Benchwarmers Sports Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Ankeny

Worst dining experience ever! We were so excited to go there and celebrate with dinner and a few cocktails after my son's game. At first the waitress was very friendly and it was busy so we weren't too focused on her inattentiveness. I also noticed the previous people left her a 30 cent tip. This should have been a clue. Big mistake on our part. No drink menus to be had and the waitress was clearly annoyed we planned on ordering food. We had to ask to have our dirty table, and by dirty I mean chunks of food from the previous patrons) washed three times (over the course of 30 minutes). We ordered two appetizers, only got one. It came out without the dip, no plates, no silverware. Of course our wait staff was gone for so long there was no chance to get any of these items (note: we were on the patio). I had to order my drink three times. My husband had to order his second drink twice. He never attempted to order a third as we knew it was hopeless. The food came out - still no silverware and only 3 of our 5 meals arrived. Thankfully the guy that brought it out (not our waitress) brought us silverware when he noticed the table situation. Several minutes later the other two dishes arrived. The prime rib sandwich was about 40% a hunk of fat and the food was cold. Not cold like it sat under the warmer - cold like it was never cooked. My fries were luke warm on the outside and ice cold on the inside. I pulled the prime rib off the bun (it was room temperature at best) and put it in the au jus sauce to "warm it up". Of course there was no one to complain to because our waitress was never around. The table next to ours finally left without paying their bill because they waited for it so long they were tired of waiting. Another table next to us had a similar experience trying to get their drinks and food. The remaining table next to us was piled up with dirty dishes the entire time we were there (more than an hour). I had intended on ordering more drinks but without any wait staff that really wasn't an option. When we finally got our bill the waitress paced around our table (yes the same woman that was previously no where to be found) until we paid and then immediately grabbed the bill from us and flipped it open to see how much her tip was. I always tip 20% (or more if it was excellent service). I tipped 5% and of course she was both shocked and offended. Normally I would say they were exceptionally busy and give them a break but nothing could excuse the obnoxious behavior of our waitress and the ice cold food. This used to be one of our favorite spots, but the last few times we have gone there it has gone increasingly downhill. We will NEVER go there again. We would have easily dropped another $100 in drinks and such, but clearly they weren't interested in our money. Our recommendation - take your money elsewhere - it is too hit or miss to waste...

This place is trash. The servers, bartenders( who get drunk on the job) and kitchen staff are horriblein all aspects of customer service, food safety and experienceto guest's. Not to mention dirty. Yes they have "new management ". The food is all deep fried, frozen baked, etc. No fresh entrees or anything appetizing. The locals are all drunks and obnoxious. They also like to cause problems. Unless you're single, an alcoholic or someone who like horrible service stay away!

This was also listed by another patron. und 10 minutes, she's quite literally screaming at me in front of 20+ other patrons at the bar. Near the end of her meltdown, she tells me to pull up my credit card statements (fantastic idea!) and guess what I find? Yep, a charge from Benchwarmers, proving I gave her my card. I show her this and she still doesn't care - she's adamant I'm in the wrong and proceeds to yell at me some more. At this point it was clear there was nothing I could do but leave without my card and handle it the next day with management. Today I called in and did just that. I spoke to a manager (nice lady who was apologetic) and it turns out the bartender did in fact misplace my card - shocker. They found it and I was able to come in and pick it up today. I'm still dumbfounded how unbelievably unprofessional this bartender handled the situation. It also seemed as though she had been drinking, and perhaps that explains her unprovoked rage. Horrible experience, needless to say I won't be...

Went in for drinks last night with some friends. When attempting to close my tab, the bartender that served us said she not only didn't have my card, but that I never gave one to her. As I try to work it out with her and figure out what happened, she immediately escalates the situation and starts yelling at me. This goes on for around 10 minutes, she's quite literally screaming at me in front of 20+ other patrons at the bar. Near the end of her meltdown, she tells me to pull up my credit card statements (fantastic idea!) and guess what I find? Yep, a charge from Benchwarmers, proving I gave her my card. I show her this and she still doesn't care - she's adamant I'm in the wrong and proceeds to yell at me some more. At this point it was clear there was nothing I could do but leave without my card and handle it the next day with management. Today I called in and did just that. I spoke to a manager (nice lady who was apologetic) and it turns out the bartender did in fact misplace my card - shocker. They found it and I was able to come in and pick it up today. I'm still dumbfounded how unbelievably unprofessional this bartender handled the situation. It also seemed as though she had been drinking, and perhaps that explains her unprovoked rage. Horrible experience, needless to say I won't be...