| rev:text
| - An average to below-average chain, casual sports bar. Over-hyped and disappointing.
I visited this place twice recently: first to scope it out, chat with the manager on duty, and access if it would be a good place to bring family for a football Sunday lunch date the following week, and secondly to eat there.
The first visit went fine; the staff were friendly and engaging, the manager assured me that they had plenty of TVs with quality NFL coverage. He asked what games we would be watching and said they'd definitely have them available for 'easy viewing'. Otherwise, the place was mostly what I expected -- short on personality or charm, but large with plenty of tables and space. I certainly left feeling like the restaurant fit the bill for what I was looking for and I looked forward to returning.
Fast-forward to the following visit and my party and I were instead greeted with a pretty poor experience. I arrived in advance of my party at the restaurant a little after 1pm the following Sunday. The place was packed-to-the-gills. I expected busy, but they were slammed. I explained to the hostess I was waiting for the rest of my party to arrive, but I wanted to get on the waiting list for a table...
Surprise one: there is no wait list. Instead, it's 'first-come, first serve and seat yourself.' Oh really? That was never mentioned during my previous visit, darn. Instead she suggested I 'wander around and see if there are any open tables someplace'. (She unhelpfully motioned in a vague direction). If I couldn't find a table, she suggested I 'go sit at the bar until you see if a table opens up, or instead I could find a table and ask the people when they would leave.' Wow... really? I understand that they were busy, but really.. that's their 'system'? I checked around and not surprisingly, couldn't find a table that would fit 6 people. I did curiously though spot a single patron or two, one of whom had claimed a six-top for himself, (maybe the rest of his party never showed?) and a family of 4, with a highchair, squeezed onto a two-top that could barely hold their plates, let alone anything for the kids. Good thing the sippy-cups fit on the floor...
I ended up at the bar, waiting for a table.. In the 30 minutes I waited at the bar, a large table in the main dining room, the one in view of most of the 'prime-game' TVs, never opened up. Though to be fair, I didn't question or encourage anyone else to hurry up or leave so I could have their table. To compliment this, the bartender on duty never acknowledged my presence while I waited. Once I got up to greet the rest of my party, she did finally notice me and came over to ask if 'I was sitting at the bar because I wanted served?' Uh, well not now. I guess they get a lot of patrons who hang out at the bar in-limbo, waiting for a free table to materialize?
Once my party arrived, the 6 of us started to shuffle though the restaurant to find an open table somewhere that would work. Eventually, with the help of a slightly more helpful waiter, we were able to locate one in the back dining room.
Once our server arrived, I asked if it was possible to change the TV in our room over to a different game and was told no. Apparently the specific games are pre-set to certain TVs and if you're not in the right spot you might not be able to view the game you want to. While I'm certainly not expecting a restaurant to rearrange everything, in my previous experience, most places are happy to at least try to accommodate you, and switching a channel on the TV is not completely unreasonable. So much for 'easy viewing' I guess. For the record, the game we primarily wanted to watch was available on only one small TV, located at the very front of the restaurant, near the exit. Maybe that's a sign ;)
We ordered sandwiches a few people got some drinks. The food was okay, not bad, but not memorable or unique. In general their menu is the same sandwiches, pizzas, and burgers that you see at pretty much any other casual dining chain establishment. My mother-in-law remarked that her cocktail tasted 'pretty weak' and she declined a second one. The service was otherwise adequate, and other than my father -in-law getting elbowed by a manager passing by - who apparently was too busy to notice our group, the rest experience was unremarkable.
In the end, it was the not experience that I was hoping for. The place was certainly 'popular' and busy. Most people seemed to be enjoying the place, so maybe my party was the odd-ball experience. My experience though didn't instill me with a great desire to revisit this place anytime soon. I know that weekends are busy for sports bars, but I felt that their level of disorganization or 'ordered chaos' (maybe?) bordered on unprofessional and certainly unappealing to me. If you do go, I recommended you hedge your expectations, arrive very early during peak times, and the smaller your party the better.
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