Bandits Bar & Grill, LLC — Restaurant in Sylacauga

Be careful trying to order alcohol here, even if your ID is real they might deny you service and tell you they think it’s fake, and instead of handling it properly whereas normally in that situation, they should call the police (and would of been proven wrong) They just denied us alcohol service and still took our food order.

Just moved here, found this place online thought it looked great, got there sat down, got greeted almost immediately our waitress was extremely kind (I unfortunately didn’t catch her name but she was brunette) she asked if we would like drinks, we ordered and she checked our IDs seemingly no problems and she walked away to put in our drink order, a minute or two later another lady came over ( blonde, didn’t catch her name either) and she demanded to check our IDs again, we complied she checked them and walked away seemingly no problem. Then our waitress came back saying they wouldn’t serve us until they got the machine working to check our IDs, we patiently waited thinking it’s probably just because we both have out of state IDs and they just want to double check, they come got our IDs to check on the machine The machine does nothing, doesn't say their fake just does nothing. The manager then made our server break it to us and tell us they are suppose to confiscate our IDs but they decided not to. We will not be returning due to how the situation was handled and the fact they made the server tell us instead of handling it properly.

Edited to add: I 100% understand strict laws but I suggest getting an ID reader that can read ID’s from all states, neither my nor my Fiancés ID has that black strip because we aren’t from Alabama originally nor a state that has that on their IDs, not all states ID’s have that black strip, my ID is from Kansas where I was born and raised and they have two barcode looking things on the back not a solid black strip. While I think they should all be at least similar so the DOB is in the same place on the front and being scan/swipeable on the back but that’s not up to me. As well as it being unacceptable for management to make the server handle the situation, by giving us our IDs back and saying “we should be confiscating these and calling the police, but we’re being nice and decided not to.” To which i replied “do it, call the police they will prove our IDs our real” but nothing happened. Why say the police should be called to confiscate our “fake IDs” but not do it, I think because that knew our IDs were real and wanted to discriminate against the lesbians in whatever way they could while still getting some type of money from us. The police don’t scare me, I’m not doing anything illegal. I also don’t appreciate you continuously calling me a minor. I’m a grown adult, just because your ID reader can’t read IDs from states that don’t have the black strip on the back doesn’t automatically mean it’s fake.

We should have walked out when they finally told us they wouldn’t accept our IDs but we had already ordered our food and I didn’t want to be rude to the server and waste her time, I felt bad she was put in that position so we stayed but unfortunately the food wasn’t very redeeming either. Either way the server should not have had to handle that situation (we tipped her very well as she was very kind and apologetic for the way her manager handles the situation). The managers job to manage situations like that so the server doesn’t have to, but the manager just kept glaring at us from behind the bar instead of getting up and being a manager he just sent the server back and forth so he wouldn’t have to talk to us. At one point I even told the server to send him over and I would talk to him myself but he never came over. Simply put I will never return, nor will I recommend this restaurant to anyone, I might go as far as to discourage people if they say they...

Pros: Good food attentive service reasonable prices for lunch sandwiches and dinner plates Brunswick stew was good too BBQ pulled pork sandwich was excellent (with pickles, too!) Husband said BBQ chicken sandwich was the best. Vinegar based Cole slaw (most places serve mayo based Cole slaw and then occasionally put entirely too much in it. This had excellent balance.) enough seating when not busy

Neutral:

Closed on Wednesday and Sunday (Sunday travelers will miss out.)

Cons: 1 bathroom only have to wait when busy at later lunch time Little slow getting food out when they are busy as can be Limited parking when busy at lunchtime (but there is overflow parking on the grass opposite the parking lot.

TL;DR

My husband and I are traveling and he saw August's BBQ on Google on our route (and picked it over another place that wasn't open for Saturday lunch.)

We had immediate seating about 1pm and were waited on immediately. There was plenty of selection on the menu if you like pit smoked BBQ.

My husband tried a sampling of Brunswick stew and while he enjoyed it, he picked the BBQ Chicken sandwich for personal reasons and nothing against the actual stew.

I ordered a Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich. The food came out quickly and I have to say, it's good eating. The sauce on the BBQ wasn't too much and the cole slaw was vinegar based, not mayonaise based, which is a huge win in my book. The first bite to the last was excellent.

It was so good that I wanted a second one.

The problem was that it had gotten busy in the intervening 20 minutes - including a large party in the back seating area. So I had to wait for my second sandwich - and ended up needing it to go. (For what it's worth, the gentleman running the pit was probably busy getting the meat from the outside pit inside and then preparing everything. The waitresses were busy bringing out food left and right, tidying up, running checks to customers ready to leave, taking to-go orders and tidying up. No one had time to slack off or slouch around.

For those who might need a privy, there is one bathroom in the restaurant for customers so sometimes there can be a wait, especially when it's a busy lunchtime (and by the time we departed, the restaurant was full with a waiting time to get a seat inside.)

If you get there at the right time, it's fantastic but if you're late to lunch, expect to wait some time to get a seat to eat.

About the only issue (and it's not a negative in the least but just a statement) is that the restaurant is closed on Wedneday and Sunday so for anyone traveling back then, they will miss out. Any other time? It's worth a stop in or trip down 280 from Birmingham and Hoover, AL for...

Its one of the better Barbecue places in the area; Food is good, but nothing to call home shouting about. Prices are a little much for what they offer. $8 For a Turkey sandwhich, no Drink, and a $0.25 Bag of lays potato chips (no flavors other than plain from what I was told.) The Turkey was good, but not worth $7.75 on its own good. Should have come with a beverage, and a better side choice (like perhaps some slaw). This place doesn't offer any type of fried potato option (french fries; steak fries, potato wedges, crinkle-cut fries, etc are not available)

They apparently have this big "No Substitution" fetish. Not everyone prefers the same assortment of items; Personally I don't eat pork, nor do I eat chicken meat from the thigh (or any dark meat areas), so I was limited in my choices as they don't have Brisket (or so I was told when I inquired about it as my first choice, before settling on the Turkey.)

The atmosphere is kind of nice; They have a large seating selection, indoor and out. With the spring/summer months here, it seems most people tend to sit in the outdoor area, which is good, because it leaves a large selection of indoor seating open. This is notable, as if you have the unfortunate timing of having a craving for Barbecue , at the same time that they have some terrible "live music" or an unknown "DJ" just playing a basic spotify playlist on repeat, then you can escape the noise for the most part indoors. The sound isn't completely muffled, but its well enough that you can actually enjoy a conversation with your family/friends/S.O. (Note: your musical taste may vary from mine; I tend to listen to a lot of the southern classics, a bit of modern country, and a bit of other genres - from the 2 times I visited this establishment, the music was not enjoyable)

I've been to many Barbecue places over the years; from the west coast to the east, unfortunately August's "Barbeque" is nothing memorable, its just "another Barbecue places" but its one of the "better" choices in the area...