Benchwarmers
| Address: | 705 S Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, IA 50023, USA |
| Phone: | +1 515-965-2556 |
| Rating: | 3.5 |
| Working: | 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–11PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Amy McNeeley
Worst dining experience ever! We were so excited to go there and celebrate with dinner and a few cocktails after my sons game. At first the waitress was very friendly and it was busy so we werent too focused on her inattentiveness. I also noticed the previous people left her a 30 cent tip. This should have been a clue. Big mistake on our part. No drink menus to be had and the waitress was clearly annoyed we planned on ordering food. We had to ask to have our dirty table, and by dirty I mean chunks of food from the previous patrons) washed three times (over the course of 30 minutes). We ordered two appetizers, only got one. It came out without the dip, no plates, no silverware. Of course our wait staff was gone for so long there was no chance to get any of these items (note: we were on the patio). I had to order my drink three times. My husband had to order his second drink twice. He never attempted to order a third as we knew it was hopeless. The food came out - still no silverware and only 3 of our 5 meals arrived. Thankfully the guy that brought it out (not our waitress) brought us silverware when he noticed the table situation. Several minutes later the other two dishes arrived. The prime rib sandwich was about 40% a hunk of fat and the food was cold. Not cold like it sat under the warmer - cold like it was never cooked. My fries were luke warm on the outside and ice cold on the inside. I pulled the prime rib off the bun (it was room temperature at best) and put it in the au jus sauce to "warm it up". Of course there was no one to complain to because our waitress was never around. The table next to ours finally left without paying their bill because they waited for it so long they were tired of waiting. Another table next to us had a similar experience trying to get their drinks and food. The remaining table next to us was piled up with dirty dishes the entire time we were there (more than an hour). I had intended on ordering more drinks but without any wait staff that really wasnt an option. When we finally got our bill the waitress paced around our table (yes the same woman that was previously no where to be found) until we paid and then immediately grabbed the bill from us and flipped it open to see how much her tip was. I always tip 20% (or more if it was excellent service). I tipped 5% and of course she was both shocked and offended. Normally I would say they were exceptionally busy and give them a break but nothing could excuse the obnoxious behavior of our waitress and the ice cold food. This used to be one of our favorite spots, but the last few times we have gone there it has gone increasingly downhill. We will NEVER go there again. We would have easily dropped another $100 in drinks and such, but clearly they werent interested in our money. Our recommendation - take your money elsewhere - it is too hit or miss to waste your time there.
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Vince Taylor
Last time there was in 2003. Went inside and it looked like any other sports bar and grill. No one greeted/seated us. All the empty tables were dirty so we sat down at the least dirty table. After about 10 minutes a waitress came by and cleaned up the table. We asked if this was still a restaurant, she said yes and brought us menus. They used to serve Helen and Pats cavitelli and it was still on the menu. I ordered the cavitelli with Gracianos Italian sausage, my wife had the chicken Alfredo cavitelli. The waitress was pleasant and the food arrived quickly. The cavitelli was watery and had more cheese floating on top than the overcooked pasta underneath. The sausage tasted like boiled hamburger and the sauce was just a basic tomato sauce. The chicken cavitelli was gritty and had more cheese than anything else. The service was good, it would be a good bar I suppose. Just dont order the food.
AP
April Williams
I was hesitant because of some reviews but decided to give it a try since I had a $10 off $20 purchase. We went during the day around 3pm. The place is clean, the bartender (i think his name was jay?)was nice and laid back. And the food was awesome. The sweet chili boneless wings my husband ordered were AWESOME!!!! the beer was cold and refreshing, I had the bartender make me a mixed drink and it was a perfect mix. I ordered the Philly with a salad. I even brought my 3 kids, their pizza was delicious and the fries are hard to put down! The food was a good price for the great quality that it was. I didnt eat much popcorn but it was tasty and fresh. I wish I had found this place sooner or that I was in town longer because I would eat here often.
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Chris Coble
Food was worse than your typical bar food, it took forever to come out and our waitress never checked on us. I probably could have cooked it better myself. It was terribly uncomfortable in the back where we were sat. I am a server and bartender and I hardly ever complain about stuff like this but this was horrendous service and food. We went here because we had a coupon that wasnt even accepted, pretty sure that was bogus. I was embarrassed to have brought my friends here, it was gross.
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d heath
As a longtime Benchwarmers customer and fan, my wife and I stopped in last Saturday night (second visit this weekend) and were going to use a 2 for 1 coupon from the 2017 Entertainment Coupon book. Upon sitting down, the waitress stated that the place was under new ownership and would not honor the coupons.....bad decision. We left.. The new ownership should welcome these deals and just succeeded in turning a 2-3 times a month customer into a maybe customer going forward.
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Hannah Van Fossen
I usually come here a bit service is subpar... servers need more training and need a sense of urgency. It took forever for every aspect of dinner. Drinks took way to long, apps took way to long. The table next to use was very annoyed as well they vocalized it many times... This is just constructive criticism, you guys have a great atmosphere but the service has never wowed me & my friends its always underwhelming. Please consider better training .......
KA
Katie Jasso
Have been a continuing customer under old management & tonight came in to see what new management was like. Although there were LOTS of tvs, I was super disappointed that the new menu has alot of old items taken off of it. I also thought the price for food was a little high. Plates are 10$ or more, 8$ for a appetizer. Worst of all, they did away with the wings with the dads woodshead sauce. No kids menu. The lighting is better.
JA
Jason T
You can do better in the area. Food is overpriced for what it is. My burger was $10 and they forgot to put on the two little strips of bacon. Had to go find our server to get it right and to get drink refills. They charged us full price for the kids meals that are half price on Wednesdays. Paper towels were empty in the mens room. Overall, food was very mediocre and service was sub-par.
