Rising Tide Tap & Table — Restaurant in Cape Canaveral

I really wanted to like this place. My husband and his coworkers had been before but this was my first time.

The issues began when we ordered 2 entrees and an appetizer to come out before our meals. It was a Monday and not crowded. In fact, our waitress only had our table and one other that came in after us. An unusually long wait for the roasted brussel sprouts was interrupted by a different server bringing me my whiskey salmon entree (but still no appetizer) and she looked at my husband and said did you have anything? Awkward pause.

After a minute, our server appeared and said the kitchen lost the rest of the order or didn’t see it, including those missing roasted brussel sprouts. Faced with the dilemma of having one dish get cold while we waited on the rest of our food, I began to eat the salmon. It had an odd burned flavor to it but not terribly bad. What made it inedible was the thickest portion of the salmon being raw and wiggly. When my husband’s food and the appetizer arrived I asked if they could cook it some more but instead they recooked another salmon - more waiting.

While my husband now was able to eat his entree, I was able to eat some of the appetizer while I waited for my meal to be re-cooked. The roasted brussel sprouts were brown and had a boiled texture. Not like any roasted BS I had ever tasted. I questioned, in my mind, what I had read on the menu. Had I misread it? Were they supposed to be brown soggy mush in a bowl? I took the spoon and mashed one into paste on the plate. Nope- nope-nopeity-nope. Called up google to view the menu and there was a picture of what they were supposed to look like. Green, with carmelized edges. Not what I expected. This is when the fruit flies started flying around the BS and my husband’s meal. I had to laugh at the situation because it went from bad to worse.

Finally, the replacement salmon arrived and at that point I really had lost my appetite. I ate a couple mouthfuls and asked for a to-go box. When she returned to check how everything was, I explained the issue with the BS and asked for her to remove it from our bill. Honestly, I would have expected her to apologize for any of the issues but I do believe she was new or the people cooking were new or something was just not right.

We paid for our two meals and left. Not the great dining experience one would expect at the price point, but just ok. Sometimes, I think restaurants that serve tourists don’t worry if they have a repeat customer as they know they likely would not return often.

Not a place I would care...

Was going to try the Grill at 8:15 on a Friday night, but they still had a 30 min wait, so tried Rising Tide instead. It's a nice looking place with plenty of indoor, outdoor seating and a large bar. Plenty of craft beers to choose from, both draft and canned/bottled. Menu has plenty of interesting choices and the photos looked good and the food itself looks good when it comes out. But the food wasn't as good as I thought it would be, especially for the price. In general the food tasted like a Fridays or Chilli's, prepared by young, min wage line cooks, not a chef with any talent. I've had better of everything we ordered, and still spent $90+. The whiskey salmon has a nice glaze on it, but the fish itself was dry / overcooked, and the asparagus was grilled with no spices / flavor - it was like dried out fish and veggies topped with sugary glaze; the calamari was decent, not rubbery, but still heavily fried and covered with blue cheese or something (in general fried calamari should be lite and crisp and not smothered with so much sauce and cheese that you cant taste the calamari); and the fun guy pizza was floppy and not as flavorful as something you'd get from say Mellow Mushroom that melds the flavors together - it was more like some mild flavored floppy cheese bread with some bitter arugula right from the container from the store thrown on top. Finally, to add insult to injury, our server, while nice, was just a young girl with her head in the clouds. We had to procure our own silverware, side dish plates, etc. It took forever to get our drinks and when I asked her what a Vienna Pilsner was, cause I hadn't heard of that style, and it was on their menu, she looked at me like I was from another planet and said she had no idea lol. She wasn't attentive at all and was more concerned with chatting with fellow employees, as were many of them. Maybe it was late Friday night fever, but many of them seemed to be playing around like high school kids instead of running a nice restaurant that is not cheap even by today's standards. I felt embarrassed that I spent so much money on such a mediocre meal, like I was eating at an expensive Fridays on I-Drive. I think this place is more for tourists getting on cruise ships than locals because they care so little about the quality of food and service. The motto and website seem like lip service after what I experienced. If you live in the area, I wouldn't take guests here as there are other higher quality places to...

Rising Tide Rose to the Occasion:

All of the staff at Rising Tide were amazing and accommodated our intimate wedding dinner reception. However, Sean, the party coordination manager, went above and beyond to create the perfect, most memorable experience we could have asked for. He worked closely with us the entire time leading up to our event, and was there for us every step of the way during and after our event as well. Sean was Spectacular! He created the perfect reception venue area for our party, along with suggesting a great menu and drink options for the evening. The location of the private deck overlooking the water and museum he suggested created a breathtaking view for our party and backdrop for our photos. Enough can not be said about the quality of food and beverages that were served to us the entire evening, and Sean worked with the Chef to even create a couple of special plates for those of us with food allergies/sensitivities. Sean exceeded all expectations by making accommodations to be there for us before and during our event to ensure we had a successful and memorable evening! The ease of planning and facilitating our group party there enhanced our experience. Even though we live across the state, Sean made it easy to reserve exactly what we wanted. He took the time to give me a personalized virtual tour of the restaurant showing me his recommendation of locations for our party, and giving me different ideas for food and drink options, all while working to stay with-in our budget. The service and treatment from everyone was exceptional…from the hostess, to the bartender, to the Chef, and all the way to Sean…Enough Praise Just Can Not Be Given!! Thank you from the bottom of our Hearts for Giving Us the Perfect Ending to Our Perfect Day!! If you have a special event, or just want to come for great service and amazing food and drinks, this is a place you must visit!! We will be back each trip to Cocoa Beach!!

Warmest Regards,

The Vose...