Squid's Restaurant — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

Just back from Squids. After taking my Mother-In-Law and Sister-In-Law here not all that long ago and enjoying it I thought I would go back by my lonesome to check out the atmosphere in the bar area. I also wanted to check out their fish tacos and crab soup/bisque being ow I grew up on the east coast and have indulged in this fair many times over the years. I didn't want to get a full blown meal because my wife wasn't with me and I didn't think it would be fair to go all extravaganza without her. I started out ordering a beer on tap which was good and I think somewhat local. Then I asked for the crab soup or maybe bisque and I also asked if they had any single malt scotches other than the Glenlivet 12 which is standard fair and a mediocre Scotch for us Scotch snobs. They did not. I received my crab soup and it was okay but compared to many others I have had the pleasure of tasting I thought rather bland and not as thick, rich and creamy as I have grown to like. It did have a fair amount of carrots however. I then decided to get my Glenlivet being how I like my single malts, particularly since the bourbon selection I could see bored the living cr@p out of me (sorry for lack of better terms). Up until now my young waitress was very pleasant and overall I was having a good experience with a pleasant atmosphere. Then right in front of me the apparent bartender boss started lecturing the young bartender trainee (making an assumption here) about how she poured me more scotch than what I should have received. Whoa seriously? I had to say something and I told that boss bartender that if they skimp on my drinks I may just not want to come back. After all, it was Glenlivet, not some top shelf single malt and honestly it wasn't that big of a pour. I guess he was the more experienced bar tender but let me say this. Next time, don't complain to another bartender in front of patrons that they gave them too much alcohol. I totally expect decent pours when I order drinks and it is as important as the food I order. I apologized to the nice young waitress that she caught flack for giving me a decent drink. I probably would have stayed and had desert and another drink but my mood was soured.

Oh, the fish tacos were okay but far from the best I have had. Maybe hearing the lecture about how I got too much alcohol tainted the rest of...

Late 80s, early 90s vibe. I have wanted to try this place for a few years, but just kept feeling put off by the menu that seemed...well...mediocre for the price. Finally we went, after seeing all these reviews that added up to a 4.5. Unfortunately, it was exactly what the menu promised - mediocre. The server was great - she was attentive and pleasant - she and the other service staff were the only reason I didn't rate this a 1, to be honest.

The seafood we had (I had crab legs, my husband had the scallop special) was cooked nicely. That's about as far as it gets. I had never seen or had clams on the half shell before, so I thought I'd try a half dozen. I won't do that again. Not a great flavor, and three of the six were grainy (as in, not well cleaned) on the surface. My husband had a garden salad with the most boring balsamic dressing he'd ever had. I mean, y'all, up your herb and seasoning game. He also had the scallop special. The scallops, once again, were cooked nicely, but for the price, there were three scallops swimming in a corn puree that he said tasted like creamed corn with a little basil oil drizzled on.

I ordered 1/2 lb of crab legs. Again, they were cooked well. I had to ask for more lemon wedges, and had to heavily salt the melted butter in order to have any flavor.

I was honestly happy we didn't get any dishes with veggies, because the plates that passed us had little piles of vegetables that looked boiled and also unseasoned (though that has nothing to do with this review, as we didn't taste them).

Our litmus test for good seafood is that it needs to be worth the price and better than Red Lobster. I'm afraid...

Cleanliness 2/5. Our utensils were clean however the table next to us kept receiving dirty silverware. The man ordered a glass of wine and had to get it replaced due to "floaties" bobbing around in it. But the MOST disgusting part was when a woman and her husband walked in to the restaurant with a small dog accompanying them (not a service dog either). There in the dining room we're sitting next to these guys while she's feeding table scraps to her dog on the floor. I came to have a romantic dinner with my wife, not watch a dog drooling on the floor by our feet.

Service 4/5. Our waitress was attentive. The hostess at the door however, stared at us for about 30 awkward seconds before acknowledging our existence. "Yes?" She asked as if it made no sense...our being there. Geez, I dunno. Do you sell animals here? We're here to see a movie? Looking to purchase an audio system? What did you think I wanted, lady?

Quality 4/5. The catfish was cooked perfectly so that the meat practically disentegrated like melting butter. The quantity of shrimp however was lacking for the "pick 2" combination. 8 measley pieces of fried, tail-on shrimp? $24 freakin' dollars? What a ripoff.

Price 3/5. $51 for two waters and two pick 2 combinations which were lacking. The rice was maybe one small ice cream scoop and the fried oysters tasted fresh from a...