Broken Spoke

Our server was really nice and patient with us. We were there for a really long time and she made us comfortable. One time before that we were only there for lunch and the bartender checked on us too often and interrupting our conversation while doing so several times. So this last time was refreshing from that. Really good bloody Mary's.

Usually difficult to get good service. 1.75 tall boys are a plus. I don't like the menu, weird twists on burgers and food items. No management present. That goes for most of the Riley's brand restaurants. One beautiful Sunday I sat outside at Butcher Block and was told there was no one to serve us outside on there beautiful patio so we left. I ordered steak and eggs at Riley's, it took 25 minutes and steak was rare, not medium. Steak had no flavor. Wife's food was cold. I went to Axle' s a while back and my burger was fried to a crisp. It took 15 minutes to get a new one. They did comp. Also told me there was no service on their upstairs patio on a beautiful day.

The food was great, the beer selection is huge, and the service was perfect. There was only one minor problem with my glass, but the server took care of it immediately with sincere apologies. We dined on their new, spacious deck... very nice atmosphere. This place will be packed on RAGBRAI 2015. We will certainly be back there! UPDATE: One month later, we couldn't get service. One employee smoking a few feet outside the front door, and one customer permitted to smoke out on the deck. Not cool these days. We waited on the deck about 10 minutes, and the server never acknowledged us... even when we left and walked right by her. I won't change my 5-star rating because they certainly earned it on our first visit... but something appears to be different now. Maybe we'll give them a try again sometime if we see some other positive reviews.

Not the best service, and the food was VERY slow coming out of the kitchen. Given it is mostly fried, there isn't really a reason for this. We were a larger group (10) but on a Sunday afternoon when it wasn't busy, it should have been manageable. On the plus side, when the food came it was quite good. The wings could use a bit more sauce but they are food sized and have good flavor.

After visiting the establishment so many times I gathered one thing. The bartending experience is a complete different from night and day. Sometimes I’m able to make it at 12 in the afternoon other times it’s around 11 at night. My afternoon service is phenomenal, however the night experience is atrocious. I thought maybe the bartender had a bad night but after several tries I just realized this is just not worth it. Once again during the day amazing service, however during the night horrific (bar) service.