I don't know what to say here. I'm still in shock and kind of in mourning. I was back in Nebraska for a week and was meeting a friend for lunch, so of course, I suggested my favorite place in the world. This wound be the original Watering Hole on O Street. To my shock and dismay, it appears to be closed for good. In side it was still set up for business with ketchup bottles still on the tables, like a snapshot of days gone by. (Although a much better snapshot of days further gone by would be a couple decades earlier when the Watering Hole was a dive bar with th best wings around.) But I digress . . . . we checked Yelp and went to the closest of their new locations. Feels off somehow, but that's probably just me. Great service and the same awesome wing sauce that I crave every time I'm back in Nebraska (if only the sold bottles of the stuff). Definitely a "must stop" when in Lincoln, or even in a 200-mile radius. Sure could use a bottle of wing sauce right about now . . . . even though I'm fairly certain I've figured out the secret ingredient. ;-) read more

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Such a fun spot to get a drink and some grub. They have typical American fare to choose from. But the wings (grilled) are by far the best and what they're known for. I decided to change it up and tried the Philly cheesesteak which was delicious. My long islands hit the spot as well. They have beer, wine, cocktails, ciders and more! I can't wait to come back on a Tuesday for $5 margaritas. :D read more

The Watering Hole - Philly no mushrooms with tots - Burgers Near Me - Lincoln, Nebraska

I go for the grilled wings. Not for the service or the ambiance. Although, I have never had terrible service. Get the grilled wings. They do take longer, but you won't find a better wing in my opinion. They are grilled, yum!! I miss the downtown location, but at least they still have east side. read more

The Watering Hole - Grilled wings - Burgers Near Me - Lincoln, Nebraska

We visited as a group of seven on Wednesday evening, August 20, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Unfortunately, the service we received from our server was disappointing. I personally ordered two Guinness and closed out my tab around 5:30 pm before leaving. My receipt showed $10.50 for the drinks (before tax and card fees), and the transaction was processed for $11.94 plus the tip I added. Despite that, my coworkers later told me the server claimed I still owed $2 because my card supposedly didn't cover the full charge--something that made no sense since the tab had already been closed properly, and my card had no issues. Things didn't improve for my coworkers who stayed. Several of their bills were inaccurate and needed to be disputed as they closed out, which was both frustrating and time-consuming. On top of that, the server tried to claim an automatic gratuity applied for groups of eight or more. At no point were we an eight-person party--there were seven of us initially, and one wasn't drinking. After I left, the group was down to six, and although another coworker stopped by later, we were never a group of eight at the same time. This isn't the first time we've run into questionable billing practices here. A couple of months ago, a coworker had nearly $20 extra added to their bill, which we only caught after reviewing it closely. While that was resolved, experiencing similar issues again raises some serious concerns. I first addressed my concerns directly with the establishment; however, the manager's assurances were not fulfilled, and no further communication was received from her. Overall, it was a frustrating experience that left a bad impression. Between the poor service, confusion with billing, and what feel like misleading charges, it's hard to recommend this place with confidence. read more

1 hour wait to get food and they didn't have the dip to a French DIP and they were flirting with customers

Not good got charged double was supposed to drop 300 but got charged 600 had a fun time but the bill was insane

Such a great place!! Our server was Viv and she was so amazing! Very attentive! I will go here frequently because I love it!!! And close to where I live! read more

Ate and had a beer here today with my brother. Great bone in wings (had dry rub with sauce on the side), and we also liked the fried mushrooms and homemade nachos with dip. We highly recommend. read more

Pre covid I went to the downtown location frequently as it was close to work. Food and service were great. I was excited when they opened the "East" location a few years ago. It was very similar to the downtown location. Even during Covid, they did great! However the last few times I've been to the East location have been terrible. Probably 3 times over the last 6 months. The nachos were a soggy mess of wadded up chips. The kids meal grilled cheese was 2 pieces of toast that they put cheese on. When we let the waitress know, she had it remade. Yet again, The cheese didn't melt and the bread was burnt on the INSIDE and out. I got the grilled wings the next time and they were soooo burnt. Now, get that grilling gives some char but all the wings were completely black. I should mention the service was not great either. Have to ask for plates for appetizers, ask for napkins (got none with the hot wings or nachos (separate visits) very limited beer options. 2 of the ones I chose from the chalkboard menu were out. Why not erase them then?! Then the check comes and I see they charge a credit card fee. Extra 3 bucks for nothing. I suggest avoiding this location, maybe the downtown one still cares. read more

The quality of food is very up and down. Beer selection is decent and makes overpriced bad food tolerable. read more

The Watering Hole - A lil Kinkaider Sour Punch at the Watering Hole. I hope the wings are on point tonight!! - Burgers Near Me - Lincoln, Nebraska

