Peel Wood Fired Pizza — Restaurant in Edwardsville

Sorry this is a long one...My husband and I went to dinner last night at Peel in Edwardsville. We have been here plenty times before, even at there previous location and absolutely loved Peel. However, last night was a huge disappointment. It seemed fairly busy which was understandable on a Friday night at 7pm. Though, when we got inside we were told it was only about a 15 minute wait for a two top which we were completely fine with. As we sat and waited there was a good handful of parties that had walked in after us, none of them having reservations as well. About 3 more parties were added to the wait list after we had sat and waited. A couple more parties had walked in and small line developed which drew about 4-5 people scrambling to the host stand and there seemed to be some confused chatter going on, also understandable on a busy friday night, (my husband and I have also worked in food service for years) However, All 3 parties that had walked in after us had then began to be called to the host stand and sat immediately, INCLUDING the other two parties that had walked in after those waitlist parties had been sat and we were STILL waiting to be sat. We were beginning to think we had been forgot about (mind you we had only been waiting about 20 minutes so it was not a long wait at all and i figured eventuallyour name would be called!) We were mainly just frustrated that all these people were being rapidly sat before us when we had arrived before hand and been added to the list. We also didn't have any preference on seating when the host asked us so we assumed we would be getting sat at the soonest spot to open but several parties were sat before us. We also ended up being sat on the side of the restaurant with the big orange curtain which honestly we are not the biggest fans of as we really enjoy going out on our date nights for the atmosphere and good food and that room just feels so seperate from the warm atmosphere of the rest of the restaurant. (Though, I understand we should have probably previously specified we didn't want to sit in that area if possible, we just assumed they had plenty of seats open throughout the rest of the restaurant since several parties were being sat before us all at once). This left us a bit disappointed and mood quite dampened so we ended up just splitting a pizza and my husband ordered a drink from the bar. We waited about 40 minutes for our pizza to come out(which also we typically would not have a problem with on a busy Friday night but we were pretty much ready to leave at this point and go somewhere else). Our pizza came out and we were just excited to eat. However, the pizza was clearly not quite finished cooking. The crust was not golden as it usually is and was very pale and doughy. Since we had waited already and were disappointed we just decided to finish the pizza as the toppings were still perfectly good and just call it a night after that. After driving all the way out to edwardsville, as we moved out of the area a few years ago, to go visit one of our previous favorite restaurants for date night and being overlooked on the wait list multiple times, being sat in the drab part of the restaurant, then having underdone pizza, it was just a big disappointment for us. Hopefully, it was just an off night for them but we just wanted to share our experience because we have never had a bad experience before. Not sure if the seating/wait system needs work but it did appear they were a tad disorganized on that part after the original host who put us on the wait had been cut for the night and another woman had taken over the wait list. Edit- Also, we would highly recommend the owner/management to strictly use that seperate room that overlooks the parking lot as a party/rent out space only. It is a huge difference in the atmosphere compared to the rest of the restaurant which I think most people(especially couples) are looking forward to enjoying. It definitely feels like more of an event/family party area with how loud that room...

Let me start by saying I absolutely love this place. The food is top notch. But what happened to me on 12/7/2023 was unacceptable. I brought my brother and his girlfriend for the first time. They were very excited because of how much I bragged on this establishment. I'll try and shorten this. We ordered a total of 24 wings all flats. When our order arrived we were told there wasn’t enough flats therefore we were given a few dummies. I didn't understand that at all because surely the chef new prior to our order making it to the table that there wasn't enough. And this was at 2 o'clock in the day so why wasn't it an offer to cook more before just bringing us whatever you wanted us to have?? I almost want to bring RACE into this because I really don't think that would have treated someone of fair skin in this manner, but I don't have proof so I'll abstain. I was offered a dessert or something else off the menu. I then asked were they out of flats for the rest of the day. My waiter then said they could cook more but it would take 45 minutes: As to discourage us from waiting. Now, we had already ordered and ate garlic cheese bread, potatoe wedges, and fried ravioli. We were not starving for the chicken and would had been ok waiting..But who asked?? NOONE!! We were just given whatever They wanted to give us. As if we weren't paying customers?? I eat here all the time and love this place.Bre usually waits on me and she's the reason I come here. I noticed that our servers attitude changed drastically. I acknowledge that this wasn't his fault but he didn't try to stop the food from coming out so it was his fault too. The manager did take care of us. She was upset that they didn't tell us before time and just brought the food out. She had them to re cook the wings, all flats and took those orders off the bill. Meanwhile, the server offered to just credit us for the drummies they gave us. Not understanding the principle that he just dropped food on our table like we should be glad that we got something. I felt totally disrespected and so did my guests. I treated my guests. Our bill was still $70 after the credit for the wings. I put this in here because this bill would have been over a $100. This is for wings. This is not a cheap establishment to just throw anything at people. I already will not go to the O'Fallon location because the food and service is terrible. The exact same thing happened there and I never left a review. But now it's happening all over which makes me think this is the culture of this place. The thing to do is always speak to the customer. When I say I love this place. The food is amazing. But you never, ever, forget how people make you feel. And they made me feel less than so it's probably time for me to look at other places which saddens me....

It's clear from the reviews the food tastes awesome and I can confirm that as well!

But I'm disappointed in the service I've received at the Edwardsville location.

I was given an electronic gift card and on the email I was sent with the gift card number it had a link to access the menu and even states: "To order from the comfort of your home use your Gift Card code at checkout." So I proceeded to order online and when I got to checkout there was no place to enter the gift card information. I called in and Brooke answered. As I started to explain what I was experiencing she cut me off to say bluntly you can't use gift cards for online orders. I then proceeded to order over the phone but as I did I said I just want to let you know the email you receive with a gift card number in it states you can use it online, thinking they were unaware and hoping to spare another customer the confusion. She let me know they're aware it says that and are unable to get it updated. For me it wasn't as much the fact that I couldn't use the gift card online and had to call in (although I do hate to have to call in anywhere) it was really the way my call was handled. And then today I saw on my receipt that it said "You've earned 36 points for this purchase. Redeem them by signing up for our rewards program. By providing your contact information, you are agreeing to participate in the rewards program and be contacted by the restaurant." So I went online to sign up for the rewards program, but you're unable to signup online and instead have to talk to your server. So I called in and got Brooke again, and was told that since the order was made yesterday there's nothing they can do as it has to be added same day. Both interactions were handled with a lack of empathy or any kind of customer service skills. This is the first time I've interacted with your establishment and to be honest outside of the food I'm not impressed. Which is sad because the reason the gift card was selected for your location was to support local business. I get that working with the general public can be a nightmare and I'm not discounting that at all. It's just disappointing when the public is, to the best of their ability, trying to follow directions provided and still hitting road blocks. Does a manager have an ability to add points to a customer's loyalty account as a courtesy? if so, that's an option that could've been explored. Either way an apology and expression of understanding the customer's frustration in either of the interactions would have gone a long way, including me not writing a review. I hope this feedback will be truly received and not...