Goldie's Sports Cafe — Restaurant in Scottsdale

Waited overnight to decide whether to write a review because we’ve been very regular customers for many years and love having “Goldie’s” in our neighborhood. We also make a point to enthusiastically write 5-star reviews for great experiences rather than only feeling motivated to comment on negative experiences. As a matter of fact, this is the first non-5 star review I’ve posted.

We stopped there last evening (restaurant was about 20% full) and our waiter was very pleasant and friendly. We immediately placed an order of wings because my wife likes them extra crispy and we know it takes a little longer to prepare. We asked if our salads could come out first, but after 40 minutes of nothing, I went looking for our waiter. He was nowhere to be found so I asked another staff member if they could check on the status. When our salads arrived a few minutes later from another server, it had the wrong dressing which was ON the salad (we asked for it on the side). Having waited over 45 minutes by then, we went ahead and ate the salads as delivered. Our waiter eventually came by and took our salad plates since our food was just about ready, but he also took our silverware, so when my hamburger came, I had no utensils and couldn’t see our waiter anywhere. I had also asked for lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and no bun, to which the waiter said his most commonly used phrase:”I gotcha’.” What arrived from, yet again, another server, was the patty on a plate with no bun, but with nothing else that was ordered either, and no knife and fork to eat it

When my wife picked up a wing, it was undercooked and not crispy. When our waiter came by, he was apologetic and said he had emphasized “extra crispy” to the kitchen, and that he’d have another order started, but it would take about 25 more minutes (we were there over an hour by then). The waiter said the wings would be “comped” because of the delay and mistake. When the correct wings arrived, I was already done eating my dinner. Their wings, which are delicious, were, this time, prepared properly and very good. However, this was now 1 1/2 hours after arriving for a “quick bite,” and I got to keep my wife company while she ate just as she had just done while I ate.

When the check arrived, we were surprised to see that the charge for the supposedly “comped” wings were still there. The waiter apologized and looked for a manager. Ten minutes later, the manager came by to tell us that the wings were, indeed, comped, because he didn’t charge us for the first order. I agreed with that decision, telling him that the first order was made incorrectly and were not eaten, so there clearly SHOULDN’T have been a charge for the first order. I asked the manager if, for example, we ordered mild sauce on the wings and they mistakenly used hot sauce, wouldn’t they would remake it? There would be no question about having to pay for both orders. How were we being comped (delay, mistakes) by NOT having to pay for something we never ate? Had the definition of “comped” changed? Is it now considered comped for NOT having to pay for something prepared improperly that wasn’t even eaten? The manager stood by his “gesture of generosity” by, as he reminded us, not charging us for the first order, which he said cost them $10. The concepts of “good will,” penny wise and dollar foolish,” and “the cost of doing business” appear to be foreign to them. I run a business and often say that I don’t want to be judged by the mistakes I make but rather by the efforts I make to correct them.

We are regulars at Goldie’s and often bring 2-4 other people with us. This experience was not about the charge, but rather about our value as customers. Mistakes happen. Their fault is in how they chose to address it. That may prove to be a costly $10 for them as we may now be in the market for a new “regular” place for a casual meal. What a...

