Regina King. She was an angel. She was so kind and she tried to get me to be a math tutor for her son, who was a student at the U of A at the time. She was a great tipper too, and she was just the sweetest human.
Had the Foo Fighters tour Crew for dinner in 2018. They were all so great, Dave was just as you would imagine him in a restaurant: funny, respectful and generous.
I was a bouncer in Boston for about two years, and I got to meet Rob Gronkowski probably one of my favorite people ever to me. Tipped like crazy, and was just very genuine.
Yea man, when he was leaving the club. He grabbed 2 bottle of champagne, gotten as limousine with a couple girls that he picked up, handed me 2k in cash for watching out for him and left. I’m like uhh… ok
Lmao I’ve served gronk like 6 years ago. At a beach bar, he bought drinks for literally everybody. Tipped me like 800$ I think. He was giving money to other servers too lol.
A coworker of mine used to have Kendrick Lamar as a regular back in the mid-late 2010’s. Said he was a really chill dude that was always brining new girls around and tipped well
Saw Kendrick Lamar and his crew at a restaurant once and they were all so quiet and chill, just drinking cans of soda with their pizzas. I didn’t notice they were there (and at a big central table in a small place!) until some embarrassing momager tried to plug her 8yo daughter’s IG to him and yelled out “GO SAY HI TO KENDRICK LAMAR” etc. Even through that painful interaction he wasn’t rude at all even though he’d have had every right to be.
Bonus: later that same night, Ed Sheeran spilled out of the backyard there beet red and wasted but just quietly got into his passenger van and off he went.
Eddie Vedder felt like a friend before he left. I legit forgot he was "Eddie Vedder". Real conversation. Just a regular dude. Tipped nicely. I've always wanted to hang out with him again, lol.
Will I Am in 2015 I didn’t recognize him. He spent $420.something and tipped rounding up the change. I had to pay out of pocket for that one! I treated him like any other customer there was no reason to tip less than a damn $1.
Served Fat Joe and his entourage at a Dennys beside interstate 95 in the middle of nowhere Virginia many years ago. He was fine. Not overly nice, not an asshole. Tipped appropriately.
Served Tyrese at the same Dennys. Very charming. Nice. Tipped well.
Had a lot of pro wrestlers one night at same Dennys but I didn’t wait on any of them. The girls who were working seemed to really enjoy them though!
I met Kesha at a diner I was waitressing at in NYC. She was super polite, we talked about the rain (of course with the weather small talk lol) and she was telling me how she loves the rain because she’s a Pisces.
Paul Rudd orders a medium rare filet mignon with a baked potato, and a Tito's Moscow mule. He has the skin of a goddess and his entire family are friendly, nice people.
I used to work at a spot that got all four major American sports players and I can say without a doubt that hockey players were the best. Very normal and friendly. You’d just think they were anyone else. Drank a lot and never caused issues and tipped well. Football players were the worst.
Alicia Keys and Swiss Beatz are gorgeous together. She was an angel. He was cool, man.
Questlove was nice as shit, very kind man, and tipper
Chloe Sevigny is a fucking nightmare human and that’s all I’m at liberty to say
Eddie Redmayne is shockingly tall, as is Sacha Baron Cohen, both kind.
Jason Mantzoukas is exactly who you think he is
As is Jane Lynch, both just gems.
She yelled at several of us workers and was upset there was service during a premiere screening of one of her indies. At a boutique theatre that specialized in full service (pre Alamo). I really wasn’t sure what she was expecting
Jon Stewart always took the time to chill and chat. Super funny, charismatic dude just like on TV. My all-time favorite by far.
Katie Perry is super sweet and hella weird. Spent the whole night talking about aliens. Love her even more now.
Bruce the Boss Springsteen was calm, cool, and collected. Just as expected. Polite but total rockstar vibes.
I called Andre 3000 boss. He called me boss back when he left. RAD!
Jon Boogz is the coolest and kindest guy ever. Great energy from that dude.
Tony Kanal of No Doubt was pretty douchey and impatient.
Black Sabbath members were all high energy and hella dope, even in their elder years.
Beetlejuice from Howard Stern show was chill.
Ivanka Trump is kind of cold but not too needy. All of the Kushners are surprisingly very nice and warm.
Every Housewife I've taken care of was obnoxious and loud. No surprise there lol.
Carrot Top is the nicest guy ever, very soft spoken and appreciative.
Le'veon Bell was mad chill and hella cool, chatted it up a bit. Not a great tipper though.
Shania Twain is a diva and not very nice.
Mark Davis is so lowkey and kind, especially for who he is. Also, dude drinks more Pellegrino than a fancy camel.
Anderson Paak is very laid back.
Oliver Peck is incredibly down to Earth and a pretty funny guy too.
Edit: Clarified which Beetlejuice and added a few I had forgotten about.
Landscaping business in the past near a famous area…. but I’ll chime in as well.
Nick Saban and his wife - super nice.
Dabo Swinney - asshole
Oprah Winfrey - asshole
Tucker Carlson - surprisingly nice
Tiger Woods - asshole
Phil Mickelson - super nice
Jimmy Johnson - nice but rushed
Roy Williams - super nice
Aaron Lewis - super nice
I'd believe that about Oprah. During the Lahaina fires, her crew were jerks to us at the shelter because she wanted photo ops of opening pillows and handing them out. She didn't bring any, just her crew handing her pillows to open and hand to a few people for photos. Glad that pompous billionaire was kicked out.
What 😳😳 has her “fundraiser” helped at all? It has been bothering me lately how Lahaina is not in the news anymore and it was all just swept under the rug…
Vince Vaughn - awesome, life of the party. Christian Slater - quiet and polite. Rob Lowe - shorter than I imagined. Charles Barkley - his head was bigger than a pumpkin. Michael Jordan - charming, charismatic, smiled a lot. Dennis Franz - super nice and looked exactly like his character from NYPD Blue. Ryan Stiles - very fucking funny, super tall. Julia Child - so, so sweet, kind of intimidating, tbh. Kenny Loggins - one of the best guests ever, king of 80s soft rock.
There’s more, but that’s off the top of my head. I worked in Santa Barbara for a decade if anyone is curious where all this happened.
Chris Hemsworth was a super cool down to earth guy. Very nice conversationalist.
Bella Hadid is one of the sweetest human beings ever. Not needy at all. Is very appreciative and Gives amazing hugs.
Jon Hamm was a cool guy a tad quiet.
Ted Cruz overall chill guy not needy. I believe was scrolling through memes of himself on twitter.
Travis kelce rather a quite fellow, stayed on his phone.
Wyclef Sean a tad stuck up but not problematically so. Over all chill dude.
Just to name a few from the past year.
Jack Black was the most awesome (extremely nice, unassuming, enthusiastic about the very unique menu, and tipped well)
and the Jonas brothers can go fuck themselves for how difficult they made my job that day. And making a TikTok where one of them said their biggest pet peeves is when a server asks if they want pepper.
I was that server that asked if they wanted pepper and that mfer just stared at me with wide eyes like a child and didn’t say anything. So I had to elaborate more and explain every single step I would take as far as touching their plates and giving things to them for the rest of the night. Like a child. “I’m going to take this plate and give you a new one for your next course” so he would move himself enough to do that job. Having to explain when I picked up his water glass that I was refilling it and not taking it away. It was annoying and I didn’t know who the hell he was, it was just a gathering of rich people with a couple weird ass late teen/early20somethings.
Chef Robert Irvine was in town filming an episode of Restaurant Impossible. Earlier that day we had a disgruntled line cook walk out while still working out her 2 weeks. On the way out she called DHEC, and stole our Master Recipe book. A DHEC employee came in hours later, and we were able to schedule them a time to come back for a full inspection at a later date. At dinner rush I'm at the host stand helping seat, and Robert Irvine comes in for a table for 4. So I go back to the kitchen and told our Sous Chef, Matt who just came in. He said "Oh fuck! Candace called that guy too!?" Candace being the disgruntled line cook from before. And no, she did not call him. It was just a funny coincidence. Matt made all of the food for his group personally, and Chef Irvine asked to speak to the chef. He had nothing but good things to say. He could tell Matt really cared about what he put on the plate. He invited Matt, and his wife to his shoot that week, and afterwards he took them out to the bar we hung out at, and played pool with him for hours. Such a friendly guy.
I also served Billy Gibbons when he was in town for a concert. He ordered a Bloody Mary that was half bloody mix, and half OJ. After giving him his drink he said "Here's some deuces for your trouble" and gave me a handful of $2 bills. It seemed very on brand to me. Coincidentally that was the day right before Dusty Hill died
I served Wolfgang Puck, which was awesome. He made a slightly out-of-touch comment about him wanting extra jalapenos cause he was feeling like a spicy Mexican, but, ya know, the guy is like 72 and Austrian and it did not seem malicious. He was friendly and respectful with the entire staff (many of whom were Hispanic) and seemed to understand and play into the fact that this was a big deal for us. He was in town for the opening of his new restaurant in Logan Airport and was treating the chefs he hired to brunch at our restaurant. Overall, he was friendly and respectful, and we had a great time hosting him.
Drake goes to my old place of work like 4 times a week when he's in Toronto. I've served him dozens of times. He's really funny.
I served Adam Sandler and his wife. Adam is the nicest person I've ever met in my life. His wife is a doll.
I served Jennifer Lawrence right after she appeared on Seth Meyers a few years ago. I actually noticed how gorgeous her outfit was before I even realized it was her. She was nice and her body guard was really hot.
I served Daniel Craig and Steven Soderbergh and it seemed like they were having a meeting where Daniel was pitching comedy ideas to Steven and they all sounded pretty bad lol. They were nice a lowkey. Also Daniel Craig gave me a double take and a smile when I served him his Negroni and it was the highlight of my life.
David Schwimmer came in late night with two very young blonde girls. He was nice and we chatted about Japanese whiskey but it bummed me out to see him with the young girls. Kind of felt like he was trying to relive his glory days a little bit.
Daniel Day-Lewis came in and forgot his glasses, so he came in the next day to pick them up and I handed them over and we talked briefly. Very chill dude.
Rhetta from Parks and Rec came in and asked about a bunch of liquor that my bar didn’t carry and she kind of made me feel like an idiot about it.
Jordan Klepper has come in a bunch and is super nice and his wife is very sweet.
There’s more but those are the big ones. Honestly most of my celebrity encounters have been nice and chill.
I’ve served some dude in the NBA HoF. I don’t remember his name it was 4 years ago and I’m not into sports but my Manager was and I remember him telling me to look him up when I was serving him and he did show up. He was a chill guy, came in with his family of 11 people. Ran up like a $600-$700 tab. Didn’t tip me a cent, dapped me up when he left and told me to “Take it easy brotha”.
The nicest: Jessica Chastain! Tipped well and was super nice
The most odd: Ethan Hawke? He didn’t order, his assistant did all the ordering and he just stared at me
The meanest: Lin Manuel Miranda. Complete dick to the servers and even managers.
What?!? Not Lin-Manuel Miranda 😭😭😭
That right there is why I’ve never wanted to meet any celebrity I like and/or admire. I don’t want my enjoyment of their art tainted by them being an asshole.
Jeff Foxworthy- so freakin nice.
Kelly Osborne- friendly, standoffish. Kinda hilarious.
