Cafe Thirty-A — Restaurant in Alys Beach

I’m local to the area and after hearing about this restaurant for years, finally tried it. Parking is a little weird, they charge $$ for valet or you can walk from an adjacent parking lot. It’s 30a and parking is always an issue it seems so it’s just whatever?! The atmosphere was nice, elegant, and upscale busy. A little louder than I’d like, but overall it was a really nice vibe for higher end dining. Simple and well lit, the atmosphere feels right. Everything we ate and drank was top notch. It’s clear the chef is about details and it showed. Everything was carefully curated and it showed in presentation and taste. This is a unique menu to what I’ve seen at other local restaurants along the emerald coast. Let’s be honest, there is no shortage of dining, but this place has found a niche. Now…. Here’s where they lost a star. SERVICE…. Our waiter was nice, but he was clearly in a hurry from the time we sat down until we left. Our reservation was later in the evening 8:00PM, so I’m sure he’d been at it for a while, but it was a little awkward feeling like we were eating at the end of the line. He would stop by occasionally, but clearly was already thinking of what he was going to do next. I guess he just assumed we didn’t want dessert and brought us our tab and said something like “didn’t figure you wanted dessert” and was going to leave the check when I asked him for a dessert menu. It was my wife’s birthday, this information was on the reservation, so I definitely wanted her to have the dessert of her choice. The desserts were amazing (We ordered two). Overall, this place is uniquely excellent in an area that struggles to offer something different from the next upscale restaurant. The server was friendly and polite, he was just rushed and until we weren’t offered dessert, it wouldn’t have merited...

Rude staff, Laughing Manager, and Stale Crackers – Stay Far Away!

Cafe Thirty A was one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever endured. From start to finish, it was a complete disaster, with rude staff, disrespectful service, and laughable management.

It started with Bob, our obnoxious server. When someone in our party mentioned she didn’t like her $30 drink, he didn’t address her directly but instead looked at the entire table and said, “She ordered a $30 drink, I don’t know what to tell you. I can make another one, but I can’t take it off the tab.” Not only was this dismissive, but it was clear he couldn’t have cared less about solving the issue. He only reluctantly offered to bring over ingredients to “fix it” after another guest at our table had to suggest it.

To make things worse, the crackers they brought out with our appetizer were stale. When we politely asked for fresh crackers, Bob looked at us like we were crazy. No apology, no solution—just a rude glare and an attitude as if we were the problem.

The final insult came when we asked to speak with the manager. Instead of addressing our concerns professionally, the manager actually LAUGHED in our faces. This behavior is so far below any standard of hospitality that it’s almost comical—except that we were the ones paying for it.

This place is a complete joke. Overpriced food and drinks, disrespectful staff, and management that seems to think treating customers poorly is funny. Save yourself the money, frustration, and disappointment. We wouldn’t come back if...

This restaurant was highly recommended by our seaside host during our family vacation. I realize we are in the midst of pandemic season but the receptionists attitude and customer service have got to improve Cafe Thirty-A! There were 4-5 young ladies standing around upon our arrival and treated us like we were bothering them. Suggestion: how about a welcome to Cafe Thirty A first and foremost? Two, yes you have masks on, but your eyes still show whether you're frowning or smiling. If you're having a bad day fine, but if you hate your job, find something better! Three, The food was OK compared to other "premier" restaurants I've been in the U.S. not to mention the world. One positive is Willow, our server. She was very pleasant and hope she's treated well there. Without her, I'd rather go to your local Publix, make dinner myself. Sorry to be blatantly honest but feedback is a gift, and hopefully it will be used to benefit others. Thanks for reading. UPDATE: So I responded to "owner" responding. I corrected the server's name above as well. I didn't get a response back from you so I pretty much wanted to let you know to take my advise as a valuable input, take advantage as it is a learning opportunity for those hosts thereby mentioned, and NOT excuse them. Unless input is invalid, abusive, or unreasonable towards an employee, I'd be the first one to tell my own employees to get their act together as they're impacting...