The Baron’s Tea House in Crestview, Florida

July 31, 2013April 18, 2015 Suzanne Strength3 Comments

The Baron’s Tea House is a surprisingly sophisticated little tea house in the little town on the way to the beach. Dustin and I spent our teen years in Crestview, and we go back every year to visit family in the summer. I tried to go to the Tea House last year, but went in without a reservation and was sent packing. Even though I saw plenty of tables available. This is one criticism I’ve heard about this place, that the staff may not be as welcoming as you’d hoped and that they act like they just don’t need your business if you don’t follow the rules very closely…and there are quite a lot of rules. Make your way through them, it is worth it.

This year, I wised up and got my reservation when I rolled into town. Even when I called to change the number of diners, they were very gracious. If you’ll notice on the menu it says that you have to reserve certain “teas” (like the Teddy Bear teas for the kids). I thought that was what I was doing, but apparently you have to reserve that particular menu item. So, if you have kids (or if you think that tea would appeal to you!) give the menu a glance and make a plan.

The house itself is in a little quaint strip mall, nestled between a donut shop and a dog groomer. The interior is filled with dining room tables (like in your house, not sterile like from a restaurant supplier) and a wall of tea cups. You each get to pick your own tea cup, which I thought to be a nice touch. The walls are decorated with paintings and hats, but you’ll have to bring your own hat to wear if you wish. They are no longer available for you to wear, which I think is an excellent idea. I have no desire to share a hat with strangers.

I wanted the full experience of a “real” tea and…well…I saw those 3 tiered servers on other tables and my heart just pitter-patted. My son and I ordered the Baron’s Victorian Tea. For $20 you get all of this:

A pot of tea of your choice (cold or hot)
Soup of the day or fruit cup
Quiche slice served with mixed greens, mandarin oranges & the Baron’s House dressing
3 tiered server with blueberry scone, almond butter tea bread, an assortment of tea sandwiches and petit desserts
served with lemon curd and Devonshire cream

Since we both ordered one, the goodies were piled on one tray which we sat between us. It was perfect, a little taste of everything. The tea sandwiches on the bottom were watercress and tomato and there was also a chicken salad sandwich which was out of this world wonderful. It was seasoned perfectly and did not have any nuts or fruits to gunk it up. That was my favorite choice on the tray, I believe. The top was covered with tiny cakes, scones and cannoli which were all tiny and perfect. The bottom featured their famous almond butter tea bread covered with strawberry preserves. As a lover of all things almond, I would happily eat those little gems for the rest of my life.

The dessert plate! Cheesecake, German Chocolate Cake, Lemon Bars and Chocolates with Caramel inside.

Scones and Almond bread smeared with strawberry jam.

The tea was served in an adorable tea pot with a cozy around it to keep it warm throughout the meal. The flavor I chose was the French Creme Brulee and it was so good. Even though it was summer, we chose to get it hot, but you can get any of their teas iced as well. Next time I may try that, but I needed the full experience this time. My tea was mild and had a yummy caramel taste.

Much to my delight, the soup of the day for us was a Tuscan Tomato. It was so amazing! Creamy and sweet with roasted tomatoes and just the right amount of basil to add a fresh counterbalance. Served with a fancy cracked black pepper cracker for a bit of crunch. I would come back to enjoy the soup by itself!

The quiche of the day was a bacon cheese quiche and instead of slices, we each got our own personal quiche. These left a little something to be desired, as they were very dry. I think it might be a better idea to go ahead and bake the whole pie and serve slices like the menu indicates. Update: When we visited this summer, the quiche was cooked better and was very tasty.

I loved the salad! It was light and the slices of mandarin oranges coupled with the sweet house dressing made it so refreshing. I loved the mixed greens as well. Crisp and delicious! The next time I visited, I got a different salad, chock full of nuts and dressed with a sweet vinaigrette. It was good, but my other diners ordered the salad with Ranch dressing: and it came out premade and in a little container. Yuck!

