South Bay BBQ — Restaurant in Olympia

I heard this was the best bbq around, that was a lie. I went in on a Sat around 8:30pm. The salt and pepper shakers were caked with dried bbq sauce and who knows what else. My wife had to ask for clean shakers. Ordered the rib meal, came out with 4 ice cold ribs. BBQ beans that were crusty on top from sitting in the warmer to long. Cold cornbread. They took it back and heated it up in what looked like a toaster oven but it was still cold when they brought it back. I ate it anyways cause I was starving. I ordered the brisket sandwich which also came out cold and he too was starving so he ate it, he also asked for extra bbq which never came. The point of going to dinner together is to eat together. I had to watch my husband eat as they were reheating my food that didn't even arrive hot the 2nd time it was delivered. I asked for a bud light and the rude lady yelled we don't have that while the nice male waiter asked politely if coors light was ok. For $50 I expected a lot more that what was delivered both in service and in food. They are closed Sun and Mon so I spent Tues and today (Wed) trying to call and speak with a manager but the phone is never picked up, it goes to vm which conveniently is full so I can't even leave a message. This is the worst place I have ever dined and I have dined at a lot of places. I realize we came in at closing but the lady waitress just seemed to rush us and try to get us out the door.

Update:

So recently I've been extremely busy with meetings work loads holidays you name it. Took two weeks or so to FINALLY get a $50 refund for our HORIABLE customer service and rude service! Not to mention you can't call the business they don't answer! You can't leave voice mail it dont work! Magergers # voice mail dont work can't write down correct email for me everything said was wrong and incorrect Katie (manager) reached out to me to assist after all this drama after the fact it shouldn't take that long for refund regardless of financial institutions.

Then to boot I started getting HARRASED by them simply because I just wanted my darn 50 bucks back way long ago. Told them cease and desist If they were such a OUTSTANDING 20 year plus reputation maybe they should of just refunded me that night without all the drama HARRASED and delimmna Dont go there it was a horrible experience! Beware!

Update again!

Katie said she mailed gift...

This reviews comes from the perspective of a married pair of mid 30s with no kids, visiting from Seattle for the weekend.

We came down for the weekend and stayed in the Historic District. I was hankering for some barbecue, and chose South Bay for dinner.

Visually, the restaurant is fine. Has a fine hybrid indoor/outdoor space, inoffensive decor, and ample but not too tight seating. The outdoor seating is shared with their parter "Pig Bar" next door.

Their service was slow and relatively inattentive, considering there weren't many of us in the restaurant side - however, everyone was very nice.

Now for the food. It was a mixed bag. We shared a 3 meat combo (ribs, brisket, and chicken) with their mac and cheese, beans and cornbread. For the positives. The meat was cooked excellently. Ribs were pull apart, brisket and chicken were moist and tender, nothing chewy - fantastic meat. The Mac and Cheese, and cornbread were also delicious. However, the bad. Barbecue lives and dies by the flavor... Either in the sauce or the rub... And the flavor of the meat and of the sauce just wasn't there. The meat plain didn't have any real strong notes, and the sauces were just... Mehhhh? It's not offensive at all, or bad... But it isn't something I'm going to write home about, or remember after writing this. This extended to the beans as well, which while cooked well and have great promise... Just didn't deliver. Additionally, portion sizes were a bit smaller than expected (again, not offensively so), for the price, but that's probably cause everything here in the touristy part of town is that way.

Overall, it's a fine place that can scratch the itch for barbecue at a fine enough price, with a fine enough vibe. Not great, not terrible. Perfect 3 stars. Fine, but...

Initially walking in it smelled wonderful and my wife and I were greeted promptly. The service was wonderful and timely. The sweet tea and lemonade were very good. Once the food came out I was unexpectedly disappointed. The Brisket was very dry which they tried hiding with covering it with sauce before being sent out, the pulled pork was okay, but the sauage was flavorless. The mac and cheese was tasteless and also somehow dry, and lastly the peach cobbler was rubbery. Our waitress was very kind and removed my meal from the bill. My pregnant wife didn't mind her meal and was still eating. The owner approached us shortly after and you could tell he was visibly upset that I was not satisfied with my meal. He was rather aggressive and assertive asking why I sent my meal back. Seeing he was visibly angry, I tried diffusing the situation by saying it was a personal preference rather than telling him point blank what the issue actually was. To which he told us that if we were picky to stay home to eat. They were a small business and he has kids to feed. My wife was extremely embarrassed and distraught over the matter that she didnt even finish her meal. She promptly went out to the car while I paid for her meal to avoid any more confrontation. Overall I think the situation should've been handled differently. The owner was unnecessarily confrontational and I did not find it very...