Walter's BBQ Southern Kitchen — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

My friends and I recently chose Walter’s in Lawrenceville, for a long-overdue reunion, expecting a pleasant evening of drinks. Unfortunately, our experience was anything but enjoyable due to the unprofessional and discriminatory behavior of the staff.

Upon arrival, we were asked for our IDs at the bar, and we all complied without hesitation. We were served our drinks and settled in to catch up. However, about ten minutes later, the main bartender approached us and demanded to see our IDs again. We obliged, but she immediately targeted my boyfriend, rudely accusing him of having a fake ID. He explained that his ID was issued before the new expiration rule was implemented, which she refused to accept, insisting it was fake.

To settle the matter, we looked up the regulations on our phones and confirmed that my boyfriend's ID was indeed legitimate. Despite presenting this evidence to the bartender, she stubbornly continued to accuse him, refusing to admit her mistake. The situation escalated to the point where we were publicly humiliated, with the bartender's actions drawing laughter from other patrons.

Determined to stand our ground, we called the non-emergency police line to verify the validity of the ID. The police confirmed that we were correct and stated that we were being discriminated against. Despite this, the staff's hostility only intensified. Waitresses refused to serve our table while attending to others, effectively ostracizing us.

When we asked a waitress if we could order more drinks, she directed us back to the bar. However, upon reaching the bar, the main bartender denied us service, explicitly because we were associated with my boyfriend. This was despite the police confirmation and our attempts to rectify the situation calmly.

Our evening, which was supposed to be a joyful reunion, was marred by the bartender’s unprofessionalism and the staff's discriminatory treatment. Even after proving that the ID was legitimate and involving law enforcement, the staff at Walter’s displayed a blatant disregard for fairness and customer service. We eventually left, deeply disappointed and humiliated by the entire ordeal.

I strongly advise anyone considering Walter’s for a night out to think twice. No customer deserves to be treated with such disrespect and disdain, especially when they are...

We were told by friends to avoid this place like the plague, and boy were they right. Unfortunately, we had a birthday party here so we had no choice. We quickly found out why it wasn't recommended. They're going for this "new Orleans" type aesthetic, but they need to dial it back in many areas. Anyone that has been to New Orleans will tell you that they have no desire to relive some of the worst aspects of the restaurants down there, which is the big problem here. I assure you that I don't want my Whiskey in a plastic Pizza hut buffet cup. I don't want to keep ripping cheap brown paper towels off of a roll on my table and I definitely don't want to use cheap paper plates that have been sitting at my table all day. I also don't want my food (extremely small portion for the price) to come in a paper boat. I get it, I get the gimmick, but it's misfiring in many areas. I like the outside area, don't get me wrong. It's a fun, stand or sit grass turf area with games like ping pong, big Jenga, big connect four, etc. But I'm not sure how people keep falling for the weak (and EXTREMELY cheap gimmick). In regards to my order, just fries and queso. The fries were ice cold. Why? Who scoops ice cold friends and thinks it's okay to serve them? Not a serious chef or wait staff. The queso was SO close to being good, but the pico they add makes it so overwhelmingly oniony that it's nearly inedible. Again, this place is just missing the mark right now. It's very obvious that ownership is young and leaning on a gimmick. If they're not young, then they're neglecting their own business for keeping this up. A lot of these reviews look the same and pinpoint a lot of the same problem areas. For now, it's not the place to go unless you're clueless college student with low standards.

UPDATE: because I wrote that before I got my check. Over 60 dollars for 4 drinks and fries with cheese. The bartenders also carry an quick swipe machine that already has 20% set as the tip. Trust me, this did not deserve 20%. I retract everything I said before as well as one of the two stars I gave this place. I'll NEVER come back here and you should make sure you don't make the same mistake I did. Not even for a...

While the food here is typically very enjoyable, the service is a complete disappointment. And in one instance in particular, was just unacceptable and even uncomfortable. The server, Megan S., was primarily responsible for this experience. While I typically do not write reviews, this experience extremely upset my friends and me (all of whom have worked in the food/service industry), so I feel it is necessary to speak up on the issue. From the start, she came off as unfriendly, unpleasant, and rude. She had us open a tab for dining in, which she almost argued with us on as that is not typical for dine in, without a genuine explanation. We asked to order a regular margarita, but she told us no / that they only had the jalapeño one on the menu (and also got the flavor of white claw wrong for one of us) but we checked with the bar who did in fact make us a regular margarita. One of us did not get our food for almost 30 minutes after the initial food came (telling us she was waiting on the Mac n Cheese but then asking what the order was so the first explaination may have been a lie). In the two hours we were there, she checked on us once, that one time being when we told her the one meal was missing and this was even probably 15 minutes after the initial meals came out. She did not refill our waters even once or even ask. She did not ask us if we wanted more drinks. There were items missing that we had to wait even longer for. We asked for receipts (which were not entirely accurate). She never apologized once for anything that went wrong or said thank you for us coming in and for the tip (which she did not deserve at all). When you go out to spend your hard earned money for good time with friends only to end up with this, it’s aggravating. We understand that things can be disorganized and issues can happen with the kitchen, but when the service is absolutely terrible all around, it makes for a regrettable experience. We will not be going back to dine in or at the very least, not...