What a crazy experience…read more
We go to Buffalo Wild Wings in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware regularly -- honestly, probably weekly -- so we're very familiar with BWW and what a typical experience should be. This Fort Walton Beach location was... something else.
We walked in on a very busy Saturday night and there were two hostesses at the front. I wasn't greeted, but I asked if there were seats at the bar. I was told yes, so we walked all the way to the back of the restaurant only to find zero seats at the bar. We walked back to the front and eventually the hostess was able to hear us over the noise and promptly seated us at a table.
And the noise was something I've never experienced at a restaurant.
While walking back to the front, we heard someone screaming, yelling and clapping. It turned out to be a group of employees approaching a guest's table for a birthday celebration. One server was leading the "celebration" while several others clapped and yelled. It was incredibly loud and, honestly, didn't feel joyful or fun. It was more startling and obnoxious than celebratory. The hostess herself was wincing at the noise, and we certainly weren't the only guests who looked uncomfortable.
Our server was nice enough, but the service was very scattered. She brought our drinks but forgot one. When our food arrived, we asked for the missing drink again. About 20 minutes later, when the food came out, she asked if we wanted to move to a booth. We agreed because it would give us more room.
Unfortunately, the booth had its own issues. Our hair was literally blowing around, food wrappers were blowing, napkins were blowing, and it was cold and windy sitting there. We stayed because at least we had more space. She also didn't bring silverware, so I couldn't even eat my cauliflower until I finally asked for utensils.
Then came another unexpected experience: while we were waiting for our food, two small boys came running down the aisle with a cardboard box filled with random bags of candy and chips, selling them to tables and servers. This wasn't a school fundraiser or anything that was explained to us. It appeared that someone had purchased snacks somewhere and brought them into the restaurant to sell. I saw Funyuns and Sour Patch Kids. At one table, one child walked around with the box while another stood back shaking a box of candy like a musical instrument. It was just... bizarre.
And then, before we even finished eating, another birthday celebration started at the table next to us.
Here comes the screaming again.
I literally plugged my ears. The person leading the birthday song noticed me, stopped for a second and laughed, then continued. I understand that birthdays are supposed to be fun, but there has to be a happy medium. This was so loud that it was genuinely uncomfortable.
By the end, we asked for a box, the check and a bottle of hot sauce. Our server had to come back three or four times because something had been forgotten each time. She forgot to get our phone number once, forgot the box the next time, and we eventually just decided it was time to leave.
To be fair, it was a packed Saturday night, and I understand that restaurants get busy. But this wasn't simply a case of slow service. It was the combination of the incorrect seating information, extremely loud birthday performances, cold/windy seating, missing silverware and drinks, repeated forgotten requests, and the unexpected candy sales happening throughout the dining room.
Unfortunately, the service and overall experience continued to be disappointing. At the end of the meal, we weren't given an itemized check, so we had no way of knowing exactly what we were charged for. That's especially frustrating when the experience itself was already less than great.
And I completely forgot until afterward that one of our chicken wing meals was supposed to come with 10 pieces and only had 9. Obviously, one missing wing isn't enough for us to complain about, but it certainly wasn't a great detail to add to an already disappointing experience.
We kept looking at each other thinking, What is happening here?
We love BWW and have plenty of great experiences at our usual location. This Fort Walton Beach visit was just wow. Definitely an experience we won't forget -- although probably not for the reasons the restaurant intended.