My daughter got the “Kitten Kaboodle Tea” as a second choice to the Teddy Bear Tea I failed to reserve. It really wasn’t enough for her (she’s 10) but there was plenty of ours to give her (in spite of the dire warnings not to share food) to fill in the gaps. The Kitten Kaboodle tea comes with a pot of hot chocolate (or tea if preferred). It was pretty watery for her, so not a great success. Also included is your choice of a blueberry scone or the almond butter bread and she chose the scone which was flaky, warm and sweet. Perfect with the clotted cream! Also included is your choice of tea sandwiches (PB&J, ham & cheese or cucumber) which Mary Ashley chose the ham and cheese. It was a basic sandwich with the crusts cut off. Perfect for kids! Also included are kettle chips, and my crew insisted they were house made. If not, they were the most delicious potato chips we’d ever had. Brownie and Amish bread are both on the side (so good and sweet!) and a fruit salad called Caramel Apple accompanied, which is a kids dream come true: apples drizzled with caramel and tossed with marshmallows. Insanely good.

We can’t wait to go back next summer! This time, I’ll reserve the exact tea the kids want.

Update! We visited again this summer and I have a few updated pictures. So so so good!

Chopstix in Mooresville, NC

July 30, 2013March 12, 2015 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

After picking up a Radon monitor for my husband in Troutman, the kids and I were starving, but didn’t want to drive all the way into Mooresville proper for some lunch. We spied Chopstix as we were coming down Doolie Road, and decided to give it a try. What a wonderful discovery!!

We started with an appetizer called the Chopstix Combination. It had 2 Chicken Satay skewers, 2 fried dumplings and 3 spring rolls. The Chicken Satay was marinated and glazed with coconut cream and served with a sweetly savory peanut sauce that was like the tastiest and smoothest peanut butter I’ve ever eaten. The fried dumplings were full of spicy ground meat and were crispy on the outside. The spring rolls were also delicious.

Chopstix Combination: Chicken Satay, Spring Rolls, Dumplings

My entree was the Pad Pik Paow with Shrimp. It was a stir fry of shrimp, veggies and flavored with basil leaves and chili paste. It was spicy and cooked well, but I would have liked a little more of the delicious sauce to drench my rice with. My kids both got the Kei Krob which is a battered and deep fried chicken cooked in a Thai sweet sauce mixed with sliced ginger and crushed peanuts. I was surprised at how delicious this was! It is possibly the most delicious sweet chicken dish I’ve ever had. It had such a balance between the sweet sauce and the savory elements of the dish. That is an easy dish to get wrong, with a sauce to cloyingly sweet. It is perfect here. The red curry with chicken is creamy and spicy and is loaded with crisp vegetables and tender chicken. It’s yummy even the next day!

This has become one of our favorite restaurants in Mooresville!

Lake Wylie SC · Restaurants

Cherry in Lake Wylie, SC

July 29, 2013September 6, 2019 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

The foodie group went to South Carolina this weekend! It’s not really that big of a deal, it was just a 45 minute drive for us, but sounds very tri-state, I thought.

We visited Cherry Hibachi Grill in Lake Wylie last night and it was probably the best hibachi I’ve ever had. Not only was the food amazing, but the whole backside of the restaurant is a window that overlooks the lake. You just have to ignore the parking lot and road.

Apparently this is a busy place, but we had reservations for our party. It didn’t matter, when we arrived at 8 pm it was not terribly crowded, even for a Saturday night. Don’t let the fact that it is in a strip mall fool you, this place is great!

We began with Money Bag appetizers. They were fried treats with a mixture of different stuffings and served with a deliciously tangy sweet chili sauce. They looked like little presents and tasted even better.

My husband ordered sushi rolls and pronounced them fresh and delicious. He then proceeded to eat my hibachi.

