We recently moved to the area and tried The Black Iron Grill for the first time on May 28, 2026,…read morecoming in the early afternoon for a late lunch. My husband and I came in through the back/side door to dine in, and our server, Kris S. (per receipt 5EGX), told us to sit wherever we wanted. There was only one other customer inside, so the restaurant was not busy at all. There weren't many customers sitting outside, either.
We sat for about 15 minutes while Kris walked past us to assist an older gentleman who was dining in at roughly our 10:00. During this time, she never once stopped to ask if we wanted anything to drink or even acknowledge that we were waiting, yet she made multiple trips outside for reasons that were not clear. At one point the gentleman asked if he could fill his water bottle, and instead of simply helping him, Kris loudly shouted directions across the restaurant to tell him where the water station was. This went on for about 30 seconds and was quite a spectacle.
After about 15 minutes, Kris finally came to our table and asked if we wanted something to drink. My husband said we were ready to order as well. Her response was snotty and dismissive--something along the lines of, "Well, I like to get your drink order first, and then we'll get your food order." After that rude interaction and the lack of basic hospitality, I pretty much lost my appetite and, honestly, if I could go back in time, we would have just left at that point.
Unfortunately, we did stay and ordered food. The food eventually came, but I couldn't really eat mine because the entire experience had put such a bad taste in my mouth and I lost my appetite. My husband ordered a cheeseburger and said it was awful. We got to go boxes so as to not cause a scene, but we threw the food away as soon as we got home. Between the poor service and the disappointing food, there is nothing that would make us want to come back.
I was surprised to see the good reviews for this place on Google, because our experience did not match them at all. It honestly makes me wonder if the positive reviews are mostly from bar regulars, friends, or acquaintances who might be getting different treatment than new customers. We are locals now, but unfortunately The Black Iron Grill will not be receiving any more of our business.
My husband and I have lived in small towns all over this country, and we see the same pattern of predatory behavior from certain businesses: bad or apathetic service while taking advantage of locals who have fewer options and lower incomes, knowing many people can't easily drive out of town for alternatives. We're not in that position, so we choose carefully where we spend our money--and we don't have to spend it on bad service and bad people. Let's call this what it is: this was a woman on a power trip, making sure we knew who was in charge and that we were at her mercy as customers.
To further highlight the predatory nature of this place, they charge $3 just to split a meal (on top of already marked-up food prices--this isn't Pelican Brewery on the coast). Given how hard times are for people these days, with inflation and everything else, and given that not everyone is a business owner, it's shocking you'd treat your community this way. We don't believe these people are clueless; we believe they are selfish and vain. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend The Black Iron Grill and would encourage others to think twice before dining here.
