The Sandbar Patio Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Garden City

My two experiences at the Sandbar with groups of 9 to 14 people were NOT good. Management has a policy that they will not take more than 4 credit cards per group. Most of us were strangers to each other, so we each wanted our own bills and to pay only for what we each bought for ourselves. The first visit, our waitperson caved and gave the 9 of us each our own bill. The second time we were repeatedly told they could only split the bill 4 ways (pay with no more than 4 credit cards). We had to keep insisting we each wanted our own bill. Finally the managers allowed that. Our group was given a $262 bill on a single piece of paper and we each had to figure out what we owed. The waitperson was covering a large area and was run off her feet. She had to run all the credit cards herself. The managers did not help the waitperson. Because she was the only waitperson for our area, we waited at least 30 minutes for her to run our credit cards. She was upset because other tables needed her attention. I do not blame her for this situation. Management needs to put on more staff or else help the staff in situations like this. Customers should ALWAYS get a bill for only what they ordered. I have talked with quite a few people who have said other establishments always give them their own bills when they are in large groups.

The food I had on these 2 occasions was terrible. Pork nacos with liquid cheese. The pork was dry and the cheese was gross. The first event I had pork street tacos. Again, the meat was dry. Nasty. Another person in our part had deep fried fish that was way overcooked to the point of being very dark brown. One woman ordered a chef salad. It came piled high on a plate with each ingredient separated from the other ingredients. It was impossible to eat without the ingredients falling on the table or on the ground. The dogs had a feast eating everything that fell off the plate. Easy solution: put the salad in a bowl with high sides

Last night I went to the Sandbar with only one friend and had a very good experience. I had a hamburger and sweet potato fries. Very good although way overpriced.

I recommend that if you go to the Sandbar, you only go with the number of people who are willing to split the bill no more than 4 ways. And...

My husband and kids spent a couple days at the Riverside hotel and sat in the SandBar poolside area a couple weeks ago and had an amazing time. I told my sister what a great time we had and decided to go this past weekend with our kids so the cousins could all hang out. We went over picked up some Ling and Louie’s to-go and went and sat at the same table my husband and I did a couple weeks prior and planned to order our drinks from there. As soon as we sat down Quinn from Meridian as her name tag stated stomped over to our table and stated, “This is a restaurant you can’t just come and sit down at one of our tables I need you to leave now!!” I tried to explain we were just here a couple weeks ago and were guests of the hotel in which she continued to interrupt saying that gives you no special privileges here and continuously motioned her hands to stand while repeating leave now, leave now!! My sister stated to her as she was quickly packing our things, “we are leaving and from experience working in hospitality there is more than one way to approach people.” We asked to speak with a manager in which she stated my name is Quinn and I am the Supervisor. We told her with the way she was acting she would not last long in this industry in which she responded by saying I’ve worked here for four years and I’ll work here as long as I want. As I picked up my phone to call the hotel supervisor she said I’m going to get my manager. Kathy the supervisor walked over and apologized for how we were treated and let us know Quinn was not the manager and is so sorry for her actions. She invited us to stay at the table but at this time we decided to go as all the tables around us were staring but the two closest to us also apologized and stated they could not believe how rude Quinn was. I do appreciate Kathy and her effort to help fix the situation but would...

As expected, this place was packed on a sunny afternoon. With both greenbelt and hotel traffic this place is playing double duty. This comes with 30+ minute wait times for a table during peak times so just bring your patience and understanding. It's not the employees fault we all like to eat at the same time. I came here with my dad and we grabbed some seats at the bar. With it being outdoor dining, the elements be elementaling. The cottonwood trees were going nuts and the entire place was covered. There was not stopping it, so take your allergy meds people! I've been here a few times before when visiting Boise, but this time felt like everyone was trying to play catch-up, which was probably likely. My guess is they're not immune from the service industry labor shortage and everyone was definitely doing their best, but they could have benefitted from additional hands. Our bartender was covering half the bar and all the cocktail tables plus the walk up bar. We had some extended waits for both ordering food and refills on drinks. I got the huckleberry lemon drop which was a good blend of sweetness and tartness. I got the brisket tacos and my dad got the fish tacos. We traded one taco and the brisket was the clear winner. Overall this is a great spot as long as your have patience and get the brisket. Oh! And there was love music from a former voice contestent the night we were there, she...