NBC Sports Bar & Grill

[dsmom]

We ate here mid December and it was horrible. Service was awful. Frozen drink came out melted. Had to wait a long time for drinks.. Apps and dinner came out at same time.. App was cold and congealed.. Burger was very cold.. My chicken was very undercooked. We sent everything back. It was VERY loud. Very loud bad music playing. Could not watch hockey only basketball on while we were there.. We talked to management about food but they did not seem to care. We will not be back.

 

[tikkipoo]

That's sad to hear!

 

[vatmark]

Wow that is not good.

 

[saskdw]

I've been meaning to come back to this thread and give my 2 cents.

We were at UO staying at RPR from Dec. 1st-12th. We ate at NBC Sports Bar and grill 3 times.

Food was "decent". Two of the three times food was really good and the other time it was good enough for a place of this type.

The servers we had were really good. From what I observed they did a really good job hiring quality people with their initial hiring blitz. Hopefully they can retain these people.

They do have the ability to put on any hockey or basketball game. It was reported earlier that they couldn't or wouldn't. But they can put on pretty much any game you want. It is a case of YMMV with this though, depending on which managers are working and how busy they are. The first time we were there a simple request to our server and 3 mins later they had a near by TV switched to the hockey game I wanted. The other two times it took some persistence to get it done. From what I observed only the managers were allowed to change the channels and all requests went from the server or hostess to a manager for approval. The last time there I missed 3/4's of the first period while they got it all figured out.

They need to figure out whether they are a restaurant or a sports bar. My guess is that 75% of the people in there were more concerned with a good meal than watching a game, however they need to realize there are going to be sports fanatics that expect a place like that to accommodate n a timely fashion. Growing pains that I hope they get figured out.

Overall I thought it was a very impressive facility with decent food and good service.

 

[macraven]

Drinks were high and found it to have regular bar type foods

Not impressed

 

[pcstang]

Agree with Mac. Also, the music while trying to watch a game was annoying, as a PP mentioned.

Edit: that was a different thread about the music playing instead of hearing the game.

 

[schumigirl]

Seeing more bad reviews than good for this place.......will wait till nearer our trip and decide whether to eat there or not.

Not bothered about the sports at all, just want decent food and service.

 

[Kivara]

I'm waiting to see if they get better as well.
I enjoy a lot of different sports, so I thought it would be a fun option...but if it's hard to get the game you want on, or you can't hear it...I don't see the point. I can put up with slow service and food that's just OK, if the price is low and the game I want is on (and I can hear it.) I'm fine with paying more if the service is excellent and the food is great.
I think saskdw said it best. Seems they have an identity crisis.

You can't call yourself a sports place if people can't enjoy sports...and no one wants to spend a lot of money on poor quality.

 

[keishashadow]

I've been meaning to come back to this thread and give my 2 cents.

We were at UO staying at RPR from Dec. 1st-12th. We ate at NBC Sports Bar and grill 3 times.

Food was "decent". Two of the three times food was really good and the other time it was good enough for a place of this type.

The servers we had were really good. From what I observed they did a really good job hiring quality people with their initial hiring blitz. Hopefully they can retain these people.

They do have the ability to put on any hockey or basketball game. It was reported earlier that they couldn't or wouldn't. But they can put on pretty much any game you want. It is a case of YMMV with this though, depending on which managers are working and how busy they are. The first time we were there a simple request to our server and 3 mins later they had a near by TV switched to the hockey game I wanted. The other two times it took some persistence to get it done. From what I observed only the managers were allowed to change the channels and all requests went from the server or hostess to a manager for approval. The last time there I missed 3/4's of the first period while they got it all figured out.

They need to figure out whether they are a restaurant or a sports bar. My guess is that 75% of the people in there were more concerned with a good meal than watching a game, however they need to realize there are going to be sports fanatics that expect a place like that to accommodate n a timely fashion. Growing pains that I hope they get figured out.

Overall I thought it was a very impressive facility with decent food and good service.

if the prices are sky high, the locals will likely cross it off their list and patronize their usual sports bar.

Fans tend to take their sports seriously, bars that term themselves a sports bar usually have at least one tv set to major game in all sports. In Florida, there is usually an international one for soccer, etc.. In most venues, before being seated, you are asked which game you want to watch and are seated accordingly in that section.

Will be interesting to see if adjustments are implemented to bring it up to speed as a true sports bar or whether it's going for the casual diner.

 

[Kivara]

Would be nice if they did it with speakers on the tables to tune into the TV you want. We have a rib place in my area that does that. A wall of 16 TVs that are numbered, and you pick the number on your sound box. Kinda like a drive-in movie.