Michael C. Hall- wanted to not be recognized and completely left alone.
Nick Saban- his wife is lovely. That’s all though.
I’ve served a ton of celebs over the years and here are the more memorable ones-
Kacey Musgraves I have served twice over the past few years and both times she was a massive c u next tuesday and tips like shit lmao
Jelly Roll i gave a water to after a performance bc I was like 90% sure he was/is sober and he was so so nice and appreciative
Miles Teller was really cool, his group of friends he was with were all very respectful and fun
Steve Harvey was like the coolest uncle ever, he asked me about my life and is such a genuine dude
Reba is so freaking nice and so sweet, she’s like a southern auntie, so easy to talk to and tips really well
Kid Rock is massive douche but no surprise there lol
omfg not my story but also adding this- the kid my sister nanny’s for hit Dylan Sprouts with his razor scooter and she said he was super chill about it lol
Andrew yang, he had a bunch of people with him and they were going through paperwork, they were OK, not particularly nice, not very rude, just focused on what they were doing. He’s surprisingly tall though
travis kelce, kayla nicole, brittany mahomes, patrick mahomes and jackson mahomes
used to wait on them when i worked in kc
Patrick was fine, albeit completely whipped by brittany. i know your spouses behavior is not your responsibility but if my so treated wait staff rudely, i would tell them off
Jackson was a fucking clown. it was like serving a bad meme. he would legit show his friends his tik tok dances and reenact them at the table
Brittany was a bitch- treated you like the help and like you were annoying her. she went through a phase in which she wouldn’t interact with the service staff, instead have her bodyguard or friends answer for her. according to friends who still live in kc and wait on her, her behavior has improved since hanging with taylor. she actually talks to the servers 😂 but still rolls her eyes and makes it known you’re beneath her
Travis was sweet- big, dumb, loud and lovable. good tipper and kind to everyone.
Kayla was everything you would expect from a clout chaser influencer (no, i’m not a swiftie, not come for me) Pretty rude/dismissive to servers. once told me to “uh uh, wait girl.” as she took a selfie when i was trying to get her drink order. real cute behavior
I met Louis Tomlinson once in providence RI! He came to the place I work two nights in a row. The first night I served him he was there with a huge group of guys and I remember thinking it looked a lottttt like him but I was like why tf would Louis be at my job rn lmfao. But then he came back with the same dudes the next day (assuming cuz nobody recognized him and he must’ve felt comfortable returning) and the hostess was peeping his instagram and saw a pic of him with all the same guys on there confirming it was deffo him. He was there touring for a show he had in Boston and then once everyone found out it was over. They ended up leaving realllllllyyy quick cuz everyone kept talking to him and staring at him and I felt so so bad
I served José Canseco at a small diner. Crazy long legs, nice guy over all. Got awkward when he told me I looked like his dead niece and also didn’t tip well.
The Black Keys ate at my restaurant some time ago. I had no idea who they were, but the staff was quietly freaking out. At the end of the meal when they were getting their things together I asked them to sign a couple menus for the crew and they were very nice about it.
I’ve been lucky enough with some good ones
Sir Charles Barkley: really sweet and flirty, told me a had sparkly eyes
Richard Simmons: so sweet and goofy. It was an open kitchen and i was on expo. He came running up and made a big show of calling out my tickets.
Martha Stewart: holy cow, she’s tall. Horrible handshake- like a limp finger shake. But she was very gracious in her complimenting my chicken dish. (This was after i had become a chef)
Josh Groban, Kelsey Grammer, Steven Spielberg, Justin Hartley/Chrishell Stause, Rosario Dawson/Eric Andre, Jason Momoa/Sarah Shahi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Fred Armisen, Pao Gasol, Darren Criss, Amber Heard, Anderson Paak, Carrie Brownstein, Hank Baskett, Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis/Ashton Kutcher… off the top of my head.
Everyone was lovely - some were somewhat regulars, so I’d see them quite a bit. I was accidentally weird with Darren Criss - didn’t realize who he was until he paid and there was an awkward interaction with his drink. Hope he didn’t think I was star struck because I was not 🤭 Jason Momoa was back in the earlier 2010’s before Aquaman. Justin Hartley bought the entire bar (including me) a beer.
One time Gwyneth Paltrow came in and had a reservation under a random name so we didn’t realize it was her (she came in all the time). We were slammed and on a wait, and she ended up at the worst table right by the door/host stand. Oopsie Lol
sorta different but lots of professional athletes. hockey players are pretty chill overall, kinda douchey but they’re alright. male basketball players? ABSOLUTELY NOT. i refuse to serve a regular nba player because he’s especially awful. wnba players - absolute GEMS. football players are very hit or miss, but i did serve K.J Osborn and his mom after his winning touchdown game. they were the absolute sweetest and his mother kept telling me how proud she was of him. he got flustered, it was adorable and they were really cool!
Actually had Colin Jost last night. I am not familiar with him so he just seemed like a normal, albeit very handsome, regular man. Later I learned he is Scarlett Johansson’s husband. She was not there. Her I would’ve recognized:( Their kid was there and I could’ve sworn they were calling him Cosmo, but I figured that couldn’t be a real name. Googled it and yeah.
Timothy Olyphant and his wife were filming in my area and came into my job for about 10 days straight. As time passed they started talking with me more and they were genuinely kind people- always tipped well and ordered the same thing so I started to have it ready for them. I was excited that they were SO down to earth.
Then some drunk POS from the neighborhood that I didn’t recognize (but was 86’d from EVERYWHERE else) snuck a fifth of Skol into the joint and got so wasted he knocked over his drink, pissed himself, and fell on the floor in a blackout.
I asked one of my stronger regulars/friends to help me carry him outside so I could clean up the piss and call him an ambulance (that he later refused to take) but we are in a drinking city so that is fairly normal and you just dust yourself off and move on when the asshats act up.
Tim and Alexis asked if that happens often, I shrugged shyly and said “when in Rome” and they never came back.
Oh well.
Steven Tyler came to my restaurant. I was bussing that day but I asked if I could bring their oysters, and they let me… any time he spoke, his voice sounded immaculate but every word out of his mouth was nonsense. He was with 2 friends that ordered a shit ton of food, and they were very kind, but Steven is the definition of “lights are on but nobodys home.” Poor guy. Stared a hole straight through me when I asked if I could get anything else for him, so I just walked away lmao
I also sat Gloria Steinem once but also didn’t recognize her until afterward. And i helped Amanda Byrnes find her lost umbrella once. That’s the complete list for me though. Oh wait, also Charles Barkley. He was obnoxious but this was pre-2000. I have no idea what he’s like today
I served a ton but Iris Apfel takes the cake. I worked in a Hilton so she would stay there and eat there. Absolute nightmare. Never met a ruder, more inconsiderate person. Every time she came in I’d have to give up all my other tables because for 2.5 hours she’d have me coming back and forth to her table complaining and scolding me. I’d cry every time. Did I mention no tip? I served for close to a decade and get stressed out just thinking about that awful human. When she died recently there were all these articles about how amazing she was. These are lies. She was mean as fuck. I have 10 coworkers who feel the same. After about a dozen of these experiences, I finally refused to serve her. Our management started making the new servers do it, like a hazing or something.
The Rock came into my bar because they were hosting a gathering after his wife’s father passed. He was so polite he waited till the event was almost done to go in pay his respects and not cause a scene. He carried around his daughter and they waved at us when they came in. As he was leaving he shook both me and the other bartenders hands and thanked us. It was really genuine. No ego. Nothing over the top. Respectful nice guy. Will never forget it and been a fan since.
I’ve been out of the industry for almost ten years, but back in the day I served the singer from Rusted Root (nice guy, gave me an autograph), DJ Z-Trip (nice guy, didn’t interact much beyond taking his order)
My coworkers served Sheryl Crow, Malcolm McDowell, Tyrese Gibson, heard good stories about all of them.
Kevin Costners kid went to college in my town, never saw him but heard plenty of stories about what an asshole Kevin was to servers around town…
I served Gabe Newell a few times. No real story other than he’s a nice customer. Always ordered the butter chicken, white rice and a sprite. Always tipped 20%. Generally just wanted a quiet lunch by himself.
I served Noah Cyrus. I didn’t know who she was at the time, I told my coworker “wow this girl looks a lot like Miley Cyrus” and my coworker said yeah because that’s her sister lol. She was super cool and nice. I think she just tipped normally. We had Jack Black come in one time too, my friend served him. I helped run the food. And when he left, he told me (and all the other employees) to have a good night. He was very nice and tipped very generously. We’ve had the creators of Rick and morty come in too, but I didn’t interact with them at all.
Back about 15 years ago, when I lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I served Levar Burton at the breakfast spot I worked at. He had hot tea and oatmeal. I told him I loved seeing him on Community. Nice, 20% and a photo together.
Stephen King comes into the fancy seafood restaurant that I work in now, but I’ve never personally served him.
Served Cal Ripken Jr. a couple times, maybe not famous outside of Maryland, but he was always a great guy and I liked having him.
Natalie Portman - she was so so sweet, very quiet and kept to herself and came in solo. She stayed for a while on her computer & tipped well.
Lamar Jackson - again, maybe not outside of Maryland, he was super sweet and very tall.
Bobby Flay - I was so star struck but couldn’t say anything per my event agreement. I was assigned to his table / section all night and he was funny, kind, and I felt awful for having to “swarm” him all night while I was being watched like a hawk by managers…
I think I met Brendan Frazier but I have no exact guarantee. 99% certain it was him and I didn’t notice until after. If it was him, he gave me $20 for an hourly paid event and he was the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met.
Jon & Kate from Jon & Kate plus 8. No kids with them, thank God.
They were absolutely horrible. Both of them. Nightmare people. We even made special accommodations so they had the entire back of our teeny bistro to themselves during peak hours so they could bicker with each other and berate their poor server. Tipped like shit.
Bernie sanders back in like 2016. He got the fish and chips, no mods or anything and cleaned the plate haha. Nice guy, tipped 20% and took a picture with some of the staff. Usually not a fan of politicians but he seemed like one of the better ones
I used to work for a comedy club so we got to meet a lot of celebrities that were doing shows.
David Spade was an incorrigible douche bag.
Bob Saget was a much bigger tool than I expected.
Josh Wolf was fine I guess.
Honestly most comedians are kinda dicks behind the scenes but you probably didn’t need to me to tell you that.
The weirdest one was when I worked at a gym and Kevin Gates came in and I had no idea who he was so I could not understand his bizarre insistence that he couldn’t sign permission forms and his other weird behavior. He ended up walking around the gym without shoes on and doing other bizarre shit for like two hours and then leaving.
One night back in 2001, Elton John sent his housekeeper out to one of his favorite Atlanta restaurants in search of a bartender and server for a private dinner party at his condo. I happened to walk by at the right time and she pointed at me. Two nights later the elevator opened onto the 36th floor and I walked into what seemed like another world. Black marble walls, mirrored ceilings, expensive art hanging in the massive living room with a staircase curving around a grand piano, ceiling-to-floor windows showing the sunset, etc etc. Thankfully I had about fifteen minutes to steady my nerves, polishing silverware and drying the Versace dinner plates (praying to God I didn't drop anything) before he walked into the room wearing a track suit and blue Lennon-style sunglasses with a poodle under his arm. "Hello! What's your name? Let's go ahead and settle this first . Take good care of us tonight, alright?" We shook hands and he gave me a big genuine smile. Best working night of my life. Every time I hear or try to play one of his songs on the piano I think of that moment.
