Sports & Social Cary — Restaurant in Cary

This place has all the makings of what a good sports bar should be and yet it misses the mark completely in 2 huge areas that count the most and bc of that I don't consider this location a win.

PROS:

PARKING: Fenton offers lots of parking and there's a garage literally across from the elevator access to S&S Cary. The area around the elevator should be cleaned a bit because that's your first impression and you didn't cut it on this one.

AMBIANCE: Sports vibe with ample seating room for tables and high tops. Bar seating was very nice and clean. Great lighting and anywhere you sit, you have a perfect view of the massive screen that offers multiple sports views unless there's a big game on and then you're really happy about the magnitude of the screen.

SERVICE: Was greeted warmly by the hostess and joined my friend at the bar where the real crown jewel of S&S Cary, Madi, promptly helped us. She was friendly and smiling and so sweet and you felt like you were seeing an old friend. She gave great recommendations and some tips about sports nights and was on top of her game with taking everyone's order without missing a beat. S&S Cary has some beautiful friendly bartenders so they definitely did something right there!

CONS (oh, lord! The cons):

MUSIC: I don't know where they found this alleged "DJ", but he needs to be returned and returned ASAP. I can spot a wedding DJ when I hear one and this guy was it. His playlist was all over the place and the songs were all at least 10-15 years old. For example, he played a 50cent song that I don't even think 50 listens to anymore. I was fully prepared to hear the Cupid shuffle or the chicken dance come on at any moment. The music absolutely ruined the vibe. Update your playlist and quit being such a lazy "DJ."

FOOD: My friend and I were both very hungry, but once we looked at the menu and the photos online, we quickly realized that the food was sub standard and in desperate need of a Gordon Ramsay shapeup, but what I wasn't expecting was how easily they could manage to screw up the easiest of orders which is apparently their signature fries with old bay seasoning and a side of "cheese" sauce. It's FRIES. How do you mess up fries? Bland salt free fries in a bowl dusted ON TOP w old bay seasoning. I'm assuming the person making the food back there is the kind of person who puts raisins in their potato salad bc no one who knows how to season would just season on top and not toss the fries to make sure they are all coated. And this was just the start of the disappointment in this simple order. It is clear that S&S Cary's kitchen/management/owners are pinching some pennies. Perhaps they overpaid for the rest of the bar and now making up for it by taking shortcuts elsewhere like WATERING DOWN THEIR CHEESE SAUCE AND RANCH. Who does that? Sauce is suppose to attach itself to the food you are dipping in it and not dribble down bc of how watered down it is. In fact, if you just tasted the sauces on their own you could tell that there was barely any flavor bc of how watered down they are. Reminded me of when grandma would pour water in the jar of ketchup or mayo and get every last bit out or cut it open to finger clean the container.

How are you so bad at something so simple? Epic fail and we changed our mind about ordering any food there.

I'd go back to watch games and have some drinks, but I'd definitely eat beforehand and...

I've had plenty of issues every time I've been to Sports & Social.

Here are some of my experiences: I was with a couple people who all got their food. After 10 minutes of not receiving my burger, they told me they accidentally gave it to someone else and had to prepare it again. This happens ALOT. I've overheard other customers being told the same thing, even the staff taking the food. Great. The price of a burger on THEIR menu was $13, after looking at my bill it said $15. I'm not one to cry about $2 but just mentioned it to the waitress. For whatever reason she got confused and needed to grab the manager. I just mentioned the price I'm being charged is more than what the menu said, not very complicated. He proceeded to make it look like I was the bad guy and it was only $2. Wild response from a manager who was in the wrong. I tried getting food but they said they don't allow it at the upstairs bar. Ok cool, understood. I look across and there is some eating a full meal at the bar in front of the bartender. You can't make this up. I tried closing out my tab but one of the bartenders said the person who served me needed to close me out. She was nowhere to be seen for 15+ minutes. After waiting for awhile I lied and said I have an emergency so that bartender closed me out. Hmm I thought you couldn't? What a joke making people wait for no reason. There have been multiple occasions where I'm waiting so long for another drink, that I end up closing out because the service is just so bad. I tip 20% for even "ok" service but this is the first place where it's so bad I do 10% well-justified. Recently (9/14/2025), I came in to watch my NFL team play at supposedly one of the biggest sports bars in the Raleigh area. I see every TV has the Cowboys Giants game on. Weird, over half of the people here came to watch their team. Turns out they cheaped out and didn't purchase NFL Ticket. That is CRAZY, like INSANE for a sports bar to do. Have fun losing a majority of your customers.

In all, if you are ok with pretty bad service, over-priced food that goes missing, but sometimes a "cool" atmosphere for watching sports (if they can afford to put your game on), then this place is right for you. If you are a normal human being that expects good service at what's supposed to be a high-end sports bar, save some money and find...

The atmosphere was fantastic—sports fans will love the energy! Unfortunately, the service left much to be desired, and it significantly impacted our experience.

When we arrived, we were told the waitlist was 2.5 hours, which we didn’t mind. We asked the hostess if we could wait at the upstairs bar, and she said yes. However, as we walked through the restaurant, we noticed about eight unclean tables on the ground floor. Again, no problem—we proceeded upstairs.

At the bar, we asked if we could order food, but the bartender informed us that food orders weren’t allowed there. That was fine, and we noticed other guests with food at the bar. Upon asking how they managed that, the bartender explained they ordered food downstairs and brought it upstairs. We decided to do the same. Three out of four of us went downstairs individually to place orders, and the food came out in about 15 minutes.

At the three-hour mark, we were finally notified that our table was ready and seated by the hostess. Unfortunately, the service at the table was abysmal. Our server ignored us entirely, and when I finally flagged her down to ask for just water cups, she responded rudely and dismissively. Her attitude was unnecessarily harsh. She eventually brought out requested water (terribly tasting ant that) after a lengthy wait, slamming them down on the table before walking away without saying a word.

To make matters worse, a hostess later approached us to explain that guests who ordered food from the bar weren’t supposed to be seated at tables and the floor servers were not obligated to serve us due to this. However, this contradicted the fact that another hostess had seated us after notifying us that our table was ready. The lack of clear communication between staff created a confusing and frustrating experience.

Overall, the food and atmosphere were good, but poor customer service overshadowed everything.

A special shoutout to the downstairs bartender, who went above and beyond to accommodate guests—she was the highlight of the evening. However, customer service is the cornerstone of any great dining experience, and unfortunately, this was where the...