I got banned from this restaurant for complaining, on two separate occasions, because our order took too long both times. The first time was over an hour and the second was 44 minutes according to the waitress that came to apologize. This is my special needs son's favorite restaurant so we give it chances more than is deserved. And, we've been going here almost 25 years!!! After the first incident, about two months ago, we went to a Zipp's, owned by the same people, that is near our house. A group of men, on a golf trip from out of town, were complaining about how bad the service was at Goldie's the night before and the one guy said he comes to AZ a lot and would never go back to Goldie's. We overheard the conversation so chimed in that we also had a bad experience at Goldie’s recently. The woman we were all speaking to was an operations manager that works at both restaurants. Every time we have been in since, that operations manager seems to be working and she always asks us if everything is okay and service is good. Friday night was no exception. She came to our table and asked right away, before we could even get our drinks. The waitress then brought the drinks and we ordered. A guy sat down at a table next to us, after we had ordered, and he got his food before us. So I went up and asked where our food was because it had been well over 1/2 hour. A waitress came over and told me it had actually been 44 minutes since our order was put in and offered me a drink and dessert on the house. She wasn't even our waitress! I declined both and thanked her, and she told me to think about taking the dessert home. The operations manager then came by and I told her what happened because we had a history and she knew of my prior complaint. She brought me $10 in Goldie's bucks after the other manager had brought me $15 in Goldie's bucks. Then, as I was paying, instead of being a good manager and coming to me and saying hey, we only give out one Goldie's bucks... or handling the situation properly, they said because I talked to two managers they were banning me. What? So I went outside to where the operations manager was and told her what happened and she said let me see what's going on and some teens said "you're banning a lot of people tonight". She then came to my table and explained the accepting of two Goldie's bucks was why I was banned and advised me to call corporate. I told her to take one of the bucks back and she said just call corporate, it will be handled. She gave me the number. As I was leaving the teens on the patio asked why I was banned and said their friend was banned also and so was another guy that night. Crazy! So the manager banned 3 separate patrons in one night! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed!!! I then called corporate and the woman listened to me, but clearly already had her mind made up because she talked to them. The woman at Corporate said I was banned for speaking to 3 managers (I have no idea who the third was and never asked to speak with any manager, rather one came up to my table and the operations manager I flagged her down when I saw her and told her what happened), allegedly yelled (first time I'm hearing this and no one would say I yelled except to lie) and took the Goldie's bucks (they didn't know what I was up to according to her. It wasn’t like the Goldie’s buck’s was going to get me much anyway). Well, I declined the free drink and dessert so I wasn't trying to scam them, but apparently that's what they thought. I was told one thing on the night of, that I was banned because I spoke to two managers and then something different by the operations manager and then the story had changed again for the third time when I called corporate. Do better Goldie's!!! After 25 years, you just lost a lot of business, because I'm going to tell...

Goldie's Sports Cafe has always been my favorite neighborhood spot, it’s about a 5 minute walk for me and I’ve been coming to this bar for a long time—it's been my go-to spot for watching games, grabbing great food and drinks, talking with their kind staff and most importantly, playing Golden Tee Golf with my family and buddies. Over the years, we've spent thousands of dollars here between food, drinks, and games, and we’ve always appreciated the great atmosphere and friendly service. Their Zipparitas and their appetizers are as good as it gets for a local sports bar.

That said, I’ve been really frustrated with how the Golden Tee machine has been handled. For the past 10+ months, the machine has never had more problems and seems to be never connected to the IT NET servers, which means no Online Play with my Skins, Balls, Custom Clubs & Handicap, only Casual Mode. If you play GT, you know that kills the entire experience. My friends and I have left Goldie's more times than I can count and go to other nearby bars that don’t seem to have this problem, like Tavern Grille or KO Donnells. Their machines are always connected online, and we’ve instead been spending a lot of money at these establishments.

The biggest issue isn’t just that the machine is down—it’s that no one on staff seems to understand the problem when I try to explain it, nor can they actually get a technician from TroyVending to come and strengthen the wifi connection on the machine. They see the machine turned on and assume it's working fine, but there's a big difference between Casual mode and Online (the green square on the bottom of the machine indicates it’s connected). We've tried mentioning it multiple times and the responses are always the same, and nothing seems to ever get done even after multiple conversations with the manager on site.

To be clear: the staff is great, the food is phenomenal, and the vibe is awesome—but the Golden Tee machine is a major part of why we come, and until it’s fixed and consistently online, we’re taking our business elsewhere unfortunately. For what it’s worth, their Big Buck Hunter game right next to it also has problems with online connections, and has a noticeable delay and lag at all times.

I really hope management sees this and takes action. We’d love to come back, and we’re more than happy to spend money here—but only if the full experience is available. I’ll happily update this review to a 5-star once I have seen a noticeable change in the machine, however I don’t know if I’ll be taking the time coming here just to go upstairs and find the machine is not connected. Even when I get permission from the staff to restart the machine by unplugging it, it’ll take about 10 minutes to reboot and it usually is not fixed so it’s a waste of time and I’ll go elsewhere. Goldie' Team, please get this machine fixed soon. Some of the other Zipps locations have this problem too unfortunately (Scottsdale Mercado & Arcadia locations) - I don’t go to those ones either due to their machines being down. I would love to spend more money at these establishments, I usually have a group of 4 guys and we’ll be there for 2-3 hours playing GT, eating, drinking and enjoying...