Ah R\u00fala B\u00fala.  How far you have fallen in recent years.  What once was a warm, friendly and enjoyable \"home pub\" venue has changed over the last several years into a disorganized and seemingly mismanaged establishment.\n\nIf you are in any way familiar with Mill Avenue and Tempe, you likely know about and have been to R\u00fala B\u00fala.  It is a literal cornerstone of social and gastronomic life on Mill Avenue in Tempe. Having worked in Tempe for nigh on 15 years now, I've been a patron here for many a year.  Once the highlight of an office outing or a simple lunch with a friend or co-worker, the last several visits here have resulted in poor service and mediocre food.  \n\nWe have a fairly large group to accommodate (10-15 people) and as such, always call ahead to make reservations.  Our last trip here at least started better than the last few (in which they completely forgot/ignored our reservations and ended up having to wait for them to clear customers and tables for us).  The tables were indeed ready for us upon the specified arrival time.  I was somewhat glad that we were on the back patio area, as the interior of the restaurant itself was overly warm.\n\nOur reservation was for 15 and 14 of us were there within a few minutes of each other.  Drinks were fairly prompt, though all at the table commented that their drinks (from soda to water) all had an odd taste to them.  Perhaps the ice had been tainted with something?  Also the soda's were all very flat and watery.  \n\nWe then proceeded to wait a good 20-30 minutes awaiting someone to return to our table and begin taking orders.  We finally flagged down one of the servers and his comment was along the lines of, \"Oh, are you ready to order?\"  Now, it's possible that they were waiting for our last person to show up.  Maybe.  However, any seasoned server knows that group luncheons are a dynamic event.  There are often times less or more than what the reservation is made for.  Some show up late, some leave early.  If it was in question, a simple \"Are you all waiting for someone or are you ready to order\" a few minutes into our arrival (like when they delivered the drinks) would have resolved this.  \n\nWhen a server finally did attend our table, his greeting was prefaced with the suggestion that we split our entire tab into 15 equal amounts to make it easier and faster for him to process upon completion of our meal.  Never in the whole of my gastrological life has a server suggested that we structure our payment in a fashion that is more convenient for them.  Be that as it may, we quickly discussed it and agreed to this.  We had already been there some time and as it was a work luncheon, didn't have a limitless amount of time.  \n\nOrders were taken and then the next long wait began.  An hour after arriving, our 15th member joined us and we still did not have our food.  Unfortunate or fortunate?  At least he got to eat with us, right?  \n\nShortly after this, our food arrived.  For myself, I ordered the bangers and mash.  Pretty traditional dish for irish pub food.  Three half portions of bangers, served on a bed of mash with a red onion gravy.  Back in the day, my favorite choice here was actually their Pub Whiskey Burger.  They made a pub whiskey sauce that was phenomenal.  Sadly, it was removed from their menu a few years ago.  \n\nThe bangers and mash is normally quite good but today it was fairly blas\u00e9.  The sausages themselves were okay, could have used a bit more searing.  The mash was good but not very flavorful.  The gravy had no signs of onion in it.  And normally this dish is served with either the vegetable of the day or brussels sprouts with apples.  For some odd reason, mine came with... irish chips.  Sliced, fried potatoes to accompany my already sizable portion of mashed potatoes.  \n\nCurious choice for certain.  If there had been a question as to what I wanted, they should have asked me.  Under normal circumstances I would have asked for the normal veggies or sprouts to accompany my meal, but this long into the lunch, it just didn't seem worth the fuss.  \n\nOnce we left, we pretty unanimously agreed that this was likely the last group luncheon that we would be having here.  It's sad to see such a storied establishment fall into disarray and mediocrity.  I hope they can make adjustments and improve.  Taken from their website, \"Irish pubs are a retreat from the real world and at the heart of R\u00fala B\u00fala is the ready smile, the invitation to relax and enjoy good conversation, great food and drink, hospitality and humour.\"  This has not been our experience here in some time.\n\nThere is a lot of competition on Mill, which is only growing with the improving economy.  Robbie Fox's down the street has new ownership and will be re-opening as Public House on Third.  It also happens to be right next to our office building.  Where once we journeyed to the opposite end of Mill Avenue to patronize R\u00fala B\u00fala, we may find ourselves having our luncheons a bit closer to home.