Mable's Smokehouse & Banquet Hall — Restaurant in New York

food is okay - i really love bbq and have been here twice. first time the ribs were awesome and the brisket was eh. this time it was the other way around, with the brisket being more tender and enjoyable than the ribs.

What is truly atrocious here is the service. I'm a waiter of 15 years so I'm both sympathetic to those in the industry while also critical. I don't use the term "bro", but there is no other word that can possibly describe the man in his late 30's/early 40's that took my order. Instead of coming to my table and saying hello, he pulled up a chair and sat down. Unannounced without a word. And after he sat, he still didn't say hello. He didn't even make eye contact with me. He stared at the Toast tablet in his hand, while I awkwardly said hey hows it goin' after a few seconds of trying to figure out who he was.

His first words were, "You hungry? Get the ribs, bro." After a few moments of me looking over the menu while he awkwardly sits across from me at my table (I'm not the fastest decision maker), he says "You ready yet?"

No, I wasn't ready. But everything about this interaction made me feel pressured to order because apparently he was (mind you, I'm only the third guest in this place). From his tone to his word choice ("can I give you a couple minutes" is far more hospitable than "You ready yet"), I felt like I was a nuisance if I didn't order. So I hurried myself and made a quick decision.

As the food arrived, the soda never came. He said that they needed to change the tap. That's fine, but that should have happened during the 12-15 minutes while I was waiting for the food, and I wonder what he was actually doing during that time frame. He simply forgot (it happens, I've been there), but I asked to cancel the soda.

While I ate, he stayed at the bar to chat with friends and/or regulars and never came by again. As more tables sat, I watched him pull up a chair at every single table while taking peoples' orders. At one point while he sat at a table taking an order, he actually answered his cellphone and walked away to take the call.

I never received a quality-check on the food until I pushed my plates aside and asked for the check. He then pulled up the final tab on the Toast tablet and put it in front of my face, so I never saw the itemized bill. I simply tapped my card and tipped 20%, trusting that things were in order. After looking at the e-receipt, he never removed my soda.

I won't be returning. The casual and cool IDGAF attitude behind the service is embarrassingly inhospitable, it made me uncomfortable when he sat at my table, and the food isn't great enough to justify the below-mediocre service. Considering the competition in the area, there are a lot of other places to spend your hard-earned money with basic hospitality and at least a "hello" from the person you're...

One word...Olivia. My buddy has been trying to get me to go here for a while and finally squeezed a Wednesday to try their $25 all you can eat ribs night. Wish I had tried an earlier day!!! We were greeted quite friendly at the host area after walking thru the wrong door. We sat in a corner of one of the community tables. These tables are big, sturdy and heavy. Our server extraordinaire Olivia was all we needed to enjoy a nice night with my buddy. She is knowledgeable about life and the restaurant. She gave usbvery suggestions and even talked us into both beers and dessert. She knew exactly how much ribs we could possibly eat and consistently checked in on us with the perfect frequency. We started with 6 ribs each. The ribs have a perfect amount of sauce layering. Just to have a nice color while the inside was moist and juicy. We also ordered a pitcher of beer. Our main goal today was only ribs to try and beer. We were able to finish off a few more. My buddy had 13 ribs while I tapped out at 8 ribs. When Olivia returned with her amazingly warm and friendly attitude, we could not resist her offer of dessert. I think even one of the managers stopped by and chatted with us. The place is extremely friendly and you do want to return which I certainly will. The peanut butter cake was so good and we had enough space to eat. It's light and not sweet. A very nice addition to dinner. The main reason we will return is Olivia, without a doubt. The ribs were very good! Everyone it seems to work there are very nice people. I can't wait to try some of the...

Ambiance (4/5): The inside is rustic and reminded me of your classic BBQ joint with the wooden panel walls and string lights. The tables are long and unseparated so can seat large parties. You can see the oven and the cooks prepping the meal in the dining area. Service (3/5): Although our table was located where the heavy foot traffic was, our service was a bit lackluster. We were able to get in our order before the Happy Hour (4-7pm) was over. HH $8 beer and a shot, $8 well drinks, $50 marg pitchers, $1 off beer/wine. Luckily, another server noticed our need for help and she kindly helped us when we were waiting for the check for a while. We really messed up and didn’t realize that it was $25 for all you can eat ribs on Wednesday so instead we ordered a platter to share (3 meats & 3 sides). Ribs: The ribs were by far the best of the 3. Lots of flavor on the rub/sauce and tender but not completely fall of the bone tender. It held on but left nothing on the bone either. It didn’t need the side of sauce. Pulled Pork: While good, it needed something extra with it. Brisket: Some parts are dry while other parts were fatty. Still good. Corn Bread: Soft, not too much flavor, gritty, with small amount of whole corn kernels Mac & Cheese: looked and tasted like a layer of melted plastic, no pronounced flavor of cheese Salad: light dressing on a bed of greens, it was a nice balance to the rest of the meal Food Overall (3/5), was it the best BBQ I’ve had? Not even close. The meats are all good with the ribs being amazing. The sides all fell...