The hibachi comes with a salad and a bowl of onion soup. The salad dressing I chose was the ginger dressing and it was thick and orange, not at all watery. Very full of flavor. My friends opted for the shrimp sauce and it was creamy and delicious, but not quite as flavorful. It is much milder than most shrimp sauces I’ve tried. Also, we get 2 jumbo shrimps as a little appetizer as well. Mine were big, pink and juicy! Next time I’ll order those for my meal.

The hibachi I chose was Filet with Scallops. It is often hard to get your steaks and especially your scallops cooked properly on that grill top, but our chef did it perfectly. My steak was tender and just salty enough with the soy cooking sauce. My scallops were seared perfectly and large and plump. Alongside your proteins were rice, noodles, zucchini, onions and mushrooms.

This restaurant is definitely a new favorite. I can’t wait to go back!

Cornelius

Alton’s in Cornelius, NC

July 27, 2013October 9, 2017 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Well, we capped off another Restaurant Week in style. We visited Alton’s Kitchen and Cockta ils in Cornelius at the recommendation of one of our clients and we were not disappointed. Alton’s is located in what was once Charleston Chops, and the building is updated, but still richly appointed. It has, most notably two flowing staircases at either end of the restaurant, which while beautiful, did become tiresome watching harried servers race up and down all night. Maybe a dumbwaiter and a server or two just stationed upstairs?

Restaurant week is a lot like Valentine’s Day. Super busy, with a prix fixe menu for the masses. It isn’t really fair to judge a restaurant by normal standards during these times, but if that is when you visit, well…you gotta report. Alton’s did pretty well. We had some issues with timing and a hide-and-seek server who let our drinks get low, but other staff made up for these few snafus. When we needed a fork, another server was glad to retrieve it. Same with the drinks. BUT, I despise having to flag down a server to get what is obvious to the eye if you’d simply walk by a time or two. Another irritant was that our dessert was brought out perhaps 15 minutes later than our dining companions, despite my having ordered my bread pudding with my meal (the prix fixe menu). Just as we were getting restless, the chef came to the table to explain that they had run out of bread puddings, and had to bake more fresh. She offered to bring us something while we waited and to just pack our bread pudding up for us to take home. We opted for the ice cream sandwich, which was delicious. I appreciated the chef meeting the problem head-on and offering us a workable solution so our companions didn’t have to sit there and wait longer than necessary.

I digress. When we were seated, a waiter immediately greeted us and brought us a carafe of water and took our drink orders. They actually had “sweet tea” which I commend them for because many nicer restaurants only offer unsweetened tea. The only comment I can make that may leave room for improvement is that the water could use some ice.

Our appetizers were delicious. We ordered Lobster bisque, tuna poke and shrimp cocktail. I had the shrimp cocktail, and it was truly one of the better ones. They used Jumbo Shrimp, and they were perfectly poached, not too chewy. They served it with two sauces, a typical cocktail sauce and a tartar sauce. They were both tart and tangy, but I preferred the typical cocktail sauce. Both my diners proclaimed their appetizers to be delicious.

Update March 2016: I visited with my Girls Nosh group and we had a much better experience. Everything was delicious! The Prime Rib Stuffed Mushrooms were my favorites, I think. They were really huge and juicy! The stuffing had a hint of horseradish and cheese making it very creamy and rich. Divine!

altonsstuffedmsuhrooms (2)

This is not an appetizers, per se, but my friend and I wanted to share it for our appetizer, so the restaurant kindly split it onto two plates for us. This is the Crab and Shrimp Louie. Tender seafood atop mesclun adorned with sliced avocado, tomatoes and topped with a homemade creamy and tangy 1000 Island dressing. It was delicate, but very satisfying. And very fresh.

