BIG A's Bando Brunch•Bar•Grill — Restaurant in Mobile

My wife and I had the opportunity to visit this Black-owned restaurant over my birthday weekend (April 13, 2025) as part of our commitment to supporting local businesses. First and foremost, the food was absolutely outstanding—everything we tried was flavorful and well-prepared. The kitchen clearly knows what they’re doing, and the quality of the dishes was a highlight of our visit.

However, there are a few areas that could use improvement. The service, while friendly, lacked attention to detail. Our server was polite, but it didn’t seem like she was fully engaged with our table. For instance, I informed the her about my seafood allergy, but there was no clear indication that it was acknowledged or taken into consideration. Additionally, I had to get up several times to ask for basic items like utensils and napkins. The waitstaff, although energetic and seemingly enjoying their time together, would benefit from more structured training and a greater focus on customer attentiveness. They are young black women who just need to tightened up a bit more while on the job.

In terms of ambiance, the R&B music playing through the Bluetooth speaker created a relaxed, enjoyable vibe. However, the overall cleanliness and upkeep of the space left much to be desired. The interior appeared worn and in need of some deep cleaning and minor renovations. During our visit, I noticed a roach in the restroom, and another was spotted in the lobby area—an issue that should be addressed immediately for the comfort and safety of guests.

With some professional development for the staff and a refreshed, cleaner environment, this restaurant has incredible potential. The food alone is worth returning for, but moving forward, I’d likely opt for takeout rather than dining in. Pricing was fair for the quality of the meals, which I appreciated.

I genuinely hope to see this place thrive and grow into the gem it has the potential to become.

Lastly, we did not have a wait time. We just walked in and got serviced to a table. It did take a little minute but...

⚠️⚠️USES TOO MUCH SALT⚠️⚠️ On 6/14/24 I got a turkey leg stuffed with Cajun rice, shrimp, and crawfish tails and it was so salty that I had to stop eating it especially when my tongue started tingling. I woke up the next day with my tongue burned, sore, and raw from the salt. Smoked turkey legs are naturally salty anyway so I individually tasted the rice, shrimp, and crawfish and they were all Heavily seasoned. Honestly speaking, I do feel as though the turkey legs were overpriced but I really wanted to try them after seeing them in different states on TikToc and I was happy that I could try them out locally. I don’t have a problem paying for what I want because I still swiped my card after hearing the outrageous price but I do feel some type of way when I had to throw it away because it was inedible. I try to support Black Owned businesses but come on now……individually charging for each topping! The hostess who took my order was very nice and allowed me to take pictures after I asked and told her that I was a Google reviewer. She asked me to leave a good review but unfortunately I can’t do that in regard to the food. The establishment was clean however the latter shouldn’t have been out, especially unattended, during business hours because it is a safety hazard. The ambience was good with the music selection but not all the televisions were on. I’m a firm believer that if a business has a television on the wall that it needs to be on for entertainment purposes. I liked the whole seating vibe and how you can choose from three different areas to sit from up against the wall, the tables, or on the barstools. Truthfully, I will visit again because I want to experience breakfast and lunch but I will most definitely tell them to hold the salt! I also didn’t have too long of a wait time and was there under 20min which could have been because I got there...

We drove in from New Orleans to try this place today. We were very excited to eat here, but left extremely disappointed without even getting to order

When we walked in at 12:30pm on a Sunday, several tables were open, but no one acknowledged us as we stood inside the door looking around. There was no sign to wait or seat ourselves so we went to seat ourselves, and the only waitress on the floor was talking to another table seemed annoyed by our presence.

She gestured for us to get our chairs from another table since there weren't enough chairs for a four top at any of the three or four available tables. No helping us with the chairs - she just gestured and continued to talk to her friends.

We sat down, reviewed the menu and were ready to order, but neither the annoyed waitress or the other lady (who appeared behind the bar to talk with her friend) bothered to speak to us.

After twenty five minutes of waiting, noticing that none of the other tables received food and some tables were still waiting to place their order, we started talking about leaving. That's when the waitress said he was just about to get to us, but she went on to another table.

From the QR code menus (annoying) to the sloppy atmosphere to being treated with absolute indifference, we decided to leave. Considering the prices of the menu items (waffles and grits aren't made of gold) you would think they would want some business, but they obviously did not care if they had customers or not.

We had a small child with us and we have diabetes and mobility issues, so it was really inconvenient to delay our meal and to cause us to relocate by the time we went to another establishment down the street.

Don't waste your time or money going here. They don't care about your time or money. Very sad. Hope they...