Life > October 4, 2007

By Amy Smerdzinski | Staff writer

Wouldn’t it be great to have an entertaining place in Winston Salem where we, as students, could get together and watch professional sports matches or watch our own peers and friends take on other schools?

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Big Shotz Tavern’s unreasonably high prices and slow service leave much to be desired. (Amy Smerdzinski/Old Gold & Black)

With the new opening of Big Shotz Tavern, that is what was expected, but the restaurant failed to meet this expectation due to the simple fact that it was unsuccessful in differentiating between an upscale restaurant and a casual hang-out for enthusiastic sports lovers.

The interior of the restaurant is very chic with wood floors and nicely set tables and dim lighting during dinner.

The set up seemed well-planned. There is a dining room that is separated from the bar, there is a bar area with minimal tables and then there is both indoor and outdoor patio seating.

Due to the interior design of the restaurant, I would recommend a slightly dressier attire to those who want to dine here – jeans and a nicer top would be appropriate. Overall, the restaurant is somewhere in the middle between a loud and rowdy sports bar and a classy sit-down restaurant, which is where Big Shotz loses a lot of points.

Because of the slight elegance in the tone of the restaurant, Big Shotz Tavern is not exactly a place that caters to college students who want to gather somewhere and share the experience of watching sports games together. The atmosphere that this “sports bar” gives off is too formal for that; rather, it seems to be a place to take a date. Not only does the atmosphere discourage larger groups to go and watch games at the bar, the actual set up of the restaurant does not easily fit parties much bigger then five people.

The table sizes and placement seem more to accommodate smaller parties for more intimate conversations

The food at Big Shotz Tavern was very good. It offers a variety of upscale items on the menu including appetizers such as spinach artichoke dip (made with fresh spinach) to entrees that consist of ribs, filets and a good selection of seafood. Also on the menu are delicious desserts and numerous coffees to choose from.

Despite all of these great choices, the cost is not cheap. The menu ranges from $8 for an appetizer to $24 for an entrée.

Though the food was good, for the prices they charge there are other restaurants, especially restaurants that specialize in particular foods (for example, seafood and steak), that would have better food for about the same price.

Overall, I was unpleasantly surprised with the restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, the interior of the restaurant is very attractive, but as a college student who writes for other college students, this would not be my number one or even number 10 pick as a place to go out and have a good meal with my friends.

However, this would be a fun place for a date because it isn’t too dressy, yet it is nicer than other restaurants in the area. Another factor that led me to my decision was the quality of food versus the price I paid for the food.

I ordered the steak, which was well-cooked and delicious, yet one could enjoy the same steak at a steakhouse that is known for steak for the same price with better quality.

The slow service at Big Shotz was the final deciding factor. All in all, I would only recommend this restaurant in two cases.

First, if you want a trendy restaurant to take a date and you are willing to dish out the bucks for the pricey meals. Or, second, if your parents are in town and they will pay for your meal.