McAlister’s Deli

I’ve been here twice and had pleasant experiences both times. I had the New Yorker which is a hearty sandwich. Restaurant was clean and service was decent. Nothing to rave about, but a good option on the 121 exit on I30.

McAlisters is better than fast food but I was never impressed with this location. It seems the quality of the food or the amount is different (less) than the one in Little Rock, or even others. Staff not overly friendly. But they do have free wifi.

Service was horrible. The manager yelled at an employee in front of everyone. And then voiced his frustration over a group forgetting to put there number up. Horrible. Won’t be back.

This place use to be good. The last two times I’ve ate there is terrible. The bread was toasted and hard as a rock. They need to go back to the quality they use to have. I will give them one more time then that will be it for me.

Let me preface this by saying– I used to love this place. We usually eat there once a week since we’re always on the go– it’s normally a nice break from fast food.
So– this was a long, long way to fall. We’ve noticed it’s gone downhill gradually over the last year or so– wrong orders, dirty tables left for long periods of time, more and more antisocial and untrained teenagers working seemingly unsupervised, etc.
but we like the food, so we never thought much about those things. UNTIL:
Today I ordered the pizza– sat down, the food was delivered to the table– I got about one slice finished. Went to eat the next one– and upon picking it up, discovered that underneath the pizza was chunks of ham, burnt something-​else-​nasty and unrecognizable, clearly none of that was from my food. They either had a dirty prep surface, and scraped this junk up when scooping up my pizza… which is a sanitary issue in and of itself…
OR, and I sincerely hope this isn’t the case… they served my food to me on someone else’s. Dirty. Plate.
When I gathered myself, and concurred my gag reflex, I went up to the counter to let them know, the teenage kid there (who I found out was admittedly new) said «we can make you a new one» and I said — «well, I’ve lost my appetite a bit– so no thanks.» I was polite but serious. She offered no apology, didn’t get a manager, nothing.
I sat back down expecting someone to come ask me about it– no one ever did. When we left– I asked to speak with the shift manager. She was kind and polite, apologized profusely, offered all the right things, but I admitted that I just wanted to make sure someone knew there was a problem, thanks for your time, but I likely won’t be back for a while. She did say she understood and that she was sorry.
So in closing– I want to like the place; we’ve always gone there– but they’ve really lost me this time. I just can’t trust that it wouldn’t happen again.
I may still have to stop there for sweet tea though. Don’t think I can give that up: (

We love this place! The food is great! It does get very crowded with the line almost out the door! We usually go after the rush for a late lunch early dinner an have never had to wait too long. Sweat Tea is the best around!

Had a horrible experience. Took 25 minutes for 3 sandwiches. Not one server came by to check on is the whole time and were at least 6 tables around us that never got cleaned. Overpriced and understaffed. Would not recommend.

Slow service, but boy howdy were they crowded. We stopped on our way to Eureka Springs/​Branson. That’s why the slowness.
Can you believe I’ve never eaten at a McAlister’s before? I loved the food. I had a grilled ham and cheese. Absolutely no complaints. I had potato chips on the side. I could only eat ½ my sandwich. It was gargantuan.
I ordered a piece of cake for when we got to the hotel. Everything was fine. But wow were they crowded. I’d stop here again just for the sandwich if I’m traveling… but maybe not on a Sunday afternoon.

Service was good. Food was very tasty. I really have nothing negative to say.