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For our entrees we all got something a little different. Robert got the Slow-cooked Baby Back Ribs served with chili lime grilled corn and creamy cole slaw. The spicy and smoky sauce on the tender ribs had a wonderful kick. The corn was also wonderful, with a tang from the lime and a deep savoriness from the grilling. Harry ordered a Crispy Chicken Salad. It was loaded with fresh avocado, rich eggs, bacon and draped with a creamy thick homemade Ranch dressing. Dustin got the seared ahi tuna. It was seared lightly and crusted with sesame seeds. I got the grilled swordfish on cheese grits with lobster gravy. Honestly, the fish was really firm and not my favorite texture, but that wasn’t the chef’s fault. That is just the nature of the swordfish. It had a nice chargrilled flavor. What I LOVED was the cheesy, creamy grits that this fish rested on. I’m not sure I’ve ever had better grits, even in Charleston. The lobster gravy was lighter than you’d think, but still creamy and flavorful. No chunks of lobster, though, which did disappoint me somewhat. Laid across the top as a garnish were grilled asparagus spears, and they were wonderful, just cooked enough. I made a meal off of the grits and asparagus.

Grilled Swordfish with Creamy Cheese Grits and Lobster Gravy

Update: On our recent visit, we sampled the filet mignon served with a twice baked potato. The filet was tender and flavorful and the twice baked potato was cheesy and rich. Perfect!

Altonsfiletand2bakedpotato

On another trip during Restaurant week they featured Lobster Tail and Filet Kabob. Heaven.

Jumbo Shrimp Pasta was another favorite. Big pink shrimp drenched in lemon butter and tossed with baby spinach, pine nuts and sauteed mushrooms made for a beautiful and scrumptious dish.

altonsshrimppasta

Megan had the special of the night: Grilled Bone-in Pork Chop. The pork chop was flavorful, but Megan said it was a little undercooked at the bone. The mashed potatoes were creamy and perfect and the grilled asparagus still had a nice snap to it.

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Erika ordered the Pittsburgh Salad for her meal. This salad is a bowl of mixed greens topped with char-grilled filet mignon, bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese and….french fries! Erika said it was the best salad she’s ever eaten!

altonssteaksalad

I don’t know what got into me on this night, because I normally default to seafood or beef, but on this night I got Parmesan Crusted Chicken and I’m so glad I did. I mean, when something is fried with cheese, you just can’t go wrong. This was no exception. The chicken was crispy and seasoned well and the lemony sauce atop it was perfect with the salty capers and the sweet tomatoes. The creamy spinach served on the side was smooth and a perfect compliment for the crispy chicken.

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Dessert, as I mentioned, was a bit of a fiasco. We enjoyed homemade Oreo ice cream sandwiches and bread pudding. The cookie sandwiches were delicious, topped with chocolate sauce and best eaten with a spoon instead of picking it up with your fingers. My bread pudding was merely ok. Nothing special, I’d opt for something different next time.

Updated to add that the Pecan Pie a la mode is the bomb.

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And these little gem’s were Restaurant Week offerings. Delish!

Alton’s, we all agreed, was a success. It isn’t among the best places I’ve eaten in the area, but it was good enough to visit again.

Gastonia · Restaurants

Nick’s Steak and Taphouse in Gastonia, NC

July 17, 2013July 17, 2013 Suzanne Strength1 Comment

Nick’s in Gastonia is a place I’ve tried to visit a few times before, but the timing was never right. I’ve gone a time or two and it was in between services, or closed for renovations. Finally the Foodie Bunch made a reservation and we visited last night. And since going out every weekend since January of this year, I think we all agreed that this was the second worst experience for dining we’d encountered.

There was one handicapped spot in front of the restaurant and it was taken, so we used valet. It was awkward because we had to stop in the middle of the street and make a dash for it with traffic blocked behind us, and hoping not to get hit by the traffic coming from the other lane. Once we got done with dinner, the handicapped space was available, but the valet parked my car across the street instead of making things easier on us by simply doing a u-turn and getting the vehicle in a spot closer while it was raining. Valet fail.

So we get to the hostess station, and were promptly seated per our reservation. We were escorted to a booth with a two-top pushed up against it with 2 chairs. So, we had to move the two chairs to slide into the booth. Then we sat and the two top wobbled all night long. We asked why we weren’t given one of the 6 top tables, and she said “other people are in them.” I commented “but we made these reservations a week in advance, wouldn’t that give you time to plan for us to have a table designed for 6?” She didn’t answer, so I tried to move on despite our discomfort. Seating fail.

