Cracker's Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Crystal River

Just tried Crackers today. I didn't even know it was there. Saw it on Google maps and thought I'd try it. It said it was comparable to Cody's and on the water. Sounded wonderful. When I got there the place was very crowded. They do have a lot of parking you just have to drive around for a little while to find some. Everyone inside seemed nice. Hostess directed me to the outside bar if I wanted to go there, which I did. The setup out there is very nice and the view is wonderful. The food is also very good. On the other hand there were two waitresses/bartenders for a ton of people. I sat there for a while and wasn't even sure if anyone knew I was there. I went to the bar and asked if the waitress would come to where I was sitting at one of the bar like seats. She said yes and tried to make it over as quickly as she could. The people beside me who had already left gave me their menus so I was already looking to see what I wanted. When the waitress/bartender came, she helped me decide on this fish tacos which were very good. Before they were delivered someone else's meal was delivered to me first and I had to return it to the bar. When my meal came there was no plastic wear or condiments with it. And the waitress was gone in 2 seconds so I had to get up and find everything else myself and bring it over. Then when I was finished eating and ready to go, I finally figured out I was going to have to get up and take my check to the bar because the waitress was just too busy. Not their fault at all. I think there were only two of them for that large crowd. Also this was described as being like Cody's. I love Cody's. Cody's is a place you can walk in and you have friends immediately. People you don't know tap you on the back and smile. Cody's is always packed also and it has no view. The people come there just for the food and the camaraderie. Crackers was good but no one is really friendly. When people come in they automatically turn their chairs around so their backs are to you and they never speak to anyone except the people they're with. And from the conversations I did pick up which I was not trying to, it was almost always about someone getting a date with someone else. Good for you. It's just not what I was looking for when I go out for food and conversation. The girls and guy who work behind the counter at Cody's almost remind me of the movie Cocktail, minus the throwing around of bottles. But it's an incredibly fun place to be and unfortunately I didn't perceive that at Crackers. So it depends on what you're looking for. If you come with your family you probably don't care if anyone else wants to socialize. Most of the people at Cody's do. At Crackers the waitresses are rushed, and the people stay to themselves. If that's what you're looking for I'm sure you will be happy. As I said the food was very good and the view very nice. I might come back if I were with other people but at this time I was alone and more testing the place out than anything. I would not come by myself again. All in all it is a good place. It all depends on your situation. Just didn't suit me as well as...

We had the unfortunate experience of dining at Crackers last night. Let me preface this review by saying that I am a server and have been in the service industry for 15 years. So don’t take this review lightly. We (me from Kansas City visiting my parents here) saw how amazing all of their raving reviews here and were so excited to visit, only to be ridiculously let down. Let’s start from the top. Upon walking in our host, informed us that the bugs outside were too bad, so they highly recommended not sitting out there, which was majority of the reason we went in the first place. There were no heaters set up and we decided to take her recommendation to sit indoors. After about 10 minutes we were finally greeted by our server. We started with the clam and mussel trio, which was amazing by the way. We would have loved to share and enjoy it, but we had no plates. Off I go to search down our server to grab some plates from the service station. No biggie, right? Mistakes happen. My parents ordered the red fish and salads, I ordered the scallops. When our meal finally arrived at the same time our salads also came, I was starting to get a little peeved. We were looking for a nice 4 course meal to be enjoyed as such. My mom’s grilled red fish was cold, her sides were less than room temp. Her butter wouldn’t even melt on her baked potato. My scallops were absolutely disgusting. I can’t quite explain what was so off about them, but I feel like I still have that funky aftertaste in my mouth from them the next morning. Off I go again, this time to talk to the manager… She informs me that scallops are traditionally bland in taste. (No they’re not). And blamed the server for the cold food. She also asked me if I requested the salads to come out before the meal to the server… (no, didn’t know that had to be specified) They remake my mom’s red fish and it comes out a little more up to par this time. I ordered the chicken tenders to go, because you can’t really mess those up, and at this point, I’m just ready to go. Our server comes out as our new food arrives and is apologizing profusely blaming the kitchen. I love a good blame game. I ask for the check to be told our meal was comped. Not quite what I was looking for, but it was appreciated. However, when I see the bill, I was confused AF. I was still charged for my scallop meal and side salads that were left uneaten… yes, my chicken tenders were excluded from the tab, but why the hell was I still paying for the lukewarm spoiled scallops? I paid, we left, even though we were really looking forward to having after-dinner drinks at the outdoor bar. We couldn’t justify spending another dime there. I just felt compelled to tell anyone thinking of dining here, or treating people special to you to a nice meal to absolutely avoid this place. I’m sure it’s a great place for daytime drinks outside, but we were utterly...

I had high hopes after reading the reviews and calling to find out they didn't have a line or wait. Unfortunately, those hopes did not transition very well. It was an hour wait to have outdoor seating, we waited about 5 to 10 minutes for an indoor seat. That said, there was a lot of confusion at the host stand on trying to determine where to put (only a party of six).

After being seated our waitress showed up. A few minutes later. We ordered water, which was our normal go-to, and then often a couple of us will switch to soda or something. However, we were met with a very clear eye roll, which I took to me. We were cheapskates. That was confirmed by the fact that after drinking my water in the first 5 to 10 minutes, the glass literally set empty through the entire meal until we left. A stark contrast to the table next to us who was checked on about six times compared to our ... Never (until food was delivered). Oh wait, they were drinking alcohol... So incentivized service. The waitress literally went around the opposite direction instead of walking by our table. Literally did not check on us a single time between taking our order and delivering the food. Which took nearly 45 minutes. I'm not sure if they had to go catch the cod for my fish and chips or what.

Food was pretty good.. Chicken strips were on the thin side... Yet Surprisingly tasty. BBQ sauce in southwestern Burger pretty decent. Ranch delicious. Fish n chips a 5 out of 10. Coconut shrimp really good. Loaded fries were good & tasty but seemed like they had been sitting a bit (fries were soggy, flavor good). Server said it was a new expeditor in the kitchen... And placing blame is very very poor form and a turnoff.

We were going to order dessert but didn't want to miss sunset (only had a hour and our time so far wasn't impressive). It takes exceptionally bad experience to get me to not tip at least 15-20%. With good service (despite food), I'll even go to 25. I went with 11% - and that much only because I know staff depends on it for livelihood. If tip was dependent on actually level of service, it would have been near zero.

To be clear, the place wasn't full. I watched (and my family) other tables consistently receive far better service (from our server and from the others). Simple things like four water glasses sitting completely empty and entire meal is unacceptable. Could I have complained or said something? Sure... At the risk of making things worse. The real question is if I should have to say something... And the answer there is no. I know if I'd been drinking alcohol, it would have been a different experience.

As for suggestions, I personally would love to see hush puppies on the menu and something to occupy folks during...