Badfins Food + Brew — Restaurant in Clearwater

Horrible service and severely over priced bad food. Not sure what 5 star reviewers are used to eating but we all had a horrible birthday celebration experience.

We came to BadFins for lunch today, Saturday September 20th to celebrate my fiancé’s birthday with the family. We arrived at the front where two hostess where talking to each other and did not acknowledge any of us despite being in front of them for 5+ minutes… my fiancé starts laughing sarcastically when people also waiting behind us pushed us out of the way and started asking questions to the hostess as if we had already been talked cared of. The hostess proceeded to answer their questions and the people left. My step daughter then says “what’s going on???” My fiancé said very loudly, “well I don’t know because nobody has even greeted us or asked us anything at all and we’re just waiting.” So then one of the two girls hears that and finally says how many? We said 5 and they sat us outside.

As soon as we sat down l we asked for a round of waters until we decided on drinks… when they tell us they don’t offer free water only bottled water. Each bottle of water is $2.50 each. I’ve never run into this at any restaurant ever where they don’t have tap water options.

Regardless, we ordered waters and drinks…and this is what was the most shocking…we waited 18+ minutes and no drinks yet, while the table of 7 right next to us who sat way after us got their drinks. So I waived and asked the waitress what is happening with our drinks… she says “the bartender is overwhelmed but I’ll check on your drinks” another 5-8 minutes go by and we receive our first round of drinks… what kind of service and answer is that? I understand being overwhelmed at a high paced restaurant but that is literally their job… to make drinks as quickly and efficient as possible, and also to make sure whomever ordered first gets their drinks first, no?

Food left much to be desired specially for the price. $35 for lobster Mac and cheese that was cold, clumpy, not creamy at all and had a weird sea salt taste …maybe because the shell of the lobster was dripping salt water on the pasta. Idk. Lobster was chewy and tasted too much like fish/sea salt as well.

The “bougie” quesadilla was the least Boujee item I’ve ever seen or tasted. It was like a stale tortilla filled with fajita ingredients and the meat had so many chunks of chewy fat instead of tender meat.

The guac and other dips we ordered were actually okay but kind of what you expect at a regular strip beach bar but not a classy establishment with these prices. If you’re gonna charge the way you are, make sure the customer service and food are adhered to certain higher standards.

After our meal, we asked the waitress if they did anything special for people’s birthdays… she says no and walks away… not even oh whose birthday is it? Happy birthday, sorry we don’t do anything special but there’s some yummy desserts to share… or anything along those lines. Nothing.

What was supposed to be an upscale lunch birthday celebration was just a very disappointing and overly priced crappy experience and we will...

If I could give 0 stars for the behavior of the owner of this establishment, I would. Please see the attached conversation below if you feel like a good read. I have recently wrote a Yelp review stating my experience. I stated that the food was good, service was good and the atmosphere was good. I specifically noted that I don't mind paying and typically type at least 25%, so the price WAS NOT an issue when leaving this review. I simply stated that my biggest concern was in our party of 6 we had a person who requires gluten free options. Because of this requirement we do check the menu prior to going out. They advertised gluten free options but after ordering drinks she placed her order and they really aren't gluten free and there is a potential for cross contamination. (We have been to several places that can provide her with comfort that they will not cross contaminate.) I also stated that it does feel like they nickel and dime you. When leaving a review I try to tell people what I would have liked to know BEFORE dining there so they know what to expect. This "high class restaurant" charges a 4% credit card charge, provides 12 oz cans with no free refills and does not allow you to upcharge for a different side if you don't prefer chips or fries, you have to pay for the side a la cart. These are simply things I would have liked to know upfront. Aside from the concern for cross contamination, we most likely would have still eaten there and I would have still provided a 5-star review. As a passerby was walking, they inquired if they should eat there and I told them the food was good and they should give it a try. I said that I would still recommend it, but I wouldn't strongly recommend it. The owner responded to me insulting my intelligence, called me cheap (Thinking I wanted a "discounted" side (not what I was saying)), a Karen, telling me that my negative opinion doesn't matter and that my parents didn't teach me well because if I don't have anything nice to say I shouldn't speak. After this interaction I did some research and reviews from previous employees say a lot about this person which I experienced first hand. The reviews on indeed state that he watches cameras from home 24/7 and calls managers to nitpick the staff and the environment is toxic and a previous employee states that the food is overpriced for tourists.

I have placed the exchange...

We went here for dinner on a Sunday night. They were able to sit us super quickly (we didn't have reservations) and the staff were all very nice. Their sangria was really good and they have a fun, local beer selection...we ordered the pulled pork sliders and the beach bread as starters...the sliders were absolutely fantastic and made me super excited for the rest of the food but it was all kind of downhill from there. The beach bread would've been a lot better if it wasn't quite so thick but otherwise was decent. My husband ordered the lobster roll, which was one of their specials...he took one bite and said it was terrible. After another he said "nope, I actually can't eat this". He described the lobster as mushy. (He's really not the pickiest and he's definitely not one to waste food so it was very surprising for to him to just straight up not finish his meal)... I ordered the poblano burger, which was described as being a monstrosity but the description sounded soo good that I ordered it and just hoped for the best. Unfortunately it was not very well executed. I think having all the same components but in a slightly less ostentatious portion would definitely help, and while the sourdough was great - it was not the right vessel for this burger. It was so greasy that the whole plate was swimming in grease, and it was impossible to eat without it falling apart. My husband took one bite and had the same verdict as with his. I probably ate 1/4 of the burger...the sliders and drinks were soo good (my husband really enjoyed trying some local beers) but the mains that we ordered were so disappointing. Based on all the other positive reviews, I think maybe it's just dependent on what you order.

The service was good and so was the atmosphere and location (lots of good people watching around the...