 

[macraven]

Everyone flocks to the new eateries when they come out
Menus can be tweaked in that first year to accommodate the guests feedback

I did the place to check it out and try the food
Went twice and tried to give it a fair shot

Until the place calms down and has adjustments on the menu, I'll take a pass on the place

 

[saskdw]

From what I personally observed and from the dozens of reviews I've read their biggest problem right now is the experience's there are widely inconsistent.

They also need to decide what client base they are after. Are they a sports bar/eatery or are they trying to be a top notch restaurant at Citywalk?

From what I can tell most of the people here on DIS don't care about the sports aspect. For me that's all I care about for the most part. Don't tease me with all the TV's and the word sports in the name and then not deliver the sports watching experience. There are tons of good places to eat in the Orlando tourist area, what I'm looking for is a place to enjoy my sports (NHL hockey in particular) while on my yearly Dec Orlando vacation. As just a restaurant I'll find some where else to eat.

No offense to anyone...but if I had my way the people that don't care about sports would eat somewhere else and NBC Grill would focus on pleasing the people trying to get a sports fix on their vacation. It will be interesting to see how this place evolves over the next year and see if it's different next December.

I saw some comments that the pricing was high....one of the nice things about being from western Canada is that nothing seems over priced at WDW or UO!!

I'm excited that I can buy a 6-pack of beer at my favorite WDW resort CSR for only $15, but most on here are screaming bloody murder at that price!! LOL

 

[schumigirl]

From what I personally observed and from the dozens of reviews I've read their biggest problem right now is the experience's there are widely inconsistent.

They also need to decide what client base they are after. Are they a sports bar/eatery or are they trying to be a top notch restaurant at Citywalk?

No offense to anyone...but if I had my way the people that don't care about sports would eat somewhere else and NBC Grill would focus on pleasing the people trying to get a sports fix on their vacation. It will be interesting to see how this place evolves over the next year and see if it's different next December.

I saw some comments that the pricing was high....one of the nice things about being from western Canada is that nothing seems over priced at WDW or UO!!

I'm excited that I can buy a 6-pack of beer at my favorite WDW resort CSR for only $15, but most on here are screaming bloody murder at that price!! LOL

I agree with both parts of this..........I'm not quite sure what they purport to be.........my dh likes to watch sports in there......but would still like to have good food........me, I just want good food and atmosphere......

I just mentioned prices today....we always find Orlando prices to be very cheap for us, I don't find $15 expensive for a cocktail.........but I have been accused of being blasé about prices in the past......what we find cheap, some seem to find that extortionate.......can't win.......so I don't try now.......

 

[Mrs bluer101]

DH, DS and I have eaten there twice. The first time everything was really good. We decided to try it again on our last trip and it wasn't that good. The food was ok not like the first time. Service was slow. We don't normally complain about these things. We probably will not try it again until things change.

 

[martymcflyy85]

How many tv's do they have? It shouldn't take a court order to change a channel. This makes me think twice about eating there.

 

[saskdw]

How many tv's do they have? It shouldn't take a court order to change a channel. This makes me think twice about eating there.

Not sure the exact number, but I would guess over 100.

I can see it taking a few minutes as they have to keep track of requests and make sure they aren't changing a TV that already has a request on it. But taking 1/2 hour the last time was ridiculous, if the server wasn't so nice I probably would have left. Having said that the first time we were there they had the TV changed in a couple minutes so like I said previously the experience seems to be very inconsistent. Most likely depends which staff are working that night.

 

[dsmom]

I really wanted to like this place, we are not picky eaters by a long shot. Have been coming to Universal about 10 years, closing in on over 80 visits and I can honestly say I have never had a bad meal before this one. The sad thing is, it really is not such a good place to watch sports either. NASCAR grill had a much better set up and the food was much better. The two best places to watch sports, Nba City and NASCAR grill are now both gone. We were told Nba City is moving over to Disney Springs in what is now Disneyquest.

 

[macraven]

I really enjoyed nba city
I would definitely go to Disney springs for that eatery

I found it to be one of the best places for solo guests

 

[MC0810]

The lady at check in was one of the most unfriendly hosts i've ever seen, I was very polite and nice too..she wouldnt even make eye contact and infact rolled her eyes at me wen i was telling her how many children and adults (not sure why?)

we ate there last weekend. I had to send my entree back it was so gross.Do not order the truffle Mac n Cheese.

Our table of 9 ordered and shared the pretzel appetizer..that thing was delicious and HUGE!

The men enjoyed their beers and the TV's, but we wont be back. too many other options to choose from.

 

[dsmom]

Hey Macraven! I will definitely be going back to Nba city when it reopens- loved their food and they had a great staff. I miss Latin Quarter- fun place to eat with good food. My husband hates what is happening to Citywalk- he said it is becoming more generic, just more burgers and bar food.

(Sorry to get off topic but when are you headed back down,Mac? Would love to meet up)