Box Seats

This place is now closed, thankfully. It started out really good, was busy, etc. but over the past year or two it has really tanked. The last time we were in there the floors were sticky and gross and the food was not very good at all. If they had just stuck with whatever was working originally, I think they would have lasted much longer.

Let me start out by saying that this restaurant was the WORST dining experience I have ever had. I don’t just mean bad — I mean the worst!!!
We were in RI for a softball tournament with 25 people — teens and adults. We were staying at the Hampton Inn locally and the front desk staff recommended this place highly. They called over at 4:30 pm on a Tuesday night and told them that we were going to arrive at 6:30 which we did. Our kids were extremely hungry after playing softball all day and we were all looking forward to a good dinner. The restaurant was empty except for our group and 2 other tables of 3 – 4. We placed our orders for drinks as soon as we were seated. It took over 25 minutes to get our drinks. The adults ordered appetizers and all ordered dinner when our drinks were served. It took almost 45 more minutes for 4 plates of wings to arrive. I must say that the wings were some of the best I ever had. It all went downhill from there quickly. After the wings it took almost 2 hours before our dinners were served. We kept asking for them and we just were stalled and offered more drinks. The other 2 tables walked out since they were not getting their food also in a timely manner. We had no choice but to wait with extremely hungry and impatient teenagers. The food finally started to arrive 4 plates at a time with a 10 minute time in between each set of 4. 12 of the 25 ordered burgers, 5 ordered sandwiches and the rest ordered a variety of dinners. Not one of the 25 different plates served were acceptable or edible. All of the hamburgers came out severally burned and looking like hockey pucks, the sandwiches were soggy and the meat was rubbery and did not smell good, the rest of the dinner plates were either burnt or undercooked and most contained the wrong sides. Most of the food was sent back and the replacements were not edible or acceptable either. The manager simply apologized and said that they were overwhelmed. How could that be? We were the only ones in the restaurant, we gave them 2 hours notice we were coming in and honestly how can anyone mess up burgers. I make more than 12 of them on my BBQ at home at a single time. The waitress was in tears and kept apologizing — it was not her fault but the fault of a cook that should never be allowed in a kitchen again and a lazy manager that felt it more important to be cleaning empty tables rather than inspecting the food or going in the kitchen and lending a hand. They presented us with a bill for $ 436 for the 25 of us and after complaining would only reduce the bill to $ 376. Honestly we should have just walked out without paying but did the proper thing and paid the bill. 25 dinners plus 6 replacement dinners and not one acceptable on a quiet night in an empty restaurant — WOW. We ended up leaving at 10:30 pm and taking our kids to get them food since they barely ate in the 3 hours we were in this place. This was the worst dining experience I have ever had in a restaurant and I would highly suggest you skip this place. The undercooked food was raw and dangerous and I am sure if a health inspector had seen what we were served this restaurant would have been closed immediately. We were lucky that no one got sick. We spoke to the hotel manager that night and he agreed after hearing about what happened that they would never recommend this restaurant again to any of their clients.3 weeks later and our girls are still talking about how horrible this dining experience was at Box Seats in Smithfield, RI.

It’s Box Seats. You get exactly what you should expect from a Box Seats. It was a Monday night and there was no one, and I mean no one, else there. The food was pretty good and the service was extremely nice. I liked that I got a complimentary bowl of soup with my meal, but other than that, it’s just your average sports bar. Nothing is really out of the ordinary, or that spectacular.

Awful, awful, awful… As my husband previously posted he dragged me here because it was late, we were hungry and it was there. NEVER again. The fish was tasteless, the fries cold and the service was slow even though there were only 2 other tables occupied in the whole restaurant!

Very good chowder and fried clams. My wife tried the Bbq ribs and they were terrible! Stick w/​the bar food…

Prior to this past week, I hadn’t been to Box Seats in years. Last time we went we were not satisfied but we were in the area and decided to give it another shot. It was actually pretty good. The food wasn’t out of this world but still very good and it was a great value. We came on a Tuesday and they had 2 for Tuesdays. They had many different choices and they came with soup, salad, the entrée, and dessert for a great price. The portions for the entrée and the dessert were very reasonable and I had leftovers for lunch the next day. If you are going to try Box Seats for the first time or again I would recommend coming on a Tuesday.

I didn’t want to go here, but the majority of my group wanted to come here. I was right. There was NOTHING special about this place. I get that it’s just a simple family sports centered restaurant, but the food was actually kinda gross… and I eat pretty much anything. I’ll be putting up a fight next time someone tries to drag me here for something to eat.

I have given Box Seats a shot on a number of occasions but I’m officially done. Come on, if you can’t get bar food right it’s time to hang it up. I’ve tried an array of meals off the menu from their burgers to seafood and have felt disappointment and discomfort. Their complimentary broth (soup) and stale bread is a good attempt at getting people through the doors but I’m not sure for how long.
Staff is friendly and attentive, but the owner (the big guy??) who makes his presence known is not. Oh, and I think he tells the wait staff and cooks to park in the front of the parking lot to make it look busy, because every time I’ve been, we were the only ones there.

Not sure why but I like Boxseats. I think that you can get a fairly descent meal for half the price of everywhere else around. The tv’s make for a good sports watch, and its comfortable enough to bring the whole family. The soup and fresh bread bar are always great.

Eh, it was ok. The only reason I come here is that they have a decent outside deck. Even at that, I probably frequent Box Seats when I am looking for a local place to get a beer and some pub grub.
Also, their menu is only pub grub. They do offer free soup and bread but on the night I went, the soup seemed to have had the «good stuff» taken by other patrons leaving mostly broth. Also, the bread was reduced to a heel underneath the large cloth napkin. Fail.
For drinks, we ordered their $ 3.99 margarita and it was worth maybe 99 cents. It didn’t seem to have any booze in it. if it did, it wasn’t much. At least the beers were cold.
My chicken wrap was good and the server was nice but somewhat slow. There are better options nearby.

Went there for a group lunch despite warnings from my coworkers. Out of 12 of us, more than half had bad experiences with our selections. Wilted lettuce for the salads; burgers had been sitting and were rewarmed. Service was just ok.

Bland bar food. They do offer free soup and have a wall of hot sauce that you can try. I love hot sauce so that almost bumped them up. Menu is very extensive, but service is slow.
Cheaper than Effin’s across the street, but Effin’s has much better food.

Everything you look for in a non chain restaurant? You probably won’t find here. Service was lacadaisical, food was delivered warm (not hot), and the quality was fair at best. Pass on this place.

Bland bar-​type food and American fare. It’s like a college version of the poor man’s Big Boy. Granted, there aren’t a lot of options in the town but unless you’re looking for decent portions on a budget (never mind the quality) skip this one.