Buffalo Wild Wings — Restaurant in West Des Moines

I would like to start this off with an apology to my family, for it was my idea to dine here tonight. Family, if you are reading this: I'm sorry.

I have been to BWW many times at other locations. At other locations, I have enjoyed cold beer, decent atmosphere, and good food. This... was not one of those times.

This was our first visit to this location. We were greeted promptly and taken to a seat on the non-bar side. The restaurant was maybe 1/2 full, if that. From afar, the carpet looked to be the funky kind of carpet you'd see at a movie theater. You know, green with yellow squiggles or pink triangles. Once closer, it was quite apparent that food and napkins were scattered everywhere like confetti from the front of the house to the back. It was as if a mini parade had ensued and, instead of candy, they threw french fries everywhere. If this was the case, then all hail the 2021 BBW Queen and her Wing Maidens!! If not, then I would best label this decorating style as "food fight".

The waitress was OK, but seemed to disappear for long lengths of time. This appeared to be common for all waitstaff, as other diners could be seen looking around for their waiter/waitress like little meerkats popping up in the grasses of the Savannah. Once waitstaff did appear, from what I can only guess was a group TikTok dance-off in the back, there were plenty of them. Our waitress did refill the adult drinks once, which was nice, but never did refill the child's drink before disappearing again to probably practice her dance moves or lip synching. If you do not have children, allow me to illuminate. When children enter restaurants there are two truths: 1- they have to go to the bathroom at least 5 times and 2- they are SO THIRSTY. Always, always refill the child's drink. Our lack of child's drink refill left me with no recourse but to share my drink with the little who was suddenly SO THIRSTY that she guzzled the entire thing down. No other refills given.

--Side note: Earlier, while looking over the edge of our table at a sad wing smashed into the carpet, I told myself, "I'll get the spicy wings tonight." This was an egregious error.--

Food was presented. Two orders, wings and chicken tenders, came our first. We waited over 10 minutes for the third order, a hamburger, to come out. Chicken tenders were so over cooked that they were inedible. Burger ordered was foul tasting (suspected bad meat or low quality meat), greasy, and also overcooked. Half of burger was eaten before giving up. Wings were decent enough and seemed to be cooked well. Asked for ranch, but got blue cheese. Wasn't mad; all BWWs seem to think ranch and blue cheese are synonymous. Coleslaw that came with wings was initially raw cabbage in a paper cup. When waitress came to deliver forgotten burger, I alerted her to said cup of naked raw cabbage and she took it to get it "sauced". Coleslaw came back in a new cup, hot for some reason, and laiden with some sort of sour vinegar/oil concoction. It was... really something. Could not convince tablemates to take a bite of it so they could share in its grossness. Not even in the name of science.

On the way out, there was standing water by the host area that I did not see until I slipped in it and nearly fell. One employee who was stocking drinks in a cooler turned around to see what had happened, looked at me with a "I only have one more hour on this shift" face, and then went back to what she was doing.

Adding photo of hot (seriously, why was the coleslaw hot?) cup of greasy/sour coleslaw for bonus view.

This visit earned 1 star- 1/2 for decent wings and 1/2 for decent parking spot.

Tonight's dinner was a $70 lesson on...

This place is LUCKY they are even getting ONE star!!!! Only because that was my only option I couldn't pick any lower!! Definitely won't come back here! We came here with a party of 15 for my husbands Birthday and he was going to do the Blazin Challenge. We get there at 5pm and we were told it would be a 30 min wait. Ended up being an 1hr and 30. While we watched a ton of small parties of 5 here and there be seated right away. We did tell her we wanted to sit in the same area but it didn't have to be all at one table. But for some reason they wanted us to wait for a table to clear to fit half of us but these people had been there for 6rs already!!! So wtH!! How long were we supposed to wait? 6 more hours? Like come on! Well they finally came over to tell us they would seat us but we would have to be completely scattered! So we waited for over 1 and 30 to be scattered? We could have sat over an hour ago! Well half of my party agreed and walked back with the waitress to be seated! I 100% was pissed and not on board! When my party got back there the tables were dirty!!!!!! So my party was furious literally walked out and told us good luck no way, we are leaving!! Then I flipped! The manager(short spikey hair with the smelly perfume) came to get the rest of us and I said Im not staying you made half my party leave bc we waited so long and tables were dirty! She literally played stupid! Like she had no idea! She was No help and had an attitude! The girl who did the seating half a**! So we stayed unfortunately bc my kids and husband and half our party was hungry. The wings challenge Not hot! Dried out! Hardly any sauce! My husband said it was very chewy like it sat under a heat lamp all day. I thought it was suppose to be wings and drum sticks not just drum sticks. I tried it, my garlic sauce had more heat such a joke. They didn't bring the flashing light out! The whole experience was disappointing. The waitress couldn't get our split check right and had to go back 3 times to fix it. Mixed up everyones beers! Everything about the whole night was ruined! Half assed! No apology for making half my...

I must recount my deeply unsatisfactory encounter at Buffalo Wild Wings, during which my friend and I were subjected to unjust and discourteous treatment by bartender Courtney. In a span of 2 hours, we had consumed only 1.5 alcoholic drinks collectively—one complete drink and half of another—yet Courtney inexplicably decided to terminate our alcohol service without any reasonable basis. This action was not only baseless but also delivered with notable rudeness and a lack of professionalism. For clarity, my friend and I hold substantial expertise in advanced healthcare, granting us a comprehensive grasp of intoxication indicators and appropriate alcohol management practices. We also possess several years of prior experience as bartenders from our earlier careers, which enhances our ability to assess such situations accurately. We exhibited no signs of intoxication whatsoever; our articulation remained sharp, our conduct was steady, and our behavior was entirely suitable. As a prudent step, we had arranged transportation via Uber to the venue, preparing for any potential excess consumption, though this was wholly unnecessary considering our limited intake of merely 1.5 drinks over 2 hours. Upon challenge, Courtney inaccurately asserted that we were slurring our speech—a clear fabrication that eroded any trust in her judgment or integrity. We proceeded to discuss the matter with the manager in pursuit of a fair resolution, but the interaction failed to yield any meaningful redress, resulting in feelings of disregard and indignity. This episode underscores significant deficiencies in the establishment’s staff training, customer interaction protocols, and dedication to impartial service. I urge prospective visitors to Buffalo Wild Wings to think twice if they prioritize courteous and fact-based hospitality. Our ordeal, precipitated by such groundless measures following just 1.5 drinks in 2 hours, guarantees that we shall not patronize this location again, and I recommend exploring establishments where...