We begin to order and were promptly told that the prime rib was gone in addition to 2 other steaks. We quickly went back to the menu to pick another item. My friend and I ordered the French Onion Soup for appetizers. The waitress came back from the kitchen to report they were out. We then chose Shrimp and Crab Bisque, which we were told was out, too. I finally settled on seared scallops. So, 3 entree choices gone, and now 2 appetizers gone. Our hopes for a delicious meal were quickly being extinguished.

The seared scallops arrived and looked nice. They were sitting on a bed of sweet potato puree and looked to be seared lightly. I shared with table mates and we all agreed that they were just underdone, not enough to send back, but not perfect enough to enjoy. The puree below was also not hot. My friend got the Firecracker Shrimp and it was much better, though the shrimp were a bit fishy tasting.

Caesar Nicks — The Caesar is very cheesy. And has potato sticks atop.

By the time our entrees arrived, we had been sitting there at least an hour. With empty glasses. The steaks were barely warm. The compound butter didn’t even melt on them, just sat right on top. My dish was crab stuffed flounder with fried squash and mashed potatoes. The sides were both ice cold and my fish was flavorless. After one bite of everything, I sent the whole plate back and asked to see the manager. Food Fail.

Ribs & Shrimp combo with macaroni and cheese

The manager was gracious, apologetic and clearly exhausted from a long night where nothing had gone right. She comped our meals, though we try to reject her offer. We left a sizable gratuity for the waitress, though the service was not terrific. We all felt like she couldn’t face coming to the table to give or hear any more bad news.

I doubt I’ll go back, to be honest. Frankly, I don’t think Nick’s will be around much longer TO try again, unless they really revamp their service. If I were to give them a second chance it would be because the manager came by and tried to make it right at the end.

New Jersey

Joe’s Crab Shack in Eatontown, NJ

July 7, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

I’ve eaten at quite a few of these chain restaurants, and maybe I’m just a sucker for crab…but I love them. On Urbanspoon, I notice how there are quite a lot of complaints about service, but the service we received the night we dined with Joe’s was exemplary. We had our food in a timely manner and our drinks were always full.

We both ordered a pot of mixed seafood, mine included Lobster. It had this dry seasoning all over it that ended up in your mouth as you are cracking your crabs, and mixed with the juices. It was cooked well, plentiful and delicious!

New Jersey · Restaurants

25 Burgers in Bound Brook, NJ

July 6, 2013 Suzanne Strength6 Comments

I should be ashamed for waiting this long to write this review. These burgers are the best I’ve had. Or at least close.

We visited Bound Brook, NJ on business last year about this time. This little restaurant has a catchy sign and the inside is a little small, but its perfect burger is worth the standing up. We went around noon, so you can imagine how packed it was in there.

The burgers were so juicy and flavorful. I tried to peek to see how they made them to recreate them at home, and I think I may have figured it out. Looks like they cook it on the flat top, then cover with a steel bowl. After a second, they lift up the bowl ever so slightly, and squeeze some water on the patty to keep it moist! Whatever they do, they do it right.

Fries here are amazing, too. Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. They look like they are battered with a seasoning mix, as well.

Another caveat is that they have specialty burgers like pork, turkey, chicken (filets, not ground), veggie, bison, lamb and crab!

Shelby

Ni Fen Bistro in Shelby, NC

May 20, 2013May 21, 2013 Suzanne Strength1 Comment

Ni Fen Bistro

If you’ve never been to Shelby, NC you are missing one of the prettiest downtown areas a small town can offer. I was so charmed by all of the quaint restaurants along the strip frequented by the locals of the town, everything within walking distance. On this night we chose to dine with Ni Fen Bistro and had one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a while.