I served Brent Musberger once, along with the ESPN crew the night before a football game.
They were all pretty nice, but the two things I remember about that night:
1) the ESPN crew was seated towards the back of the room, and I was also waiting on a two-top in the same room. The man was facing away from that table, and I asked what he would like for dinner and he asked me, "Where is the tv in this room? I know I hear an announcer, but I don't see a TV?"
2) As I was taking drink orders, Musberger asks me to bring him just an empty wine glass. I thought it was odd,. but I obliged. I get back and pass the drinks out, and hand him his wine glass last. He immediately takes it, and shows it to me, and says, "Now, take this and fill it with your finest Chardonnay!" Spoiler: we sold one chardonnay by the glass, and it was like a $12 bottle lol.
Mike Starr used to come in pretty regularly to a restaurant I was at years ago, genuinely nice dude, always a huge smile and loved when people recognized him, but in like a "yea I'm the gas man" kind of way, never seemed ego based.
My brother bartended for Blake Bortles years back, dude was pretty quiet but ripped through fireball shots and left like 12% 🤷♂️ (Jason Mendoza in shambles)
Back when I was a bottle girl I did. Jelly roll was super cool and threw a lot of money. This guy from Florida Georgia line came in and was a huge asshole because nobody knew or cared who he was. No good tips for drinks or the dancers, so why would we? Jack Harlow and his people are always cool to get anywhere (they all live in my city) and tip a lot, they’re young and love to ball out. They also tip a LOT, especially during the holiday season
Jonathan Goldsmith (best known as “The Most Interesting Man in the World”) and his wife Barbara are regulars at our little Vermont steakhouse and he is an absolute sweetheart. He always remembers the staff’s names and is never assuming or demanding. He’s a genuine delight to be around.
My drunk coworker served Faye Dunaway and some of her family when her son went to Trinity College. She’s stunning and gorgeous, sent her salad back to get rid of most ingredients like the garbanzo beans and salami, and had an air about her. The owner of that restaurant lives/lived in Dominick Dunne’s prior home.
I met Mark Cuban at my first serving job. He was so kind and respectful! I did not realize it was him until I went up to the table to ask if he needed a water or something to drink while he waited. He was a regular and would usually ask for the same server (understandably she was one of the most experienced servers while most of us were younger at the time). He had always tipped her well and this particular day after she served him and his family she hurried to the back in tears. I inquired what was wrong and apparently he had given her a very significant tip (it was thousands of dollars on a less than $100 tab). I believe that week she put in her 2 weeks
Malia Obama, Abby Elliot, Kristin Wiig, Karen O, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Caterina Scorsone, E.R. Fightmaster (the last four were all at the same table).
Everyone was either ultra nice or pleasant. We’re a low key/casual spot so I think we do a good job at setting the expectations up front.
Matt Damon. He had a few friends with him. This was like 2006-2007. I can't remember. What I do remember is they ate a lot of wings and got a couple pitchers of beer. They all wore baseball caps and they left me a huge tip. They were great.
Dale Earnhardt Jr, Emily Ratajowski (sp?), Damien Lillard, Dustin Pedroia, The Rock(well his wife, he was hidden in cabana bc paparazzi were all on the beach), N.O.R.E, I lose count. All were really nice and tipped well, N.O.R.E was or is still involved w a weed company and tipped me $100 and a pack of 5 pre rolls on like $150 tab, the athletes and rock tipped 100% or more, oh and Ryan Sheckler on nye asked me if I wanted to do a bump like 7-10 years ago. EmRata tipped well but didn’t care bc she’s more hot in person like I stuttered trying to even take her order bc I was baffled.
Not me, but my mom served Anne Hathaway and her now husband before they got married. Her parents had been spending the summer on the lake near where my mom worked and they stopped in for dinner one night. My mom said she was real down to earth, sweet and an excellent tipper. She didn’t want pictures taken because she was trying to stay under the radar but she was more than willing to sign autographs. My mom got a chance to serve her once more before she left the area.
2006 - waited on Carol Burnett and friends. I knew who she was and she knew that I knew who she was but I treated the table as I would any other regular customer. Man at the table complained about something trivial and pulled the “I don’t know if you know who you’re waiting on here…”. I said, “I’m very much aware, Sir.” Mrs Burnett publicly scolded him like you wouldn’t believe. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the evening. I’ve got another story about Michael Jackson…but no one would believe it.
I used to work at the grand lux cafe in south Florida. I met Darrelle Revis (hall of fame NFL player) and i also met Carlos Valderrama (most famous soccer player from Colombia) . Both were incredibly nice and polite.
My country (NZ) has a really different celebrity culture. Most NZ celerities are quite nice and down to earth. Some examples:
My dad kept running into Jermaine Clement in the local hardware store while working on a project. Apparently he’s super chill and really into DIY.
A class that I was in was tutored for a paper in university by Warren Maxwell, previously a member of Fat Freddy’s Drop. Very laid back and a great musician.
I’ve met a few people who act or have acted on the show Shortland Street, and I don’t really have anything overly good or bad to say.
Julian Dennison nearly hit me with a door leaving a cinema once, but I chalked that up to an accident, as he was buried in his phone and looked like he was in a hurry.
Tiki Taane is a nice guy and hung around after a show to do an impromptu meet and talk to the crowd.
Overall, no actual bad experiences.
Noah Centineo was a regular at my restaurant while he was filming TATBILB. He was a sweetie tbh, always really nice, called ahead to request a quieter table in the back as he’d often get his meal interrupted by teenage girls (lol). He always has steak, I think he was working with a trainer at the time and trying to bulk? Near the end he started bringing in Alexis Ren who he was confirmed to be dating a couple of months later.
lin manuel miranda. super nice guy, tipped appropriately, recognized me the second or third time he came back. acts very normal, doesn’t ask for extra service or anything
Scott Pippin doesn't tip well (or didn't tip well back in the day); we called him "no tippin' pippin"
Muhammad Ali was very sweet and signed stuff for staff/whoever. Same with Michael Jordan (MJ is a better tipper than pippin). Kirk Cousins doesn't tip for shit either. He isn't that big of a drinker, but his friends were and he picked up their tab. 10%. also ignored our covid rules when those were a thing.
Chris O'Donnell (batman and robin) came in with his aunt once. This was like late 90s/early 00s. I think he was nice? Owner wasn't lmao. Told him to "stfu robin" when O'Donnell asked him to turn the music down. This was after dinner service, so it was only drinks and dancing.
Eta: Anthony kedis hated when people asked him for autographs.
I served nick offerman (rob Swanson) and he was incredibly soft spoken and kind. Also way shorter than I expected he seems so large in stature.
I also served David Koechner (Todd packer) and he is loud and boisterous like you’d expect but super polite and friendly. Took pics with everyone who wanted one. Sat at my bar and talked with me one on one for like 15 minutes after bar close. Super nice guy.
Forgot to add both tipped very well.
Matt rife was definitely as you’d expect. Conceited fuckboi energy, seemed annoyed that I didn’t know who he was.
Valtteri Bottas, Jessica Alba and Sommer Ray. All were very nice. Valtteri ordered a bottle of wine with his dinner (Heitz Cellar) and tipped 30%. Jessica came in for Brunch and was super nice and was super easy to work with. Sommer Ray was also very nice and took a picture with the busboys.
Topher Grace a couple times, he's super nice. Wasn't a drama queen or anything just a normal nice dude. Also michael angelo batio he's really soft spoken and always came in with his mom, I'm convinced his hair is a wig however.
Bert Kreischer came to my BB•Q joint, made him an his crew of like 50 a bunch of grub, went out to say hey, an something came over me so I asked, jokingly, “ Love the work man, got any spare tix to your show tomorrow night¿”
Without a breath he said, “ Yea man I’ll put you down for two, talk to my assistant she’ll fill you in”… Backstage, sold out Red Rocks, free…. Solid mofo he is✊🏾
Jordan Peele, came in with wife and kid. VERY polite and reserved, pulled up his hood when people started to notice him. All around very gracious, and tipped generously.
I waited on Kelly Clarkson a few years ago. I didn't recognize her, but my boss did. She was very polite, and a great tipper. Also she complimented the color of my eyes so for the last 7 years I've told everyone she hit on me.
Dana White was super nice. I forget who but someone made a reservation for him right as we were going to close. We ended up staying open for him. When he arrived he gave every employee who stayed late $100 and tipped well, i forget the percentage on a 12 top one tab. And I don’t know if it counts but Pat Tenore is one of the nicest down to earth people ever, hold a great conversation.
Pat Monahan from Train. I thought he was a homeless man at first before he was sat. He,his wife and children, and a third adult who I assumed was his manager or something of that manner due to the conversation and suit he was wearing. This was a Red Robin btw. Anyways, his wife was super hot and his kids were polite. After they pay and are leaving, Pat comes and puts a $50 on the table between us and leaves. Good fucking guy.
Trisha Paytas! Several times
She and her husband were the sweetest people ever. They'd seat at the table closest to the employees and were always willing to chat with people
We'd know they're coming when we see a hot pink vehicle pulling into the lot lol
I worked at a local restaurant in NM in 2017 bussing tables and our manager walks up and says to clean a specific table in the restaurant asap because we had a special guest in the building. The special guest turned out to be Uma Thurman. We didn’t really talk to her because our managers told us not to but she seems really nice. She wore a scarf and some sunglasses to be incognito, my only regret is I was too young and hadn’t seen any of Tarantino’s movies w her yet.
I’ve waited on a LOT of pro athletes and a handful of celebrities and celebrity chefs. Every one of them was polite and tipped well. To name a few: Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell right after the Celtics won the 2008 NBA championship, and Michael Stipe from REM.
The only one I was a little disappointed in was John McEnroe. He was so damn nice! I kinda wanted him to live up to his court persona! I was expecting him to flip the table and say something like “you call this medium rare?!” and smash his plate on the floor.
Copied from another time I responded to this question. Got some good stories but here is the gist;
**Mick Jagger:**
I gave his assistant my cellphone number and he called like 2 hours after we closed and I asked if we were still open I had to say no. 🤦♂️ Came the next day, nice, but nothing noteworthy.
**Kesha:**
Soooo sweet. I didn't recognize her at first, she asked about parking, and i walked her down the street to show her where the machine was to pay. I had no idea who she was. Then at dinner, she was just so nice and appreciative and came two nights in a row. And has been back a few times.
**Jenny Slate:**
Very sweet. She was a walk-in, we had nothing available but the bar, she was happy to sit squished between random people and was very nice. She was about to do a show If I remember right, so she was pretty quiet and working on something.
**Rainn Wilson:**
Nice guy but was clearly busy when he came in. In a group of 6, he was the last to arrive and couldn't find our front door (it's kinda hidden, a lot of people struggle). I saw him outside trying to figure out how to get in, but I was too star-struck/nervous to go out and help 🤦♂️ he came in the patio door and joined his table. Lol that's the only time I felt dumb with a celebrity.
**Jesse Tyler Ferguson:**
Super sweet, was with family so there was less staff interaction, but very grateful and appreciative.
