Buffalo Inn Restaurant: 3 Paw Establishment

It is with great disappointment that I have to give The Buffalo Inn a 3 Dog Paw rating. I have been here several times and not once have I thought about reviewing it; however, now that I have a forum to share my experiences, I decided to do so.

Loungers, what was once a deliciously entertaining environment with equal food to match - has since turned into a poor man's elk's lodge with barely legal teen waitresses straight out of the 8 Mile film starring Eminem. The only thing they needed was a pack of cigarettes tucked under the sleeves of their shirts and for a few of their teeth to be missing.

I apologize for coming down so hard on these girl who I'm sure are simply trying to make a living, but I just want to clarify exactly what I have issues with. Simply put, it's the fact that what was supposed to be a nice "Father's Day" dinner, ultimately turned into a lackluster experience 100% due to the customer service and overall ambiance the "Inn" provided. The sad part was that I went with two people who had never been there and the idea was to introduce them to "the home of the buffalo burger". The other part that plays a role in me coming down so hard is the fact that in my previous experiences, I have had similar issues. If the buffalo burger wasn't so darn good - I wonder if I would even return at all...?

Buffalo Burger:

Extremely tasty burgers, lean-mean-tasty with cheese and green, literally made from buffalo meat.

If you're a vegetarian, you will learn not to read my restaurant reviews due to the fact that 99% of the time I will be writing about food's with meat. That other 1 % will likely involve some dish that probably was made with some ingredient that a vegetarian otherwise would not partake in.

I'm a meat monster, what can I say.

One fun part about this restaurant worth mentioning is on Saturday evening's they have live bands. The set-up before you enter their restaurant which looks like a lodge in Big Bear Mountain resembles a camp ground. There's an area out front designated for the band to play and many tables with heat lamps for those cold windy nights. There is a fire pit which adds to the ambiance. I mean, even as you enter the lodge the rustic, gritty axe-man look decorated with wood tables, an old wooden bar and pretty much wood, wood, wood makes you feel like hair is quite literally growing on your chest and face with every step you take. It is the quintessential pyromaniac's playground. You definitely want to tell ghost stories around the fire pit and eat smore's, not burgers when you walk in. It's cozy though and has all the makings of an awesome first date location - as far as ambiance is concerned.

Suffice to say, on the eve before Father's Day, the facade came to a screeching halt as the waitress gave me and my family a fake smile and casually - while engaged in another conversation told us we can sit wherever we wanted to sit. Apparently our business was not worthy of an eye glance at a bare minimum on a night where the majority of the customers were outside enjoying the band. To be exact, there was only a family of two and another family of three inside.

To be noted:

The band played various rock renditions and were very good. One of the band member's was female and she was slapping the bass very well. Unfortunately, I did not catch their bands name.

Rather than walk you thru the entire evening, I will break it down for you below. This is what exactly transpired which ultimately led to the rating I decided to give this place.

1. We asked for an extra cup of chili beans and cheese and they forgot it. We had to remind them for it sometime later.
2. We placed our order and it took just about an hour to get our food. This place specializes in burgers - not hard to make. They don't even have side dishes for crying out loud - their only that comes with everything is a side of home made chips.
3. When we got our order, 3 of the 4 orders were completely wrong. When I explained to the young girl in daisy dukes with a belly popping out of her way too short florescent tank top, rather than just take my order and apologize graciously, she tried to explain what "may" have happened. She even went as far as to find the order ticket to verify if there was a mistake on my part - all while I'm holding the food waiting for her to take it out of my hands and fix it. Customer Service 101 - Customer is right. Just take the order, fix it and worry about who was wrong later.
4. As the waitress kissed her boy friend on the lips - presumably her brother or uncle - she proceeds to hand me my food. I put a fake smile on and say thank you (mind you I'm eager to check my food before I put it in my mouth - I saw the movie "Waiting" I know what's up) and she doesn't even make eye contact with me. She just handed it to me and turned and walked away.
5. As we finished eating, we had to go seek the waitress out to pay. At this point there was only a family of four downstairs and three girls already eating. The other waitresses and waiter were at a table near the stairs talking trash about people leaving tips. To be exact one of the waitresses said, "It's bullshit. If they sign you should just put in the tip amount you want if they haven't crossed out the tip area." Are you kidding me? I actually kick myself for not telling their management something. Red down arrow for Husky Downs on that account.

Now, if you knew me or know me and my personality, I'm a pretty laid back guy. I tend to just go with the flow and the many times that I've been out and my food comes back wrong - I usually deal with it. On this night though, The Buffalo Inn was at a disadvantage as I had intended to review it from the moment I walked in. Everything mentioned above would turn out to be Strikes 1, 2, 3 and several to carry over to the next game. Not a great showing on their part. One thing I realize in writing this is that I owe it to my readers to give each of you my experience and to give you an idea of what you can expect when you visit. Don't get me wrong, the buffalo burgers when the waitresses do listen to the orders correctly are phenomenal; better than a regular burger by far. However, if I am to recommend this restaurant over the million others which do not have poor customer service, I would be doing you the readers a disservice.

The good:

• Great ambiance.
• Live band - solid entertainment factor.
• Awesome burgers for the burger lover in you.
• TV's to watch your favorite sporting event.
• Quaint location - rugged - but romantic.
• Half a block from a sex shop (you never know).

The bad:

• Inconsistant quality customer service.

The food:

• The french dip was delicious.
• The buffalo burger was tasty.
• The grilled cheese was - a grilled cheese. Can anyone really mess this up?
• The chili beans and cheese, chips and salsa was top notch.

The "Inn" has a few other items on their menu (i.e. hot dogs, chicken sandwiches etc.), but they specialize in hamburgers - buffalo burgers to be exact.

As I stated earlier, I have been here several times before and the experience has varied. It would appear that they've got some good apples and some bad one's as it pertains to their workers; however, that said, if you want to earn a 5 Dog Paw rating from me - you've got to be on your "A" game at all times.

You see my fellow "Loungers", my qualms are not with the food - simply with the level of service. The Buffalo Inn has 5 Paw potential, but until the management takes their customer service to a higher level, their restaurant merits 3 Paws from Husky Downs.

The Buffalo Inn is located at 1815 W. Foothill Blvd., Upland CA, 91786