Handlebar J — Restaurant in Scottsdale

It’s sincerely breaks my heart to have to leave such a negative review as I am a true believer that everybody deserves second chances. Well, unfortunately, Handlebar J has had multiple chances to change how they do business and things are not getting better. We are local just right up the street and loved coming to this place because the music was always incredible however now they charge a cover fee to get in, do not take reservations, and charge a ridiculous minimum to sit inside the restaurant. On one particular night, my mother and father-in-law who are in their mid 80s drove all the way from Sun City to come see a band that I highly recommended. My husband and I went early so we could get a table because she is in a walker and is unable to stand on her feet. When we got to the front the very rude older lady with the black hair, who unfortunately is the person that has literally crushed our experience time and time again would not seat us until everybody was there. Meanwhile, they’re seating 1 million other tables and made us wait outside. I explained our situation and I understand being fair however we’re dealing with elderly adults that are disabled, and the least they could do was give us a table without them being there. We ended up having eight people spent a ton of money. The food was terrible and we ended up leaving right after we were done eating barely saw the band based off of our experience. And like I said we’ve given this place 1 million tries and it’s just gone downhill. You used to not have to pay a cover charge you did not Need to make a reservation and have a minimum charge per person, etc.. I really wish they would get their act together as it is such a shame to have such a great local spot within walking distance and I won’t even go there anymore. Looking forward to some change and possibly removing that cranky old lady from the front would help out quite a bit. The only Saving Grace of this place they have really good onion rings that’s about the nicest thing I can say and the bands that they have are good, but I will not be back unless...

I don’t have much experience with country music bars, but this great honky tonk will be the benchmark against which I will judge all others. The inside harkens to a better saloon than Hollywood could imagine, with neon bar signs, deer heads, antique guns, brothel mirrors, bull horns, farm implements you can’t identify, Western paintings, irreverent signs, and a wood-plank dance floor. Every inch of the beamed ceiling is covered with cowboy hats of the famous and not-so-famous. There are only two rules, which need not be enforced: have fun and no snivellin’. On our first visit we happily squeezed 6 people around a high top in the middle of the action. On future visits our favored spot will be at the outside side of the bar on a warm night, where we can see the inside action across the very busy bar: the live band in the corner (without chicken wire — name those movies) and the dance floor just big to swing or dip your partner, and just small enough to make it intimate. Before the band starts inside, there is some lower-key live music on the spacious outside patio, which is also a great place to escape to if you prefer conversation to the hoopin’, hollerin’, and boot stompin’ inside. Before the excellent, request-only country band took over for the recorded music, they led the entire bar in a standing Pledge of Allegiance (you never forget these words, no matter how long it’s been). This part amazed me but I’ve since been told by country bar flies that the National Anthem is more common. We loved it and were gratified that people are proud to be proud of this great country. As for food, the much-vaunted ribs were excellent, as was the pulled pork sandwich. We both ordered wine and didn’t even fear being beaten up (other tables had some too; safety in numbers). Our server was excellent, and how she kept up with the crowd was plum amazin’. We’ll be back. YouTube’s...

I’ve been going to Handlebar J for about 25 years and haven’t been for a while. Went last night and had the worst experience. Won’t be back.

Be prepared to pay a cover charge, which is not mentioned anywhere on their site. They don’t take reservations so when our group of six showed up, we tried to get a table inside and the woman who was supposedly in charge told us we would have to spend a minimum of $50 pp in order to sit inside. She said those tables were reserved for people who were going to spend at least $250 a group on dinner.

So, we sat outside and ordered from a waitress who was completely uninterested in serving us. When our food was brought out, the runner/cook(?) said “just like McDonald’s, buddy” to my brother as he sat down his unappetizing pork sandwich. As the band was about to start, I walked inside to see if there was an open table -there were several- so I asked the “manager” if we could move in to see the band, to which she replied “you can have a standing table only.”

As I looked around, NO ONE inside was eating. Every table just had drinks. I asked her if the place was under new management and she said, “it’s always been like this.” I told her I’ve been going there for 25 years and it was never like this. I don’t know if you have to be a part of a secret club or what but the service, dry personalities and plain lack of professionalism will keep us from giving them business again.

Oh, and I love how the owner’s response on all negative reviews are “we wish you would’ve said something…” Guess what? We...