Bayside Kraft Kitchen — Restaurant in Crystal River

I’ve been here many times. Every time was pleasant: great food, awesome service. I’ve even left a previous review about how amazing this place was. Today was different. A friend and I needed a little escape so we decided on lunch at Bayside. We were greeted and seated immediately. Trevor came over to the table with highly chlorinated water so we decided on unsweet tea. He asked if we needed a minute to decide on our order, we said yes just a min we are trying to figure out what appetizers to order. 2 mins later we were ready. We waited 20 minutes while watching him flirt with the hostess and the girls up front. We were hoping to get his attention but that didn’t happen. He finally came over and we ordered our food. While waiting the tables filled up quickly around us. Trevor never came back. He helped a table of 4 near us but never came back around to us. 50 mins later after watching multiple 4 tops come in, order, and receive their food he finally brought out our food. Not once did he try to offer refills on our empty drinks so we asked him when the food came out (almost an hour after we got our drinks). My food was cold. He was nowhere to be found again. 15 mins later he went to the table near us so I flagged him down and handed him the plate and told him that it was cold after waiting almost an hour for the food. He took the plate and proceeded to grab the food off the plate to verify that it was in fact cold. 10 mins later he came back to the table and asked if I wanted him to take it off the bill or have them remake it. I was floored. It’s now been almost 30 minutes since our food arrived and instead of giving me fresh food he asks something like that. Ok. I told him I wanted fresh food. About 10 mins later he brought it out. It was great. At this point we needed a refill on our drinks, which he never offered or provided. When we ordered our food, we asked for boxes to come with the food because we knew that we would not finish it. The boxes never came out. I had to go to the bar to get a refill on my drink. I had to go back to the bar to get boxes. The tall manager guy was standing at the other end of the bar observing what was going on and never one time came over to see if there was an issue or anything. 20 minutes later I flagged down a waitress we’ve had in the past (she’s amazing) and asked her if she could please get our checks because we were beyond ready to leave. She apologized and got us the “general manager.” The girl had glasses and was very soft spoken. When we voiced all the concerns we had all she could say was “Sorry, he’s the best I server I have, I brought him from another location.” He is absolutely NOT the best server there. The girl who helped us with our checks and the girl at the bar are phenomenal and attentive. She gave us our appetizers and tea for free which didn’t make up for the amount of time wasted and all the excuses she came up with. I have no problem paying for the food I received. Im more upset about the manager completely disregarding all of our concerns than anything. As a restaurant owner myself, this entire situation should have been handled completely differently. Sad that what was once one of our favorite places for lunch has been ruined by poor wait staff and poor management. This is not a restaurant we will be coming to any more. Trevor needs serious training before he gets put on the floor. He’s more concerned with socializing with the hostesses and in the kitchen rather than taking care of customers. The girl behind the bar and the lady with the spikey blonde hair got his tip for helping us more than he did in the HOURS we were there for what was supposed to be a...

I’ll start this review with the fact I won’t mind paying a good price for a good meal. However, this place is way over priced for the portion size of food you actually received. The service was quite average especially given the “upscale” appeal this place tries to personify. I ordered water to start prior to making a decision on a mixed drink and the cup was the size of something you would find in the discount aisle at goodwill. The water is served to you in a glass “milk” bottle type instrument which was also taken by the waitress as if there is a water shortage, and they are afraid to leave it at the table. Two sips into my cup and I already needed a refill not to mention apparently there is an ice shortage because I had none in any of the water. After initial impressions of the menu,I quickly realized there is a limited selection of items to choose. I settled for a shrimp and grits which was priced around $28.00. Once I finally received my order I was very much underwhelmed by the portion size of the dish. This place although the food was pretty good, it wasn’t good enough for me to want to come back and pay the prices they are asking for. I left still hungry and my friend even ate a Slim Jim in the car on the way home which was still bigger than the portion size they give at this place. I liked when it was Charley’s this place is way overpriced for the area and need to really consider adjusting some things. I won’t return again to pay that high of a price for an average meal. I would get the same level of quality of food eating at Seafood Cellar for 30 percent less. Not to mention if you use your credit or debit card to pay(which is 98 percent of people) you have to pay the “surcharge fee” which makes your bill about $3.00 more. I’m sorry but charging the customers the surcharge fee is a tad bit of over reach. I’m sorry but that’s the cost of doing business as...

Very disappointed in the experience that I had yesterday with the hostess and GM. My husband and I frequent the establishment and always bring at least 6-8 people with us every time we go. We usually go at least once a week sometimes 2, depending on how much company we get. We’ve been going there since it opened last year. Food and drink is always good and the waitstaff friendly and attentive. My daughter even threw me a surprise 65th bday party there about 3 weeks ago. Dropped a boat load of money there. Every time we go there, there seems to be issues with seating. Hostess will always ask if we made a reservation and a few times we left because even though the restaurant was not full, they made it seem that we couldn’t get seated. So yesterday, I called and made a reservation for 6 people for the outside deck. I called on our way over to tell them that we were running about 5 mins behind and the hostess, who I spoke with originally, told me that she couldn’t find my reservation. I couldn’t believe this! I told her that we were on our way over. Then the GM called me back to say there was a mistake and that they were very busy and apologized for no availability outside. I was so frustrated because this seems to be the habit here. The conversation got loud because I was so frustrated, and it ended up with the GM telling me not to bother going over today. So unfortunately, I will not be going back and neither will the people that I’ve brought there, and trust me, I’ve brought many people there and I’ve always raved about how great...