Half Shell Dockside — Restaurant in Apalachicola

The hostess up front was very friendly and seated us quite quickly on the outside patio. Then we waited and waited and stared at our menus for about 20 minutes. The table next to us did mention that they think a couple was sitting there right before us who apparently left, maybe after waiting too long. And that perhaps the staff was confused about us sitting there now. Of course, that's not our fault. And we are sitting there with our menus out. We finally got the attention of a waitress who said she would get our waitress. When she showed up she was very friendly. Took our orders, and our drinks and appetizers came out quickly. But I will note that the runner who brought the appetizer actually went to the bar and got our drinks because she noticed we didn't have them yet.

And before I continue, yes, it was a very busy afternoon. And I do suspect that our waitress had more tables than she could handle. So I'm not really blaming her, just relating the overall experience. Perhaps management could have stepped in to balance things out a little better. As other people seem to be getting good service.

Getting our food order in and out wasn't too bad. The blackened and grilled grouper wasn't the amazing experience that other reviews had led me to believe. And the sides were passable. The hush puppy was amazing! And we really did enjoy sitting outside watching the waves and birds and listening to the live music. The band that night was very good and engaged the crowd.

But then it was time to pay. We ask for our check and ask for a box. We get the check. And we put our card in the black holder and set it on the table. And then we waited. A group has sat in a table next to us (pretty sure they moved from another table that ended them up in her section. Which may have thrown things out of whack. Still not our fault), and our waitress goes and takes their order and walks right past us without even glancing at our payment. Maybe she will be back quickly.

And we never saw her again. Again, 20 minutes. We finally asked another waitress to please bring us some boxes for our leftovers, and please let us pay. We really do want to pay the bill. She does all this fairly quickly. We never do see our waitress again. And we leave. I think maybe our waitress gave us one apology for the wait at the beginning. But no one really paid attention to us.

My wife and I have a theory that some restaurants just have a ghost table that when you sit there, they just don't even realize that anyone is sitting there. Like that table's been closed for 40 years! Wooooo! I mean, we had so many waitresses just pass by us without even glancing when we were sitting there staring at our menus for 20 minutes, I felt like a regular Patrick Swayze!

Also it is a seaside restaurant and you are going to pay a little bit more. But for two drinks each, one appetizer and two meals over a hundred bucks plus tip seemed like a lot for our experience. We found another restaurant/bar in East Point, and everything was better at half the price. So...

From 3 years ago, they did make it right.

Drink empty when plate arrived, stayed that way the entire meal. I don't live there and was completely unbiased walking in. I waited over ten minutes at a table finally walking to bar where it was suggested I should eat at the bar. I received on cocacola which in one and a half hour was never refilled. I received one cup of cocktail sauce, and one napkin. The hush puppies were so hard they could be used as a baseball. The bartender told her coworker if they need something they need to f___ing page her. I generally dont leave less than one dollar tip but when it takes moving tables to get acknowlegenent, over 10 minutes to get acknowlegement and 15 minutes to get one coke and 50 minutes to get a plate service isn't that great. After eating I requested manager and was told she is waiting tables, bc 4 people called in and she needs to get back to work rather than hear my concerns. She advised she's never had this many complaints and I didn't even get to mention all my concerns including the health code violations I observed. I really wanted to like this place because it's on the water but when I left I was so disappointed. I mentioned the appearance of the cheese grits and the manager sarcastically said it looks like yo8 ate them, well why not when I'm paying over $21.00 for ome plate. I mentioned to the manager that I read the lowest rating Google reviews and could completely see where the others were coming from. When a neutral party has the same exact concerns, there's obviously a problem from management on down. The manager responded it's the internet anyone can say anything, when random people keep saying the same things there's obviously an issue. "Where there is smoke there is fire". Based on my experience dont expect good service at the outside bar area. Also, if you speak to manager expect a dont care attitude and excuses. I dont like leaving subpar gratituity but I wont tip out of pity anymore. I can't believe a local recommended this place unless it's because locals receive better service which it looked was the case. Dont believe me, look at the pictures (every picture, empty cup). Overpriced and lousy service was my experience in a nutshell. With service like I received you wont ever...

We have had such bad luck at restaurants lately and this was no exception. We spent the day at St George Island and then stopped here on the way home. It was one of the few places open in Apalachicola at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend. That surprised us as there were so many people at the beach you would have thought more places would be open for the tourists and locals.

We were seated right away outside where they had a 1 man band and lots of people with dogs at their tables. It's a great location and ambiance as it sits right on the Apalachicola River and boats can dock right up on the patio.

I started out by visiting the ladies restroom which was a disaster. there was toilet paper all over the floor, both hand soap dispensers were out, and the garbage was piled high over the garbage can and spilling onto the floor. It was obvious the restroom hadn't been serviced in quite a while.

Our waitress was nice and gave great service.

I ordered a cocktail with a local vodka. Menu said $8 for the drink but was charged $8.41. I ordered a 2nd and asked for a little more vodka in it and they charged me $16.82 for that one drink! What a ripoff!

My husband ordered the burger and fries. He ate very few of the fries as they were mushy. Burger was just OK. they charged $3 extra to put bacon on it. I ordered the Asian shrimp tacos with cheese grits. When my order was delivered they said they were out of grits. the time to tell me that is not when you deliver my tacos but but before you deliver my tacos. By the time they brought out the fried okra, which were incredibly greasy, we were finished with our meal. My 2 $17 tacos had 4 shrimp. That's it. 2 in each one. There was 3 small strips of cabbage imitating an Asian slaw. There was no ponzu sauce on it as menu described but salsa instead. So, I'm thinking the Asian shrimp tacos meant the shrimp were from Asia and not Asian flavored.

Overall this place is WAY overpriced especially for the amount and quality of food you get and drinks. When we left at 5:30pm we could hardly get out the door so many people were trying to get into this place. They'll figure out not to come back...