My recent visit to DeSotos Seafood Kitchen left me deeply disappointed and dissatisfied. Despite a few positive aspects, the overall experience was marred by significant issues that cannot be overlooked. From the excessively long wait to the subpar food, I regret to say that my visit fell far below expectations. Upon arrival, I informed the hostess that I had checked in online, hoping to expedite the seating process. However, what followed was a series of miscommunications and unfulfilled promises. Initially, I was informed that the wait would be approximately 30 minutes. Unfortunately, after 45 minutes had passed, I approached the hostess again to inquire about the delay. To my dismay, she nonchalantly repeated the 30-minute estimate, completely disregarding the fact that I had already been waiting for over an hour. The young hostess was enjoying flirting with a young male more.

As if the prolonged wait wasn't aggravating enough, the ensuing interaction with another staff member only compounded my disappointment. When I expressed my frustration, another hostess or maybe the owner, approached me in a confrontational manner, attempting to argue that the establishment was busy and our wait was justified. While I empathize with the challenges faced by a busy restaurant, it is unacceptable to mislead customers by quoting an unrealistic wait time. I politely reminded her of her previous statement, highlighting the contradiction between the promised 30 minutes and the actual two-hour wait. I later found out through another customer that the owner had approached the hostess and asked her if she had told me that the wait would be 30 minutes— to which the hostess denied ever saying 30 minutes. The lack of accountability and the confrontational attitude displayed during this encounter further soured the experience.

Once finally seated, the only positive aspect of the evening emerged in the form of our waitress. She exhibited attentiveness, professionalism, and a genuinely positive attitude, which were commendable given the circumstances. Her presence was the sole reason we decided to remain at the restaurant, hoping that the service would compensate for the earlier disappointments.

Unfortunately, the respite provided by the waitress couldn't overshadow the culinary letdown we experienced. The food arrived at our table cold and some items were warm but certainly not hot, and the quality of the fish was subpar. Such blatant negligence in maintaining food temperature and the lack of attention to detail regarding the food service detracted from the overall dining experience. It was evident that the kitchen failed to meet the basic standards of quality and freshness, which greatly diminished our enjoyment of the meal. We had shrimp Alfredo which despite being cold had a good flavor, oysters which were overpriced but tasted like oysters, catfish which was mushy and tasted like raw fish, the gator bites were a joke, they looked like crumbs on a plate and not worth what they cost. The fish was sent back to the kitchen and the cook apologized and the item was removed from our bill.

In conclusion, my visit to DeSotos was a regrettable experience that I can’t overlook. The combination of an excessively long wait, a confrontational hostess (owner?) and subpar food left a lasting negative impression. The only saving grace was the exceptional service provided by our waitress Madison. In addition, the restaurant had an unpleasant odor reminiscent of stale seawater, likely due to the fish tanks on display. The bathrooms were horrible, smelling of raw sewage with overflowing trash cans. So in light of the overall experience, I cannot recommend this establishment to others. I hope that the management takes this feedback constructively and attempts to rectify the issues to ensure a more satisfactory dining experience for future patrons. This once decent establishment needs a reality check and should value its customers rather than taking them for granted and expecting patronage to continue simply because of tourism.