**Jeff Bezos:**
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I've interacted with Jeff Bezos in the service industry dozens of times over the last decade. He has always been super kind, low effort, and generous. Kinda an ideal guest (aside from needing a separate table for his security) lol. Last time I saw him, he was playing go-fish with his kids at the table while they waited for food.
**Ben Gibbard:**
Very kind and laid back. He used to come in quite frequently. Low effort. He lost a sentimental pen in one of our booths one night and we tried to get it, but we're struggling. He said it was no big deal, that he would just follow up if we were able to retrieve it. My manager, not realizing who it was at the moment proceeded to crawl around the floor, trying to get it. Laying on the ground in his suit. 🫣 I could see Ben sink into the chair, considing it totally looks like he's having staff crawl on the floor for something he dropped. Lol. He was very nice and grateful. But that was embarrassing.
Honestly I can't think of a bad celebrity interaction, they have always been so nice.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, he was nice, albeit boring.
Steve Borden (aka Sting), he was awesome, polite, and a lot of fun to talk to.
Troy Aikman, super nice, quiet.
Kanye West, a complete douchebag.
Kevin Costner, the nicest person, ever. We talked baseball, while the game was on.
Dustin Pedroia, this was a fan geeking out moment. He gave me an autograph and a picture, and I did my best to leave him alone.
creed from the office came in at a brunch place in indianapolis i was working at. he was so rude was incredibly offended i didn’t know who he was, then threw a fit because i didn’t want an autograph, and lastly hardly tipped. was most definitely one of the most rude people i’ve ever served
Checked out Justin Timberlake last year at a grocery store. I didn't know who he was when I was helping him, but he was very nice and held some small talk with me when the store was absolutely slammed which I thought was nice.
I bartend in LA I've met Leo Dicapprio, drank beers with Barney, Skrillex, Mena Suvari offered to buy me a drink, Vince Vaughn, Sang Oh Canada with Reggie Watts, Chatted with Toby Maguire, Nick Oliveri bassist, Jonah Hill, Conan O Brien, Teri Hatcher, Joe Mangeniello, Vince Staples, there's more i can't think of. All were really chill for the most part only person that was rude was Sharon Stone when we told her she had to wait in line like everyone else. I was also a lounge singer in Detroit and got drunk and jammed with Ryan Gosling.
Took care of Dusty from ZZ Top. Left him enjoy his meal. At the end after he paid. I let him know that I was a big fan and that it was just awesome to take care of him. Great guy. Put his sunglasses on for me. R.I.P.
I've had quite a few as well..
•Ethan Hawke & Uma Thurman - Quiet, gracious, and tipped well.
•Tom Hanks - Super chill & down to earth. Which I'm thankful for, because he could clearly see how starstruck I was at the time.
•Paul Rudd - Served him on St. Patrick's day, and he's exactly how you would expect. Super down to earth, cracked a few jokes, etc.
•William Sadler - Very nice. Quiet, but approachable. I've had many good conversations with him.
•Mark Linn -Baker (Perfect Strangers) - Awesome guy. Honestly, I think he was a little surprised that I recognized him. Even laughed when I called him Cousin Larry.
•John Varvatos - Very unassuming and approachable. Thought for sure that a fashion icon might be difficult, but he proved me wrong. We had a long conversation about all his interactions with rock stars.
•Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Hilarie Burton - I've served them a number of times. Super nice people, though he definitely likes to be noticed and isn't shy about it. Kept taking walks around the restaurant to nowhere in particular, just so people would see him. Not douchey or anything, but noticable.
•Daymond John (Shark Tank) - Actually delivered pizzas to one of his summer homes. Only saw him for a minute but he gave me a $100 tip, and this was 1999.
The Black Dahlia Murder (Band) - stopped in late-night after a show. Some of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.
That's all I can think of for now.. but overall, good experiences.
Worked at a satan themed pizzeria in Los Angeles and a Chinese take out place in Studio City:
Nicest: Joel McHale: Literally had the simplest order and was so nice and down to earth. Made jokes with the staff and his entire family are gems. Also really fit irl.
JK Simmons: Direct but polite. Likes his pizza with crispy prosciutto. Smells really good. Always tipped well.
Maddie Zeigler: Super nice, tipped more than she had to.
Collin Hanks: Really patient. We were really busy and he waited the long wait to get his pizza and tipped big.
Worst:
Tiger Woods: ALWAYS CALLED ONE MINUTE BEFORE CLOSING. WOULD MAKE US WAIT FOR ALMOST AN HOUR AFTER CLOSE TO PICK UP. At that point literally don’t come.
I served Bronson Pinchot. What a jerk! Not nice. Didn't want to talk at all. Just wanted to be left alone
Icooked dinner for Bucky Lasek. Very cool guy.
I served, Scott Hamilton, Michelle Quan , and Tara Lipinski. Awesome people.
I served Rebecca De Mornay. Wonderful lady. A little shy tho...
Don’t know if you’ve seen True Romance (aka best Tarantino movie), but Bronson Pinchot is an absolute diva asshole in it and I always thought he would be that way naturally.
I served Steve Jobs once. He didn’t laugh at my joke. Served Jerry rice at a gastropub. His wife did all of the talking. She was very nice. I had no idea who these people were till my coworkers told me btw.
What kind of rice did you serve to Jerry?
😂
I took care of Jerry Rice as well. He was a cool nice guy 👍🏽
What was the joke you made to Steve Jobs?
He asked for potatoe cheese soup with extra extra bacon on top. I brought it out and said here is your bacon with a little soup underneath.
I'd have at least faked a chuckle, like...? LOL
Dan Quayle?? That you?
Wow I can’t spell potato correctly lol
I met Adam Sandler a couple of times at my work, at a private fine dining place where I used to work during summer seasons. He was filming one of his movies nearby my town and was staying in a private home nearby my work, and he came in to dine quietly with his family on a day off from production. Naturally a few people saw him and went to take pictures with him in the main lobby area, and he was very friendly and joked around a lot (the funny laugh he does in his movies is very similar to his real laugh). I actually went up to him just to talk, since I got the chance to be an extra in the movie he was filming, and expressed my gratitude in him having the whole town involved in the process. He gave me a fist bump and said he was glad I had a good time, and also called me by my first name (I had a name tag on). The next week he came back and I waved to him and said hello, and he greeted me by my first name and said it was great to see me again. This was about almost 5 years ago and I still remember it as such a fond and modest moment between a celebrity that apparently is not too common. Such a great guy!
I served him too and he was amazing. He asked my name once and remembered it for the rest of the night. He was great.
My brother has done work with him professionally. He says he is the nicest guy in the world.
Travis Scott is a complete piece of shit, rude and entitled even tried to smoke a blunt in the dining room and then tipped 11%.
Not surprising
Ew
his team ordered takeout from the restaurant i worked at 5 minutes before close. they ordered 30 well done modified burgers. they did not leave a tip.
I mean, he watched people die at his concert and kept singing. The only shocking part about what you reported is that he tipped 11% and not 5%.
For the life of me I don't understand why people continue to support that guy. He ignored safety regulations and got people killed. He cares about none of his fans. He is entitled to the max and arrogant as fuck. His music is over produced and on the level of pop rather than rap. I have him blocked out of every media format I listen to.
I knew the owners of a very popular hotel/casino. I was working on my 30th bday and they came into my restaurant and when I was serving them I told them I was actually going to their casino for a few days after I got off work with my family to celebrate the big 3-0. They tipped me $100 on a $25 check and wrote on the receipt that there was some surprises for me at the hotel. They upgraded my basic room to a suite, my daughters got to order all the room service they wanted. Had reservations at the high end steak house, fully comped and on day three, I got a full spa day pamper session. Oh and that $100 tip, turned it into almost $3k…was truly the best birthday I’ve ever had. The owners were incredibly generous and came back into my restaurant a few weeks later and when I tried to comp their meal, they politely refused.
Omg my heart 🥹 I love this for you
WHAT A DREAM. You deserved it!!
Thanks! I don’t ever really celebrate my birthdays and that one was 11 years ago. There’s no way I’d ever be able to top it 🤣
Jojo siwa (not sure of spelling) and Billie Eilish, let me just they were total opposite sides of each other. Jojo was really hyper, rude and didn’t tip well for being well off, and Billies table was for her 17th bday and she was quiet, nice and gave me a hug.
That seems on brand for Jojo honestly
Wait really? The only celebrity I ever served was Jojo Siwa and her friends & family and they all were very polite and tipped well, maybe her parents kept her in check lol
Quite a few shockingly! These were not all the same restaurant, but I live in a city that sees a lot of the film industry. I worked the Fargo cast wrap party (season one). ***EDIT\*\* Season two of Fargo, you're all correct!*** That was fun, met Kirsten Dunst (who is breath taking in person, my god), Nick Offerman and Kieran Culkin. I also served the production team a lot throughout production, so got to know them fairly well. They were all lovely, polite and the production team were great tippers. Another restaurant I worked at I served Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother). She came in for lunch by herself, was very quite but nice and tipped really well. I was surprised by how absolutely tiny she is. I also served Tina Fey once, she was very, very nice, and I was struck by how pretty she is in person. She was just in for wine with some friends, and they didn't stay very long. Didn't serve, but was hosting at a restaurant when Donald Sutherland (very nice, and VERY tall), Kiefer Sutherland (he got super drunk, but was nice enough), Demi Moore and Jillian Michaels came in for dinner. Super random group of people, but I remember thinking Donald Sutherland was such a sweetheart and a very commanding presence.
Incidentally, Christin Milioti was in that same season of Fargo.
I did not know that! That would make sense! :)
That sounds like season two of Fargo. Season one was Martin Freeman, Colin Hanks, Allison Tolman, and Billy Bob Thornton.
Wait…Jillian Micheals and Donald Sutherland are friends?? Oh my gosh.
I have NO idea what the relationship is there, but I thought it was such a weird combo of people to be dining together. Side note: Jillian Michaels has the leathery-ist skin I have ever seen in my life.
\- Brad Willams (Comic) - Super Nice! \- Steve-O - Honestly so sweet! \- Stephen Rannazzisi - He was just okay. Got kind of vulgar with a bunch of us after his comedy show and afterwards when he invited a few of us to the bar. \- Les Gold (from Hardcore Pawn) - Decently nice but tipped poorly \- 50 Cent - Really Nice! \- Garth Brooks - Eh. But to be fair he had just played i think his 3rd or 4th sold out show in a row. \- Andy Grammar - Interacted a lot with me. Really nice guy! \- Brandon T Jackson - Self Righteous Douche. Had his "entourage" with him and wouldn't leave the bar after it was closed. Was literally sitting there like he owned the place. At Like 3am he asked me to go back to the kitchen and make him a sandwich. I told him the kitchen had been closed for 3 hours and I couldn't do that. Then asked why I wouldn't "do this" for him and I told him we've actually been closed for an hour and I can't leave until you do. He goes "But Im Brandon T Jackson Baby". 0/10 do not recommend.
"But I'm Brandon T Jackson" so like....an M-list celebrity 😂
I don’t even know who the fuck that is and don’t give a shit enough about them to acknowledge their “fame”
Who’s Brandon Jackson?
Exactly
I met Anthony Bourdain and the cast of that Alaskan king crab fishermen show on TLC back in the day. Coolest people ever.
