Sugarshack Downtown — Restaurant in Bonita Springs

The Great Sugar Shack Swindle - The Bearded Norwegian and his Nordic Queen Location: Sugar Shack, Bonita Springs Battle Tested: Pepperoni Pizza & Guacamole Dip Official Rating: A lukewarm 4.2 – and that’s being generous.

On the grand occasion of their Sunday Date Day, the Bearded Norwegian and his battle-born Nordic Queen marched forth to Bonita Springs with hearts full of hope, stomachs growling like frost giants, and dreams of pepperoni-laced glory.

They arrived at Sugar Shack—a venue that looked promising with its live music, breezy outdoor vibes, and a menu boasting noble declarations like, “Our bread and dough are made fresh daily with only seven pronounceable ingredients.”

Ah yes. What could go wrong?

Spoiler alert: Everything.

First came the Guacamole Dip & Chips—a tragic display that can only be described as “Avocado Afterlife.” This wasn’t guac. It was a crime scene. Imagine someone smashing a single avocado with a bored fist, tossing on a sprinkle of alfalfa sprouts (because someone in the back just got into yoga), and adding two tomato slices—for flair. The chips? Cold. Saltless. Sad. They had the excitement of a stale communion wafer and the flavor of ancient scrolls.

Even Loki himself wouldn’t prank you this hard.

But the real betrayal came cloaked in cheese and lies: the pepperoni pizza.

Delivered atop what looked suspiciously like a frozen pizza support disc (you know the kind that comes shrink-wrapped from the frozen section at Valhalla’s local Publix), the first bite sent tremors through the Nine Realms. The Bearded Norwegian’s taste buds screamed in betrayal. This wasn’t pizza… this was sorcery!

He summoned the server and inquired (politely, but with suspicion): “Is this frozen?” To which the server responded not with denial ( partially, Lol) but by pointing to the front of the menu like it was the Stone Tablet of Truth. “Our dough is made fresh daily,” he said.

But the Beard knows. Oh yes, he knows. That dough had all the soul of a soggy coaster.

The Nordic Queen herself delivered the final blow: “Does this pizza even deserve a 5?” Her eyes narrowed. Her Viking instincts flared. “Hardly.”

To be fair, we only tried the guacamole dip and the pepperoni pizza—so we’ll give Sugar Shack the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps other menu items fare better. Maybe the wings sing with spice or the burgers bring glory. But based solely on what we tasted, it felt more like bar food dressed up in the clothes of real cuisine.

Sugar Shack shines as a music venue and chill hangout—but if you’re storming the gates for flavor, you may want to plunder elsewhere.

Final Score: 4.2/10 Great place to drink and listen to live music. Not a great place to eat. Unless you’ve lost a bet.

Skål! The Bearded Norwegian and his...

Great atmosphere! The service was terrible. Our waitress was nice and there was nothing wrong with her at all. When we got sat she had about 3 other tables in her section. We were a 5 top and the other tables were 3 tops or less. It took her a while to come greet us but as a server I understood. Sometimes you get swamped and that’s okay! She finally greeted us and got our drink orders, they came out in less than 10 mins. Our appetizers had came out already and we were just about done with them when she finally got our food order which I thought was kind of crazy but it was okay. The real problem for me was when our entrees came out. I had asked for my steak on my salad med rare and it came out well done, no biggie! We wanted another round of drinks and a few other things for our entrees. I had posted a picture of us and we started eating/talking. A while goes by and I realize she hasn’t checked on us at all. I check my story to see how long it had been since I posted the picture and it was 34 mins. I gave it another little while and finally got so frustrated I went up to the front to have somebody find her for us. She had gotten sat a big party and was busy with them. No worries at all. Would’ve been nice to have been told she’d be with us in a second, have somebody else check on us, acknowledge us. But no, we got nothing. She comes and asks how we are. One of us ordered another wine, I asked for more dressing. She brings the wine a little later and not the dressing. I ask again and she says she’ll be right back. She instead goes to the big party and is taking care of them for a while. We wait and wait and wait and finally she comes back and I say can I PLEASE have dressing. She goes and grabs it and it takes no more than a minute! At that point its been maybe another 30-45 mins and we’re just ready to go. She takes ANOTHER 15ish minutes to give us the checks. I left absolutely no tip. I’ve been serving for years and it feels terrible getting stiffed. I always tip at the very least 20%. This was my first time ever leaving nothing. It was so disappointing. We were so excited to try out this place and it was such a big let down. We knew beforehand that the food wouldnt be the best but we were just excited for the experience. Such a big let down. Again, the server was nice and I’m sure she’s amazing but maybe if your servers can’t handle big sections, don’t give it to them. She easily could’ve made at least 120 tip. Will not be returning ever again or...

I was excited to catch up with an old friend downtown and explore the recent changes as it’s become such a cute area. When we entered, there seemed to be two hosts, but they said please wait for her, understanding it’s busy and after waiting a while we decided to grab seats at the outside bar. We walked around and found it mostly full, with only one seat open. I asked the women in the middle of the bar if anyone was sitting in the chair so we could put two chairs together at the end of the bar, she said no take it, so we pulled one chair over to sit together.

The guy next to us struck up a friendly conversation and even offered to share his pizza, which made us more excited to see what the place was about and check out live the music. Then one of the bartenders came over and abruptly demanded we move to two seats that had just opened in the middle of the bar. He insisted they’d been open the whole time, though we had checked twice and only saw one available. Instead of being polite or explaining, he talked down to me and made me feel stupid, repeating that the seats “were there the entire time.”

He never once said “please” or tried to be accommodating. I even asked if he was the manager, because I couldn’t imagine someone in charge speaking to guests that way. He said he was the “Bar Lead.” I briefly considered asking for the manager but didn’t want to escalate the situation, so after considering moving, due to his rudeness I realized I wouldn’t enjoy myself, so I decided to leave. After I got up, he still stood in my path, so, we exchanged some unpleasant words. He then followed me nearly 100 feet to the door, trying to take my picture every step, so I “could never come back” and repeatedly telling me how unwelcome I was.I basically had to run out to avoid my picture being taken. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in a restaurant in my entire life. Because of how the “Bar Lead” behaved, there was no way I could feel good giving them my business or even enjoy myself for that matter. What could have been a great first experience instead turned into our first and last visit. We walked back to Rooftop At Riverside Bar and enjoyed the rest...