O'Neals on the Water — Restaurant in Baytown

First, the people were very friendly and our server was attentive. Too bad we won't be back. First, the handicapped parking and access is insane. The closest regular parking space is 171 feet from the door and up a flight of stairs. The closest handicapped parking space is 411 feet from the handicapped entrance, 2.4 times farther away. It looks from Google Maps that the handicapped parking of just 3 spaces used to be right by the entrance, just 50 feet away, but since they built the convention center, that was removed and not re-addressed. So if you're in a wheelchair, expect to be very cold or very hot and tired when you get inside.

The food was really good but we got the $8 cup of chili because it was freezing inside and the server recommended it. It came out cold. So it didn't do it's job. We let the server know, but were still charged for it. They give you cheese to sprinkle on it and it didn't melt, so you know it was not hot chili. It was tasty, but would have been better hot. It also came out right away, which was an indicator of good service under the circumstances.

We ordered filets. They were good. Very good, but they were not filets. They were like flank steaks. Certainly not a $37 cut of meat. More like a $5 Walmart cut. Very thin and hard to get medium rare. The veggies were very good too. Grilled broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. There were too many broccoli stems in the mix, but very tasty. The garlic bread and skins-on mashed taters were good too. At least the steaks were hot.

They had live music, which was not expected for a Wednesday. Too loud for this venue indoors, with the doors closed, and they seemed to have a DJ booth wasted space on one end by the bar and a stage/pen area of wasted space at the other end. The acoustics made it difficult to have a quiet conversation. I liked the music and the harmonica, but was looking forward to a quiet evening for dinner, not a Friday night drinking crowd.

Finally, it was cold. VERY cold. We never took off our coats and my hands were freezing at the end of our meal. They have a purple heart on display and a decor that suggests support for military and first responders, but do not offer a military discount. I thought this was interesting. No matter since I won't be back. I just sincerely hope the leadership there addresses these issues or there won't be anyone there. Certainly not...

I'm not a fan of leaving negative reviews, but after a long drive, we were left completely disappointed. We don't want anyone else to waste over two hours of their time for a similar experience, especially the humiliation we felt while walking across the restaurant to leave.

Now, onto the review. We were excited about the restaurant's appearance, but that excitement quickly faded. After seating ourselves at a booth that wasn't torn up, our waitress came over promptly, which was a positive sign. However, when we asked about the drinks, we learned that it was an open bar, but the waitress seemed unsure about the drink options we mentioned, like Starburst, Jolly Rancher, and pineapple upside down. I decided to settle for a Sprite (no big deal; drinks aren’t essential).

When we inquired about the specials, we were informed there were none, contrary to what was advertised online, which had prompted our two-hour trek. After realizing there were limited options and we were unhappy with the waitresses lack of knowledge, as she doesn't know, she doesn't drink, we decided to we would not be ordering and would be leaving.

We received a check for the full drinks (soda) we had to settle on ordering, so we asked to speak with the manager. He insisted that we needed to pay for the drinks. After a brief conversation explaining why we didn't order food and were leaving with full soda drinks, he ultimately decided we didn’t have to pay for them. While I appreciate this gesture, I hope management can use this as a teaching moment for their staff.

It was quite embarrassing to be smiled at and giggled at by the bar staff as we left. I can confidently say we will not be returning. We did head over to Bubba 33 and they have been nothing...

Food was awesome, shrimp and grits where amazing, but not sure it was worth the service.we had a big group and everyone at the table had gotten their drinks. The waitress left I thought to get mine. About 15 min later I looked around to find her and she was typing on a computer nowhere near the bar were she was getting drinks. I had been out fishing all morning in the heat and I was super thirsty. So I walk up to bar and asked the bartender if she could give me the coke I ordered as my waitress has disappeared. She looked at me pretty rudely and said that's because we're out of coke. I thought to myself, well why didn't she come tell me and get me something else, but what do I know. Well then I asked her if I could have something to drink because I'm really thirsty, she stepped back with a sour look on her face and rolled her eyes and said what do you want, I asked what sodas do you have. She sighed like asking her to do her job was so wrong of me to do, then preceeded to tell me the flavors in a way that said I was bothering her....I got a Dr pepper and went to the table. When the waitress finally came back around and I told her I had to get up and get my own drink, she just brushed it off and mumbled something about the tickets not working...don't know what that has to do with anything because she apparently didn't even remember my drink because I had to bring it up she never came back to offer me one..... like I said food was great but don't think it's worth the treatment... this was sat the 16th of July...