Ni Fen has a very open feel, with few tables and high ceilings. I was struck by the large front door as we entered, very welcoming! We had a reservation, and were quickly seated at a spacious table.

Our waitress took the order for our drinks and was very knowledgeable about wine selections. We ordered appetizers and salads and then our lovely server brought us some of the best bread we’d ever put in our mouths. Crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, we ate two basketfuls with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar they brought out as soon as we sat.

I ordered the Spinach Salad which was enormous! Fresh spinach leaves topped with shaved red onion, bacon, chopped hard-boiled egg, blue cheese crumbles and candied pecans and dressed with a sherry vinaigrette. It was fresh and delicious with just the right touch of richness from the cheese and eggs offset by the sharpness of the vinaigrette. A simple dish done perfectly.

Dustin ordered Pot Stickers for his first course. The homemade stickers were filled with a spicy chicken mixture speckled with ginger and green onions. The tipping point came when we dipped the little gems into the hoisin sauce. When Dustin finished his pot stickers he poured the hoisin sauce out on his plate to sop up with his bread. It was that good!

Our friends got steamed mussels, which was a special on this night. They were succulent! They were tender and seasoned so deliciously, full of parsley and garlic. And truly, the best part was the broth that collected at the bottom of the plate that we all helped sop up with that wonderful bread. The portion was enormous, too!

My entrée was a special for the night: Lobster Thermidor. Who does that?? I rarely see it on menus (at least around here) anymore, but after eating it Friday, I think it deserves a resurgence. This one was lighter than ones I’ve had before, with a light wine broth enrobing the chunks of lobster and sliced mushrooms. Again, the bread came in handy.

Dustin and Robert both got another special that night: Seared scallops with a beurre blanc sauce. It was served with mashed potatoes and haricots vert. The scallops were cooked perfectly with a light sear on the outside and creamy firm insides. And they tasted so fresh! The sauce was amazing and delicate, a perfect accompaniment. The mashed potatoes were creamy and rich, with plenty of seasoning. The haricots vert (you know, green beans) were bland, but who cares? I will say that the rest of my tablemates loved them, but you can’t trust them.

Jeri got the third special of the night: Filet Mignon. Oh, it was a perfect slab of beef with just the right amount of color. It is rare that we leave a restaurant when my friend doesn’t need a doggy bag, but on this night, she ate the whole steak. It was just that good.

After all of that delicious food, there was just no way that dessert could compete. But, to make a completed review, we all took one for the team and ordered them anyway. I had a flourless chocolate cake which ended up being more like a Torte that a cake. It was very dense and rich and I could only eat a few bites. Dustin and Jeri got Bananas Ni Fen which is bananas in a rum glaze, reminiscent of Bananas Foster, atop a scoop of ice cream in what tasted like a Phylo dough bowl. It was fresh and yummy. Robert, as usual, got the creme’ brulee. He is a creature of habit! He pronounced it delicious.

We all agreed that the chef of this restaurant uses a deft hand with the spices and has the experience to cook the food correctly and with perfect timing. It was a well-orchestrated experience. But it goes beyond that. The staff worked as a team. We were completely taken care of by our server for the night, but we were also visited by the owner and helped by other servers. We felt welcomed and spoiled. I can’t wait to get back.

Hickory

Olde Hickory Tap Room

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 Suzanne StrengthLeave a comment

Olde Hickory Tap Room in Hickory (of course)

This place gets rave reviews from the locals, so perhaps we visited on an off night? I’m not sure, but I didn’t see enough redeeming qualities in what we had or the atmosphere to go back to give it a second chance.

We began our meal with the soup of the day: French Onion Soup. Ours arrived cold and we sent it back. When it came back, the cheese was melted and it was warm, but it was flavorless. No amount of salt helped, so we sent it back to the kitchen.

My son had the chicken tender plate. They were homemade, not frozen, but lacked any sort of seasoning at all. My teenage son scarfed them anyway.

