Smokey and The Brisket BBQ — Restaurant in La Mesa

I am not one to complain, but bad service is just BAD. We went for Father's Day dinner-granted it was busy w/ families and lots of carry outs. The kitchen appeared to be very chaotic. We ordered appetizers and main courses and then sat for over half an hour with our drinks and NO food. To make matters worse we had a server that just didn't seem to care or even bother checking in with us. She never even looked at us-just kept walking by w/ no acknowledgement or to see if my son-in-law wanted another beer or to offer a reason why it was taking so long to get any food. She seemed to do all she could to avoid even looking at us or make eye contact. Finally, when the table next to us, that had sat 15 minutes after us, got their food-that was too much. We called our server over and asked why we had not received our appetizers or anything while the table next to us got their food in fairly short order. She offered no apology only a lame excuse that our order 'was more complicated'. What is complicated about food that is mostly pre-made and a few things to be fried? She said she would check on the hold up and came back to say (matter of factly) that our whole order would come out at once and 'do you still want it or not?' We were very hungry and had toddler with us so we opted to stay. Another 10 minutes later all of our food was dropped on the table. It was partially cold and some was hot (fried stuff). The server made a passing check on us-one time- but no apology for the poor service or any offer to comp the appetizers or drinks or offer anything in way of apology. I worked as a server and even if I was busy or having a 'bad day' never would I have neglected a table this way. The chaotic kitchen not withstanding, I would have done my best to get appetizers to the table at the very least. It was wholly aggravating and shameful. I do like the food (for the most part) and may order carry out after the bad taste of this experience wears off, but I will never eat in this...

One of the worst experiences ever. My wife and I dined and arrived around an 1:45 minutes prior to closing. We did not receive our until the last 25 minutes before closing. They did not seem busy out of the norm but what do I know what the norm is. The waitress kept coming to our table apologizing and the last 45 minutes she comes back and tells me they are saying they might be out of the spare ribs I ordered, but she will keep checking. I could see her and the lady at the front counter exchanging words. She avoided us until she brought our food. When I received the ribs it was like they gave me something that was sitting there all day. I asked when the ribs were prepared she said some time today. They were super dry and tough to chew for ribs. She didn’t hesitate to take them off my bill and she did offer to replace it with something but told me it would be a while and they were closing in about 15 minutes. Funny thing is she said she would have to charge me also to replace. I was like ok I don’t expect anything but the only solution after sitting there waiting was to take the ribs off my bill. Never going there again and don’t recommend based off that experience.

Update* 4/19/2023 Someone responded to my review and asked me to email the managers team. I did what was asked and after over a week no response. This shows that they don't care about...

I Actually Came Here To Try Their Food. I Wanted To Come Here For My Birthday Dinner On The 23RD. I Came In And Waited @ The Door For 5 Mins And Tried To Sit @ The Bar But They Had Drinks On Table By The Only Seat Available. Oh Yeah So I Sat Down And Waited @ The Table By The Entrance. I Finally Got A Waitress & She Rudely Said You Need To Wait To Be Seated! I Said I Actually Waited For 5 Mins And Tried To Sit Down @ Bar But Couldn't. I'm Sorry But My Leg Was Hurting And I Had To Sit Down. She Just Rolled Her Eyes And Looked @ My Cane And Handed Me A Menu. I Ordered The Beef Brisket. Oh Yeah You Have To Order And Pay For Each Side Separately. I Ordered The Baked Beans And Potato Salad With A Craft Beer. I'm Sorry But The Brisket Was Average. I Actually Didn't Care For The Beans Or The Potato Salad With Mustard And Pickles Either. I Definitely Did Like All The Pretty Waitresses And See Why All My Male Cousins Like This Place. I'm Glad I Had To Use The Bathroom. I Got To See The Picture Of Jacky Gleason And The Firebird Hood In The Hallway. I Would Of Never Known That This Place Is Actually Named After Smokey And The Bandit. Oh Yeah Was Definitely Wondering About The Giant Miller Mural And That's From The Movie Too. Yeah Definitely Not Gonna Celebrate My Birthday...