Mugshots Grill and Bar - Vestavia Hills, AL — Restaurant in Vestavia Hills

It's my son's 8th bday weekend and he wanted to go here. After a morning of festivities we went to the restaurant. We stood at the door and waited to be seated but no one ever assisted us. I had to go to the restroom so I went to the restroom (smells like sewage due to a plumbing issue) and expected for my family to be seated when I came back out.

When I returned, no one was seated and no one assisted us. We were the only black family there and were standing in the middle of the restaurant confused and feeling awkward.

So I decided to take my family out on the patio and as we were exiting, the waitress was entering and I asked if it was ok if we sat there and she said yes, she would get us some menus.

We sat at the table for 5 min and the waitress came back and said it would be a 15 minute wait...that's fine. Then she said she couldn't give us a menu...why? We weren't offered water or anything. My friend and I were confused but my friend then went into the building and got us menus.

After that we felt really uncomfortable being in a place that ignored us when we came in and wouldn't give us menus or waters while we waited.

Emily was the manager on duty and we didn't want to talk to the person who was on duty if they were running the establishment this way. We left and went to Ruby Sunshine.

It was still bothering me, the feeling of it all and I wanted to bring it to someone else's attention. I called the location and spoke with Brooklyn the GM.

I told her that I'm not saying it was racist at all. I am not pulling the race card but by us being the only black family there and with what happened, I don't want to FEEL that way.

I don't want to feel unwelcomed. I especially don't want to feel unwelcomed in a room of white people. The other white patrons probably were treated the same way but I didn't see it because everyone was already seated.

Brooklyn was very understanding and sympathized. She just took over the location and I also understood where she is coming from. I know it may take some time for her to get that location up and running smoothly. I understand them being short staffed because a lot of places are right now. I understand...if it weren't for her understanding of where I was coming from, I would've been upset.

Brooklyn handled the situation quite well with great communication. She let me know what was going on behind the scene, the changes the company is going through and what she planned on doing to rectify the situation. Brooklyn gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars. The staff in attendance gets 0 stars.

However, I will give them another chance because of Brooklyn and will hopefully be able to update you all on a...

Mugshots has been a delicious burger destination for us over the years. We've only wanted to patronize this location because of the food and the service. I work on highway 280 and I had a team lunch at this location because I've been so pleased. Each Sunday my family and I choose a restaurant to have a family dinner. Breaking away from tradition, we decided to come to just have a good burger and a good time. To our surprise, this was a horrendous experience. It took 20 minutes for us to be acknowledged by the waitstaff (a bearded gentleman). He said he'd be right back. Around 10 minutes later, that gentlemen came back a said Carlos will be with us. Carlos came by and said he'll be right with us. In about 8 minutes, Lindsey came and took our drink order. The couple at the next table witnessed this atrocity and apologized for the poor service as though they worked for the store. They said that they hoped they have a good excuse. The original waiter stopped by a few minutes later and apologized for the delay. We were informed that there was a mix up with the hostess on the table. We were ok because accidents happen. We got our drinks and ordered our food. It took another 25 to 30 minutes to get our food. We saw the food on the counter when the kitchen door opened (our table was right in front of the kitchen door). The couple next to us again interjected and said that they hope we ate breakfast. When we got our food 3 of the burgers we burned (peanut butter and jelly burger, bishop burger, and the big kahuna). The hicks chicken philly had little chicken on it and the bread was burned and rock-hard. We had to ask for another bun. The Turkey burger was the only good one. We were so hungry we decided to go ahead and finish the meal despite the subpar preparation and taste. Don't get me wrong, the staff was polite so we don't have grievances with their personality; it was the overall experience. If the food was delicious, we could ignore the long customer service wait but it would be a disservice to the company to ignore both. This is a meal that should have been on the house but we never became uncouth or lost patience. You can look at your camera to find us (table 16/1). I hate so bad that I couldn't tip the server but you tip for the service and experience. There was no need to ask for management. This is something that they should have seen and acted upon. I just hope someone cares enough to respond to this message because this was simply atrocious. I saw the sign "Help Wanted" when we were exiting the establishment, for everyone's sake I hope positions get...

I have been taking my family here since I moved to Alabama in 2014. When I have friends or family from out of town visit, this is always on the list of places to take them. I really love the food here but... after ownership changes they don't seem to care about customer experience anymore. After refusing recent coupons multiple times as well as a discount based on an agreement with my current employer, I figured these things are understandable given the situation and continued my patronage. Currently my family's cash flow isn't as free as it once was, but being that I purchased some gift certificate like coupons from local flavor, a Groupon like discount service, I decided I could treat the family to lunch there today. The coupon would have allowed me to feed my wife, son and myself for around $10-15 including a generous tip. When it came time to pay, as usual I presented the coupon only to be told they don't take them anymore despite an expiration in March 2019. I expressed that it is a purchased coupon so they suggested the manager come help explain the situation. The manager came and apologized, suggesting all of the blame is on the local flavor service, that mugshots wanted to honor the coupons but that they were instructed by local flavor to refuse them, despite admitting that local flavor still sells them. Not only did he attempt to excuse mugshots entirely but he offered nothing to show concern for how this made our experience turn out, even after I told him how what I planned to spend was all I had in my budget and the determining factor in dining there today. I have been going there about 1-2 times a month for the last 6+months and generally tip 30-40% when we visit. I will not be returning and will continue to share my experience after learning that the money I spent and would have continued spending did not gain me any appreciation with the new owner and current...