Ocean Blue Seafood & Bar — Restaurant in Bartlett

A very interesting & unique overall experience that I didn't necessarily seek out as my first option of the evening for the weekend prior to the 4th of July, as my original wasn't open for dinner due to equipment malfunctions. So on to the next recommendation. Now that disclaimer is out of the way: My immediate realization upon entering, Ocean Blue's owners intend on it being a very kid friendly environment up front with full bar offerings in the middle & area for larger crowds to gather in the back, uniquely enough though the table dining nearest the bar is cleverly housed in oversized, inverted-funnel shaped cages. Again, this is the bar area pretty neat contraption to eat in I do have to say. A somewhat atypical place tucked alongside the usual offerings we've grown accustomed to with shopping center dining out type experiences. Really does seem the kind of locally owned place that the majority of the seafood faring crowds can rejoice over on the surface. Couple that with a friendly, knowledgeable and always likes to hustle staff this could potentially become a well-known go-to dining destination for the masses. . my dive deeper follows, pun intended. Hostess seated booth dining experience in close proximity to the entrance area, lots of hard surfaces, loud. Joyful creativity via floor to ceiling vinyl, pull-down style window shades creating a shut-off childlike world with a Mary Poppins-ish character gracefully posed holding her umbrella in a very repetitive nature from one window shade to the next. The children's vibe continued overhead transitioning into an under the sea theme with depictions of CG rendered fish. None of this truly bothered me at all I have kids I get it. It is just not in the restaurant's best interest to seat 2 adults dining alone in this area. As anyone's child inside or their children could appreciate being able to whimsically color or draw on the tables. In spite of the several childless or so couples seated in the area as well. (8 o'clock on a Saturday night, mind you) Confusingly as to the why of being seated here still being mindful and appreciative of the area for what it is to myself but able to look past it all. Just not so cool to say the least for another couple who chose to relocate to the cages near the bar area after one came available.

Upon being seated menus in hand, server walks up with a trainee follower, server takes the lead, another full disclaimer, I didn't care at all where I was sat as long as the service hit all the marks. So, upfront I had intentions of enjoying @ least 1 draft beer while here & probably would've another but... "So what's on draft?" my Mom asks, immediate response after the servers glance to the bar struggling to see, maybe, nope "oh the usuals." My internal response My! Oh?!? My! Ok? Defying all conventional wisdom to discover what you don't know about and decides to full on ignore a customer's request with no intention of going to find out about what you don't have any knowledge of? Who's the trainee again? Really! Hard to believe that just happened. "Give us a minute then". Several minutes lapse still surveying the menu. Server returns. Could we get a list of what's on draft. Hand written list finally shows up. Choices made order put in. My beer came to the table with at least a 1 to 1.5 inch head on a pint pour. C'mon bartender was willing to forgive the server's neglectful-ness 😒🍺 Alas, dinner decisions ready to be made she gets fried catfish and we share a Cajun Shrimp w/ a drizzling of BBQ sauce as an app. Decent enough choices I picked the Crawfish Poboy which sounded pretty good alongside some sweet potato fries. Albeit a hint of spice & a side of sweetness only came out be so-so to middle of the road choices tastebuds-wise for myself afterwards. Disclaimer number three, I typically don't do fried foods but there was hardly any fish on the menu other than tilapia or fried catfish of which I really don't care for either, can eat them just not a first choice. My stomasch wasnt bothered, my mom's was. Not saying just putting...

I am going to swallow some pride here and admit that my original one star posting early on when the place first opened is no longer warranted. I'm leaving my original post below but I want to update to a five-star at this point. I have avoided this place like the plague after such a bad experience originally. The manager had even reached out to me asking for details about my experience, but it was so far removed I had nothing to offer at that point and just ignored it. On a whim I decided to give this another go a second time this far removed since my first experience. And while things have either dramatically improved or I was way way wrong about my initial impression so long ago. The Cajun sauce pops with flavor with the right amount of spice. The price is not expensive either. I did come out of my meal still feeling a little hungry, but it was no big deal for me to add a half a pound of sausage perform more bugs and oh my goodness it was so tasty with the rest of the food. My original compliance about the beverage aftertaste has also been rectified. Service staff are incredibly quick and friendly and I've got nothing I can say negative about my second experience other than I'm sorry for my original post, And I will be back. Thank you for changing my mind.

Old and no longer true of this place... "Terrible terrible experience. The food was mediocre but something was off with the drinks. I got a soda and it tasted like fish. I asked my server to switch drinks and the next one tasted like fish. I've been asked for my drink to be given to me in a styrofoam cup and it still tasted like fish So then I asked for one without ice and still the same problem. Strangest thing in the world but I don't want my sodas tasting like fish and this was before I'd even taken a bite of my food So it wasn't as if there was a lingering aftertaste...

If you’re an Uber Eats driver, I would advise against taking deliveries from this restaurant because they seem very confused about the process and don’t support drivers properly. Also, if you’re a customer ordering Uber Eats from here, be aware that the process may be confusing, they will likely mess up your order, and the staff can be rude.

Half the people in control don’t speak English well and don’t seem to know what they’re doing, which makes things even more difficult.

I recently had a confusing and frustrating experience here while doing a delivery. During a double order, the restaurant asked me to hand over food to a customer who came inside aggressively claiming her order. I was told to give her the food even though I didn’t know who she was or have proper verification. Afterward, the staff blamed me for handing over the food, saying it was “on camera,” which felt unfair since I was just following their instructions.

It seemed like the restaurant did not understand how delivery apps work or take responsibility for the situation. As a delivery driver, this put me in a difficult position and caused issues with my order completion.

I hope the management improves communication and training to prevent situations like this...