Patio 44 - Biloxi — Restaurant in Biloxi

“$400 Dinner + $80 Forced Gratuity for the Worst Service Ever. Patio 44 Completely Ruined Our Family Celebration”

August 9th, my family flew in for my son’s military deployment and my mother’s 66th birthday. I booked a 7:30 PM reservation and informed the staff it was a special celebration. Upon arrival, I pulled our server, CLAIRE, aside to discreetly remind her of the celebration. From the start, things went downhill. I asked for napkins before our food , NEVER got them. We rarely called her over unless she checked in. My sister asked TWICE 20 mins apart if her nacho chips could be served on the side; both times, Claire said it " the food was already on the way. The nachos arrived nearly 40 mins later, but also 20 mina after everyone else’s meals... still not on the side!!! My sister asked for a to go box because was no longer hungry due to the long wait. By the time we left and made it back to the hotel, she ended up throwing them away, they were soggy, what she tried to prevent with the multiple request. She paid, never ate. My brother ordered fried chicken with red beans and rice but was only brought the beans and rice. Claire said she “thought he only wanted red beans BUT the fried chicken came with the MEAL, so we were unsure how it was even separated.” When the new order of red beans and chicken finally came, it was watered down and tasteless. Throughout the night, Claire’s demeanor was visibly frustrated, despite us never complaining, only making simple requests about nachos and red beans/chicken/napkins. She gave us our tickets, took them back, and said she FORGOT to add gratitude, and then added over $80 in automatic gratuity to our $400 bill. She gave me the wrong bill three times, excusing it with, “It’s been a long day.” The most crushing moment? The ruined surprise. In front of my mother, Claire loudly asked, “Did you STILL want the bread pudding for the deployment/birthday surprise?” spoiling it completely. When I asked why she mentioned it at the table instead of surprisingly bringing it, she said, "I FORGOT!!!!!!The dessert came in a to-go bag instead of on a plate with a candle, like she originally stated. When my mother asked why it was brought in a box, Claire said, “Because you already paid.” We never asked for the bill,she brought it out, so we paid. I'm not sure how that meant we longer wanted the surprise. This was supposed to be a memorable, formal, family celebration. Instead, we got careless service, unfulfilled requests, zero apologies, and VERY open frustration, all topped with a hefty tip we didn’t get to choose. The very next day, we went to Bozo’s, casual restaurant, where they "quietly SURPRISED" my mom with a bread pudding treat, per my request, and sung a song to celebrate her. HALF the cost, FLAWLESS service, no ATTITUDE for our party.

Patio 44 failed us completely. I will...

So I have a lot to say unfortunately about patio 44, and very little good. Our first impression was that they were severely understaffed, which i can empathize with. However us and two other small groups were noticed by at least 6 staff members without any of them acknowledging any of us for a good ten minutes. After waiting a full 25 minutes from the time we walked in, we were finally seated. Again i still got the feeling they were understaffed and quite busy, even though the inside dining room was maybe filled to half capacity. The cocktails were ok for their price range, but unbalanced and unoriginal. For appetizers we got the duck strips and the pea sauté. On a side note the decor of this establishment gives one the impression that they're on the upscale side of dining. When our apps come out the, I was immediately disappointed with the duck at least. Five or six slices of breaded duck breast and a plastic ramekin of remoulade. The duck itself was tender and fried really well, but the remo tasted like it came from. Sysco and there was absolutely no attempt to make the dish presentable. Not even a sprig of parsley... The pea sauté looked more promising but after 2 bites I had no desire to eat more until I got the server to bring salt, pepper and hot sauce, because it had no seasoning whatsoever. The black eyed peas had no flavor whatsoever and were still chalky and tough. This happens when you salt the cooking liquid before the peas are done cooking, although id say there wasn't even enough salt added to bring out their natural flavor. Cornbread was dry and there was barely enough pot liquor to make it edible. The scoop of mayonnaise that they slopped on top helped, but after consulting the menu again I found out it was supposed to be "roasted garlic aioli" lol. Not even close. The sirloin was actually cooked to temp perfectly, so props to they're sauté guy on that at least, but was still just not flavorful and not a good cut of meat to begin with. They're famous gouda grits were a cold hard mound on the plate and had to be cut with a fork as opposed to scooped as grits should be. Again, no attempt at presentation with this dish. My "eggs florentine" consisted of a 2"x2" crust of bread, spinach cooked down to nothing, one poached egg (cooked appropriately) hollandaise and some tomato slices that were supposed to be grilled but looked more like they had been thrown on the cold side of a flat top just long enough for them to get soft. I will say our server was kind and attentive, but she was about the only redeeming aspect of this dining experience. If I'm gonna spend $150 on 2 apps, 2 entrees and 4 drinks, I at least expect it to be better...

“$80 gratuity for the worst service we’ve ever had.”

We had a reservation on Saturday 8/9 at 7:30 PM for a deployment going-away/birthday celebration, and unfortunately, our experience was disappointing from start to finish. Our server, Clair, seemed agitated, forgetful, and frustrated throughout the evening. Our table felt more like a burden than valued guests, and requests were repeatedly ignored or mishandled.

The food came out very late, and my order (crawfish nachos) arrived about 20 minutes after everyone else’s. I made several polite requests to have the chips served on the side so I could take it home and enjoy later, but Clair continued making excuses as to why it couldn’t be done. She ultimately brought it with the toppings already on the chips, which were burnt-tasting.

My brother ordered red beans and rice with fried chicken, but the chicken never came. She had to reorder it, and when it finally arrived, he found it tasteless and watery. My daughter ordered chicken and waffles and wasn’t pleased either, but we chose not to complain—just asked for hot sauce several times before finally getting it.

The biggest disappointment came with the surprise dessert we had planned. Instead of discreetly bringing it out with a candle, Clair walked up to the table and announced it out loud, completely ruining the surprise. She then brought it in a to-go bag instead of on a plate, saying she “forgot.”

At the end, she brought our checks, only to take them back to add the group gratuity she had forgotten. The service was disorganized and careless from start to finish. The atmosphere at Patio 44 is nice, but the food was mediocre at best, and this server’s service was among the worst I’ve experienced. There was no apology, no attempt to make things right, and no remorse when I expressed my disappointment.

Clair did not earn the $80 group gratuity that was automatically added for our party. This was supposed to be a special occasion, and instead, it was stressful and...