Winking Lizard Lakewood

Up until now, every time I write a review I always make it positive because I don't think there's not enough "atta boys" out there.

The Winking Lizard in Lakewood, however, has unfortunately changed my streak.

I grew up in Ohio (1990s) and the Winking Lizard was a Northeast Ohio staple! Every time I've come home to visit (Macedonia location), I've always made sure to visit the Winking Lizard. I loved the wings when I was young, and I've loved the atmosphere - particularly at the Lakewood location (largely because of the architectural design of the building).

But why I don't recommend this venue to anyone anymore is because of the SERVICE, particularly at the Lakewood location.

The food is the food, and it's average. The wings are ok when they are cooked right. The beer menu is outstanding (as it is at all Winking Lizards). But the reason I go is to get a piece of the atmosphere while watching college football.

This negative review ultimately comes down to FLEXIBILITY. As a paying customer, if my college game is on national TV, I expect to be able to watch it. I arrived at the Lakewood location early to see my team play, the game was on their list of games to be aired, but they refused to change any of their 50-some TV's to the game so I could watch it. Not a single one of them. Yes, there were big-name teams playing (ie, Ohio State) that they had on ~30 of the 50 TV's, and I totally get that. But at any given time, there are only a total of 10 different live games playing and one would think with 50+ TV's that a game that was even on their play list could be accommodated. I guess not. I even raised it to the floor manager and got the "well, I can't do anything about that - if I change a TV for you than I have to change a TV for everyone". Well, unfortunately when I go to a sports bar that has that amount of TV's, I guess my expectation is that they try to satisfy the clientele with the games they want to watch, pending other customers' satisfaction. At that moment, there were clearly 2 to 3 TV's playing games that no one was interested in... how do I know? I asked the people sitting around those TVs. And still the management wouldn't change even one of them to the game that I wanted to watch, even though it was on their list of games to be aired (this list the waitress showed me).

So, for this, the Winking Lizard in Lakewood gets an A for atmosphere, but an F for execution for failure to be flexible. If you just go for the food - then do it: the food is ok, the architecture is excellent, and the on-the-ground wait staff are friendly enough.

But if your customer experience matters, DO NOT GO HERE - the management sucks because they are 100% inflexible - whether it's changing a TV to your event or even seating you prior to some of your party arriving. Go to a different Winking Lizard; the ones in Macedonia, Peninsula and Independence offered me a WAY better experience in flexibility, game watching, and food.

I refuse to give the Lakewood location any of my money ever again.