Lucky me got the worst dish of the night. The Brutus Caesar salad with fried oysters and big ole anchovies. Now, I know a Caesar salad has anchovies in the dressing. That doesn’t freak me out. However, when I inadvertently put what I thought was a mushroom in my mouth, I thought I’d gag. It tasted like fishy dirt. I attempted to pick them all out, but a few remained to spike random bites until I finally gave up. I then tried eating the oysters on top, but they were so huge and unwieldy, I couldn’t make it through those either. I left the restaurant starved.

Dustin got the Tomato Grill which was basically a tomato sandwich. Supposedly the tomatoes were blackened, but not really. You’ll notice the wilted lettuce on the sandwich? Anyway, my husband did eat it because, hey, tomato sandwich. Would he get it again? No.

The best dish of the night was this:

Which is ok, since it is a tap room.

Myrtle Beach · Restaurants

Mr. Fish in Myrtle Beach

April 30, 2013April 30, 2013 Suzanne Strength2 Comments

Southern Living never lets me down. Well, hardly ever. They recommended I go to Mr. Fish if I was ever in Myrtle Beach (here’s my proof: South Carolina’s 10 Best Seafood Restaurants) and Mr. Fish let me down. But Southern Living, you better listen up and maybe print a retraction.

My family and I along with a friend’s family headed to the Grand Strand for a little Spring Break fun. I’d had Mr. Fish on my wishlist (yes, I have a restaurant wishlist, don’t you?) since I read the above article. We arrived in Myrtle Beach at 4:45pm and were at Mr. Fish by about 7pm. Along with everyone else in Myrtle Beach. Telling us we’d have to wait 1 1/2 hours to be seated, we opted to come back. As we drove to another restaurant, I called them and made a reservation for Monday evening at 7pm. Smart girl.

Monday comes, I’m so excited! We arrive and are told that we would still have to wait 20 minutes past our reservation time since they had a big party. Wait, what? We agreed to wait at the table, knowing that no one would come by for 20 minutes. This seemed odd since all around us were empty tables. I counted 15 empty tables, more empty than not. And a lobby full of people. Any new people coming in were ushered only to tables that previously had patrons, the empties stayed empty. So odd. That would be the theme for the night.

The harried waiter arrived, and brought us drinks and took our order. I was promised homemade dressing with my salad. My side salad arrived not long after, but the dressing was clearly bottled. Yuck. No biggie. I ate it, and did not complain. We waited on for the appetizers, with the kids starving. They apologetically brought us hushpuppies, but said the kitchen was so backed up. On we waited. My husband’s sushi that he ordered for his entree arrives first. Over an hour after we arrived, appetizers were delivered to our table. Our friend’s shrimp was cold. My kid’s calamari was undercooked and you could taste the raw batter. My crab dip was piping hot and amazingly delicious. The drinks, however, stayed empty. Two minutes after our hour late apps get to the table, our friend’s entrees arrive. So, this left the 2 children and myself without our entrees. Our waiter was nowhere to be found, but when we did manage to flag him down, he was sweating and out of breath…so somewhere he must have been busy? I told him our problems and said “Either get the manager or take care of this yourself.” He got the manager.

The manager is flustered, tired and in way over his head. We tell him the above, he promises to get our remaining dinners up absolutely next. We see 2 tables get their food that were seated an hour after us. I make a deal with my children that I will run through McDonald’s for them and we see our food coming out. The manager, clearly befuddled, tries to give our food to 2 tables before finally settling on us. Clearly, we were not the priority we thought. I told him to take his food back, we were past hungry by this time, and all of our dinner companions were finished! I also told him I’d wait another 5 minutes for my check, and no longer. He’d have to chase me down in the parking lot if he mucked that up, too. To his credit, he comped the meals we did receive and we left. We were stopped twice on the way out by people hearing our plight to share their stories.

I’m told this place was amazing until they moved into their new huge building. The staff says it is growing pains. Because the manager made it right at the end, I would give this place another chance, but…not any time soon.