Willie Sue's. Sumter,S.C. — Restaurant in Sumter

We had been 2 or 3 times and sat at the bar and ate and the drinks were good and the food was decent. And then went again and took some friends, telling them it was a good place to eat. Our experience was horrendous and went like this: Every single person at our table had an issue with their food in some way...something missing, something wrong, something cold when it was supposed to be hot, really late food, etc. My husband had no sauce on his Buffalo Chicken Sandwich (which says on the menu "tossed in buffalo sauce"). It was just dry chicken on a dry bun. He had to ask for the buffalo sauce that was supposed to be on the sandwich. He also had asked for ranch on the side and he was done with his sandwich when she brought it. I order a filet mignon and when the waitress brought out everyone's plates she brought me tuna. I didn't accept it because it wasn't what I ordered. She disappeared for 15 min while everyone at my table tried to wait for me but their food was getting cold, and then came back and asked me if I wanted my filet mignon "butterflied." I was confused and told her no, and am still baffled because I didn't order it Well or Medium Well and it shouldn't have needed to be butterflied. But I digress. She then brings out my filet (another long time had passed) as she's taking away the plates from the people I was dining with because they ate their whole meal while I was waiting on mine. And the side that she brought out with my wrong order was used on my correct order because the succotash was cold and separating and had been sitting there waiting on my steak. And my filet was ordered at medium and came out a dark purple in the middle to the point I couldn't eat the core of my filet. I'm ok with medium rare sometimes but this was beyond rare in the center.

We paid well over $100 for the worst meal and experience since moving here.

I sent an email to the restaurant explaining our experience because I would want to know if someone had a bad experience and it was something I could correct in my business. I was polite and also mentioned the previous experiences we had and hoped it was a one-off, but with the amount of money we spent I had to speak up. The owner responded and we jumped on a call and he was so nice and offered, without me asking, to pay for our next meal there and try it again. He said "I'm leaving your name at the door on a list." This was just before the Christmas holidays so once the holidays were over we went in to give it another try.

Instant mistake. The hostesses didn't know what we were talking about. They pulled out a gift card list and said "neither of these are yours" and everyone in the lobby heard. One hostess decided to seat us and go ask a manager because she felt that she could figure it out. So we followed her while she went to ask. Once seated the same waitress from our horrible experience brought us menus and wanted to take our order. We explained that we were waiting to hear from the hostess. This waitress came back again after 2 minutes and asked again and we were getting very uncomfortable having to keep saying that we were waiting on the hostess. The hostess returned and said in a voice everyone around us could hear that the manager has no idea what we're talking about and doesn't recognize our names, "so your waitress will be here shortly to take your orders" and walked off. We got up and left. It was super embarrassing and uncomfortable and we wouldn't have gone in if Tommie hadn't offered to pay for us to try it again and promised a better experience.

We...

This may be a long review, but I suggest you read it. So on yesterday, May 4, 2025, me and my husband chose to dine in at Willie Sues. Our waitress was Britney and at first Brittany did an amazing job. However, after placing an order, everything went downhill my husband‘s food came out first as far as what I ordered it took over 45 minutes for my food to come out by that time my husband‘s food was already cold prior to getting my food, we asked how long would it be before my food will arrive Britney said she would check the ETA as to when my food will be ready she then proceeds to go to three other tables that she was waiting on and then went to the kitchen too. I’m assuming check on my food. She comes back five minutes later and tells us that the wings are taking the longest and it will be an additional two minutes. I did not receive my food until 20 minutes after she said that. Now the kicker in all of this is that after dropping my food off to the table, she tells the other table that she had to get “ those people. “ food (Referring to me and my husband). my husband then got up and asked for the manager. He comes back to the table to wait on the manager. Britt comes back to the table. Is everything OK? My husband says no she has whats wrong and he tells her that her attitude was nasty and that we’re not “those people.” She then gets snappy and combative as if what she said was right and says with the manager is the person you need to talk to as she’s saying that the manager Kevin walks up, tells her that he’ll handle it. So as him and my husband are discussing the issue, Kevin is also nasty.. aggressive.. disregarding And trying to justify the actions of his waitress and her choice of words and attitude. He was a sarcastic asshole! And then once I asked him to leave the table, Because I can see my husband’s anger building, he says to me have a pleasant day, and I say to him have a day that he deserves he then turns around and walks up to me, aggressively As I’m sitting in my seat asking for me to repeat what I said which I did (no fear in my heart at all) After that, the encounter was over. My husband had to get up an additional 2 times just to get a to go bag which we never got until Latrice came. I say this to save this if you want to go to an establishment with there is no respect for others And their time or their race in this instance please have at it! Willie Sues will NEVER see a red cent of my money again. However Latrice came and apologized and made sure that the ticket was taken care of! Although that was not our angle… We do appreciate her level of kindness and professionalism! Latrice was our only positive from that experience other than that! Service...

My experience at Willie Sue's was good on every occasion, but after becoming a somewhat frequent patron, I had an issue over a take-home appetizer. This issue and how it was handled by the restaurant manager, completely changed Willie Sue's from being a restaurant of choice. After having lunch with a friend, I ordered a take-home appetizer. Having the appetizer as a late night snack, I noticed it tasted strange. I had the appetizer many times before, so I knew what to expect. I didnt call the restaurant until the following day and spoke with a manager, Tommy. After voicing my complaint about the food, I was asked if I had the receipt. I proceeded to explain I did not have the receipt because the person with whom I had lunch, paid the bill. The manager, then told me they had a "policy" of not replacing food because it was the next day, and I hadn't called him the same day, even though I explained i didn't eat the food until late at night. The manager went on to say, people would do similar things trying to get free food so a policy was put in place not to replace food. I would have to bring in the receipt AND the food. Far from an upscale restaurant response. It is difficult to believe that Willie Sue's found it necessary to develop a "policy" to avoid the "possibility" of giving anyone free food. At the same time, Willie Sue's is a restaurant in the middle of a residential and church area out of which provide their patrons. A smart managerial response could have been, please allow us to treat you to a free appetizer the next time you have dinner with us. Customer service/relations 101. What would the restaurant have lost. Not only would it have a return customer, the restaurant would have gained return monies. Instead the manager chose to go back and forth about a $13.00 appetizer. I choose to review the entire dining experience and also state there are many other choices in close proximity that give importance to not only the food, but the full dining experience of the customer. I think you would prefer to spend your hard earned money at an establishment that recognizes the importance of your total dining experience, instead of a restaurant that would leave a bad taste...