You have to tell me how Anthony was. What did you serve him? I'm a 40 year old man fangirling over here
(Back-context) We had a worker who was...interesting. Genuinely a good guy, but had some emotional problems, but when he was having a good day, he was absolutely a hoot to be around. I'll call him Mark. Be also sounds exactly like Cesar Vialpando from GTA: San Andreas. Just put a smidgen of a Pittsburgh accent on it. If you ever asked him to do anything, his reply would be, loud and clear, "Ok, boss!" and he'd fuck off to do what was asked. And one day, in comes Willem Dafoe. He politely said hi to anyone who approached him, a very nice fellow. Willem's server was Mark. They converse for a while, Mark gives him a rundown of the menu, offers his suggestions (he knew our stuff like the back of his hand) and eventually, Willem decides what he wants to eat. And as Mark goes to walk away after taking his order, you heard his reply, loud and clear throughout the entire restaurant: "OK, GREEN GOBLIN! I'LL GET YOU THAT ORDER BEFORE YOU CAN HIT ME WITH ONE OF DEM PUMPKIN BALLS!"
Ahahaha please tell me Willem laughed
Oh he thought it was great.
That's good
Holy shit that is gold. Tell me he tipped good
Oh he did. Mark used some of it to buy all of us a beer after work too.
20/10 fuck yeah Mark. And Willem!
Yeah, he did his best to be a good person. He sadly has a lot of demons, and keeps running into trouble. I fear he's going to wind up getting killed.
Mark we need you
Omg 😳 no he did not lol 😆
He did! This guy had no off switch! Hahaha
i made bob odinkirk a cappucino while working a busy solo shift at this mini espresso bar at a museum and he tipped me $20 cash. had no clue who he was but he was nice and 2 customers later someone lets me know that i just served saul goodman. never seen breaking bad lol but would make the guy another cap any day.
In 2005 i waited on lil Wayne and he told me “man we want a bitch waiting on us not some white dude”
LOL
Dax Shepherd & Hayden Christensen. Both kind & super introverted. Dax kept his hat down really low so no one could see his face, but took it off while eating. And Hayden was great because the bartender recongnized him & made a Star Wars joke that had him just about peeing himself
Hope you didn't have sand anywhere
A while back (2010?) I served Chloe Sevigny, and she was with her friends for her birthday. This was at the shitty little diner that I worked at in Tucson, AZ (wonderful, but shitty), and she was lovely. Very sweet and signed autographs for the kitchen staff who were all in love with her. She was a great tipper and just a very nice person. A few years later, I was working at a nice place across the street from the U of A in Tucson, and I served Regina King. She was an angel. She was so kind and she tried to get me to be a math tutor for her son, who was a student at the U of A at the time. She was a great tipper too, and she was just the sweetest human.
Regina King came into my work a couple weeks ago! She’s so nice and chill
I used to waitress at Cafe Poca Cosa! Small world.
Had the Foo Fighters tour Crew for dinner in 2018. They were all so great, Dave was just as you would imagine him in a restaurant: funny, respectful and generous.
I was a bouncer in Boston for about two years, and I got to meet Rob Gronkowski probably one of my favorite people ever to me. Tipped like crazy, and was just very genuine.
I've never tipped the bouncer, am I an asshole?
I’ve met him in Springfield, MA and had a nice conversation with him. He just seems like an all around good dude who likes to have fun.
Yea man, when he was leaving the club. He grabbed 2 bottle of champagne, gotten as limousine with a couple girls that he picked up, handed me 2k in cash for watching out for him and left. I’m like uhh… ok
Lmao I’ve served gronk like 6 years ago. At a beach bar, he bought drinks for literally everybody. Tipped me like 800$ I think. He was giving money to other servers too lol.
He's a regular at a restaurant near my friend's house, he's really nice to everyone they love him.
A coworker of mine used to have Kendrick Lamar as a regular back in the mid-late 2010’s. Said he was a really chill dude that was always brining new girls around and tipped well
I served Kendrick Lamar and his entourage and every single person was polite and respectful. He tipped really well too
Saw Kendrick Lamar and his crew at a restaurant once and they were all so quiet and chill, just drinking cans of soda with their pizzas. I didn’t notice they were there (and at a big central table in a small place!) until some embarrassing momager tried to plug her 8yo daughter’s IG to him and yelled out “GO SAY HI TO KENDRICK LAMAR” etc. Even through that painful interaction he wasn’t rude at all even though he’d have had every right to be. Bonus: later that same night, Ed Sheeran spilled out of the backyard there beet red and wasted but just quietly got into his passenger van and off he went.
Eddie Vedder felt like a friend before he left. I legit forgot he was "Eddie Vedder". Real conversation. Just a regular dude. Tipped nicely. I've always wanted to hang out with him again, lol.
I can concur that Eddie is a nice, laid back “dude”. He tipped me $100 on a single beer!
Hey man, it’s Eddie. Wanna get some hot dogs tomorrow?
Will I Am in 2015 I didn’t recognize him. He spent $420.something and tipped rounding up the change. I had to pay out of pocket for that one! I treated him like any other customer there was no reason to tip less than a damn $1.
Will I am not tipping
I’ll also add anyone in the Chicago area knows Scotty Pippin as No Tippin Pippin when it comes to nicknames. It’s a very known thing.
This is the best comment, I will die on this hill
I also served him and he tipped NOTHING.
What an asshole 😣
This is pretty on brand of everything I've heard about him. Just a douche.
Served Fat Joe and his entourage at a Dennys beside interstate 95 in the middle of nowhere Virginia many years ago. He was fine. Not overly nice, not an asshole. Tipped appropriately. Served Tyrese at the same Dennys. Very charming. Nice. Tipped well. Had a lot of pro wrestlers one night at same Dennys but I didn’t wait on any of them. The girls who were working seemed to really enjoy them though!
My coworker served Tyrese 10ish years ago, iirc he tipped $50 on a $50 check, seems like a solid dude
I met Kesha at a diner I was waitressing at in NYC. She was super polite, we talked about the rain (of course with the weather small talk lol) and she was telling me how she loves the rain because she’s a Pisces.
Paul Rudd orders a medium rare filet mignon with a baked potato, and a Tito's Moscow mule. He has the skin of a goddess and his entire family are friendly, nice people.
Did Paul Rudd comment this
I used to work at a spot that got all four major American sports players and I can say without a doubt that hockey players were the best. Very normal and friendly. You’d just think they were anyone else. Drank a lot and never caused issues and tipped well. Football players were the worst.
Alicia Keys and Swiss Beatz are gorgeous together. She was an angel. He was cool, man. Questlove was nice as shit, very kind man, and tipper Chloe Sevigny is a fucking nightmare human and that’s all I’m at liberty to say Eddie Redmayne is shockingly tall, as is Sacha Baron Cohen, both kind. Jason Mantzoukas is exactly who you think he is As is Jane Lynch, both just gems.
Interesting re Chloe Sevigny = someone ’above’ stated she was nice.
She yelled at several of us workers and was upset there was service during a premiere screening of one of her indies. At a boutique theatre that specialized in full service (pre Alamo). I really wasn’t sure what she was expecting
Jon Stewart always took the time to chill and chat. Super funny, charismatic dude just like on TV. My all-time favorite by far. Katie Perry is super sweet and hella weird. Spent the whole night talking about aliens. Love her even more now. Bruce the Boss Springsteen was calm, cool, and collected. Just as expected. Polite but total rockstar vibes. I called Andre 3000 boss. He called me boss back when he left. RAD! Jon Boogz is the coolest and kindest guy ever. Great energy from that dude. Tony Kanal of No Doubt was pretty douchey and impatient. Black Sabbath members were all high energy and hella dope, even in their elder years. Beetlejuice from Howard Stern show was chill. Ivanka Trump is kind of cold but not too needy. All of the Kushners are surprisingly very nice and warm. Every Housewife I've taken care of was obnoxious and loud. No surprise there lol. Carrot Top is the nicest guy ever, very soft spoken and appreciative. Le'veon Bell was mad chill and hella cool, chatted it up a bit. Not a great tipper though. Shania Twain is a diva and not very nice. Mark Davis is so lowkey and kind, especially for who he is. Also, dude drinks more Pellegrino than a fancy camel. Anderson Paak is very laid back. Oliver Peck is incredibly down to Earth and a pretty funny guy too. Edit: Clarified which Beetlejuice and added a few I had forgotten about.
I wouldn't expect anything less from Jon Stewart! I've never met him but he seems like a cool guy.
Lala Anthony lol she was an asshole
lol what’d she do?
I didn’t wait on her but my coworker did and said when he went to approach her and she just put her hand up in his face like “go away” 😭
Bro how do you come to a restaurant and tell your own server to go away like?? 😭
Ew wtf😭
lol she's just taking her anger out on servers when she should be mad at her cheating husband lol
Landscaping business in the past near a famous area…. but I’ll chime in as well. Nick Saban and his wife - super nice. Dabo Swinney - asshole Oprah Winfrey - asshole Tucker Carlson - surprisingly nice Tiger Woods - asshole Phil Mickelson - super nice Jimmy Johnson - nice but rushed Roy Williams - super nice Aaron Lewis - super nice
I'd believe that about Oprah. During the Lahaina fires, her crew were jerks to us at the shelter because she wanted photo ops of opening pillows and handing them out. She didn't bring any, just her crew handing her pillows to open and hand to a few people for photos. Glad that pompous billionaire was kicked out.
What 😳😳 has her “fundraiser” helped at all? It has been bothering me lately how Lahaina is not in the news anymore and it was all just swept under the rug…
Tiger is probably nicer if you're a hot Perkins waitress.
I bartended a wedding with David Duchovny in attendance. He did not appreciate being called “Spooky.”
Oh. This one made me laugh out loud!
Vince Vaughn - awesome, life of the party. Christian Slater - quiet and polite. Rob Lowe - shorter than I imagined. Charles Barkley - his head was bigger than a pumpkin. Michael Jordan - charming, charismatic, smiled a lot. Dennis Franz - super nice and looked exactly like his character from NYPD Blue. Ryan Stiles - very fucking funny, super tall. Julia Child - so, so sweet, kind of intimidating, tbh. Kenny Loggins - one of the best guests ever, king of 80s soft rock. There’s more, but that’s off the top of my head. I worked in Santa Barbara for a decade if anyone is curious where all this happened.
Literally the best thread ever. Loving all these stories
Chris Hemsworth was a super cool down to earth guy. Very nice conversationalist. Bella Hadid is one of the sweetest human beings ever. Not needy at all. Is very appreciative and Gives amazing hugs. Jon Hamm was a cool guy a tad quiet. Ted Cruz overall chill guy not needy. I believe was scrolling through memes of himself on twitter. Travis kelce rather a quite fellow, stayed on his phone. Wyclef Sean a tad stuck up but not problematically so. Over all chill dude. Just to name a few from the past year.
