MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub — Restaurant in Idaho Falls

First off, I'm not someone who usually complains or would even leave a review but our experience at MacKenzie River Pizza tonight was absolutely one of the worst restaurant experiences we've ever had. We have never been here before but we wanted to eat somewhere that had outdoor dining, so we called ahead to make sure the patio was open and they said yes and that they weren't very busy so come on over! We arrived a few minutes later, again requested an outdoor table and were told it would be about a 10 minute wait. After waiting about 30 minutes for an outdoor table we were notified our table was finally ready. The hostess then began leading us inside and we stopped her and said we had requested outdoor seating. She then told us that she knew that but a group of 15 had just called (after we were there and had already waited) and that the only place they could sit the party of 15 would be outside so we were not going to be able to eat outside. I tried to politely talk to her and remind her we had not only called ahead to make sure outside dining was possible but that we had just waited 30 minutes specifically for an outdoor table and we were not comfortable eating inside. The way the hostess responded was absolutely rude and she literally offered zero solutions for us. I kept trying to talk to her and she was just the worst. I asked how long we would have to wait for an outdoor table and she said it just wasn't going to happen because her manager decided to override us for the larger group of 15 (that was not even there and had apparently called after we were there and waiting). After trying to talk to the horrible, rude hostess we finally decided just to leave as there was nothing she was even going to try and do for us even after completely wasting our time and making us wait for an outdoor table. The weirdest part is after we got in our car and were leaving we saw them seat a small group outside that had arrived after us (not sure if that large group of 15 cancelled in the 5 minutes it took us to get to our car or what, but needless to say we were completely upset seeing this). They completely wasted our time and the customer service was nonexistent. In my opinion that hostess should not have a job, I've never been spoken to that rudely before and she didn't even pretend like she wanted to try to help find a solution or make things right. I would rate this place zero stars if that...

First of all, the food is delicious and the building is very nice. But my experience wasn't great. We were on a road trip and decided to stop for lunch there. Called ahead and ordered for take out about 20 minutes before we actually arrived. When I went in to pick up our order, the person at the front said it would be another 5 minutes. That's great. Perfect timing. Well, after about 10 minutes, she said she go back and check to see how much longer. She came back and told me another 5 minutes then disappeared. Still not a problem. I wait. And wait. And wait...after about 40 minutes, I track her down and ask if there's been any progress. She went into the kitchen, then came out and said something to the effect of "Oh. It's right here" and reached under the counter and pulled my order out of a warming box. She handed me the bag and acted like I've only been there for a few minutes. I had ordered an hour and 20 min previous and have been waiting for about an hour, and the food was ready and in the warming box THE WHOLE TIME!!! I was upset but I've worked in the service industry and would never want to make a scene. So I just ask "My order has been ready this whole time?" She just responded with "Yeah" very matter of factly. A nearby waitress heard and immediately responded with "I can get the manager if you want." Which seems to me like maybe they are always having issues and she was ready with that response like it happens all the time. I said don't worry about it and left. I do think, like many places, they are understaffed. I can understand that. But this incident was just a failure of one person who...I don't know what the issue was. If she kept going to the kitchen to ask how much longer, why did she come back with the "5 more minutes" response everytime. Seems to me like she doesn't really check on the order. Just makes it appear that she does. I don't know. The food WAS good. Just a little cold. And I guess I'm sad that I didn't have a better experience. That's 1 hour of my life I could have spent fishing...

This place has horrible service! The wait staff was cold and unconcerned. I called early to let them know we had a party of 20 and asked if they could accommodate us. The answer was yes. Once we arrive they tell us that It would be two hours before they could get us in because they didn’t have the staff to wait on us! The place was almost empty! We spent about an hour waiting for someone to come back and acknowledge us! Instead the bar tender was keeping us informed that they were trying to find a resolution. What was even more disgusting was how they were able to seat other customers as they came in. It is pathetic the staff didn’t know how to handle a large party of people with an almost empty restaurant. It was clear that there were tables in a large empty space. I asked why they couldn’t they put us in that room and to put tables together. Their answer was because the staff was busy with another large party and we had to wait until that party ordered! After an hour of being ignored we left, found a better restaurant that accommodated us in less then 10 minutes after we arrived. They had an amazing waiter that waited on 20 of us, single handed and didn’t stress for one second, and got all 20 orders right! The atmosphere was so much better. Not all stuffy like McKenzie pizza. They made me and my guest feel uncomfortable. McKenzie pizza needs to hire capable staff with social skills and great work ethic. There’s 20 less customers that will get their business and I sure will never suggest this restaurant EVER! I would give 0 stars but you have to choose 1-5 stars. Big FAT...