Rick's On the Square — Restaurant in Tyler

We had a great time eating here with my sister and BIL last Friday. They were visiting from Austin. The place was practically empty in the late afternoon. The food was great. Loved the Wedge salad, and the fresh Oysters on the half shell were some of the best I've had. They were served deliciously cold. We had hot wings, also crispy and delicious.. And someone ordered the Catfish plate. We shared it all and really enjoyed it. We also enjoyed our drinks.

My only complaint I had was with the young woman who was supposed to greet us when we walked into the place. It was dark compared to the sunny outside, so our eyes were adjusting and we did not know where to go or what our choices were for seating. The woman, (Friday, March 4, 2022) was sullen, rude and almost mocking us when we asked to show us what our choices were for seating. She must have been looking at her phone. She did not greet us at all. She didn't even look up as we came in. She was obviously totally enthralled with herself and her phone or whatever she was doing, and we were a thorn in her side disturbing her solitude.

We brushed it off and found our way onto an open patio where we enjoyed our time and the food. Our wait person, a wonderful young woman expecting a baby very soon, was excellent! She seemed to be the only one working aside from the kitchen staff and the bar tender.

After we finished our great meal we all headed out. Again we walked past the supposed greeter. Again she was preoccupied with her phone or whatever, and did not even have the time or care to talk to us. My sister said goodby, and she mumbled something not even bothering to acknowledge us.

Perhaps it is my age. Perhaps it is my biased, but I am used to spending money at places that are appreciative of my business. I will return, but not because of this young woman. And I would hope that whoever owns this place might want to train their staff in the social graces of customer connection and service. A greeter is supposed to be just that, but this one did not get the memo of her job description. We left feeling sorry that we had bothered her Unfortunately, it kinda of soured our arrival...

Nice exterior on the downtown square. Parking meters are free on the weekends. Found a spot right across from the entrance. We arrived around 7:30pm on a Friday evening. The place was like a ghost town. Not many people in the area or at the restaurant. We went inside and saw the hostess. She had a bland personality and wasn't too helpful. We were there to see a band that started at 8:30pm on the patio. She informed us that the patio was open seating and we would be required to pay a cover for the band. We paid her, then she gave us 3 menus and 3 silverware settings...then we were required to seat ourselves even though I told her we had never been there before. We found the patio after a few questions...The patio was really neat, nestled in between two old brick buildings. There is two levels, upper level has tv's and the lower level is closer to the stage. Fans were on to keep the summer air circulated. FYI, This is a SMOKING facility on the patio. We found our seat, there were plenty of options since it was not busy at all. The waitress greeted us promptly. She was polite, had a smile and helpful. Lots of options on the menu. Custom cocktails and a decent wine list. All beers are bottle or can (NO Draft!?), choices are nothing to brag about. Ordered pork chops, chicken fried chicken and pulled pork sandwich as entrees. All food was delicious. Sides were also very flavorful. The band came on as promised. It was a private concert for the first 45 min set, as it was our table and one other couple on the upper level. In the middle of the 2nd set, around 10:00pm the patio began to fill with patrons and partiers. Band was talented. There was a small dance floor in front of the stage that my wife and I used to cut a rug. A couple others danced once the alcohol started kicking in. All in all, we ended up having a good time. We will probably visit again if there is a band that we want to see. To me, that was the biggest draw...Great patio and a good mix of...

The kitchen messed up my food (a taco) so I sent it back to be remade. By the time it came out, my side (which I paid extra for) was cold, and my date was finished eating. We also asked for salt and pepper but also seasoning for his salmon because it tasted as if nothing was on it.

When our bill came, over $70, I asked if anything could be done about my food being wrong, then very late (not even mentioning the bland food). The manager came over and immediately was confrontational asking what do I want done about it. I said whatever he thinks is right. He said they fixed my taco so everything should be good. (I never said I want my meal free or even discounted, I simply asked if he could do anything to make it right. I even said I didn’t know how much my food even cost.) He was insistent he fixed the taco and we should be good not seeming to care about how long it took to get my food correctly. He eventually said he’d take the cost of my taco ($7.00) off our bill after repeatedly saying he fixed the taco.

We are very disappointed. This is definitely not the treatment I would expected from such a wonderful establishment like Rick’s on the Square. I noticed the manager walking around and going outside the front door at least twice while we were there.

When an order is messed, I would think the manager would want to, if at all possible, apologize and ensure the customer they are fixing it and getting it out correctly asap and appear to give a crap about how we are feeling about the situation. This manager absolutely did not give a crap about us. Incredibly...