West Alley BBQ & Smokehouse — Restaurant in Chandler

If I could have given negative stars I would have, not because the food was not good. The food was great. The service was so bad I could never recommend this place. The extend how bad the service was I have never experienced this level of service. When we first walked in asked about glutton free options. It was ok limited on those options that happens. After deciding enough options for glutton free, because to be honest how can you go wrong with wings. We asked best spot to sit that was outside. They recommended patio near the bar. Server came out not to long after we got there. Took our drink orders, came back with orders. One of the drinks was made incorrectly. But made the decision to let them know but keep the drink. Really no big deal. Then server returned after a while, a bit slow but again no big deal. Asked server what he liked, server gave several options wings were on the list. We put our order in. Also one of us ordered another drink. This is when the ship started to sink. After 25 minutes the person who ordered drink finally was able to make eye contact with the server. Then pretty quickly the drink was brought out, but the server made no eye contact, did not say a word, placed drink edge of the table and pushed towards customer who ordered as they walked away. The other customer was not given a option to order another drink. About another 30+ minutes food was brought out meal before appetizer by a moments. We were not given any flatware, or asked if we need anything else. What happened is the food runner bring food out, places on table and walks away. Then appetizer came out that food runner was nice enough to ask anything else so we could get flatware. No server came back, to check on us. Made contact with food runner, asked for manager. Manager let us know short handed. We get it short handed, ok but the server could have said this is what is going on at some point. But we also so other servers sitting with parties they were helping. Our server made sure would not look our way. Even experienced a food runner giving side eye, after flagging down. Had to go to the front to ask for the bill and explained we have no server. The person we thought was a manager said she is always mistaken for a manager. Clearly company might want to make this employee a manager. From my understanding she coaches employees, but can be mistaken on that portion. Oh do not forget to not be aware of the extra charge to use card if do not...

First, let me say that the fact that I'm giving West Alley BBQ 3 stars is in no way an accurate representation of their ability to BBQ. I rate based on experience, flavor, quality, and quantity. That said, there were some issues I had with my overall experience. The portions were nicely sized and the quality was good. My main issue was the overall lack of spice in all of the food I ate, and the lack of flavor. When imagining BBQ, most people think spicy, and if not, then sweet, saucey, hearty foods. I just didn't get that. Their brisket was very, very dry. I mean, I couldn't enjoy it without their, albeit runny, BBQ sauce. It also had no flavor. It was basically just a few slices of overly dry, tasteless, brisket. The reason I know it was smoked was because that was the only other thing I could taste while eating it.

Their beans were good, but, again, a little flavorless. I think their Mac and Cheese actually speaks volumes for their ability to season and flavor their foods correctly, because it was immaculate. The portion size was perfect, the flavor was perfect, it wasn't dry. It was definitely my favorite dish that I tried. I was also able to taste the Tennessee Spicy chicken sandwich, and it's some of the best chicken I've ever had, especially at a restaurant.

A little off topic here, their drinks were poured poorly in my opinion. After trying four different drinks, I came to the conclusion that either their bar tender doesn't know how to make drinks, or they limit the amount of alcohol per drink to such a miniscule amount that you can only taste mixer. Or, they just choose really bad or cheap booze. The coke and whiskey was basically water, the tequila sunrise tasted like grapefruit juice, etc etc. This didn't really affect my rating because they are not a bar, but I would still appreciate a well-made drink with my food.

I wasn't able to try everything on the menu, obviously, but, based on what I tried, I think I got a fairly accurate depiction of what their business model is about. On that note, I believe that West Alley BBQ has the capacity and ability to make some incredible foods, if they make some changes, or at least add options, to their menu to better cater to patrons that prefer spicier meals. I can see myself returning in the near future, because they also have loaded fries that looked very good, and they have some pretty good...

My husband and I ate here for the first time 3/2/2024 around 7:30pm for dinner. Unfortunately it was pretty disappointing. We arrived to an extremely loud restaurant music by a DJ. Don’t get me wrong, LOVE me some good live music even at restaurants- but this was even louder than most clubs. And it wasn’t even good DJ music, the bass was so severely amplified you couldn’t even hear the actual song/melody. Fortunately the hostess was very okay with us asking to be sat outdoors, and we were sat at a table within 5 minutes of arriving. Well, our table had multiple broken and raised wooden slaps, and was pretty dirty even after the hostess wiped it off quickly. Our waitress was very sweet and helpful. Even when she told us there were no ribs due to a festival overselling and even when she explained she was a new hire - she still did a great job! Zero complaints with her, she gets 5 stars. For an appetizer, we ordered the loaded fries - which were very average and lukewarm. Genuinely nothing to write home about. Maybe 2.5 stars? My husband and I ordered 10 chicken wings each for a meal, I had a side of potato salad and he had fried pickle chips for a side. My husband’s wings were battered, 5 were Honey Gold and the other 5 were Hot Barbecue. The battered wings were very disgusting and immediately rated a 1 star, unfortunately. My husband ate 1 of each flavoring and could not eat any more of the battered. He did like his fried pickle chips, rating about 4 stars. My 10 wings were 5 Buffalo, and the other 5 Sweet Thai Chili, not battered. The chicken for all wings ordered between us both were so dry and tasted like they have been sitting in a freezer for too long before cooking. The Buffalo wings had an overwhelming pepper after taste that was unappetizing (2 stars), but the Sweet Thai Chili was better (3 stars). The side of potato salad was bland and tasted like it was bought from WalMart, and was served from an old container (1.5 stars). With the super loud, not good DJ music (despite us being outside), and the very disappointing food - I hate to leave this rating but I hope it can help the restaurant better its food for...