Location looks like a local favorite restaurant, but everything else feels like a dive bar with high ceilings. I order garlic parmesan wings, menu says "homemade cheesy buttery garlic goodness" seemed more like a mayo-heavy cream-herb marinade. Garlic 5/10, butter 3/10, parm 2/10, mayo 7/10. read more

In from California for a few days! Wings are my allll time favorite! Ordered grilled mild bone in and let me tell you, the best!! Perfectly cooked! Abby our server was wonderful and very kind. She stayed on top of everything and made sure our drinks were always topped off. Next visit back I'll be sure to find myself here again! read more

Terrible establishment where only money matters. Extremely discriminatory and have no regard for anyone other than the owner who runs this business out of town. My daughter worked here and was constantly threatened and given ultimatums in regards to her children's health when sick (4) or a job. They think everyone is disposable and take no parts of consideration for employees or their families. Turn over rate is high. I was told over 6 people were fired within 3 months. Cooks don't wear gloves or hairnets. Food is mid & servers are rude, and only white servers. This place is trash. There wings are good, but the establishment and those running it are -10/10. I hope this company makes some changes. I'll continue to copy & paste this on social media in hopes of them constructing them into something better. Please see WEST location or brewskys. read more

We love Warering Hole! Easy to order for our family of 4. We all love their boneless wings. The atmosphere is very kid friendly and while they might be busy at times they are very accommodating and their food never disappoints. read more

Im surprised by some of the reviews as I feel like all wing places have slow service, our server was friendly but seem frazzled maybe because it was busy? --we went on a Thursday night and it was pretty packed. The wings are always great -grilled hot is what we get and they're fantastic! There's three locations we've been to all three! They have the best wings in town, takes a lot to impress me with chicken wings but these are delicious and 9$ per pound is a reasonable price! Besides the flow of service the wings are good, can't say much about other food because the highlight of a place that sells wings is wings! Would recommend! read more

We decided to try this restaurant while visiting. The waiter was very scattered. He couldn't remember which sodas were which so he smelled them to see the flavor. It was very odd. The kitchen also made quite a few mistakes. They messed up plating and gave the wrong person a peanut butter burger. Luckily there were no allergies. We also had to ask for our dipping sauces a few times. We ended up getting double charged for them. They ran out of thousand island for the animal fries. When we asked about it that's when they told us they didn't have any more and asked if we wanted a different sauce. I said ranch. Which then I got charged for. The waiter seemed very apologetic but overall it was a very weird experience and being overcharged on top of that just showed the lack of organization on their part. read more

Watering hole review Probably one of the most disappointing and disrespectful experiences I have ever had at one of our local sports bar and grills. 7pm on a Saturday evening and wanted to take some friends and family out. We called ahead and asked about our party of 15 and they only said that we may have to sit separately because there were only 5 tables open (understandable). We get there and find two tables close together right away and there was enough space for all of us at those two tables. They were not busy in my opinion as there were more than 5 tables open and plenty of room. I sit down and immediately a server comes and tells me that they are not able to accommodate our party. The manager comes over and tells us that they are not going to serve us and that we needed to leave. Now we were being understanding and tried to give all options... two servers? Two checks? One check? Longer wait time? Limited menu? Separate seating? We did not care about doing whatever they needed to LET us eat and drink in their place of business. No matter what we suggested the "manager" was not having it and literally told us we had to leave. Many of my clients own similar establishments here in Lincoln and they could not believe we were being turned away with no regard. 6 kids and 9 adults who all were buying drinks and food, ready to tip well and prepared for wait times. We were being treated like they absolutely did not want our business and didn't care that we had to find another place or drive somewhere else. We all went to Riskys and got service right away, food, drinks, football, tipped great, bought the kitchen multiple rounds, and had a great time. Thanks Riskys! I will NEVER return to any of these locations and will definitely be making it known to the owner and the owners of other businesses in the city to steer clear of this place. Used to be one of my favorites, been a loyal customer for 15 years. Just absolutely appalling. read more

They ain't lying! It is the best place for wings! Had a good time watching baseball! Go Dodgers!

Who threatens to terminate an employee for not coming to their shift because their dog is actively dying and they want to be there for their dog??? Want to know why you're perpetually understaffed?? It's because of this kind of behavior right here. Shit poor management that doesn't care about their employees. read more

My sandwich was huge and full of meat, but that being said, bun on bottom was soggy and absorbed all the moisture, so it needs to be served on some very hearty and stand up bread. Chef needs help keeping the chicken, white and dark meat moist, tender and flavorful. Plates of food were Luke warm to nearly cold and only eight in our party. All employees need to keep masks on OVER BOTH mouth AND nose! Entrance has no handicapped access, just stepS. Our server was super sweet and attentive though! read more

Well this time the food was not very good usually it's not bad and now they charge you more for any sauce which ok not a big deal but now they are charging you to pay for your food 4% if you use a card and even if you pay cash. Yep we have decided we won't be back. read more

Love this place, it has a great small town vibe and the bartenders are always positive and make sure you have everything you need.

