Willie's Grill & Icehouse — Restaurant in Texas

We went to Willie's last night to celebrate a birthday as we have done many time before. However, last night left me never wanting to return.

Our waiter Hunter B. was very soft spoken in a very loud environment, so we had to ask him to repeat everything at least 3 times. This made for a very frustrating night I'm sure for him and us.

When our food was brought to us, my 12yo daughters Kid's Cheeseburger meal wasn't among the items. We had to inquire about it at least 3 more times, and finally walk over to the kitchen over the span of 20 minutes before she got a simple hamburger, cheese, buns, and fries. While the rest of our party received their more involved burgers when the food was first brought out. However, we went about enjoying our celebration.

When it was time to checkout, Hunter asked if we were all paying together. We informed him, no. We would be paying for them how we submitted them on the tickets from the counter. He told us all the food got thrown on to one ticket, so we had to tell him exactly what we had. As previously stated we have eaten at Willie's with big parties, several times over the years...and this was a first for us, that our waiter didn't know what we had. When he brought the checks he asked us to verify everything was correct. He had switched two of the meals on our ticket and on my family members along with charging us for a soda for my 12yo daughter's kids meal. While he was fixing the meal he had swapped on the ticket, I went to the front counter to verify that the kids meal came with a drink. The lady at the counter verified that it did. When I told him that he had charged us for an extra drink, he told us he had to because there were four of us with drinks. I informed him what the lady at the front had said, and he asked how old my daughter was. I told him 12yrs. He obviously didn't believe me (I guess he needed to see a birth certificate or something) because then he made motions with his hands in height stating that they could only give "free" drink to kids of a specific height that showed they were 12 or under. So now this waiter is arguing with me as to how old my daughter is and acting like he is doing me a huge favor taking off a drink that we should never have been charged for in the first place. He did finally remove it, but we should have never been charged for it in the first place. My daughter was drinking from a kids cup, and never even had a refill.

I'm extremely disappointed in the way we were treated last night by Hunter B. As I was leaving, I verified on the menu that the Kids meals are for TWELVE year olds and under. So his arguing about this has left me irritated and never wanting to return. We went there for a celebration, and left feeling irritated...

Final Review: I went back to Willie’s Grill House yesterday and tried both the catfish special and the toasted shrimp special. The proteins were cooked well and had good flavor, and the tots were solid. The hushpuppies had nice seasoning but were a bit too doughy inside. I appreciated that the sauce for the shrimp was packed on the side since I ordered to-go, it kept everything from getting soggy.

Overall, I’m keeping my rating at 4 stars rather than dropping it back down. The food isn’t bad, but it’s not exceptional either. I’d say it’s a decent spot if you’re looking for a specific vibe or craving something casual. I’ll still come back now and then, but this will be my last review for now.

Updated Review: After posting my initial review, I was pleased to see the level of attention from both the local management and the company as a whole at Willie's Grill House. The general manager (Patricia) of this specific location personally called me to discuss my disappointing experience with the meal and offered compensation or an alternative dish for my next visit. I am impressed by Willie's overall commitment to addressing customer concerns and their proactive approach in ensuring satisfaction. This responsiveness has prompted me to revise my rating to four stars. I'll be stopping by in the coming weeks to try something new and will update you all with my honest opinion.

Initial Review: I’ve been a customer at Willie’s Grill for a while now, and aside from the burgers, everything else is pretty mid or below average. My latest order from the seasonal menu is the Cajun Shrimp Pasta, and it was really disappointing. Even after removing the andouille sausage, I only got four tiny shrimp in an $18 dish. On top of that, it just tasted like spicy burnt pasta rather than having a real Cajun flavor. Definitely not worth the price. I expected better, but unfortunately, the quality just...

I only come here because my friend likes this place but 100% of the time so far that I have eaten here I have a bad experience with the food.

Last time I got the wings with ranch. They were kind of soggy and dry and a little undercooked. Worst wings I've ever had in my life.

This time I got chicken tenders. I paid extra to get Spicy Bourbon sauce.

Tenders were a bit soggy but had good parts to them. They were cooked well actually.

My issue was the "Spicy Bourbon" sauce was just Buffalo Sauce which I hate with a passion.

My plate had globs of Buffalo sauce, making my food almost inedible. I only ate because I was supposed to be somewhere later.

I'm not a picky eater. I'm a big guy which means I will eat almost anything. I actually left a chicken tender because it was saturated in Buffalo sauce.

Not even made in house, tasted like it was bought at the store and just thrown in.

The sweet potato fries were allright, no seasoning not even salt or pepper.

Why offer "fancy" sounding sauces if you're just going to drown the food in a cheap alternative.

I felt it was a complete waste of money for the quality of the food given.

$20 for chicken tenders and a soft drink. wow.

I've paid $14 for chicken tenders at a fancier restaurant.

Service was not bad and everyone was nice.

Edit*

My friends birthday again so I came here once more. I got the most simple food ever, burger and fries.

It was cooked nicely and tasted good. Fries were allright, not the best not the worst. Meat patties were on the thin side.

The only thing was my friends burger was on the rare side so she took it back.

My other friends burger had mustard and she doesn't like that so she took it back.

Then her new burger had mustard...