Home Team Cookout — Restaurant in Council Bluffs

So I’d first like to start with we ate here the first time on thanksgiving with family and enjoyed the place so I started following them on Facebook. Since then I have seen numerous posts of asking why they just don’t have the great business like other restaurants in the same area and the constant struggles so I figured let’s go there for dinner tonight. Fast forward to tonight and I will start with I will never go back…. We got there at normal dinner time and asked for a booth but we’re told they were reserved so we were seated at a table. (Mind you the booth stayed empty from start to finish of our meal) We waited for a good minute for the bartender to come over and now be our waitress. Go to order drinks and we’re told it’s a family restaurant but they offer no milk or juice for children. So water it is… we go to order and kids meals state they come with entree, drink, side and cookie. Go to order a kids chicken tenders with a side salad and we’re told that’s not allowed however it’s not stated on the menu what kids sides there are(just regular sides) So we order corn instead. Finish ordering and we wait and wait and wait kids are restless as there is no crayons no bread to snack on no nothing to entertain children. Finally our food comes at the right timing as we were coming back from a field trip to the bathroom. 1st issue the pb&j we ordered is a packaged sandwich that’s still frozen. 2nd issue I ordered a steak medium this steak was so dry and over cooked I couldn’t get it down without chugging my drink. 3 green beans weren’t seasoned they had crispy bacon sprinkled on top but no butter no seasoning straight out of a can. 4 after having to chug my drink my cup stayed empty the rest of my meal never being asked if I want a refill. 5 bartender “our waitress” finally comes over after my family is basically done eating to ask how we’re doing when we explain some of the issues she says she has to get a manager. 6 manager doesn’t come over and greet herself just comes and asks what is the issue when we tell her about said steak and pb&j she says well I need to talk to my boss, comes back and says she took the steak off but couldn’t remove the pb&j because my child still ate it frozen. 7 Get the bill to realize I’m now forced into a “group that’s 7 or bigger” must tip 18%. So your telling me I’m stuck paying for service we basically didn’t get on top of the crap food. Ok whatever we pay but I’m verbally venting to my husband the issues that clearly removing a steak from the bill doesn’t fix things when the manager then approaches me with an attitude and tells me that the 18% is posted on the menu and walks away. Let’s go back to what the menu stated kids meal gets a drink, entree, side and cookie…. My children never even received their cookies. Such a shame I really wanted to enjoy this place again but clearly be aware if you want a sideways attitude and unseasoned over cooked food this is the place to be. I gladly will pay the same price for my usual steak dinner at other restaurants near by. Posted on Facebook and tried messaging them instead of addressing the issue...

A Total Home Run—We May Never Leave We’re out-of-towners on a mission: find the best local-owned restaurants wherever we go. And when we found this place on Google, the reviews and photos didn’t just say “good food”—they whispered “welcome home.” So we skipped past a dozen other high-rated spots and drove straight here and guess what? It felt like we walked into a family reunion we didn’t know we were invited to. Shoutout to our bartender with the yellow glasses—pure hospitality gold. She recommended the meatloaf and pork chops like it was sacred knowledge passed down through generations. She wasn’t wrong. By the end, we almost asked her to roll us out the door and tape a napkin to our chest that read: “We move when our full bellies say it’s safe.” The meatloaf? Massive. Delicious. I went with the ketchup gravy over brown—because as an American kid raised on ketchup (we used it like a fifth food group), it hit straight in the childhood. Mom would be proud. The mashed potatoes? Smooth and comforting. (The onion rings are… onion rings. Let’s not get carried away.) My buddy’s pork chops? Big, juicy, perfectly cooked—major kudos to the kitchen crew. The friendly couple next to us raved about the wings. The woman said her meatloaf is “outstanding.” I said, “It was the other night.” Her partner reached for his holster. (Kidding. Mostly. The conversation was that good.) Had a local IPA that started with “F”—juicy, smooth, not a face-punch of grapefruit. Highly recommend if you like your hops with a wink, not a wallop. All in all, this place is everything we love about small-town spots in steak-famous places like Omaha: big portions, friendly faces, great prices, and food that makes you lean back and sigh. So we got the pork chops. Lots of parking. Big bar. Family-friendly and adult-approved. We’ll be back. Possibly in...

Our family of 4 came to eat here today for the first and last time. We were seated and had our drinks ordered and an appetizer. We completed our appetizer and the dishes were taken away. Around 20 mins after finishing the appetizer my husband had to ask the waitress to take our order due to how long we sat and waited and watched her go to every other table besides our. Then we waited another 20 mins before asking when our food would be ready. The food finally was brought out and it was horrible. Our buns were cold and not toasted. Meat was dry. The kids meal was brought out without fries. My kids were starving. We ended up speaking to the manager and leaving with a bite taken from the food. Horrible serve. Worst in my life. Do not recommend. I’d give negative stars if I could.

and In response to the establishment replying. Please post the video with time stamp. Never once did we act disrespectful or entitled. Never once were we told we were unwelcome or to never come back. The manager apologized and blamed a large crowd at the other side of the restaurant for why everything took so long. (Not even in our section nor was that crowd being served by our waitress) For a meal at a restaurant there is a level of expectation on how serve should go. We were complete neglected. Never once did we make scene. I offered to pay for the appetizer that we did eat and the drinks were drank. However I refuse to pay for below subpar food that took 20+ mins to even have our order taken after we had our appetizer taken from our table. Your response shows the immaturity and unprofessionalism we were shown at your restaurant. Instead of taken accountability you blame...