Seafood Junction Too — Restaurant in Byhalia

Well, after many years of visiting this restaurant, we had always enjoyed our experience on the most part. THIS TIME was SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT. We arrived at 4:35, with the doors had just opened at 4:30, for huge crowd already. We waited in line for about 10 minutes to get to the hostess; to put our name & party of 2 on the list. We were then told it may be about 20 or 30 minutes to give 1st round customers time to eat & leave. That's fine, no problem. We waited approximately 45 minutes in the outdoor porch with benches, which is an extension of the "indoor porch"; only to have a CUSTOMER come out to say, EXCUSE ME, BUT ARE ANY OF Y'ALL THE __'s.....our last name. She said, they called your name a few minutes ago; but DIDNT BOTHER to extend that calling notification to the bunch of people waiting outside, just BEYOND THE INSIDE PORCH. The inside porch was packed with no seating available to wait; so we proceeded to the additional seating on outdoor porch. We thanked the CUSTOMER LADY for notifying us of our name being called; for it was NOT HER RESPONSIBILITY! After rushing in to the hostess, I made it clear of our discontentment about the POOR NOTIFICATION of our table being ready. They said, well WE DON'T CALL OUT THERE, WE ONLY CALL ON THE INSIDE PORCH. 😤 I said, "well your inside is full with no seating or standing room available AND YOU OFFER OUTDOOR WAITING AREAS! I'd think you'd extend your name calling to BOTH AREAS, if that customer hadn't have gone the extra step to let us know, we would have MISSED OUR SEATING OPPORTUNITY after waiting THIS LONG"! They all shrugged their shoulders as if not to really care. Got over all that, then BOTH HOT & COLD BOILED SHRIMPS were OVERCOOKED. We usually never leave shrimp on our plate and these were virtually impossible to eat. The cold, would not peel without most of it sticking to shrimp & if they did peel & you ate it, you were spitting out shell remnants constantly, along with some being total MUSH. The hot ones were pitiful to try to peel, for they would just MUSH in your fingers, while trying to pull off legs. Sorry, Seafood Junction Too, but y'all need to step up your game to get back on track!! ALL THIS AND $22 a person now! We wouldn't mind paying that all all; if things had gone more positive. 🤨 On a brighter note, our server Melody was excellent and her fellow servers were very friendly as well....

Okay. Let me preface this with a couple of full disclosures. 1. I honestly know which food items to which I am allergic and I actively avoid those items. 2. My elders instilled amazing home training within me. Having said this, let's get into it. Upon arrival, we were stunned with the full parking lot of this little gem hidden off the road in MS and even more stunned by the check-out that was snaking around the entrance that was causing the wait to actually enter to restaurant. Right! So, after a short wait, we were seated and then greeted by the most friendly persons: Betsy and Lisa...amazing! We were told the buffet was actually the best bang for our buck and we accepted. This is when it got wonky! The only true vegetable/healthy option was iceberg only option & minimal topping salad bar. But it was fresh and tasty, so 😋! Then I was off to the hot line...mistake! This is where I witnessed an older male patron using the SAME tongs to retrieve various items along the line. People!! What you do at home is your business! Cross contamination is real! And for those of us who are allergic to shell fish, this is a game changer. I instantly stopped filling my plate and found out waitress. Thankfully, she understood and acted swiftly. Although the utensils weren't replaced on the hot line, they did allow me to order whatever foods and, however, often to be cooked upon request. This really fixed what would have been a disaster. Yes, I carry my Epi-pen, but who wants to get stuck bc someone else is too lazy to use multiple utensils!! Thankfully, Betsy and Lisa understood and acted swiftly to ease a difficult situation.

The only drawback is the lack of healthy options. As previously mentioned, there's only the lettuce and the boiled corn. The hot line consisted mostly of fried foods. There were a couple of pasta options but with the rolling 1 utensil guy on the opposite side, I declined...

In the universe of family dinning around Olive Branch, there are few options for Seafood. For quality, culinary fish or crustaceans feast, you will need to sail to Memphis or Collierville. But if you crave for Southern Style Fried Seafood, I can think of two or three destinations that offer a selection big enough to say that is their specialty. Like the Chatter Box, The Seafood Junction Too in Bahaylia has been around for years, and has been very consistent in format, quality and service at an affordable price. The all you can eat buffet is (almost) always the same and food turns fast enough due to high volume to stay quite fresh. Last night, I particularly enjoyed the fried oysters cooked to perfection, and the shrimp fresh hot out of the fryer. Price of Seafood has skyrocketed over the years and I assume that to keep their costs down they have removed one of my favorite: frog legs (or perhaps a supply issue). Don't look for crab legs or mussels either but with two types of baked fish, a variety of chicken, even their traditional quails, there is something for everyone at an excellent price-value. Don't forget to leave room for cobbler generous in fruit and soft serve real ice cream, not the watery stuff some buffets proudly serve. The barn-style very casual service and disposable dishes do not bother me at all, it is expected and part of the experience. I love the fact that they take reservations for large parties and last night, we were blessed with a above average "happy birthday" routine by the talented voices of the wait staff. I almost gave them four stars on this review but pulled one because I missed my frog...