line cook

kitchen team member

kitchen manager

cuisinier à la chaîne

bartender

Leopolds Tavern

There seems to be WAY more importance placed on promoting/fostering the "good vibes" work culture image than on executing one's job properly... or on actually delivering on the promise of said culture... They claim to offer an open-door policy when it comes to asking for support (for example - when a new supervisor asks how to better implement company policies after a staff member literally LAUGHS IN THEIR FACE when asked to plate things according to the book), but the guidance I received was less than nothing - the only notable phrase I could remember after two separate requests was "do better." I did well in the short time I was there, despite being continually undermined and thrown under the bus. Equipment failures, rushes, training, no-shows, new menu, weekly features that often didn't have ingredients available for prep (maybe due to lack of communication, or maybe lack of GAF from management who had the heads up to order what we needed) - I was there, doing my utmost to make sure things went smoothly. 

I started at Leo's in May 2021 as a Part-Time Line Cook, after trying some newer jobs for my full-time work I decided that Leo's was where I needed to be, when I went full-time at Leo's I was immediately asked if I would be interested in becoming an Assistant Kitchen Manager, which I accepted. After only a couple of months, I was offered to oversee my kitchen as a Kitchen Manager, which I accepted. To be fully honest, since working full-time at Leo's I haven't had a stress-filled day other than the busy peak times. Leo's has made it extremely easy for me to have an excellent work/life balance as I have a small child to hang out with! Every day I learn new things whether it be from my boss or my peers, Leo's creates a workplace culture that I haven't seen before, the CEO is extremely hands-on and participates and communicates with us as much as he can, he feels more like a mentor than a CEO. 

I haven't had many jobs but Leo's is by far the best job I have had.

The Leo's Life is an awesome life. Getting to work with awesome people every day is something special. Every single position in the company feels like a family - top to bottom. It's nice to feel heard and cared about and valued - while also listening and caring and valuing your own team! All staff in the city being friends rather coworkers is such a cool thing to see. Waking up excited to go to work is a pretty rare I think, and I think we are lucky to have an opportunity to do just that. Getting to build new relationships with customers daily and see those turn into real friendships. Work life balance can be tough at times - while always trying to get better, sometimes it gets tough to shut the mind down and relax. I'm forever grateful for the Leo's family and the relationships that I have built here. 

Who here likes when you're workplace becomes a corporate political gain contest? I know I sure don't so I left. It was fun then covid hit, regional management and above became the bane of any employees job. A revolving door of management on both front and back of house, FOH either gets moved around or quits, BOH either gets fired for inexplicable reasons or quits from being overworked & underpaid. The training system that I had to follow did nothing but hold back any new hire. Corporate communications where a mess, weekly specials need clarification of the recipes the day of launch, no clear rules for managing takeout apps and in house orders as to not crash the kitchen and have stay like that all night. The cherry on top was the neglecte of the a locations capabilities and the performance standards set being well outside of reasonable. There is a reason half your kitchen staff quit after upper management fired our 3rd kitchen manager in a row.

Worked there for a few months. There's not much training, management didn't really exist and when management was there, they'd often drink beer and vape in the office but add themselves to the tip pool. Every 1-2 months they do a purge of employees and fire a few people in one day. If they start hiring more people, good luck. I found the work culture a bit toxic, and people drinking on shift doesn't seem to be a big deal.  If you have a problem with alcohol, i wouldnt reccomend working here because drinking is very much part of the work culture. With all that being said, tips were really good, and it was a fun place to work since the rules were super lax.

The work environment was fast-paced and often stressful. Staffing levels frequently felt too low, which increased the workload for the remaining employees. It also seemed like resources were being spent on things that didn’t improve day-to-day kitchen operations, while employees were told there wasn’t room in the budget for raises.

Advancement opportunities felt limited unless you had the right connections. Management changes also created challenges, as new leaders sometimes appeared to have limited training and staff were left to fill in the gaps. Overall, morale declined and turnover became a recurring issue.

Overall this is a good place to work if you are learning the basics or serving/bartending. Unfortunately if you really enjoy working in the service industry you won’t be at leopolds long. The lack of leadership from management is apparent. When you work a shift you don’t work with a manager the majority of the time, but you still tip them out even if there’s no manager working... The worst thing is tip pool. But not because your tip pooling it’s the way the math is done… you never get rewarded for your efforts properly. When suggesting ways to improve the way tips are done managers say it’s too much work to change……

I worked here for 2 years in the kitchen and got a few promotions but my manager hired an old friend who went from line cook to rkm in 1 year. I got fired from said rkm for "not caring enough" and " not living up to expectations" which is fair. Coincidentally 3 of their friends were hired into the kitchen. I seen said rkm walk past $300 of spoiling wings with no action, produce 5x too much prep and throwing out sometimes $1000 of waste in a month with no personal responsibility taken. Don't take initiatives or challenge leadership at all or they'll fire you.

Leopold's has been one of my favourite jobs ever. Great management and great teamwork. There is constant communication on the floor which helps make your shifts a lot easier especially during the crazy (and constant) rushes. There is a really good work/life balance here too which is perfect for students or people with other jobs. There have been a few situations where I had to immediately leave work or couldn't make a shift... my coworkers and managers always had solutions to help out. Highly recommend working here!

The Regional Manager hires his friends. They tend to all drink and party together so for those that don’t engage you are placed on the “outside “ of their circle. You aren’t valued as a person there. You are disposable despite your skill level or positive reviews based on guest experience. They also won’t support growth within. I was advanced then demoted without any training or following their own policies for growth. Over all the whole experience with management was negative.However  I did make some great friendships  with some co-workers  

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Line cook 110 salaries reported	$18.19 per hour
Kitchen team member 37 salaries reported	$17.47 per hour
Kitchen manager 15 salaries reported	$51,000 per year
Cuisinier à la chaîne 66 salaries reported	$18.28 per hour
Bartender 22 salaries reported	$15.88 per hour

Working at Leopold's Tavern: company overview and reviews

Leopold's Tavern

Leopold's Tavern ratings

Popular jobs at Leopold's Tavern

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected