Robinson Seafood Market — Local services in Cedar Key

Robinson's is out the outskirts of Cedar Key. We visited on a Friday Night and my wife and I had the buffet. It is not quite a buffet as you have only three seafood items to choose from. On this night it was Fried Mullet, Crab Cakes and Shrimp. You then have a choice of sides however, if you choose French fries, it is an upcharge on the already $18.95 buffet which I didn’t understand. It is the type of buffet that you have to reorder then wait. Sometimes it took 10-15 minutes to get additional items. Overall, the buffet is not bad but it could be better. The Mullet was extremely strong and still had skin on it. The meat was very dark on most of the fish. Neither my wife and I were a fan of the fish fried but we do like it smoked. We did not eat the fish due to the issues stated above. The crab cakes lacked any noticeable crab meat. I did find a lot of breading and filling but that was about it. The crab cakes lacked a crab taste almost altogether and were soaked in oil when served. The Shrimp were the best part of the meal. They were served hot and fresh and had a light batter. The service in the restaurant is a little slow. It appears that most of the servers were young. Often times we had to waive our server down to get refills on drinks and food. Other times we had to go to the other dining room where they like to sit and chit chat to get our server to help us. This restaurant is family owned and they also have a seafood market attached to the restaurant. We did not visit the market as it was closed at the time of our visit. Easily could be 4 stars with attention from the server, and better quality of fish and more crab in...

So we called ahead and asked if it was dog friendly. Whoever answered responded yes, cool. We get there I have a terrier in a stroller. Still cool. We sit, order, eat, finishing up. The lady at the table beside us gets up with a dog in a bag (think big purse) cool. We chat she leaves. Then a waitress stops by and says no dogs, ok we were almost finished up, waiting on the check. (Shout out to our waitress Jen who did a fantastic job btw) So we're like ok that's weird. Maybe they meant inside and there was a miscommunication when we called, but the other lady had a dog, again whatever we are on the way out. Here's the issue. The "new owner" had the issue. And instead of speaking to us like a professional business owner, she acted like a child in the kitchen creating a spectacle of herself and drawing unnecessary attention to a situation that was already handled (not by her because she was hiding) but by a very polite waitress who apologized for the scene and the new owners embarrassing (for her not me) behavior. If you are going to manage a business learn how to speak to not only your staff but customers. Act professional (communication goes a long way) not like a 16 year old hostess. If you want a business run by a child this is the place for you. Thanks again Jen! Great job! And the lady I didn't get's name for being more professional...

We went to the Cedar Key Seafood Festival. The lines were so long to get into any restaurant, 2-2 1/2 wait time and an hour before you were served. So we decided to stop at Robinsons Seafood on the way out. It was crowded to but we went in and asked how long and they said 20 mins. So we decided we could handle that. It was less than that. We were seated, our wonderful waitress took our order, they had a festival special of Fried Grouper and Shrimp, coleslaw and hushpuppies and your choice of soup or chowder for $16.95. It couldn't have been 3 minutes that we were served our chowder and about 4 minutes after that this lovely plate of shrimp and grouper, coleslaw and hushpuppies were served. The batter on Fish and Shrimp was light and so crispy and crunchy and hot. The hushpuppies were the best I've ever had crispy crunchy on the out side and tender on the inside. The service was very good. The staff was amazing, efficient and friendly. Smiles on their faces. So glad we stopped here. Will definitely be back again. Thank you from 2 very hungry ladies. I wish I had taken pictures but...