When BB King's first opened at Universal City, I was excited and looking forward to going. Took one look at the menu and was totally pumped. However, as much as I loved the music, the food was a huge disappointment.. I chalked it up to being a new establishment and let it go.
I should have continued to let it go...
BB Kings in Las Vegas was even worse than the one in Universal City (food wise). Not only the food, but the service was terrible. If I could give them a grade, they would get an F for the food and a D - - (minus, minus) for the service. I'm actually shocked that some people have given this place five stars. They must be on the payroll...
I ordered the whatever Rib Eye, cooked Medium, and got it well done to the point of it being reeeeeeaaaaalllly dry. I felt like I was chewing glued saw dust wrapped in sand paper. The mashed potatoes were uninspired... the string beans were equally coarse - yes those string beans were coarse. To make matters worse, the corn bread was served cold. I don't know anyplace, anywhere, that serves cold corn bread.
So, after experiencing how dry my rib eye was I sent it back and got another one. They kept my fork mind you and the corn bread. I guess that was punishment for me sending it back... when my plate returned with another rib eye - it had NO flavor... I dunno what cooking talent that is that makes a naturally flavorful rib eye, un-flavorable, but hey, that's saying something for the cook... the initial bite into my rather cool (not hot) rib eye was cooked medium but the more I dived into it, the more well done (and dry) it was. Please keep in mind we are not talking about a thick rib eye - the one they serve was about 1/2 inch. It doesn't take that long to cook a rib eye that thin, so uh, er, hmmm, how did that get messed up... Geez...
I'm sure the waitress was initially ready to help our party of 12, but she soon gave up being even remotely visible. Short of coming back to drop off the bills (separate checks) in one pile at the edge of the table, I, nor did our group see her again. By the way, that, in and of itself is completely rude... fortunately for her, the tips were already calculated in the bill. She would have gotten a plugged nickel for that one...
I realize she's not the cook, but ensuring your table guests have what they need DOES make difference. The fact that I had to wait for the manager to bring me a fork, another dinner guest request the plate of corn bread be warmed, got no refills on water, nor did I see anyone to ask, and practically had to walk to the bar myself and order another drink, all make my experience, combined with my other dinner guests, meal more of an unnecessary nuisance. Consequently, I cannot, and would not recommend this place for anything. When Yelp allows you leave a zero star, I'd give them that.
The only reason I gave it one star was because the band was good. Now if they could get their food to match, BB King's would be on to something...