Sweet Lou's Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Ponderay

If I could leave negative stars I would. I use to be a HUGE fan of Sweet Lous. Particularly this Ponderay location. But I've been treated badly by the staff too many times to be quiet and put up with it any longer. The other night I ordered some Mahi Tacos, Tailgate Eggrolls and a Tailgate Burger (which of course was cooked well done (like always) and was as dry as the desert when I asked for it medium). I decided to order takeout and was told the manager was taking orders that night. While placing my order I mentioned that I wanted four extra sides of the cilantro lime aoli. I absolutely ADORE this dressing and even told him I would be willing to pay extra for the sides. He ignored that statement and said "Four? Um. Okay." He wasn't friendly on the phone, but that wasn't a shocker because I've had issues with his attitude in the past.

I went into the restaurant to pick up my order and brought it back to my car after paying. I looked in the bag and noticed they had put none of the cilantro lime aoli actually on the tacos and had given me three sides instead. My frustration was that if you don't put any on the tacos and just give me a few sides, then I'm just getting the normal amount. I wanted extra sides for my other items seeing as I love the aoli so much. So I decided to go back inside and ask for a couple more sides. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. I was wrong... I asked the girls at the front who told me to ask "the bald guy." I immediately felt uncomfortable doing that, considering he has NEVER been friendly during my multiple past encounters with him. I took a deep breath and walked over to him, hoping this encounter would be different. I asked him for two more sides. He said nothing and just turned around and walked away. He was ten feet away when I heard him ask the chefs for two more sides.

I was horrified to hear them loudly say, "What? Really? Three sides wasn't enough?" I was shocked. The manager replied, "I know right?" And I watched them all shake their heads and roll their eyes. As if I wasn't standing ten feet away and couldn't hear or see them. I was immediately uncomfortable and anxious. When he eventually came back over to give me the sides, I apologized for apparently bothering them and reiterated that if it was an issue that I would pay for them and that I didnt realize it would be a problem. He then replied, "Yeah, well I had already given you three." I apologized again and he said that it was fine and I could just take the sides.

Like I said, this isn't the first time I've had a problem with this manager. I think his name is Frankie, but either way everyone there calls him "the bald dude." I am so appalled by not just his behavior, but the behavior of the chefs as well. If you can't be nice to the customers, why work in an industry where you have to interact with them? I use to recommend this place to everyone, but now I 100% will not be back and will tell everyone I know not to eat here as well. I have no idea how that manager still works here. I know I'm not the only one who has had issues with him. Sad because the only thing I did wrong was love the Cilantro Lime Aoli. Shame...

Just left my first and most likely last visit here. If you like typical sports bars and pre-prepared corporate food in a heavy monitor laden environment, it's targeting you. I probably wouldn't be so harsh or dissappointed if it were priced accordingly, but there are far better choices in my opinion for that price range.

The mixed drink, huckleberry mint mojito, was less than refresing and packed with ice. They do although have a good drink selection of beer and wine for every taste. We opted for buffalo wings as an appetizer and they were standard but saved by the locally made Litehouse Blue Cheese dressing. I had a typical cheeseburger that was severly lacking any flavor and was quite dry. My boyfriend had a chili side (reminiscent of Wendy's) with the jambalaya which also was quite dry. You could choke on the dry chicken bits, the 3 shrimp laid on top were overcooked and flavorless, and the rice was the consistency of Uncle Ben's. The chili was more like chili flavored watered down soup with some chunks.

The staff seemed quite nonchalant and preoccupied. Our waitress spoke so softly it took me a minute to realize she was talking to me. She didn't offer ketchup/condiments which I ended up stealing off another table, wanted to take plates we were still working on but ignored ones ready to take that were clearly at table edge and napkin strewn. She came to collect the final payment before even removing dishes.

While we were dining, I couldn't take my eyes off the staff in the open back prep area. They obviously are not given any sort of break room as they intermittently munched on their meals and sipped on drinks. People constantly milled about chatting with one another and visiting family members and friends but I did not witness one handwashing throughout all the people/food/money contact. Coffee was sittting in carafes on a table in the prep area the entire time were were there with no sign of fresh brewing. Also, people were reseated in booths where children with inconsiderate parents once were and the floor underneath was still strewn with discarded napkins and rogue french fries.

My boyfriend visited the restroom and upon returing mentioned how the drop ceiling did little to muffle the loud kitchen noise and that the restrooms were ill attended to.

All in all, it was entertaining as far as people-watching goes but perhaps it just wasn't our night. It wasn't horrible, but nothing to make me long to return. The most memorable part of the visit was the custom table and chairs, the table was an appropriate height for the average person and the chairs extremely comfortable and sturdy. A few could use some...

As a long time local resident of Sandpoint and someone who has worked for more than 20 years in the restaurant industry, I can say Sweet Lou’s fell very short on the quality of their food and service today. Honestly almost nothing went right from the get go and I wondered if the owner had a clue as to what was going on?

The hostess greeted us just fine and proceeded to seat us. She then told us about a soup special but could not even begin to answer the most basic question about what she was offering us. What is the point of her doing that? It’s better to let the servers do that and answer questions accurately..

Then the waitress came to the table and was rushing us to order. I thought it was strange because the restaurant was not at all busy. It was awkward and she didn’t seem to have training or manners not to do that sort of thing to customers. We felt rushed because she was obviously in some sort of a hurry.

We asked if our salads could come out first so that we could have time to eat them. They did bring the salads out on a ridiculously small plate and then 1 minute later brought out the entrees. No time to even start our salads.

For me I was having a jalapeño burger. The burger came with fries. Before I even had a chance to start my salad, I tried one French fry. It was stale and cold as could be. Seemed like it was leftover from the day before. The burger bun was also very stale and just ruined the burger. I had to take the burger off the bun to eat it. None of us could eat our French fries, total waste.

My 90 year old mother who is honestly one the sweetest lady in the world and a person I have never heard a complaint from before, made a small comment to the waitress about the french fries being cold and stale. The waitress made a snooty comment to her and walked away without even thinking to try and resolve the issue for her. WOW! Sorry if the truth hurts! Unbelievable.

My message to the owner is that you can get anyone like my family to come into your restaurant one time. But if you serve food like that, have staff act like that, you will never earn the people’s business back. Even if in our small town we do not have a lot of choices for restaurants. Personally, I would implement have some serious quality control in the kitchen before any food goes out and I would train your staff better and terminate those staff offending your customers when the restaurant was in error. Sorry I do not know the waitresses name but she made sure we will not be returning. I really hope you can understand me and take this review to heart. Best of luck...