Tin Whiskey Southern Kitchen & Still — Restaurant in Cocoa

Tin Whiskey Southern Kitchen & Still, 3 Forrest Avenue, Cocoa, Florida 32922-

3-Stars

Located in the old Norman's Raw Bar building, the former owners of Murdock's Southern Bistro in Cocoa Village opened this lovely, fully remodeled restaurant during the pandemic.

Tin Whiskey is a perfect example of why I do not grade on service. To say service was glacial the day we tried it would be an understatement. After being seated by an amicable hostess, we waited for 18 minutes and 32 seconds before further contact by any restaurant representative. I noticed a boisterous 30-top demanding separate checks for all 30 people. Turns out our waitstaff, Kyla, was their server as well. About 15 minutes into our wait, we were inclined to walk out, but when Kyla finally showed, she apologized profusely, appeared sincere, and had a winning personality. We gave her the benefit of the doubt and stayed.

Tin Whiskey has a diverse menu of flatbreads, sandwiches, and full-blown meals. I ordered my go-to Chicken & Waffles described on the menu as two waffles with caramelized pearl sugar and topped with four large hand breaded chicken digits. Hand breaded? When I pressed her, Kyla confessed that they were not breaded by hand by a human being in the back, but indeed frozen chicken tenders. At least they were not low quality. The waffles were the prepackaged Le Waf waffles sold by the Little Debbie company. One pop in the microwave and voilà, chicken and waffles. Not sure unwrapping waffles from cellophane is gourmet, but hey, it worked.

I also ordered the Shrimp & Sausage Po'boy which was advertised as Fried shrimp, Andouille sausage, peppers, onions, shredded lettuce, tomato and a Cajun remoulade sauce on a fresh hoagie roll. While the roll was not toasted, the shrimp were of a higher quality than most places serve. The execution was above average. I even tried to find out the cook's name, but no one knew.

My dining companion ordered the Char-grilled Caesar with Chicken. It didn't look too bad.

After delivering the food, Kyla disappeared again and at the 1 hour 14-minute mark--each torturous minute like a bastinado whipping with a cane on bare feet--I'd had enough. I went and got boxes from a not-unpleasant bartender for our food, paid, and left. This is another restaurant that should be in Cocoa Beach clipping tourists.

The Big Boy says, "Tin Whiskey Report Card: Ambiance A+, Food...

Tin Whiskey is a beautiful building with lots of southern charm to attract tourists. Parking is best across the street in the evening. You're warmly greeted by a server when you enter. Loads of televisions everywhere- that is distracting and a blessing at the same time because it allows those interested in sports to watch their games, however; for those who would like a more engaging evening, it is a distraction. We went on the Friday before New Year's Eve. A college game was playing, and it was hard to hear conversations a lot because of the whooping and cheers from other customers. The servers were on top of their game and nice. I ordered a rustic personal pizza- 'He's a Fungi'. It reminds me of a piece of foccacia bread. It was cut into five pieces. Each piece had a slice of mushroom and some carmelized onion. There was mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of balsamic reduction across the entire personal pizza. The crust was very overdone - there was a lot of chewing involved, so I gave 2 of the slices to my teenage son. He laughed when I thumped the bottom of a slice to show him how hard it was. He ordered the fish and chips basket. He loved the steak fries and the flavor of his fish. He chose the catfish. A 20% tip was already included in our order, and the servers didn't rush us off after we paid, but we slowly left. The lighting outside is lovely, and I would have loved to sit out there, especially with the standing heaters to accommodate every table, but it's not a non-smoking area, and I have asthma. I didn't order a glass of wine with dinner because I only had a little personal pizza. The next time I visit, I will try a plate. If you're a sports enthusiast, this is definitely your place. If you are looking for an intimate place for a date, it's best to come when there's NO sports game playing, or during lunch. They have a lot of food to choose from - several staples like pizza, meatloaf, and macaroni and cheese. Seating is...

This was my first visit since it changed names and ownership a few years ago. I love the atmosphere and the decor. They brought us our drinks pretty quickly. I am sorry to say—It was downhill from there. They forgot about us entirely. And it was not even busy at all. We had to ask for them to come take our order— we sat there for a very long time waiting for the waiter to come take it. Our waiter was Jason. Who honestly I have never met a waiter that did not smile AT ALL. Did not make eye contact AT ALL Did not even nod or make any facial recognition at all. It was the weirdest interaction I have ever had with wait staff ever. Throughout the meal he only came If beckoned. But he never seemed to be anywhere around. Then.. you guessed it… we had to ask for the check. Which it took quite a while for him to both give to us and pick up from us. There was No thank you — come again— see you soon…..No recognition at all.

As for the food: My husband had southern fried chicken salad. It was mostly the “weird purple lettuce” and the chicken was overcooked and tasted like old cooking oil. I had the spinach cranberry goat cheese salad with cobia. It was just ok. The cobia was kinda thin and “previously frozen” tasting. Definitely not what I am used to eating in the Florida restaurants where fresh Cobia is served. The price was not too bad. It was 48 without tip for two salads a beer and a soda. Plus we had to add a tip. So price was not too bad. Just taste not that awesome. I think we will pass on this...