Our previous dinner here was in April 2022, and we had a good experience so returned tonight while in the area. We arrived on a Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. and were seated quickly; no wait. What IS new is that the restaurant closes at 7:30 pm now, so I was glad I checked on Google to see the change in hours. Also, I looked on their website which has a number of outdated posts. I have attached pictures. The website indicates in two different places that they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and even includes a customer testimonial about breakfast. They do NOT serve breakfast and in fact do not open until 11:30 a.m. and only serve lunch and dinner. Additionally, there is another website post that indicates they serve lunch and dinner "6" days a week, however they are only open 5 days a week, Tues-Sat. They also advertise a Monday special when they are not open on Mondays.
Another "surprise" that is not posted on their website, but you will find printed on their menu, is a statement that they now upcharge your bill with a 3.5% processing fee if you use a charge card to pay your bill. They are obviously trying to keep from increasing their menu prices by passing their credit card merchant fees onto their customers. If you don't know this ahead of time and don't carry cash, then you are forced to make the decision to pay this processing fee, leave to find an ATM machine, or eat somewhere else. Now, granted the 3.5% processing fee isn't a "huge" addition to the tab, however it's a "nickel and dime" type approach that "most" customers don't care for and not a widespread practice in the restaurant business.
So, onto food and service. Service was a little slow. Our waitress was busy giving other clients their bills and clearing tables, so the woman who seats people and runs the cash register got our drinks for us when she saw we had been sitting with no service. Then our waitress came to the table to take our orders. She then brought us each a small plate of dinner bread with 3 slices each. One of us ordered the fried oyster special for $19.99 which came with 10 oysters and 2 sides. The sides selected were mashed potatoes with gravy and a side salad. One of us ordered the 1/2 lb fried shrimp dinner for $12.99 which came with around 20 small shrimp, fries, and coleslaw (only applesauce could be substituted without an upcharge). The side salad came out when the bread was served. Our entrees were delivered to the table about 20 minutes after placing our orders.
Pricing for entrees is moderate and the food portions are reasonable for the established price points. The fried oysters were tasty, and both the oysters and the shrimp were fried with a light coating of batter (not too heavy). All sides were good and had nice flavor.
While there are many other restaurants in Sebastian with waterfront views and entertainment, this casual spot is one you must stop in and try while in the area. They may not have a sunset view, but the employees are engaged with their customers, friendly, and the food is better than that offered at most of the other restaurants in the area. It's not fancy or flashy, but you can count on sweet servers and a reasonably priced, good meal.
I strongly suggest they work on updating their website so that correct information is advertised to include the new practice of charging a 3.5% processing fee when paying with a credit card so that people can come prepared with cash or know ahead of time about this payment practice.
I also feel that when an entree comes with fries, that the mashed potatoes and baked potato should be interchangeable without an upcharge. The base cost of all 3 of these potato items can't be that different. French fries come in bulk in a frozen bag, russet potatoes come in a 5 lb bag for $3.49 or 10 lb bag for $5.49 (retail at Walmart), and mashed potatoes whether instant or boiled and then whipped are about the same in price comparison. I personally try to avoid fries when I am already eating a fried entree, but the ONLY option offered to me without an upcharge was applesauce?? I would have preferred a potato item that wasn't fried or even a veggie. Why shouldn't a side of the SAME cost on the menu not be able to be substituted out without charging more? Example, if fries are $3, a baked potato $3, veggie $3, side salad $3, or any other side for the same price; why couldn't ANY of these items be swapped out without an upcharge? Makes no sense. Next time if I don't want the fries or the one other option (applesauce) instead, will you subtract (down-charge) $3 off my bill? Just saying.... read more