Sickies Garage Burgers & Brews — Restaurant in Omaha

First off, I was pretty excited to try this place as I have been to other restaurants with similar concepts and have never had a poor experience at any of them. However, we were disappointed with the service and food in this case. We arrived early so the place wasn’t busy. Maybe half the seats were filled. The host took us to a table and we asked if we could sit in one of the many open booths instead. The host had a very clear and obvious attitude regarding our request. Reluctantly, he did end up sitting us in a booth but the attitude remained. Being veterans, my wife and I were excited to see an ad on the table indicating that veterans and first responders get 20% off their meal with a valid ID. The ad further clarified that this was valid with any regular priced menu items. We wanted to try several different items since it was our first time there and knowing that we would get 20% off our meals, we splurged and we each ordered a burger and an appetizer and we ordered 10 wings. One of the appetizers was pretzel fries which were advertised and shown in pictures as soft pretzels in the shape of skinny fries with cheese sauce. When our appetizers came, we received soft pretzel bites instead and the cheese “sauce” was thick, congealed, and lumpy. You could literally pile the cheese “sauce” up. When I let the waitress know we had ordered pretzel “fries” and not the bites that we received, she explained that she knew we ordered the fries but they don’t have the pretzel fries yet and provide these instead. While the shape of the pretzels isn’t a huge deal, I was bewildered at the response indicating that they knew what we ordered, knew what they had, and just substituted it without letting us know. Additionally, the waitress did not ask if that was ok that they substituted the fries for bites or provide an apology. Based on the lack of care from the waitress, I didn’t even bother bringing up the congealed lumpy cheese. The wings that we received were disappointing. While the sauce was good and the wings were large, the chicken itself was gristly and the skin was slimy. After our meal, we let the waitress know that we are both veterans and both presented ID for verification. We received our check and I reviewed it to find out that we had received approximately 10% off our bill instead of the 20% that was advertised. I brought this to the attention of our waitress who explained that the discount is only applied to an entree and is limited to one item per veteran/ first responder. I pointed out that the ad on the table stated that the discount applied to the veteran/ first responder’s meal and that it further indicated that all regular priced menu items are eligible for the discount. Nowhere on the ad indicated that it only applied to one item or an entree. The waitress did apologize but essentially said that’s just the way it is. Knowing that the waitress was likely limited in her options to address the situation, we requested to speak with the manager to discuss this. When the manager came over, it was clear from her tone and presentation, that she had no interest in discussing the matter, let alone trying to resolve it. Nonetheless, we calmly and politely explained the situation to her only to have her essentially say that is the way it is. She explained that by meal, they meant one main entree. I attempted to explain that meal to myself and I think a lot of others would refer to the entire experience. Foods, drinks, desserts, etc and not one specific item. And that my view on this seemed to be further confirmed by the notation that all regular priced menu items were eligible. Rather than acknowledge our concerns, apologize and/or provide any empathy regarding the misleading ad, the manager was argumentative. I would have been satisfied in the exchange if the manager had at least acknowledged the concern, even if the additional items were not discounted. This was a highly...

First, I want to clarify that I like burgers. Like, I LIKE burgers. Also, I want to clarify that I am always looking for the positives when I dine out. If you have seen any of my other reviews, you will notice my posts wax ebullient about the places I've gone or the services provided.

We came to Sickie's at 7 pm on a Monday night. It wasn't especially busy but it was not dead either; quiet but slightly occupied. They sat us fairly quickly. One of the first things my fiancée noticed, as a restaurant manager, was that there were way too many servers on the floor for the number of customers. It looked like many were doing jobs just to be kept busy, or doubling up at tables.

We were seated for nearly ten minutes before someone approached our table to take a drink order. She apparently wasn't working our section but nicely took over and got our drink and appetizer order. We were located in a spot where there was almost no lighting (something I think they might want to remedy) so it was hard for me, in my forties, to read the menu.

Our server (Tea?) did a GREAT job. I'm sorry I can't remember 100% her name, but she was friendly and quick on the drop.

Our appetizers were AMAZING. We had the potato kegs and the ham balls. They both come with sides of dipping sauce but neither really needs it.

