Tipsy Tarpon — Restaurant in Crystal River

So I decided to drop in one afternoon earlier this week. Being a self-aggrandizing local food critic drooling for the day "quality, not cheap quantity tourist grade" food finally arrives in Citrus County, I was hopeful. The retired winter tourist favorites have always been places like the "All You Care To Eat" menu at "Jimmy's Buffet."

Recently as sophisticated city folks have crossed our unprotected borders to the south and north have moved here permanently, some quality restaurants have made the move to our sleepy Nature Coast paradise.

Interesting place located on a finger of land sticking out into Kings Bay. I stopped by to take a short afternoon break, ordered a cold Yuengling Draft and tried the fish dip, which was good with crackers, pickled onions, and jalapeños on the side. The fish dip didn't seem homemade, more like from a tub of fish dip you can buy at Publix.

One of the more "famous bartenders" here, Michael, who to say the least is interesting, proved to be a quirky good hearted local character. After I asked Michael about the origin of the "Tipsy Tarpon" name, I looked towards the water for any inebriated tarpons, but only saw a couple sitting at the bar.

Nice views of the City's "River Walk to Nowhere" and all of the new construction along the waterfront. While it was too hot to sit out at the end of the point in the afternoon sun, the views of the water from there are just spectacular! There's even a music stage and I'm sure after the sun heads west, it's a great place to celebrate 5 o'clock somewhere, listen to good local music  played by some "Jimmy Barf-it" wannabes  and sit back, relax, and travel to Margaritaville with friends while enjoying a...

This is an ok place, but I wouldn't return next time we're in town.

The service was very bad - Ignored most of the time and had to constantly flag someone down, then they acted completely uninterested when we asked for service and wouldn't even look me in the eye 90% of the time.

The food was slow to come out even though the menu is extraordinarily simple, so I don't understand why it took almost 30 minutes to produce a burger and fries, but I will admit the food was good (I got a cheeseburger and fries - Cheeseburger was juicy and fries were crisp 🤌🏾), so that's why I'm keeping it at 3-stars instead of lower.

My wife ordered Mahi fish tacos and honestly I wouldn't recommend - Wayyyy too much onion to where you can barely enjoy the fish - I tried one and was disappointed. The fish itself and the sauce tastes good, so why hide it with cheap onions?

The service really threw me, and it was "seat yourself" which should have been a red flag that customer service obviously isnt their 1st priority and they know that (seat yourself means, we just want bodies to buy stuff amd screw it if they don't want to be here)... After finding a seat, it took us 15 minutes to be identified as patrons and to have an order taken - The place was just very chaotic and seemed to HEAVILY rely on their alcohol sales.

I understand it's a little seafood place and budget may not permit service like I'm used to at Ruth's Chris', but I've been to McDonalds locations with more hospitable staff. Honestly the only time I was actually spoke to in a pleasant manner was when the check came and that tip was...

I truly enjoyed my outing to Tipsy Tarpon. I had no idea that this really cool place was tucked away right off route 19. Got lost a couple of times trying to find the entrance to the parking lot. The directions say 2nd avenue I believe. The road is not marked on that side. It just has a big sign saying private parking, unless I missed something. But eventually after I had tried everything else I went down this road and found it. It is a very nice little place. They have an indoor area for people who want something over their head, and they have an outdoor area right on the water which has beautiful views. It also has a stage and as I suspected they had a band show up a little after we sat down. I enjoyed the band a lot since I could actually hear the music and talk to the person I was with. These people actually understand that customers like to have a conversation sometimes while the band is playing. The band was very good. Definitely worth listening to. But not too loud. Just right. I was able to order a draft beer from a local brewery and the chicken wrap sandwich I ordered was also very good. Our server was very sweet. Very personable and efficient. I would definitely recommend this place. We got there early and got an outdoor seat under the tiki umbrella very easily. It did fill up pretty quickly after we got there. I would definitely suggest coming a little bit early if you want a seat outside. Great food, beautiful view, and nice people. What more...