Bandana's Bar-B-Q Fairview Heights, IL — Restaurant in Fairview Heights

I’ll start off with I have been a huge supporter of bandannas, and this location in particular, for as long as I can remember… 10 to 15 years easy. It’s been a staple for our family whenever we crave barbecue. Last night was not the best experience, I’ll start off with, when you go to bandannas, you know exactly what you’re getting. Consistency is what makes it our go to place but last night I was very shocked at the food we paid for. Again, every family member has their own menu item. That’s what they get almost every time. So again, we knew what to expect… My problems are with the portions. Everything from the ribs, the pulled pork, and the smoked turkey or portions far smaller than we ever remember. it’s nice that they now offer what they call a budget menu, which is one meat, two sides and bread is nice for those of us who don’t eat a lot but I tell you, everything could’ve fit in the palm of my child’s hand. And I’m not just talking about the budget menu…. I was shocked at the portions of all of our entrées… With the exception of the chicken, finger plate… my daughter ordered chicken fingers, baked potato and french fries and the plate was massive, the only problem was the actual chicken fingers for $15.99 you would expect at least a decent quality chicken finger, but these were your standard, compressed, minced chicken meat, fingers that you get in the frozen aisle of Walmart. Even my 12-year-old couldn’t eat them. I’ll say the other meats had a taste that were just fine, delicious as always, my problem is with the dramatically reduced portions. And I get it… There are food costs, and supply chain issues all over… But tell me on the menu how much I’m getting. For example… On the bargain menu, it should read… “You will get, 3 ounces of meat … Or three spareribs”… Something like that. . On the positive side or wait staff was very friendly and responsive and did an excellent job. Not sure if I’ll give it another chance, as I just don’t think the value was there for the money… only time will tell. (I changed my stars to give credit to...

This place certainly surprised me. The way I look at at the normal Bbq restaurant is, they are like ice cream 🍦 meaning, their all good 👍. Anyway I sat down with a few friends and gave the waitress my order, the 2 meat 🍖 combo and get this, if you don't opt to get a bread with your meal you can sub it for another side so how awesome is that. Well when the plate hit the table I started to dig in and I'm telling you that the pulled pork just blew me away. It was so moist and full of flavor 😋 probably the best tasting pulled Pork I have ever had. So delicious, then for the ribs....oh yeah they were lean and done perfectly. I the preceeded to the sides, coleslaw, green beans and the fried Oakra. Those were as I expected but I keep drifting back to the pulled Pork...OMG! I will definitely be looking forward to returning to eat some more Bbq here in the future. And I would love to see if my review stands true or I had waited way to long to get my Bbq fix. Either way I will need to return here and try so much more on the menu. OH I almost for got to take pictures but I did get one of my order before I ate everything up. They also have five flavors of barbecue sauces on the table for you to chose from, I really didn't need any for my meal so your on your own there. Thanks for putting out some great 👍 Q guys. The place was clean, the service fast and friendly and my over all experience was...

Overall, food and location were good. My lowest rating was the service. Placed online order at 723pm with an order ready for pick up at 823pm. Knowing that the pick up can be affected by in person dinners + other orders in front of mine, I purposely arrived at 830pm and still waited 5 more in car. When I walked in to pay, my order was not done and was told part of my order (chicken) was still waiting to be completed. That's an hour + extra 12 minutes cushion time given. When I said something to the server taking payment, I received a perplexed and irritated look as if I were asking for something hard. In person dining was not busy with only 6 tables occupied and three servers. Three other pick up orders arrived after and left before me. This used to be my go to for BBQ. I'm seeing a noticeable decline in service. There are by my count 5 other BBQ places I can choose with similar food quality. In order to stand apart it comes down to service and timely fulfillment of the customer's order. It would be unfortunate to find other BBQ place to go and recommend to other than Bandanas. Finally, with the economy and inflation, customers can opt to make their own at much better prices and order to table. Don't lose standards for service and timely pick up...