Been here for 15 minutes and still haven't been waited on. Bathrooms don't work. Not sure how they're staying open with non-functioning bathrooms. This place sucks. I wouldn't recommend anybody come here read more

Literally no one else there in the afternoon. Waitress just stood at the bar while we stood at the door this went on for a few minutes so we finally sat ourselves. If it is self seating put up a sign? Or politely say pick your booth? Not just stand there in silence. Judging on the cleanliness of the bathroom I was nervous to eat the food. The amount of time it took to cook two orders of chicken wings you would have thought they had to kill it themselves! The boneless wings were good, but the self proclaimed "large" bone in wings were the same size you get in the frozen section, I may even say a tad smaller. Wouldn't waste my time going back, the place was just dirty don't look at the carpet trust me read more

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Stopped in for lunch and the jumbo wings. I tried them at the wingfest this summer and the old bay seasoning was fantastic. They were really good again! Amber was awesome, fun and the service was quick! read more

Tried to order grilled wings resauced like downtown does (staff there told us about it) but they said they couldn't do that. Really? So we decided to go elsewhere and the crappy server says "yeah, that's probably best". This location is awful. read more

Just saw all of the really dumb reviews here about things that happen in most restaurants (charge for ranch, service tax, ect) so I'm just leaving this to try to offset the other peoples reviews that are the result of them probably just having a bad day. read more

I'm sure not everyone has a great experience, no matter where they go. I've only eaten here during the day, so my experience may be different at night, but I have always had good service and what ever I've ordered for food has been great read more

First off their prices are $4-$5 more in store then they are on the website. The portions are small and honestly not that good. $14 for a melt with a small fry?? Don't forget to add the charge for ranch. Honestly will not be returning ALSO they charged us $35 added on tip and our waitress came around twice. No refills on drinks. No asking on our food. The bare minimum. For two adults and one child it was $48. NEVER coming back. read more

-$14.50 for a pitcher of beer -Sh!tty service -$95 for four people, four pitchers and one meal comped due to the idiot waiter -SCREW THIS PLACE read more

Unfortunately our drink orders were wrong multiple times. Also, they were out of at least 5 basic liquors so it made it hard to enjoy a drink. The food was delicious, though. And the back party room was spaceous but cold. Good pool table with enough space to play and you could hear others talk. There weren't a lot of people there, the atmosphere died down by 11pm. read more

The only reason I am giving this place a one star is because I have to, to make a review. WhT is really going on at this place?! The waitresses have no idea how to take orders and the kitchen staff has no idea how to read orders. Every single time I have come here my order has been so far off from what I ordered that it's so hard to even wrap my head around how they got it so wrong....the service is so slow...like way beyond slow. ..new management needs to come in and show them what's up because it's a shit show tight now. read more

Ordered multiple items, which included egg rolls. Went to pick it up and once I got back home, the egg rolls weren't there. Called back, and they said they were out of them and they can't give me a refund. Don't give your them your business when they don't even know how to operate a restaurant correctly. read more

The food is good here. However, the service is horrible. If you're short on time, this is not the place to go!

I went there Sunday around 6 and the place had several tables not cleared off yet, the bathroom was in bad shape and my waiter never came back to check on us after he brought out food. We had to go up to the bar to refill our drinks or get another. Other then that the food was good. read more

wings made me sick! extremely hot on the outside-cold on the inside. Whoever cooked these has no idea how to do wings. not a clean environment. staff was more involved with talking than serving. read more

The service was very slow waitress only check on how things was once had to ask for stuff that should have been given with the meals. When asked for the checks had to wait 15 mins for that when asked for. PR game at this location needs alot of help on customer service. read more

Called in to see if I could order food at 9:45. The server on the other end said we can't take to go orders, but I said I'm coming in with other men to order food. She said, "then that's OK." I show up to the establishment at 9:50, and me and all my friends are told that the kitchen is closed. They don't make an adjustment, they never checked in with the kitchen, and I'm sure the owner is super excited about losing easily $100 in business. If you tell a customer one thing, stand by it. Poor communication. read more

Tried this Watering Hole for wings before the AFC game. The regular charred hot wings were meatless and not hot. The boneless wings were grilled yet werent boneless...basically were chicken strips. The service was slow. We had to ask for another round of drinks. It appeared no worker knew what was going on. Observed several other disappointed patrons. Ordered were delivered and taken back. While playing keno, several orders were dumped into the trash cuz people left due to the wait. They need work... read more

I love this place. The food is inexpensive, but it is the best bar food I have ever tasted. The drinks are good. Every time I've been here, I've had excellent service. read more