Hy-Vee Market Grille — Restaurant in Altoona

Customer service nightmare. We took our 2 year old Granddaughter to the Market Grille for dinner last evening. The doors swooshed open, we stepped in, and stood there for a good 2 minutes before a hostess approached us. We asked for a booth and the hostess said "Are you dining off the menu?" We said "Yes." Her response was, "Than no, you can only sit at these designated tables." Which were tables right near the bar where people were loud and drinking. Mind you there were several booths available and the restaurant wasn't even 1/3 of the way full. So we decided we'd get the Chinese Buffet SO THAT WE COULD SIT IN A BOOTH by a window with much more room and convenience for our 2 year old who needs a high chair. We were so ticked off that the good vibe of our meal was ruined. The only up side is that we ended up only spending $12.00 on the Chinese food - instead of upwards of $20-25 had we ordered off the menu. So WIN for our bank account and LOSE for Hy-Vee. Is this a 5-star reservation only establishment? Why are our seating choices dictated by whether we eat off the menu or bring food in? Additionally the line to PAY for the Chinese food was 5-6 people deep. So by the time we ordered our food, stood in the line to pay for our food, and got back to our booth - our toddler was getting restless. Just a big huge BOOOOOO to YOU Hy-Vee Market Grille. Your staff is slow, your customer service sucks, and patrons are treated with semi-discrimination. Let us sit wherever the F we want. We're PAYING BIG BIG dollars to even shop at your store - THEN we're PAYING BIG BIG dollars to eat at your over-priced restaurant - - - so let's chill out, get some experienced, engaging staff members hired - - and let us CHOOSE our seating. It's Altoona, Iowa... full of families... it's YOUR community... so start treating people better. You're not a Bistro in NY City. Get real. We'll visit again in a few months to see what improvements have been...

I ate supper here and order the BLT with broccoli. My boyfriend had the rib eye with the broccoli. We also had the bacon/jalapeno wontons for the appetizer. The bacon jalapeno wontons were great. The bacon on my BLT was fatty and look as if it were half cooked in the microwave. Our broccoli was cold and not cooked, it needed to be on a veggie platter served with ranch. My boyfriend's steak had no salt or pepper on it. I sent the food back, letting the waitress know that I was not satisfied, She apologized, offered me to order something else, and notified her manager. I did not want to order again and she got $5 knocked off my bill, which is fine. My biggest issue is the customer service from the manager. Once a young (high school) waitress comes to let them know that a customer is dissatisfied with their food, they should come over to see if there is anyway the can remedy the situation or see if they can retain the customer. They should also offer their apologies on behalf of the restaurant. I am a manager in health care and I am huge on customer service. If anyone complained on a service that we provided, I would be there personally to offer my apologies. If I am not in the building I would call them. The poor food and the poor customer service will not allow me to spend another dime in this restaurant and I would recommend that no one else...

Absolutely the worst and coldest hot breakfast I've had. Brought my whole family for a Sunday breakfast. The restaurant was not busy. It was 8am and there were 9 people there. After we ordered our breakfast, we sat and waited inside the restaurant. We waited, waited, and waited. Finally our food came out. I ordered a medium rare steak and eggs .I received 2 pieces of sliced, overcooked, rubberized, meat. Kids and wife had chicken steaks, sausages, bacon, biscuits and gravy along with a few pancakes. All the food were cold..i mean really really cold. The pancakes were not fully cook thu. The bacon were tough as cardboard. We paid the bill and went home to get cereals and oatmeal.

I dont recommend this location. Mayne give phill location a try. I'm not sure if it is poorly managed or just employee turnover in general. There's no excuse for serving hot breakfast food this cold and mess up the lonely...