Sonny's BBQ — Restaurant in Gainesville

Horrible food and mediocre service. When we arrived no one was there to greet and seat us so when we finally got seated we ordered 2 mango sweet teas and an appetizer dry rub wings. When julia our server brought out my wife and i teas the cups come with a spoon for mixing the mango puree. After mixing my drink i took a big sip, but my wife noticed that there was something on my spoon i pulled it out and found dried crusty BBQ sauce on the edge of the spoon, so i waited for our server to return and when she came to our table she had our wings as well so not only was my spoon dirty the wings she brought to the table were all drums and no flats. So i explained to julia that my spoon was filthy, but she insisted that it was the puree on the spoon when i clearly saw that it was BBQ sauce and instead of julia replacing my drink immediately she went back and forth with me about what was on the spoon, so she finally replaced the drink and put in another order for wings with flats. When she came back to the table to take down our entrees I ordered the brisket sandwich, but julia also suggested that I try the lean sliced brisket so I agreed to it because she made it sound so much more appetizing, and my wife ordered the all you can eat chicken. So for the inconvenience julia brought back a whole order of wings this time all flats which we were only expecting the flats that didn't come with our first order which would have only should've been about 4 pieces, but I know she did that because she wanted to redeem herself which was fine. My wife and I never go out to dinner with the intentions on having our meals comped we are very good tippers most of the time 50% of the bill we tip, but it seems as though we tend to get horrible service, anyways, julia finally brought our entrees out and my brisket sandwich was dry and the garlic toast dry like card board, and the meat was dry and in chuncks not sliced like she recommended and my wifes first order of chicken was dry the white meat was in crumbles. I wish I could shorten this story up but theres no other way to put this reality. With so many complaints about our visit made me feel like I was being difficult, but I feel like if im going to spend my hard earned dollars anywhere Im supposed to expect the best service possible. I totally understand that nothing is perfect, however, horrible service from start to finish is unacceptable. The best part about our visit was, even though julia didn't make sure that her orders were nothing less than perfect before she brought our food to the table, she was very understanding of our complaints and she made sure that she accomodated us as much as possible. Unfortunately they had to partially comp our bill but we still tipped our server $17 on a $14 bill if we decide to return it wont be an hour before closing because restaurant employees become very lazy and careless around...

I recently had a very bad experience with sonnys bbq on 39th ave in Gainesville FL where in I had ours sweet smoky rib dinner and surprisingly when I opened ended th Er box the ribs were cooked to much the meat was extremely uneatable. Of course it was late at night when I purchased but the food and I live about 39 minutes out so I didn’t turn around and bring the food back nor did I keep the receipt because I didn’t expect that I neede to because this has never happened to me. As I went back to Sonny’s because I love the food I mentioned to the cashier at the window who took my order about how hard the ribs were cooked she said “hold on ma’am let me get the manager to see if can take it off this purchase, so the manager approached the window and to be short about it he was willing to do any to compensate me for not having a good meal. He simply said we’ll do better the next time, so as i’m Thinking to myself this is certainly not good service at all. He asked if I had a receipt and because I didn’t he couldn’t give me my money back so as a disappointed customer my reply to him was “so your not willing to compensate me at all because I didn’t call back and report this and because I didn’t have a receipt to show you proof that I purchased it I even told him that I could get my bank statement and bring it to him but I stopped and said you know what sir never mind you doing anything for me as you can see I’m back at Sonny’s again so I’m no thanks trying to get you to give me something I don’t deserve , he then offered to take 10% off my current order and I said sir that’s only a $1.30. I spent 30.00 for the meal and had just ordered two meals again for $30.00. After about 5 min of talking to the manager I asked for his name and he did give it to me which I wouldn’t mention. He then said to me well here’s what I going to do I’ll take the dinner off this receipt after all the going back and forth he could have said this at the beginning. Was it because I asked what his name was ? So now as a Sonny’s customer I don’t think t should have been put through all of that and have him say I...

We had given up on Sonny's because the one in Alachua, FL had gone downhill in all ways. One day, around St. Patrick's day, we decided to try the Sonny's on 39th Street in Gainesville. Well, we now have our preferred Sonny's! We had a great server, Patricia. I asked to speak with the manager to praise Patricia. Ethan approached with a huge smile and I expressed my opinion on how great Patricia was. We talked quite a while and he truly made a connection. After a very enjoyable conversation, Ethan invited me to let him know the next time we were at the restaurant. Fast forward to April 15, 2024. We were greeted by Zach with a pleasant smile and great personality. I asked him if Ethan was working, which he was. I also asked if he could let Ethan know that I was there. Not long after we were sat, Ethan comes walking around the corner and when he saw me, his face lit up!!! He remembered everything about our last visit and even commented about my husband wearing a plaid shirt again. Another GREAT conversation and when our server, Elise, brought the food out, Ethan came out to check on us. Elise was also very kind, with a great smile. I noticed that all of the servers were smiling - at all times. What a great environment. A few days after our visit, I called to speak with the General Manager, Charles. Well, now I understand why the staff at Sonny's on 39th Street in Gainesville is so happy! Charles was an absolute delight to speak with and I expressed that his restaurant is our go-to Sonny's even though we have to travel further than our local Sonny's location. This is turning out to be a novel; however, it is important to me to always give praise where it is deserved. Kudos to Charles, Ethan and the associates at this...