Anna Maria Oyster Bar on the Pier — Restaurant in Brandenton Beach

Our recent experience at Oyster Bar on the Pier on May 5th, 2024 was nothing short of a complete disaster. What was meant to be a special birthday celebration for my friend turned into a nightmare of incompetence, disrespect, and emotional distress.

Despite arriving promptly and joining the waitlist at 6:18 PM, we were subjected to an agonizing wait with no communication or updates from the restaurant besides a text message with our estimated seating time 6:52PM - 7:05PM. Despite being assured of a 34-47 minute wait, we found ourselves still standing outside the entrance well over an hour later. This unacceptable delay was compounded by the fact that we observed empty tables in the outside seating area, yet were inexplicably left unseated.

The final straw came when I approached the host for the second time to inquire about our table. The male host's rude and dismissive attitude was shocking and completely unwarranted. His lack of professionalism and contemptuous demeanor left us feeling humiliated and disrespected.

Once we were finally seated, the damage had already been done. It was 7:25 PM. The birthday girl, who had been looking forward to this celebration, was so upset and distraught by the entire ordeal and the appalling treatment we received that she left the restaurant in tears, seeking solace in the car. It was a heartbreaking and humiliating end to what should have been a joyous occasion.

In light of this appalling experience, we made the unanimous decision to leave the establishment. The complete lack of regard for customer satisfaction and basic human decency displayed by the staff at Oyster Bar on the Pier is utterly unacceptable.

To the management and employees of Oyster Bar on the Pier: Your behavior and treatment of customers are reprehensible. It's clear that significant improvements are needed in both your customer service and hospitality practices. Until such changes are made, I strongly advise against patronizing this...

1. Service issues and waiting time: My experience at the restaurant today was incredibly frustrating and left me feeling deeply offended. After waiting 15 minutes with no one taking my order, I had to approach a server to ask for help, but she completely ignored me. When I tried seeking help from another server, she rudely told me, "I'm not your server."

2. Anger over the "dame" comment: What made me truly angry was when she walked away and said "dame." This response was highly disrespectful, and I am furious about it.

3. Message to the server: Please pass on a message to this server: if she does not have the patience or professionalism to perform her job properly, she should leave the restaurant and find something more suitable for her. Perhaps staying at home and sleeping would be a better option for her than working in a customer-facing role.

4. Serious issue with food freshness: Additionally, I was highly disappointed with the quality of the food. The oysters that were recommended to me were clearly not fresh—they looked like they had been dead for quite some time. Coming from a coastal city and having worked in the restaurant industry for years, I know what fresh seafood should look like, and this was far from acceptable. I have professional expertise in this field, so please do not attempt to argue or make excuses about the freshness of the ingredients.

5. Long wait time for the bill: To make matters worse, I had to wait an excessive amount of time just to get the bill.

6. Expectations for service and food quality: As someone with years of experience in the restaurant industry, I understand that things can get busy, but this level of service and the lack of attention to food quality is completely unacceptable. I hope this feedback is taken seriously and improvements are made to both the service and the freshness...

I've been coming for a few years now, and everything was phenomenal. Food, service, and ambiance would always be outstanding.

This time we came on Easter Sunday. We noticed the menu has been reduced, and many of our favorites were not on the menu anymore. "Ahi tuna, Mahi mahi, and other items."

Service was not as great today as usual. Our experience today, after being sat for over 10 mins, we flagged a server down and asked if we could have a server take care of us. He said ok, left, and came back saying he would take care of us. Seemed to be it was his section, and although he had been ignoring coming to the table, he took our order, a bit, rushed, but it's ok.

For apps, we ordered two dozen oysters, grilled and raw (delicious) and ceviche. Appetizers and food came out, and the server checked in a few times. We had specified a food allergy, but food still came out with what we said we couldn't have before ordering. I told the server that our ceviche had jalapeños and my daughter would have an allergy reaction. Server said there was none, as we started to eat, I had to put jalapeños to the side to show the server, when he noticed he said oh it's already a pre mixed, but the manager will take it off. No manager came to the table, but they did send out a fish dip to compensate. The Entrees were good. I had the seafood trio, grouper, scallops, and shrimp. My daughter had the grouper, and her friend had the fried shrimp. We asked for the check, and to go boxes, the server dropped off the credit card machine, leaving it on the table, and never coming back with the boxes or picking up the device. After waiting for some time, we just decided to leave. On the bright side, what stands out is the gorgeous views!!! Breathtaking!!! I will continue to come. Maybe the server was just off that day, but it's important when you work in hospitality to be detailed and check in on...