Smokey's Roadhouse — Restaurant in Oregon

I would like to clarify this rating with whomever owns/manages the restaurant. First of all my husband and I have been to Smokey's at least FOUR times in the past couple of months. Up until LAST NIGHT, We would give you FIVE STARS for everything! We even took a good friend there one night. But our visit last night (Saturday night) was awful. We arrived about 5:30 and were seated. A waitress we have never seen there before came up to us and asked what we'd like to drink. I ordered a pinio grigio and my husband ordered iced tea, as he was driving. Waitress came back, said they were out, so I ordered a chardonnay...no big deal. The waitress came back with it, and put a salt and pepper shaker (FILTHY) down on the table. The whole top of the pepper shaker was covered with what looked like melted cheese covering the shaker holes. Really gross and dirty.

Waitress took our order, both of us ordered the filet mignon, medium, baked potato. I asked for a substitution on the salad or cole slaw. She said, no I'm sorry I can't do that you have to take what comes with it (we tried to explain we'd pay extra for a veggie). Again no big deal. I said I'd take the cole slaw. We pointed out the pepper shaker and she looked surprised, said, I'll get a clean one. We waited more than our usual wait for the food. Salad came first, my cole slaw later. After a longer than usual wait, main plates were served. We expected one nice filet. We got "pieces" of filet and the were way overcooked and cold. I was going to send mine back, but my husband said, we've waited long enough so let's just eat it. Meantime, two men were seated behind us. They ordered drinks, and ALL the time we were eating the waitress totally ignored us: passed by us at least four times and didn't even look at us or ask if the food was okay. She paid LOTS of attention to the booth with the two guys. I wasn't born yesterday...these guys looked like they would tip well. But ignoring us that often was insulting. We paid the bill and my husband gave her a 20% cash tip. She said oh, you're not mad at me? (Whaaaat?).

Look, we are NOT negative people. We are always polite, always tip well, etc. I told waitress that I used to be in restaurant business and as a waitress, trying to be nice. What we ARE is DISAPPOINTED.

I would like you to know that on this fifth visit, I rate it a zero to one star. We are not vindictive or old grouchy patrons. We just expect decent food and service. PLEASE for your sake, don't fire the waitress, but TEACH her how to act. And, whoever cooked (not the waitress's fault) was also terrible. We have had four great meals in the past, on various evenings, and ordered steaks every time (whatever was available). You were turning into our favorite "go to" restaurant.

Was it an off night? Did you have new employees? Who was in charge? Whatever happened, my husband does NOT want to come back. I would rather pay you the respect of letting you know . I can't believe your food and standards would have declined that fast, in just a few...

I was less than impressed with the service. Upon entry I was told there would be a ten minute wait, even though there were a number of tables and high tops obviously available. The hostess seated me about three minutes later. While waiting for service, a couple were seated next to me. I watched as a waitress was sent in my direction. She walked around me to the couple beside me. They ordered drinks while I continued to wait for service. I looked through the menu and decided what I wanted to order. I laid the menu on the table, a sign that I was prepared to order. A waitress finally sauntered to my table and asked for my drink order. She couldn't have acted less interested in my order. She was looking around, seemingly in total disinterest. There was no friendly chit chat. No welcome. I asked for water. I was prepared to order but she didn't ask. While I waited for the water the couple next to me ordered their meal. I continued to wait. My waitress returned with the water and quickly placed it on the table. I was again ready to order. But she was clearly not interested. She was looking everywhere else. After setting the glass on the table, I thought she would ask for my order. She didn't. She immediately left. I continued waiting. I never saw her again. I finally decided to leave. Walking past the hostess, I said, "It's a shame. I really would have liked to eat here." There was no apology. No offer to find another waitress. So I exited. I have no plans to return. There were enough waitresses. The place was busy but not slammed. What happened to me should not have happened. I don't blame the wait staff. I think the management is at fault for not providing better training, for not being more diligent in ensuring the wait staff were doing an excellent job, for not being more interested in offering outstanding customer service. I am left to wonder if the food was really worthwhile. Maybe a single customer is not profitable enough. I don't make a habit of writing bad reviews. But this experience...

Tonight was my first trip to Smokey's, and I can safely say that it will most definitely not be my last visit. It was start to finish, a fantastic night. It was a chance to catch up with some friends for their birthdays. Our waitress was really nice and very attentive all evening. One of my buddies suggested our visit here this evening, because he and his girlfriend had been here a few times before. He was definitely not wrong. From the start of this visit I was pleased with every aspect. We all started with some appetizers, I tried the Burnt Ends... OMG they were so good!! We also all tried some of the different drinks on their menu, they have a selection of "smoked cocktails" to go along with their BBQ theme. Let me say that they do not disappoint at all. The waitress brought them to the table with a coaster on top of them to hold the smoke in. As Soon as you remove the coaster, you get a wonderful smell of the smoke as it rolls off the top of the cocktail. Then you get to taste it and it surprised me with just how tasty it was. The only thing about it that was disappointing was when the drink was gone, just because it was that good. Lol Then we all received our entree's, and again across the board everything was absolutely amazing. The owner even stopped at our table to talk to our table to see how we were enjoying our visit, and also to apologize for the wait for our food. But that was only due to there being a large party in the front room. Which was not a problem for us at all. It just gave us a chance to catch up, and maybe have an extra cocktail or drink while we waited for our food I cannot recommend this restaurant enough, if you are looking for some fantastic BBQ, and some great cocktails along with a nice atmosphere and great service. I totally recommend Smokey's...