Louie's — Restaurant in Dallas

I've been to nearly fifty restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and the more I visit, the more I'm ashamed to admit this hobby of mine. The show can have a positive effect on small restaurants in small towns, where foot traffic is small, and being featured on a television show can help increase awareness of these restaurants. In bigger cities, however, the increase traffic is a deluge upon these unsuspecting businesses, losing a large amount of the niche appeal that made them desirable in the first place.This was the impression I received as I entered Louie's. A few things struck me as odd as I ordered my pizza:

There was a sign posted saying that they no longer accept Visa or Mastercard. I understand to an extent - the fees that these companies charge on small orders (less than $10) can hurt businesses more than help.

As I sat down and was looking for a beer to drink while I waited, I noticed that there was nothing on tap - the beers were bottled or canned. Again, I might be able to understand this given the "dive bar" status of the restaurant.

The prices of the pizzas were high - $10 for a ten inch, with toppings running an extra $2 per ingredient. And I was shocked to see that, after two beers and the small pizza, my bill came to a whopping $24. $5 bottles of Shiner is incongruous with the dive bar atmosphere of the establishment. I have never owned a business, but I can only imagine the amount of profit they're pulling in with prices like these, and the traffic that comes through here - even on a Monday night, the place was pretty busy.

As for the pizza itself, it was a cracker-thin crust cut into rectangles - popular of the Midwestern style. The cheese mixture consisted significantly of cheddar, the sharp flavor of which I thought overpowered the sauce and even the toppings to some extent.

The cracker crust is my preferred type of pizza, but the large amount of cheddar used in the pie along with the high prices ensured I probably wouldn't return. But then again, perhaps I'm exactly the type of person these prices are intended to deter - the fairweather fan, who only visited because it was featured on a TV show. They knew that me and others are probably only going to visit once, so why not make the most off of...

DO NOT GO!! Came here to leave the following review but then read the other reviews. I thought our experience might have been an exception but clearly it was not! I will never go back (after going for YEARS!) and will advise everyone I know not to either. What a shame that the owner has chosen to let this happen to what was such a wonderful restaurant! He is clearly aware of what is happening with so many complaints. Will be sending the review to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives as well so their viewers don’t go to only be thoroughly let down!!

My review from 10/29/23: I have been going to Louie’s for years, bringing friends and family. The pizza is amazing. But we went last night, 10/29/23, with friends in from California and the hostess on duty ruined our entire evening. Normally, I would give people the benefit of the doubt that a rude remark would be a one-off. But she was throwing them out, one right after another. And not just to us, to everyone who had been waiting patiently in line. We all were looking at each other in amazement, baffled by her obnoxious behavior. How in the world did Louie’s choose this woman to be the front of the house? We were ready to walk away but we had driven over an hour to get there and we thought we would be ok once we sat down. We were wrong on that count too because she delivered the food as well and her rude attitude made the whole experience incredibly uncomfortable. Keep in mind, this was right when they opened so it’s not like she had a long night behind her.

To the managers of Louie’s - you need to be cognizant of who is representing you. I can’t count the number of times I’ve taken people to your establishment after bragging on your food. If I come in and experience again what I did last night, I will not return and will advise others against it as well. There is absolutely ZERO excuse for the way your employee was treating customers. I truly hope that’s not the case.

FOOTNOTE: I’ve just read the next ten reviews and more than half are one stars because of the horribly rude staff, with reviewers stating they won’t go back. Louie’s management - why won’t you address this situation?? Are you TRYING to go out of business?!?!?...

My family and I have been regulars here, but after this visit we will never return. The hostess was rude from the moment we walked in, rolling her eyes and snidely questioning our age, implying we didn’t belong there. She has been notorious for being nasty to customers, but we decided to let it go in the past because we enjoyed the food. However, this time was the last. We do not tolerate being harassed by staff.

We were told by our waitress from the start that our pizza would take 30 to 45 minutes, but after waiting over an hour and a half we still had no food except for two cold entrees we asked the come out with the rest of the food that we didn’t touch. When my family member politely and respectfully asked why our pizza was taking so long, especially while other tables, including what appeared to be family members of the owner, were being served first despite coming 30 to 45 minutes after us, the waitress immediately started cussing and taunting us. The waitress was miserable and extremely unprofessional for cussing at customers for questioning why the food was taking nearly two hours to come out. She continued her behavior even following us and harassing us outside into the parking lot, yelling and using foul language because we decided to go elsewhere and refused to pay for food we never received.

The manager did nothing to resolve the situation and was equally unprofessional, escalating the conflict instead of addressing it. We have always paid for our meals, but in this case they did not deserve our money. The staff from start to finish was miserable, and none of them deserve to be in the service industry. They were entirely in the wrong, and this restaurant has serious management and staff issues. Please trust the other negative reviews and do not...