Bayou Bill's Crab House — Restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach

TL;DR - Think twice about this place. Consider literally any other seafood place.

This place came highly recommended from a few people, so we were excited to try something new as locals with some family in town. We were sorely disappointed. While the server was nice and friendly, she didn’t seem too well trained in waiting tables. Had a couple spilled drinks, reached directly over food and the table several times. I have to say, I’ve never had my cup filled from another regular cup… Server wasn’t awful, just not the level we’re used to.

We spent $92 on an app for the table and two entrees. That amount is WAY too much for the terrible food. To be specific:

Tuna Dip: Quite frankly, I’ve had better tuna from a starkist pouch. The texture was off putting, the flavor was unreal in the worst way possible. I think a can of Fancy Feast would have been more appetizing.

Seafood Platter: None of this food was great. The deviled crab had entirely too much pepper. I like pepper and almost always add it to my food, but that was just too much. The fish was bland, and the scallops were chunky and rubbery. The vegetables looked like they came from a Pictsweet microwave bag if I’m being generous.

Chargrilled chicken: Bland and flavorless. The chicken was rubbery.

Food from others in the party:

Alfredo: I see why there are no substitutions on this item. It’s clearly a giant batch that is just allowed to sit. The noodles were gummy, the chicken was rubbery and overcooked, and the sauce was bland.

Lobster: I had never seen lobster served with butter from a pouch… until now. The lobster itself was rubbery, overcooked, and entirely too salty. Yes, I understand well where lobsters come from. However, you do not need to add a pound of salt to one...

My food was fine. I don't eat seafood, so, based on the limited choices I had left, it was fine, not all that, but fine. My waiter was friendly, she was a little over stimulated but she was friendly. She actually handled our area very well. She had blonde hair, wore glasses, and had a ponytail. The atmosphere gave me sports bar vibes mixed with an outdoor porch. It was a little confusing as to what they were trying to go with, as far as the theme of the restaurant. 🤔 The marketing team may need to rethink the entire theme and name as a whole. They also are not a group accommodating establishment, and if they want to be, they need to be very specific online and maybe over the phone so that the expectation is known prior to booking a party or seating a party. Proper customer service training also needs to happen amongst staff when dealing with customers of all ages, genders, ethnicities, language barriers, different backgrounds, and more. Also, when or if something happens, your staff(specifically the young lady with the dark hair bob)needs to know how to be proactive because they did not treat part of our group well at all when part of an issue arised. You would have thought some sort of management would have came over to rectify the situation until everything was resolved, but they just left the poor waitresses out to hang and dry alone. Which is why I said staff training needs to happen,...

We have company in town who were craving seafood so we took them to Bayou Bills this evening. It had been a while since my wife and I had been.

When entering we were greeted by a young lady, Haley who was very friendly, courteous and professional. Rare to find at many places. After some conversation, She sat us and had our waiter Mike come over.

Mike was top notch. A true professional. I have been in the service industry for over 40 years and this guy has been also and it shows. He knows the business, the menu and his stuff. He made some incredible recommendations. What was most impressive, was he took all four of our orders without writing down a thing. When I complemented him on that and said that was old-school, he said he was currently waiting on seven tables and had it all in his head.

The food came out perfect. Everything was exactly how we ordered and very delicious. Our company was very happy with the pick of restaurant and Mike’s suggestions.

From the service to the oysters, crab and fish, this did not disappoint. We will make it a point to go back way more often to this long established local business. We will ask for Mike again as our Waiter and hope Haley is there as...