Buffalo Wild Wings — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Worst experience ever. Wish there was a way that I could not give a star at all.

If I can quickly sum it up. On Saturday April 15, 2014, my husband, 3 month old son and myself drove up to Chattanooga from Atlanta with 2 other couples and their small children. We'd had a long day touring the city and were really looking forward to a really good meal. After looking around Market Street someone mentioned that there was a Buffalo Wild Wings, which most were really excited about going to.

The women and kids go inside to get a seat and we were seated by the hostess. (Our husbands had walked back to the cars which were parked near the Southern Belle Riverboat to put money in our meter. So, it took them approximately 15 minutes to do this.) We sat at our table that whole time without being greeted by anybody. We decided when our husbands returned that we were not going to stay. Before we left, I felt it necessary to speak with a manager and let him know about our unpleasant experience. He asked the hostess what the problem was and she said that she didn't know where our server was. We'd previously told her that we hadn't been served and she said that she was going to look for the server. The server just so happen to walk up and told the manager that she'd just gotten in to work. (So, we were pretty much put at a table of someone who had not gotten in yet). The manager stated that things were kind of hectic because they were in a shift change and would like for us to stay. He said that he'd treat us to a few appetizers, so we decided to give it another shot.

We sat back down, and our server took our appetizer and drink order. When she brought those out, she took our entree order. (Side Note: when we arrived it was NOT, let me repeat, NOT packed. We actually said, "surprisingly, they're not that busy"). Time is going by and more people are coming in. Groups and groups of prom kids were coming in and they were starting to receive their orders before we did. After a few minutes our server brought out 1 couples order and food for a child. The 2 other couples received nothing. We sat munching on our appetizers and drinks for atleast an hour. We finally decided after a while that enough was enough. We'd already let the hostess (or food runner) know that we were still looking for our food. Just as we were getting ready to get our tab and leave, our food finally came out we stated that we didn't want it. The runner with major attitude stated "your food is free".

I kid you not, my husband and I were so tired and exhausted from the long day, that we decided to not even stop anywhere else because it was already late, and drove back to Atlanta without eating. All of us had seem so many great commercials about BWWs and the few that had been were really excited about returning. But we were HIGHLY disappointed. We were not loud. Not drunk. Were not difficult. Unfortunately, we were black. All professional, educated and poised. Not that it should matter, but we were not acting ignorant is my point.

We will NOT be returning. I will be posting this review to every relevant website and encourage as many people as possible not to return. I am also a top contributor and a blogger of almost 11,000 followers. I am also in the process of starting a restaurant review blog and this will definitely be the first major negative. I do hope that this is not how the normally run business, but based on the reviews, it seems to be a pattern.

DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. TERRIBLE SERVICE....

Party of five…3:30 on a Saturday afternoon…NOT overly busy with plenty of empty tables throughout the restaurant.

It took 10 minutes for our server to even approach the table to ask about drinks…and that was the height of his attentiveness to our table. Perhaps he was in the weeds, maybe his section was split around the restaurant or maybe he was just ready to end his shift for the Duke game…whatever the reason, his service was seriously lacking. He had no concept of full hands in, so our table was covered with empty app trays and empty cups and we had to ask for almost every refill. Cut to the food…our orders consisted of mostly wings, a Philly sandwich and a black bean burger. I had the burger and it was burnt. A total of three small bites were taken to ensure it wasn’t just one side that was bad, leaving more than half. I told the server I gave it a chance but I’d prefer to have another. He takes the food and a lady, possibly giving off manager vibes but she never introduced herself so who knows, comes back and her response was no apology for my dissatisfaction or for the prep; instead she simply offered, “because it’s a black bean burger, that’s how they come. Ours are that way so if you want another one, it’ll be the same” and just stood there. I took it back and didn’t finish it. At that point, the server brings a pointless water refill and the check. He never asked how everyone else’s food tasted, didn’t inquire if we needed boxes or if we were even interested in dessert (one of us was), but assured us, “Oh I’m not rushing you out.”

Typically, I won’t send my food back (but I’ll always urge others to) unless it’s beyond the pale, which this burger was. And the manager’s (?) reasoning of “that’s just the way ours are” was crap. I’ve eaten black bean burgers at many other places downtown - even chains - and they’re not that way just because they’re bean. If yours are consistently/typically served burnt, get a different brand.

Honestly though, the service/attitudes are what made this so bad. The lady was not very friendly and seemed impatient; and the server was so uninterested that we felt like an afterthought or an imposition. If your shift is about to end, great! We support you doing your side work and getting out; but please just be honest and hand us off to a server who WILL...

Well, let's start with the service. 2 adults and 2 children. I stood at the front door, waiting, but nothing. I was the only one waiting for a table. We went in the rest room to wash our hands. When we came out, still, no one at the podium. A girl was at the takeout area, on her phone. She finally came over and asked if we were helped yet. REALLY? a table for 4 please. She looked around like the place was jam packed. I asked for a booth. She said, "hold on", and left. There were about 8 booths available. She started clearing off a table and never returned. What is wrong with people. We finally got someone else to seat us. The waitress was nice and by now,I had 2 cranky kids. She took our order for the kids first and placed their orders. The kids meal came out quickly, yay. We ordered the Nashville chicken sangawich and a cheese burger. Onion rings for me and Mac and cheese for my adult son. My chicken and rings were good. The Mac and cheese was totally disappointing. The kids were OK with their meals. Look, for$80, I expect just a little better service and food. I didn't enjoy the last time I came to BWW. That was 4 years ago. I guess it will be another 4 years before I ever try them out again. If they are still in business. Note: if you choose to be in the people serving business, just like you, people are working hard to support their family's. Given the many choices of places to eat, You can get a great meal and great service at other places for this much money. Guess what my choice will be for the next time. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to help management do a better job. They are failing...