Trail's Grill & Sports Bar — Restaurant in Big Lake

We visited on 2/27/22 approximately 10:20 am, 5 adults 7 teenagers. We were spread over 4 tables. Our waiter was a young man (late teens maybe) I don't recall his name. There was another large group next to us maybe 8-10 people that was already seated and a couple other tables here and there but not busy by any means. Our waiter politely greeted us, he was very friendly. We told him we were there for a basketball tournament, we were between games and had to be out around 12:00. He said no problem and that he's familiar with serving large groups that come in during tournaments and said he could take our order right away. It took roughly 15 minutes to receive our drinks (water, coffee, pop, hot cocoa). He said he put in our order (breakfast menu) and the kitchen is going to be slammed. By 11:15 all our drinks were empty, and our waiter hadn't come by, the place was starting to get busier. We approached our waiter at the kiosk and asked if we could get an ETA on our order and refills on coffee. He shook his head and all’s he would say is the kitchen is slammed. We returned to our table and later flagged down a different waitress for a coffee refill. By now the other large group was eating and several tables that came after us were getting their food. Our waiter still hadn't come by to check on us so we flagged another waitress down and politely asked if she could check on our order. She essentially gave us the same reason, the kitchen is really busy. It's now around 11:30, our waiter stopped at one of our kids’ tables to refill water, they asked about our order and we again heard him explaining to them how busy the kitchen is, he never came to speak to us adults, he never refilled any other drinks. It's now around 11:40, and we're worried we won't be able to eat in time so we again approach our waiter at the kiosk and ask if he can just bring the check and boxes out with the food. He rudely brushed us off and said, " Do whatever you want, I can't control what you do" (not sure what that meant) By 11:45 we couldn't wait any longer, we put money on the table for the beverages and passed our waiter at the kiosk to tell him we were leaving. I understand the kitchen was busy, but it was contradictory to what we were seeing when everyone around us, tables that arrived after us, were all getting their food, some were already getting lunch menu items. That’s also no excuse for our waiter to become rude, defensive, and avoid us when we simply asked for refills and an ETA on our order. I have been a waitress and manager of large restaurants before, I’m sympathetic to people in the service industry, I get it, but I have never had an experience like this, nor have I ever walked out of an establishment. Needless to say, we will not...

We used to visit trails once a month. I was an advocate of Trails Bar & Grill in Big Lake. Not anymore. I’ve tried reaching the general manager and kitchen manager via email (many times), Facebook, phone, and through the Monticello Chamber of Commerce since August. I haven’t received a single response. I wanted to talk with them instead of writing a review, but here we are.

My family had breakfast there mid-August. We usually have fantastic food. We drive 15min to get there, and we felt like they had the best food in the area. I've previously left several 5-star reviews.

I can honestly say it was one of the worst meals I've had. I ordered the steak and eggs. The steak was slimy, grey, and smelled horrible. After reluctantly trying it and spitting it out, I asked the waitress to please give me a new one and she replied "me and another server both thought that it didn't look right". Please do NOT serve food if it doesn't look right! I have notified the MN Department of Health of this situation; I would have certainly been sick if I ate the steak.

The cook said "don't blame me, I just cook the food". What a response. Then the server said it was a new kitchen manager. Additionally, there was a new food supplier. Oh, and the pandemic is causing supply chain issues! Everything else is to blame except the kitchen.

Apparently, there was no other steak or it was all the same so I was offered to simply pay for the eggs and potatoes. On top of that, the breakfast potatoes got changed and were lacking any flavor. The eggs were dull, the bread for the toast was made with bread you get from the grocery store.

I wasn't offered for the meal to be comped or anything for our troubles. I asked for the manager to come talk with us but nobody did.

It's been the best place to eat in Becker/Big Lake/Monticello until now and we really wanted to keep coming… that’s why I tried to reach out for 4 MONTHS. We won’t be returning though.

Please, think twice about visiting Trails in the future. They’ve changed for the worst.

Take some pride in your customer service and actually talk to people when they say there...

I am absolutely gutted to leave this place with two stars. We are frequent breakfast (a weekend special) and love the select menu. Whenever there have been minor hiccups they have always been fixed promptly and with grace. Let me be clear, when we have visited Trails we have NEVER had an issue with service. The entire team is fantastic. My issue is with the kitchen and management's menu. Both times we have gone to Trails for dinner we have been extremely disappointed. The first time we ordered a burger with soup and found both items bland and unremarkable (the soup was bluntly unpalatable). Yet the largest offense, was our second dinner visit with the pizza. A price point of $16 for what surmounted to a jacks pizza with extra toppings. I am at a loss of words in my dismay. How can a restaurant miss the mark so horribly on their regular menu? I feel cheated; Trials charged me a full price for a meal that I would pay at a MUCH higher caliber restaurant, for CRAP I could make with no effort at home. This is not what customer looks for when they eat out, this was not a treat, this was not an experience, this was a displeasure served by what was my favorite Sunday breakfast spot.

Normally I wouldn't leave a review this emotional, except that management/owners chose to leave no way to contact them. The servers should not receive the brunt of consequence for bad...