Pros
You build genuine relationships with the people you work with, which makes the long work hours bearable and enjoyable. There's opportunity to make a lot of money, especially during the busy season. They are flexible and shifts are reasonably adjusted to work with your availability.
Cons
The management does not know how to resolve challenges and problems within the workplace. Managers prefer to ignore issues in the working environment (sexual and/or verbal harassment for example), and would much rather see a perfectly capable employee leave out of frustration. This is absolutely unproductive and inefficient because the restaurant waste resources and time trying to find and train brand new recruits. Managers just don't know how to communicate. They blame and blame without letting their employees talk and share their own side of the story. No growth opportunity. Sexism (at least in this location) is strong when it comes to specific job positions like bartenders, kitchen helpers and chefs. The tip-out system is one of the most unfair that I have ever seen. Every server is left with only roughly half of what they get from tips. The problem is that customers give the chefs cash money without knowing that chefs also get MORE tips out of the servers' tip-outs at the end of the night. Little light is shed on the fact that some chefs choose to slack and chit-chat in the back while the rest of the FOH staff members have to deal with customers complaining about how long their chef is taking to come out.