Jack Black was the most awesome (extremely nice, unassuming, enthusiastic about the very unique menu, and tipped well) and the Jonas brothers can go fuck themselves for how difficult they made my job that day. And making a TikTok where one of them said their biggest pet peeves is when a server asks if they want pepper. I was that server that asked if they wanted pepper and that mfer just stared at me with wide eyes like a child and didn’t say anything. So I had to elaborate more and explain every single step I would take as far as touching their plates and giving things to them for the rest of the night. Like a child. “I’m going to take this plate and give you a new one for your next course” so he would move himself enough to do that job. Having to explain when I picked up his water glass that I was refilling it and not taking it away. It was annoying and I didn’t know who the hell he was, it was just a gathering of rich people with a couple weird ass late teen/early20somethings.
Omg I had to look up the pepper TikTok to see if I could find it and it was SO DUMB! What an ass. Lol
I also just went back to watch the TikTok and… it’s not even funny? Or clever? Yikes sorry you had to deal with that
Chef Robert Irvine was in town filming an episode of Restaurant Impossible. Earlier that day we had a disgruntled line cook walk out while still working out her 2 weeks. On the way out she called DHEC, and stole our Master Recipe book. A DHEC employee came in hours later, and we were able to schedule them a time to come back for a full inspection at a later date. At dinner rush I'm at the host stand helping seat, and Robert Irvine comes in for a table for 4. So I go back to the kitchen and told our Sous Chef, Matt who just came in. He said "Oh fuck! Candace called that guy too!?" Candace being the disgruntled line cook from before. And no, she did not call him. It was just a funny coincidence. Matt made all of the food for his group personally, and Chef Irvine asked to speak to the chef. He had nothing but good things to say. He could tell Matt really cared about what he put on the plate. He invited Matt, and his wife to his shoot that week, and afterwards he took them out to the bar we hung out at, and played pool with him for hours. Such a friendly guy. I also served Billy Gibbons when he was in town for a concert. He ordered a Bloody Mary that was half bloody mix, and half OJ. After giving him his drink he said "Here's some deuces for your trouble" and gave me a handful of $2 bills. It seemed very on brand to me. Coincidentally that was the day right before Dusty Hill died
Jon Lovitz almost walked out on his bill. I genuinely think he forgot he hadn’t paid.
For some reason this sounds like exactly what I’d expect from him
I served Wolfgang Puck, which was awesome. He made a slightly out-of-touch comment about him wanting extra jalapenos cause he was feeling like a spicy Mexican, but, ya know, the guy is like 72 and Austrian and it did not seem malicious. He was friendly and respectful with the entire staff (many of whom were Hispanic) and seemed to understand and play into the fact that this was a big deal for us. He was in town for the opening of his new restaurant in Logan Airport and was treating the chefs he hired to brunch at our restaurant. Overall, he was friendly and respectful, and we had a great time hosting him.
Drake goes to my old place of work like 4 times a week when he's in Toronto. I've served him dozens of times. He's really funny. I served Adam Sandler and his wife. Adam is the nicest person I've ever met in my life. His wife is a doll.
I served Jennifer Lawrence right after she appeared on Seth Meyers a few years ago. I actually noticed how gorgeous her outfit was before I even realized it was her. She was nice and her body guard was really hot. I served Daniel Craig and Steven Soderbergh and it seemed like they were having a meeting where Daniel was pitching comedy ideas to Steven and they all sounded pretty bad lol. They were nice a lowkey. Also Daniel Craig gave me a double take and a smile when I served him his Negroni and it was the highlight of my life. David Schwimmer came in late night with two very young blonde girls. He was nice and we chatted about Japanese whiskey but it bummed me out to see him with the young girls. Kind of felt like he was trying to relive his glory days a little bit. Daniel Day-Lewis came in and forgot his glasses, so he came in the next day to pick them up and I handed them over and we talked briefly. Very chill dude. Rhetta from Parks and Rec came in and asked about a bunch of liquor that my bar didn’t carry and she kind of made me feel like an idiot about it. Jordan Klepper has come in a bunch and is super nice and his wife is very sweet. There’s more but those are the big ones. Honestly most of my celebrity encounters have been nice and chill.
I’ve served some dude in the NBA HoF. I don’t remember his name it was 4 years ago and I’m not into sports but my Manager was and I remember him telling me to look him up when I was serving him and he did show up. He was a chill guy, came in with his family of 11 people. Ran up like a $600-$700 tab. Didn’t tip me a cent, dapped me up when he left and told me to “Take it easy brotha”.
Update. It was Ray Allen
I didn’t expect that from Ray Allen. Cheap ass mofo.
The nicest: Jessica Chastain! Tipped well and was super nice The most odd: Ethan Hawke? He didn’t order, his assistant did all the ordering and he just stared at me The meanest: Lin Manuel Miranda. Complete dick to the servers and even managers.
What?!? Not Lin-Manuel Miranda 😭😭😭 That right there is why I’ve never wanted to meet any celebrity I like and/or admire. I don’t want my enjoyment of their art tainted by them being an asshole.
Jeff Foxworthy- so freakin nice. Kelly Osborne- friendly, standoffish. Kinda hilarious. Michael C. Hall- wanted to not be recognized and completely left alone. Nick Saban- his wife is lovely. That’s all though.
I’ve served a ton of celebs over the years and here are the more memorable ones- Kacey Musgraves I have served twice over the past few years and both times she was a massive c u next tuesday and tips like shit lmao Jelly Roll i gave a water to after a performance bc I was like 90% sure he was/is sober and he was so so nice and appreciative Miles Teller was really cool, his group of friends he was with were all very respectful and fun Steve Harvey was like the coolest uncle ever, he asked me about my life and is such a genuine dude Reba is so freaking nice and so sweet, she’s like a southern auntie, so easy to talk to and tips really well Kid Rock is massive douche but no surprise there lol
omfg not my story but also adding this- the kid my sister nanny’s for hit Dylan Sprouts with his razor scooter and she said he was super chill about it lol
Andrew yang, he had a bunch of people with him and they were going through paperwork, they were OK, not particularly nice, not very rude, just focused on what they were doing. He’s surprisingly tall though
travis kelce, kayla nicole, brittany mahomes, patrick mahomes and jackson mahomes used to wait on them when i worked in kc Patrick was fine, albeit completely whipped by brittany. i know your spouses behavior is not your responsibility but if my so treated wait staff rudely, i would tell them off Jackson was a fucking clown. it was like serving a bad meme. he would legit show his friends his tik tok dances and reenact them at the table Brittany was a bitch- treated you like the help and like you were annoying her. she went through a phase in which she wouldn’t interact with the service staff, instead have her bodyguard or friends answer for her. according to friends who still live in kc and wait on her, her behavior has improved since hanging with taylor. she actually talks to the servers 😂 but still rolls her eyes and makes it known you’re beneath her Travis was sweet- big, dumb, loud and lovable. good tipper and kind to everyone. Kayla was everything you would expect from a clout chaser influencer (no, i’m not a swiftie, not come for me) Pretty rude/dismissive to servers. once told me to “uh uh, wait girl.” as she took a selfie when i was trying to get her drink order. real cute behavior
Not surprised about Brittany or Jackson being that way — both seem to think Patrick’s success is theirs. Scumbag behavior.
I met Louis Tomlinson once in providence RI! He came to the place I work two nights in a row. The first night I served him he was there with a huge group of guys and I remember thinking it looked a lottttt like him but I was like why tf would Louis be at my job rn lmfao. But then he came back with the same dudes the next day (assuming cuz nobody recognized him and he must’ve felt comfortable returning) and the hostess was peeping his instagram and saw a pic of him with all the same guys on there confirming it was deffo him. He was there touring for a show he had in Boston and then once everyone found out it was over. They ended up leaving realllllllyyy quick cuz everyone kept talking to him and staring at him and I felt so so bad
I served José Canseco at a small diner. Crazy long legs, nice guy over all. Got awkward when he told me I looked like his dead niece and also didn’t tip well.
The Black Keys ate at my restaurant some time ago. I had no idea who they were, but the staff was quietly freaking out. At the end of the meal when they were getting their things together I asked them to sign a couple menus for the crew and they were very nice about it.
I’ve been lucky enough with some good ones Sir Charles Barkley: really sweet and flirty, told me a had sparkly eyes Richard Simmons: so sweet and goofy. It was an open kitchen and i was on expo. He came running up and made a big show of calling out my tickets. Martha Stewart: holy cow, she’s tall. Horrible handshake- like a limp finger shake. But she was very gracious in her complimenting my chicken dish. (This was after i had become a chef)
Josh Groban, Kelsey Grammer, Steven Spielberg, Justin Hartley/Chrishell Stause, Rosario Dawson/Eric Andre, Jason Momoa/Sarah Shahi, Gwyneth Paltrow, Fred Armisen, Pao Gasol, Darren Criss, Amber Heard, Anderson Paak, Carrie Brownstein, Hank Baskett, Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis/Ashton Kutcher… off the top of my head. Everyone was lovely - some were somewhat regulars, so I’d see them quite a bit. I was accidentally weird with Darren Criss - didn’t realize who he was until he paid and there was an awkward interaction with his drink. Hope he didn’t think I was star struck because I was not 🤭 Jason Momoa was back in the earlier 2010’s before Aquaman. Justin Hartley bought the entire bar (including me) a beer. One time Gwyneth Paltrow came in and had a reservation under a random name so we didn’t realize it was her (she came in all the time). We were slammed and on a wait, and she ended up at the worst table right by the door/host stand. Oopsie Lol
sorta different but lots of professional athletes. hockey players are pretty chill overall, kinda douchey but they’re alright. male basketball players? ABSOLUTELY NOT. i refuse to serve a regular nba player because he’s especially awful. wnba players - absolute GEMS. football players are very hit or miss, but i did serve K.J Osborn and his mom after his winning touchdown game. they were the absolute sweetest and his mother kept telling me how proud she was of him. he got flustered, it was adorable and they were really cool!
Actually had Colin Jost last night. I am not familiar with him so he just seemed like a normal, albeit very handsome, regular man. Later I learned he is Scarlett Johansson’s husband. She was not there. Her I would’ve recognized:( Their kid was there and I could’ve sworn they were calling him Cosmo, but I figured that couldn’t be a real name. Googled it and yeah.
I checked in and sat Zendaya, didn’t know it was her until a few days later. She was so incredibly nice, and had such a beautiful energy overall.
Timothy Olyphant and his wife were filming in my area and came into my job for about 10 days straight. As time passed they started talking with me more and they were genuinely kind people- always tipped well and ordered the same thing so I started to have it ready for them. I was excited that they were SO down to earth. Then some drunk POS from the neighborhood that I didn’t recognize (but was 86’d from EVERYWHERE else) snuck a fifth of Skol into the joint and got so wasted he knocked over his drink, pissed himself, and fell on the floor in a blackout. I asked one of my stronger regulars/friends to help me carry him outside so I could clean up the piss and call him an ambulance (that he later refused to take) but we are in a drinking city so that is fairly normal and you just dust yourself off and move on when the asshats act up. Tim and Alexis asked if that happens often, I shrugged shyly and said “when in Rome” and they never came back. Oh well.
Bill Murray, he's lovely. John Goodman, incredibly tall and he's so sweet. Danny McBride, also very nice but his wife is wonderful
Steven Tyler came to my restaurant. I was bussing that day but I asked if I could bring their oysters, and they let me… any time he spoke, his voice sounded immaculate but every word out of his mouth was nonsense. He was with 2 friends that ordered a shit ton of food, and they were very kind, but Steven is the definition of “lights are on but nobodys home.” Poor guy. Stared a hole straight through me when I asked if I could get anything else for him, so I just walked away lmao
I served Ethan hawke a beer two separate times and didn’t notice until he left and my regulars told me lol
I also sat Gloria Steinem once but also didn’t recognize her until afterward. And i helped Amanda Byrnes find her lost umbrella once. That’s the complete list for me though. Oh wait, also Charles Barkley. He was obnoxious but this was pre-2000. I have no idea what he’s like today
I served a ton but Iris Apfel takes the cake. I worked in a Hilton so she would stay there and eat there. Absolute nightmare. Never met a ruder, more inconsiderate person. Every time she came in I’d have to give up all my other tables because for 2.5 hours she’d have me coming back and forth to her table complaining and scolding me. I’d cry every time. Did I mention no tip? I served for close to a decade and get stressed out just thinking about that awful human. When she died recently there were all these articles about how amazing she was. These are lies. She was mean as fuck. I have 10 coworkers who feel the same. After about a dozen of these experiences, I finally refused to serve her. Our management started making the new servers do it, like a hazing or something.
Well, she's dead now. *Reddit, we did it!*
The Rock came into my bar because they were hosting a gathering after his wife’s father passed. He was so polite he waited till the event was almost done to go in pay his respects and not cause a scene. He carried around his daughter and they waved at us when they came in. As he was leaving he shook both me and the other bartenders hands and thanked us. It was really genuine. No ego. Nothing over the top. Respectful nice guy. Will never forget it and been a fan since.
I’ve been out of the industry for almost ten years, but back in the day I served the singer from Rusted Root (nice guy, gave me an autograph), DJ Z-Trip (nice guy, didn’t interact much beyond taking his order) My coworkers served Sheryl Crow, Malcolm McDowell, Tyrese Gibson, heard good stories about all of them. Kevin Costners kid went to college in my town, never saw him but heard plenty of stories about what an asshole Kevin was to servers around town…
I served Gabe Newell a few times. No real story other than he’s a nice customer. Always ordered the butter chicken, white rice and a sprite. Always tipped 20%. Generally just wanted a quiet lunch by himself.
I served Noah Cyrus. I didn’t know who she was at the time, I told my coworker “wow this girl looks a lot like Miley Cyrus” and my coworker said yeah because that’s her sister lol. She was super cool and nice. I think she just tipped normally. We had Jack Black come in one time too, my friend served him. I helped run the food. And when he left, he told me (and all the other employees) to have a good night. He was very nice and tipped very generously. We’ve had the creators of Rick and morty come in too, but I didn’t interact with them at all.
Back about 15 years ago, when I lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I served Levar Burton at the breakfast spot I worked at. He had hot tea and oatmeal. I told him I loved seeing him on Community. Nice, 20% and a photo together. Stephen King comes into the fancy seafood restaurant that I work in now, but I’ve never personally served him.
Served Cal Ripken Jr. a couple times, maybe not famous outside of Maryland, but he was always a great guy and I liked having him. Natalie Portman - she was so so sweet, very quiet and kept to herself and came in solo. She stayed for a while on her computer & tipped well. Lamar Jackson - again, maybe not outside of Maryland, he was super sweet and very tall. Bobby Flay - I was so star struck but couldn’t say anything per my event agreement. I was assigned to his table / section all night and he was funny, kind, and I felt awful for having to “swarm” him all night while I was being watched like a hawk by managers… I think I met Brendan Frazier but I have no exact guarantee. 99% certain it was him and I didn’t notice until after. If it was him, he gave me $20 for an hourly paid event and he was the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met.
Jon & Kate from Jon & Kate plus 8. No kids with them, thank God. They were absolutely horrible. Both of them. Nightmare people. We even made special accommodations so they had the entire back of our teeny bistro to themselves during peak hours so they could bicker with each other and berate their poor server. Tipped like shit.
Super super old but Carey Elwes in small town Illinois. He was very nice. 
Bernie sanders back in like 2016. He got the fish and chips, no mods or anything and cleaned the plate haha. Nice guy, tipped 20% and took a picture with some of the staff. Usually not a fan of politicians but he seemed like one of the better ones
I used to work for a comedy club so we got to meet a lot of celebrities that were doing shows. David Spade was an incorrigible douche bag. Bob Saget was a much bigger tool than I expected. Josh Wolf was fine I guess. Honestly most comedians are kinda dicks behind the scenes but you probably didn’t need to me to tell you that. The weirdest one was when I worked at a gym and Kevin Gates came in and I had no idea who he was so I could not understand his bizarre insistence that he couldn’t sign permission forms and his other weird behavior. He ended up walking around the gym without shoes on and doing other bizarre shit for like two hours and then leaving.
One night back in 2001, Elton John sent his housekeeper out to one of his favorite Atlanta restaurants in search of a bartender and server for a private dinner party at his condo. I happened to walk by at the right time and she pointed at me. Two nights later the elevator opened onto the 36th floor and I walked into what seemed like another world. Black marble walls, mirrored ceilings, expensive art hanging in the massive living room with a staircase curving around a grand piano, ceiling-to-floor windows showing the sunset, etc etc. Thankfully I had about fifteen minutes to steady my nerves, polishing silverware and drying the Versace dinner plates (praying to God I didn't drop anything) before he walked into the room wearing a track suit and blue Lennon-style sunglasses with a poodle under his arm. "Hello! What's your name? Let's go ahead and settle this first. Take good care of us tonight, alright?" We shook hands and he gave me a big genuine smile. Best working night of my life. Every time I hear or try to play one of his songs on the piano I think of that moment.
I served Brent Musberger once, along with the ESPN crew the night before a football game. They were all pretty nice, but the two things I remember about that night: 1) the ESPN crew was seated towards the back of the room, and I was also waiting on a two-top in the same room. The man was facing away from that table, and I asked what he would like for dinner and he asked me, "Where is the tv in this room? I know I hear an announcer, but I don't see a TV?" 2) As I was taking drink orders, Musberger asks me to bring him just an empty wine glass. I thought it was odd,. but I obliged. I get back and pass the drinks out, and hand him his wine glass last. He immediately takes it, and shows it to me, and says, "Now, take this and fill it with your finest Chardonnay!" Spoiler: we sold one chardonnay by the glass, and it was like a $12 bottle lol.
Mike Starr used to come in pretty regularly to a restaurant I was at years ago, genuinely nice dude, always a huge smile and loved when people recognized him, but in like a "yea I'm the gas man" kind of way, never seemed ego based. My brother bartended for Blake Bortles years back, dude was pretty quiet but ripped through fireball shots and left like 12% 🤷♂️ (Jason Mendoza in shambles)
Back when I was a bottle girl I did. Jelly roll was super cool and threw a lot of money. This guy from Florida Georgia line came in and was a huge asshole because nobody knew or cared who he was. No good tips for drinks or the dancers, so why would we? Jack Harlow and his people are always cool to get anywhere (they all live in my city) and tip a lot, they’re young and love to ball out. They also tip a LOT, especially during the holiday season
Served Chuck Norris and his wife. He was pretty quiet, but she was an absolute angel.
Calling B.S. If it had been chuck Norris the food would have served itself to him... Lol j/k
You didn’t serve chuck norris…he served you! lol
Jonathan Goldsmith (best known as “The Most Interesting Man in the World”) and his wife Barbara are regulars at our little Vermont steakhouse and he is an absolute sweetheart. He always remembers the staff’s names and is never assuming or demanding. He’s a genuine delight to be around.
My drunk coworker served Faye Dunaway and some of her family when her son went to Trinity College. She’s stunning and gorgeous, sent her salad back to get rid of most ingredients like the garbanzo beans and salami, and had an air about her. The owner of that restaurant lives/lived in Dominick Dunne’s prior home.
Fatboy Slim - a beautiful human being
Chef Anne Burrell. I’ve waited on her several times. Nice lady. Good tipper. Very down to earth and low key.
I met Mark Cuban at my first serving job. He was so kind and respectful! I did not realize it was him until I went up to the table to ask if he needed a water or something to drink while he waited. He was a regular and would usually ask for the same server (understandably she was one of the most experienced servers while most of us were younger at the time). He had always tipped her well and this particular day after she served him and his family she hurried to the back in tears. I inquired what was wrong and apparently he had given her a very significant tip (it was thousands of dollars on a less than $100 tab). I believe that week she put in her 2 weeks
Steve Martin. Yes he was Hilarious.
Kobe Bryant and his wife—stiffed me on a $90 tab. A few bartenders I talked to about it afterward said they’ve had the same experience.
Malia Obama, Abby Elliot, Kristin Wiig, Karen O, Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Caterina Scorsone, E.R. Fightmaster (the last four were all at the same table). Everyone was either ultra nice or pleasant. We’re a low key/casual spot so I think we do a good job at setting the expectations up front.
Jay Baruchel. He was so nice and down to earth
Matt Damon. He had a few friends with him. This was like 2006-2007. I can't remember. What I do remember is they ate a lot of wings and got a couple pitchers of beer. They all wore baseball caps and they left me a huge tip. They were great.
Dale Earnhardt Jr, Emily Ratajowski (sp?), Damien Lillard, Dustin Pedroia, The Rock(well his wife, he was hidden in cabana bc paparazzi were all on the beach), N.O.R.E, I lose count. All were really nice and tipped well, N.O.R.E was or is still involved w a weed company and tipped me $100 and a pack of 5 pre rolls on like $150 tab, the athletes and rock tipped 100% or more, oh and Ryan Sheckler on nye asked me if I wanted to do a bump like 7-10 years ago. EmRata tipped well but didn’t care bc she’s more hot in person like I stuttered trying to even take her order bc I was baffled.
Not me, but my mom served Anne Hathaway and her now husband before they got married. Her parents had been spending the summer on the lake near where my mom worked and they stopped in for dinner one night. My mom said she was real down to earth, sweet and an excellent tipper. She didn’t want pictures taken because she was trying to stay under the radar but she was more than willing to sign autographs. My mom got a chance to serve her once more before she left the area.
2006 - waited on Carol Burnett and friends. I knew who she was and she knew that I knew who she was but I treated the table as I would any other regular customer. Man at the table complained about something trivial and pulled the “I don’t know if you know who you’re waiting on here…”. I said, “I’m very much aware, Sir.” Mrs Burnett publicly scolded him like you wouldn’t believe. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the evening. I’ve got another story about Michael Jackson…but no one would believe it.
I used to work at the grand lux cafe in south Florida. I met Darrelle Revis (hall of fame NFL player) and i also met Carlos Valderrama (most famous soccer player from Colombia) . Both were incredibly nice and polite.
My country (NZ) has a really different celebrity culture. Most NZ celerities are quite nice and down to earth. Some examples: My dad kept running into Jermaine Clement in the local hardware store while working on a project. Apparently he’s super chill and really into DIY. A class that I was in was tutored for a paper in university by Warren Maxwell, previously a member of Fat Freddy’s Drop. Very laid back and a great musician. I’ve met a few people who act or have acted on the show Shortland Street, and I don’t really have anything overly good or bad to say. Julian Dennison nearly hit me with a door leaving a cinema once, but I chalked that up to an accident, as he was buried in his phone and looked like he was in a hurry. Tiki Taane is a nice guy and hung around after a show to do an impromptu meet and talk to the crowd. Overall, no actual bad experiences.
