Food was pretty alright. Nothing special. Amazing view. Food came out fast. The 2 stars is because of the service. My girlfriend and I sat at the bar, ordered drinks and asked for a menu. We're not new to playing the restaurant game whatsoever. We also do NOT enjoy being the typical annoying tourists so we like to figure things out on our own and go into places with a game plan. We blended in so well a tourist woman approached me and asked me for help on how to get around on the pier. My GF and I laughed a bit as I responded "I have no clue this is our second day here." Pretty funny.
Anyway, It's a wrap around bar staffed with 3 bartenders and 2 barbacks for a relatively dead bartop. We were ignored by the bartenders and had to flag them down everytime we wanted anything. Remember, we're sitting at their bartop, literally right in front of them. We ordered 3 rounds of drinks each, 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. They were more than accommodating to the regulars, smiling and having casual conversation. Thats not a problem though, as I dont expect that as a tourist, but Im saying that to show how different they were to us. All I expected from them was to do their job. However they seemed so bothered just to acknowledge us. They also practice updating your check everytime you order and placing it inside of an upside down glass in front of you. Thats awesome and fine. I know many places that also do that. When we were ready to go we couldnt get their attention so I flipped the cup right side up and placed our credit card in it with the check. I figured since they are so dilligent to place checks in front of customers, theyll definitely notice this gesture. Nope. At one point our check blew out of the glass and I caught it on the bartop and placed it back in the cup. This got the attention of the bartender in front of us. He looked at me, looked at the check I was placing into the cup with our card, and walked away. That made no sense to me. I know youd obviously rather have your regulars at your bartop, so wouldnt you be happy the tourists want to close out to clear up the bartop? At the very least youre turning another table. We were very confused by their behavior. We kept this reciept because we did not tip these a-holes and I know of stories where servers and bartenders change tips on cards when they enter them at the end of the shift. If they do change the tip I am fully prepared to have this conversation with their staff and go up their chain on command.
If you couldnt tell I have service industry experience, specifically as a bartender at a tourist hotspot in Austin, TX. My message to the bartenders at Sunset Pier: if tourists bother you so much, why the F do you work at a tourist restaurant at the end of Duval street, the tourist epicenter of Key West? Those fools missed out on what wouldve been an awesome tip. The bartender at thr Bahama Breeze in Orlando, FL right by all the theme parks was really tight though and got that good tip.
Tl;dr bartenders hate tourists and ignore you if youre not a regular. Average food, amazing view. read more