Simpleton's Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Mesa

Walked in around 10:20pm on a Thursday night. Somebody was up singing karaoke so I didn't have a clear path to the bar, took an awkward path to the left and ducked under the screen the singer was reading from.

I stood at the bar next to two empty chairs. Nobody was there for quite awhile. I waited. A short woman (who was possibly a waitress or manager) walked up to the other end of the bar and didn't notice me (she was too busy singing along with the song and talking to customers who already had drinks, probably regulars she knows and are friends with, etc), then a younger guy came around the corner and looked right past me like I wasn't there, then another lady with dark hair walked behind the bar and stood there doing something and didn't acknowledge me either.

I stood there for the better part of the song, probably 2-3 minutes, until finally another blonde lady came in and also apparently couldn't see past the forcefield of invisibility that was covering me. I finally got fed up and walked out in anger as the song ended.

Two guys I didn't know walked out behind me and the shorter lady followed us out, shouting "you guys didn't pay your tab!" ... It was those guys, not me, but I felt lumped into the group, but since I couldn't even get served here, I kept walking as I had nothing to do with that. One of them turned to pay and she told him off that it wasn't a funny joke, which it wasn't, but I didn't find it funny either how I stood in there, a stranger in a strange place for 2-3 minutes, and not one of the four people who could have seen me acknowledged that I was there, but one of your staff sure was on top of people trying to skip out on their bill. Doesn't notice a new face walk in there and standing awkwardly looking for service for several minutes... But is hyper vigilant to people who are trying to skip out on their bill and had no qualms with calling out "you guys" at the three of us as they walked out directly behind me, lumping me in with them by association.

Maybe it was just bad luck, they were pretty busy, but come on... LOOK UP! SCAN THE BAR FOR SOMEBODY STANDING THERE WAITING FOR SERVICE. DON'T JUST TUNNEL VISION ON YOUR FRIENDS OR THE TASK YOU'RE BUSY WITH... A simple "Hi, has anybody helped you yet?" and "we'll be right with you" is all it takes!

I felt unwelcome from start to finish. Not the neighborhood bar vibe I was expecting. Felt like a place where they don't serve you unless they know you're name. The exact opposite of "Cheers." If you're not a regular or fit whatever type of person they think belong here, it's like you're invisible. Just my own experience and $0.02, but if I can't even get acknowledged or served at a place, that's an automatic fail in my book.

If management even cares enough to bother, they can review the security camera footage at see that I stood there for a few minutes and multiple employees crossed my path and were able to see and acknowledge me if they only bothered. What really bugs me is the blonde lady was outside (having a cigarette?) when I walked in, so she could have seen me walking in, and then when she came in, she went behind the bar and again, it was like she was doing everything she could NOT to look in my direction. Extremely unfriendly vibe. I felt like I was totally out of place in a fishbowl with people watching me not get acknowledged for all that time.

I'm just a normal dude, maybe nerdy, but I don't mean anybody any harm and I tip well (when people bother to take my order!!!). My advice to the four employees who just couldn't be bothered to say hello to me: Don't work in a hospitality field if you're not going to be hospitable, especially...

We unexpectedly ended up back at Simpletons in Mesa! What a great place! I used to live over by this place and then, frequented often but that was 15/20 years ago. They have always had the best food and drinks for a good value and they did not let us down! Tucked into the west corner of the Fry's grocery shopping complex, Simpleton's is easy to overlook! It doesn't look that special from the outside but should you venture inside, you're in for a treat! My favorite thing about this little divey local hangout? The ambience and the people! We are greeted with genuine smiles and warm welcomes. We sit and are immediately met with our waitress who is knowledgeable and sweet with a ready laugh and smile. She answers all our questions, makes some great recommendations and leaves us with a wink and a smile. Then we turn our attention to karaoke and the ASU game! Our songs were applauded boisterously and just about everyone in the place made their way over to our table to compliment us and introduce themselves and visit a bit. The food was right out, hot wings and chicken nachos! All of it was exactly what we wanted and we proceeded to eat, drink and make merry! We stayed much longer than we planned because we were having such a wonderful time! We prepared to leave just after last call and were very moved by the other patrons insistent invitations that we return the next week! I totally recommend Simpleton's to anyone who likes good food, good service and having a great time! Be warned, the wings are a little hotter than expected and the people are magnetically fun, easy going and ready to party so its not easy to leave!! Overall, ours was an unexpected visit to the past which elevated the night in ways we couldn't have anticipated! Simpleton's! Still a great little place with above average food and service. And, if I do say so myself, a few awesome singers for your entertainment! See you Saturday night at...

This is a great neighborhood place to go when you just want to chill with nice people. The service is ALWAYS friendly; there are always regulars sitting at the bar chatting; there is always a comfortable place to sit. We've been several times and love having a "Cheers" of our own.

The menu has changed a little bit since we were last there. Yesterday, my daughter and I stopped by for a late lunch. I had the French dip and it was so delicious...the toasted roll, the meat, and the au jus were a perfect blend. The waitress AND the cook, who came to our table at least three times, told us the meat was prepared on-site and the au jus was directly from the meat drippings...I'm telling you, it was delicious. My side salad was FRESH GREEN lettuce (I am so OVER white iceberg lettuce...enough already!), crunchy cucumber, crisp tomato, and ranch dressing...perfect size. My daughter had one of the specialty burgers (the one with bang bang sauce?) and said it was the best burger she'd had in a very long time. Her fries had just the right amount of seasoning and were the perfect balance of soft inside and crispy outside. The cook (should I be calling him a chef? What's the difference between a cook and a chef?) tempted us with his homemade cheesecake with raspberry sauce (we could have opted for caramel sauce) and chocolate ganache (is that redundance? Seriously, I am NOT a cook...OR a chef) cake. I'm typically a chocolate girl, but daughter and I were making brownies later, so we split a piece of cheesecake. Oh. Em Gee. Do it.

The music was loud, the atmosphere was friendly and comfortable, and it was a happy place to be. Go there. You...