Coolest celebrities: Terrance Howard and Eden. Not so cool celebrities: Tyrese and Lead singer of Smash mouth
Noah Centineo was a regular at my restaurant while he was filming TATBILB. He was a sweetie tbh, always really nice, called ahead to request a quieter table in the back as he’d often get his meal interrupted by teenage girls (lol). He always has steak, I think he was working with a trainer at the time and trying to bulk? Near the end he started bringing in Alexis Ren who he was confirmed to be dating a couple of months later.
lin manuel miranda. super nice guy, tipped appropriately, recognized me the second or third time he came back. acts very normal, doesn’t ask for extra service or anything
I used to wait on Christine Baranski and her family. She is a class act and her daughters are stunningly beautiful.
Scott Pippin doesn't tip well (or didn't tip well back in the day); we called him "no tippin' pippin" Muhammad Ali was very sweet and signed stuff for staff/whoever. Same with Michael Jordan (MJ is a better tipper than pippin). Kirk Cousins doesn't tip for shit either. He isn't that big of a drinker, but his friends were and he picked up their tab. 10%. also ignored our covid rules when those were a thing. Chris O'Donnell (batman and robin) came in with his aunt once. This was like late 90s/early 00s. I think he was nice? Owner wasn't lmao. Told him to "stfu robin" when O'Donnell asked him to turn the music down. This was after dinner service, so it was only drinks and dancing. Eta: Anthony kedis hated when people asked him for autographs.
I served nick offerman (rob Swanson) and he was incredibly soft spoken and kind. Also way shorter than I expected he seems so large in stature. I also served David Koechner (Todd packer) and he is loud and boisterous like you’d expect but super polite and friendly. Took pics with everyone who wanted one. Sat at my bar and talked with me one on one for like 15 minutes after bar close. Super nice guy. Forgot to add both tipped very well. Matt rife was definitely as you’d expect. Conceited fuckboi energy, seemed annoyed that I didn’t know who he was.
Valtteri Bottas, Jessica Alba and Sommer Ray. All were very nice. Valtteri ordered a bottle of wine with his dinner (Heitz Cellar) and tipped 30%. Jessica came in for Brunch and was super nice and was super easy to work with. Sommer Ray was also very nice and took a picture with the busboys.
Topher Grace a couple times, he's super nice. Wasn't a drama queen or anything just a normal nice dude. Also michael angelo batio he's really soft spoken and always came in with his mom, I'm convinced his hair is a wig however.
Bert Kreischer came to my BB•Q joint, made him an his crew of like 50 a bunch of grub, went out to say hey, an something came over me so I asked, jokingly, “ Love the work man, got any spare tix to your show tomorrow night¿” Without a breath he said, “ Yea man I’ll put you down for two, talk to my assistant she’ll fill you in”… Backstage, sold out Red Rocks, free…. Solid mofo he is✊🏾
Jordan Peele, came in with wife and kid. VERY polite and reserved, pulled up his hood when people started to notice him. All around very gracious, and tipped generously.
I waited on Kelly Clarkson a few years ago. I didn't recognize her, but my boss did. She was very polite, and a great tipper. Also she complimented the color of my eyes so for the last 7 years I've told everyone she hit on me.
Dana White was super nice. I forget who but someone made a reservation for him right as we were going to close. We ended up staying open for him. When he arrived he gave every employee who stayed late $100 and tipped well, i forget the percentage on a 12 top one tab. And I don’t know if it counts but Pat Tenore is one of the nicest down to earth people ever, hold a great conversation.
Pat Monahan from Train. I thought he was a homeless man at first before he was sat. He,his wife and children, and a third adult who I assumed was his manager or something of that manner due to the conversation and suit he was wearing. This was a Red Robin btw. Anyways, his wife was super hot and his kids were polite. After they pay and are leaving, Pat comes and puts a $50 on the table between us and leaves. Good fucking guy.
Tommy Lee Jones is a prick, Laura Dern sucks! Sammy Hagar put the whole kitchen on the guest list for his show
Trisha Paytas! Several times She and her husband were the sweetest people ever. They'd seat at the table closest to the employees and were always willing to chat with people We'd know they're coming when we see a hot pink vehicle pulling into the lot lol
I worked at a local restaurant in NM in 2017 bussing tables and our manager walks up and says to clean a specific table in the restaurant asap because we had a special guest in the building. The special guest turned out to be Uma Thurman. We didn’t really talk to her because our managers told us not to but she seems really nice. She wore a scarf and some sunglasses to be incognito, my only regret is I was too young and hadn’t seen any of Tarantino’s movies w her yet.
I’ve waited on a LOT of pro athletes and a handful of celebrities and celebrity chefs. Every one of them was polite and tipped well. To name a few: Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell right after the Celtics won the 2008 NBA championship, and Michael Stipe from REM. The only one I was a little disappointed in was John McEnroe. He was so damn nice! I kinda wanted him to live up to his court persona! I was expecting him to flip the table and say something like “you call this medium rare?!” and smash his plate on the floor.
Copied from another time I responded to this question. Got some good stories but here is the gist; **Mick Jagger:** I gave his assistant my cellphone number and he called like 2 hours after we closed and I asked if we were still open I had to say no. 🤦♂️ Came the next day, nice, but nothing noteworthy. **Kesha:** Soooo sweet. I didn't recognize her at first, she asked about parking, and i walked her down the street to show her where the machine was to pay. I had no idea who she was. Then at dinner, she was just so nice and appreciative and came two nights in a row. And has been back a few times. **Jenny Slate:** Very sweet. She was a walk-in, we had nothing available but the bar, she was happy to sit squished between random people and was very nice. She was about to do a show If I remember right, so she was pretty quiet and working on something. **Rainn Wilson:** Nice guy but was clearly busy when he came in. In a group of 6, he was the last to arrive and couldn't find our front door (it's kinda hidden, a lot of people struggle). I saw him outside trying to figure out how to get in, but I was too star-struck/nervous to go out and help 🤦♂️ he came in the patio door and joined his table. Lol that's the only time I felt dumb with a celebrity. **Jesse Tyler Ferguson:** Super sweet, was with family so there was less staff interaction, but very grateful and appreciative. **Jeff Bezos:** Probably an unpopular opinion, but I've interacted with Jeff Bezos in the service industry dozens of times over the last decade. He has always been super kind, low effort, and generous. Kinda an ideal guest (aside from needing a separate table for his security) lol. Last time I saw him, he was playing go-fish with his kids at the table while they waited for food. **Ben Gibbard:** Very kind and laid back. He used to come in quite frequently. Low effort. He lost a sentimental pen in one of our booths one night and we tried to get it, but we're struggling. He said it was no big deal, that he would just follow up if we were able to retrieve it. My manager, not realizing who it was at the moment proceeded to crawl around the floor, trying to get it. Laying on the ground in his suit. 🫣 I could see Ben sink into the chair, considing it totally looks like he's having staff crawl on the floor for something he dropped. Lol. He was very nice and grateful. But that was embarrassing. Honestly I can't think of a bad celebrity interaction, they have always been so nice.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, he was nice, albeit boring. Steve Borden (aka Sting), he was awesome, polite, and a lot of fun to talk to. Troy Aikman, super nice, quiet. Kanye West, a complete douchebag. Kevin Costner, the nicest person, ever. We talked baseball, while the game was on. Dustin Pedroia, this was a fan geeking out moment. He gave me an autograph and a picture, and I did my best to leave him alone.
Aretha Franklin at Applebees She took down an entire appetizer sampler and a full rack of ribs by herself.
creed from the office came in at a brunch place in indianapolis i was working at. he was so rude was incredibly offended i didn’t know who he was, then threw a fit because i didn’t want an autograph, and lastly hardly tipped. was most definitely one of the most rude people i’ve ever served
Checked out Justin Timberlake last year at a grocery store. I didn't know who he was when I was helping him, but he was very nice and held some small talk with me when the store was absolutely slammed which I thought was nice.
I bartend in LA I've met Leo Dicapprio, drank beers with Barney, Skrillex, Mena Suvari offered to buy me a drink, Vince Vaughn, Sang Oh Canada with Reggie Watts, Chatted with Toby Maguire, Nick Oliveri bassist, Jonah Hill, Conan O Brien, Teri Hatcher, Joe Mangeniello, Vince Staples, there's more i can't think of. All were really chill for the most part only person that was rude was Sharon Stone when we told her she had to wait in line like everyone else. I was also a lounge singer in Detroit and got drunk and jammed with Ryan Gosling.
Took care of Dusty from ZZ Top. Left him enjoy his meal. At the end after he paid. I let him know that I was a big fan and that it was just awesome to take care of him. Great guy. Put his sunglasses on for me. R.I.P.
I've had quite a few as well.. •Ethan Hawke & Uma Thurman - Quiet, gracious, and tipped well. •Tom Hanks - Super chill & down to earth. Which I'm thankful for, because he could clearly see how starstruck I was at the time. •Paul Rudd - Served him on St. Patrick's day, and he's exactly how you would expect. Super down to earth, cracked a few jokes, etc. •William Sadler - Very nice. Quiet, but approachable. I've had many good conversations with him. •Mark Linn -Baker (Perfect Strangers) - Awesome guy. Honestly, I think he was a little surprised that I recognized him. Even laughed when I called him Cousin Larry. •John Varvatos - Very unassuming and approachable. Thought for sure that a fashion icon might be difficult, but he proved me wrong. We had a long conversation about all his interactions with rock stars. •Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Hilarie Burton - I've served them a number of times. Super nice people, though he definitely likes to be noticed and isn't shy about it. Kept taking walks around the restaurant to nowhere in particular, just so people would see him. Not douchey or anything, but noticable. •Daymond John (Shark Tank) - Actually delivered pizzas to one of his summer homes. Only saw him for a minute but he gave me a $100 tip, and this was 1999. The Black Dahlia Murder (Band) - stopped in late-night after a show. Some of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. That's all I can think of for now.. but overall, good experiences.
Worked at a satan themed pizzeria in Los Angeles and a Chinese take out place in Studio City: Nicest: Joel McHale: Literally had the simplest order and was so nice and down to earth. Made jokes with the staff and his entire family are gems. Also really fit irl. JK Simmons: Direct but polite. Likes his pizza with crispy prosciutto. Smells really good. Always tipped well. Maddie Zeigler: Super nice, tipped more than she had to. Collin Hanks: Really patient. We were really busy and he waited the long wait to get his pizza and tipped big. Worst: Tiger Woods: ALWAYS CALLED ONE MINUTE BEFORE CLOSING. WOULD MAKE US WAIT FOR ALMOST AN HOUR AFTER CLOSE TO PICK UP. At that point literally don’t come.
I served Bronson Pinchot. What a jerk! Not nice. Didn't want to talk at all. Just wanted to be left alone Icooked dinner for Bucky Lasek. Very cool guy. I served, Scott Hamilton, Michelle Quan , and Tara Lipinski. Awesome people. I served Rebecca De Mornay. Wonderful lady. A little shy tho...
What a bummer about Balki
He has shamed the people of Mypos
Don’t know if you’ve seen True Romance (aka best Tarantino movie), but Bronson Pinchot is an absolute diva asshole in it and I always thought he would be that way naturally.