I’m sure most of us can agree that we enjoy having a local neighborhood bar and grill that we can stop by after a long hard day of work to enjoy a drink or two, unwind and maybe grab a bite to eat. For the folks in the Byron Center area, that place happens to be Pete’s Grill & Tavern.

Pete’s is a cozy little place that feels like it’s been there for quite some time, yet updated with a nice size patio. Inside you’ll find plenty of tables all surrounded by richly stained wood paneling, and enough flat screen TVs to keep up with the latest game, or satisfy your Keno fix.

While Pete’s has you covered with providing a great atmosphere to enjoy time with friends and family, it seems to have a bit of an identity crisis — is it a bar that wants to be a restaurant or a restaurant that wants to be a bar? While claiming to be a “full service bar,” on a recent visit my wife ordered Strawberry Daiquiri and was told they didn’t have the ability to make one. What kind of “full service bar” does not have a blender?

The food at Pete’s is generally what you’d expect to find from a bar and grill-type restaurant. There are daily specials, with Friday’s “All You Can Eat Fish Fry” ($7.95), giving you the most bang for the buck. The fish — filets of Pollock — were lightly battered and seemed to have a cracker crust. The dish was hot, tasty and plentiful.

On a recent visit, my wife and I stopped in on a Wednesday evening when it wasn’t very busy, as it usually is on Friday and Saturday nights. I ordered the Ham and Beef Burger ($5.69), served with fries, and my wife ordered the All Meat Burrito ($8.79), served with tortilla chips and salsa. Both meals were all right — nothing spectacular — which brings us right to the service. This is an area where the servers at Pete’s need a refresher course. Out of three or so visits, only the first held any merit for customer service, which for me is very important when dining out.

On a busy Friday evening, we were snidely greeted by our server, not with hello or welcome, but with “Did you sit here yourselves or were you seated here?” The service for the rest of the meal went downhill fast from there. On our most recent visit, our server went on break and failed to inform us that she was doing so. (Well, unless you call sitting at a nearby table to eat, “our notice”). We both sat and waited with empty glasses for way longer than necessary.

If Pete’s can pick things up in the service arena, it’ll surely be a place to recommend, as it’s a comfortable place to enjoy time with friends and family.