The burgers: it took a long time for them to come out. Sat almost 10 minutes after we finished our appetizers, then went and had a cigarette and as i was finishing my smoke got a text from the fiancee that our burgers had arrived. From the time we placed our burger order it must have been nearly 20 minutes, the perfect amount of time to cook a burger to death.

I had the Chopper which i subbed a few items. They forgot to add the bacon it comes with. She had the bacon lover's.

They COULD HAVE been really good. In fact if they weren't SOOOO DRYYYY, I would have really enjoyed mine. Mine came with mayo on it so mine possibly was not nearly as bad, but was overcooked to the point of being nearly burnt. It didn't taste horrible. It was just not easy to eat.

Same with hers. She ordered the BBQ sauce on the side as she tends to be skeptical of a lot of sauces. Ended up using most of the sauce in order to be able to eat just 2/3 of her burger. I don't know what it is about this place, but kitchen please take note: based on your reviews you are overcooking your burgers. I've had better burgers from Village Inn.

The worst part about this issue with the burgers is that their patties are obviously made in house, so they are not frozen pre-shaped patties. I can tell because mine was misshapen as was hers. This is actually a great advantage if the kitchen can live up to it, but the fact that I can get a juicier burger from McDonald's (who I KNOW uses frozen patties) is a sign Sickie's kitchen is not living up to their potential.

Our sides were excellent. Highly recommend the waffle fries, very flavorful. The house coleslaw is good too. Slightly on the mayonnaise side, but still very good.

At the end of our experience our server actually comped one of our burgers without us asking because of the snafu with our arrival and lack of face-time with a server right away. Much appreciated even though it was unnecessary. However, I'm glad we didn't have to pay for the burger that my fiancée found almost inedible.

When we left we got the least enthusiastic "thanks have a good night" ever from the host staff.

This review is proof that a server's effort can make up for a subpar dining experience. 3 stars based on our server and the appetizers. If not for them I'd have given it two or less. Thanks to those two things we...

Ordered one of the Kobe beef burgers only to be told that the waffle fries it allegedly comes with is an upcharge; when the burger came out, it was unpleasantly overcooked and decidedly mid at best; going to pay, I saw on my receipt that the server had marked no pink despite my having acknowledged her statement that the Kobe burgers were pink on the inside and assuring her that I preferred that and did not want it changed. I would have said something, but after dropping off the food I didn’t see the server again for at least thirty minutes and gave up (and didn’t know that she’d specifically told the kitchen to overcook the burger). By the time I was ready to pay (because I was told I was ready to pay and leave by having the check thrown on the table as the server finally reappeared and zoomed by), there was no point. The only other employee I saw was another server or possibly a manager who came by before I even got my food to ask ‘how was everything?’ as if I were finished already after having 1/10 of an appetiser. Never saw them again either, so I couldn’t update them on how ‘everything’ had been after there was an ‘everything’. The appetiser (fried green beans) was okay, but nothing remarkable. It wasn’t terrible, and it also wasn’t great; in retrospect, it was probably prudent to order because it wasn’t messed up, but it also wasn’t so great that I’d order it again even if the burger had been good.

On asking for a to-go box (after having the check dropped off during a fly-by unasked), I was given a tiny box, since I guess you’re not expected to take the side you were charged extra for that’s supposed to come with the burger, or your remaining appetiser. Okay; when in Omaha, do as the Omahanians, I suppose.

Maybe it’s an average restaurant with a serving staff who knows the menu, doesn’t know better than the customer what they want and a kitchen that cares (on top of the wrong instructions from the server, everything had been thrown together in the messiest possible manner), but I won’t be returning to find out; once was enough. I can get a mediocre burger that I don’t feel like finishing at any fast food restaurant for a third of the price, and probably should have saved myself $20 and done so the other night. The cat I brought the remaining half of a burger to was uninterested, and I’m no longer his favourite guest because of my paltry offerings. I don’t blame you, kitty; it was meh. Next time I’m in Omaha, I’ll make it up to you.

It looked interesting on the outside, but my curiosity has been sated, and I wouldn’t recommend the place to anyone. Kitsch might push the place to two stars, can’t make up for lack of...