Capt'n Snapper's — Restaurant in Dauphin Island

I really hate leaving bad reviews, I do. Let me start by saying, automatic star for operating on a barrier island, I get there are some challenges there. I want to see every business on the island do well. I told a friend I hoped the ownership change would fix the problems here, but it hasn’t, odd cole slaw and experience remains the same. This place used to advertise with pride their terrible service, the shirts are gone, but the service remains bad and the joke was never funny. They don’t even execute the basics well, they advertise having the best food on the island, this just isn’t true. Weak Southern sweet tea, I’m sorry if this offends, but atrocious cole slaw. The tarter sauce has the carrots in it. The fries today, how can any self-respecting cook let fries come out of the kitchen like that? It’s just a slap in the face to the customer really. Clearly old, dry, been sitting awhile, or redipped in the fryer. The gumbo is good and comes with rice, a nice basket of crackers, and the right hot sauce, A+ on the gumbo. The view from the bar is good. Every single time I’ve eaten here and I’ve been here many times because friends from out of town like to try the restaurants, but every single time, there is a total lack of respect for the customer’s time when it comes to leaving. It takes an extended period of time to get your check here. The service is absolutely awful, they’re not rude per se, but it’s almost like they’re just done with people. It’s an island problem, and I get they probably deal a lot with vacationers, but total lack of respect for the customer’s experience here. With all that said, the grouper today was really good. Also, almost no lights on today, I thought it was closed when I walked in, but there are people sitting so I knew it was open, stuffy with the AC, dirty dishes from previous patrons still sitting, uncomfortable plastic chairs in the main dining room (I wouldn’t start here, but it’s worth noting if you actually want to deliver a customer focused restaurant). This place needs Gordon Ramsay or to do a real honest assessment as to why there were 4 cars here today and all the other restaurants on the island were too full to get a seat. I’m a fair tipper and have never in my life not left a tip, but this place makes me contemplate it. Sears bought K-Mart and left it the same, I believe the last of them closed last year.

*I’m in no way associated with any restaurant, but notice how there are no responses to customer feedback here, they’re either out of touch or don’t care. Check out how responsive Pirates on the island is to feedback, your better bet is definitely to fight the space limitations over there. In 2018 you’re either operating a business in ignorance to the risk associated with not listening to review feedback or you’re stubborn and self-sabotaging. I’d say this place loses a great number of customers every day because of lack of responsiveness to online reviews.

**And hey, if this place shows any attempt whatsoever at improving for the customer, I’ll update my review to reflect. I keep giving this place extra tries and every time, just a slap in the face and another bill that just isn’t...

Mediocre at best. Tourist trap to be avoided. Wait staff was pretty nice and service (although slow) wasn’t outright bad. For the absolutely exorbitant prices the total filth all around was the astounding part. Visible filth on every cloth chair like they’ve been handled with food hands for 50 years and never cleaned once. Floor so dirty the dirt obscures the tile color around every doorway and baseboard. Restroom is falling apart. Inexcusable for a place that charges what they do. $56.99 per order of crab legs was the current market price on our visit. I am not saying that’s completely out of line for a seafood place near the beach but for the experience as a whole the price vs quality does not stack up. For that price I got lukewarm inedible sides that were disgusting and not even drawn butter but just some cheap margarine like substance that barely fits the bill and was already firming back up from the time it came out. I had potatoes and corn on the cob for sides and didn’t eat either because the whole time I couldn’t get over staring at the unmelted mountain of margarine that sat unmelted on top of the food from the time it was brought out to the time we left. No joke about it being a mountain either. Picture a serving spoon full of country crock piled on top of a tiny bowl. I have never seen anything that bad for side dishes. Pathetic is a good description maybe. It feels like a complete tourist trap to me and I wouldn’t go back. I felt ripped off. I have experienced plenty of fine dining and this is as far as it gets from that but they still charge like that’s what they have to offer. For a comparable price (about $30 more which is nothing in seafood money) in the Florida keys I ate at an immaculate restaurant complete with white table cloths and outdoor seating by the water and got king crab. Just add this to the huge list of restaurants to avoid on this island. I gave 3 stars only because the waitress was personable. Had the service not been there this was an easy one star and by service I mean friendly- not prompt or memorable in any way. I didn’t even get my drink refilled or even offered once. I could see she had too many tables so I didn’t complain. She was trying and I can appreciate that as someone who has had to work hard jobs in the past. Restaurants like this are a major reason that I don’t see myself booking anything in Dauphin Island again. Who wants to go on vacation to eat worse than they eat on an average work day at home while spending massively more...

NEW UPDATE: They kept saying "all our food is cooked with pepper; now I see what they mean; we're both sick, now... UPDATE: Another waitress (not ours,) the dishwasher, someone in green?, and a "customer" named "Beth" who "had to take my picture so she could put it in the "thing?" were all extremely rude to me (but, that's ok, I've dealt with small- minded people all my life, being from the south, these aren't any more special than the rest of them.) SO I CHANGED THE OVERALL STARS BECAUSE I WAS LITERALLY GANGED UP BY THESE PEOPLE-AMAZING - the small- town mindset. [The OWNER "Snapper," however, came up to me and, handed me the cash for the Alfredo dish.] This is how paying customers who are disabled vets (who have not been able to visit this island for several years due to 2 spinal surgeries,) are treated by some of the people on Dauphin Island. DON'T WORRY BETH - DAUPHIN ISLAND HAS MUCH MORE TO FEAR FROM PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAN THEY EVER WILL FROM ME Original review- This was my birthday dinner. I have a hard time finding a place to eat in the south because I don't eat fried food; I don't eat red meat; I eat very little salt and sugar; these are all due to health reasons. Oh, and I'm allergic to black pepper and white pepper. Well, we had grilled crab claws for an appetizer- which was delicious, my husband had the Seafood Platter, which he enjoyed. The sweet potatoes fries were good. I splurged to get an Alfredo dish with seafood. It had SO MUCH PEPPER IN IT, that's all you could taste. The server JESSE, did an outstanding job ❤. She let the manager, SHELLY, know about the problem with the Alfredo dish, and SHELLY choose to neither take it off my bill nor replace it with something I could eat. So, I'll be contacting the owner (see update, above) and letting all my friends know (I'm local:-) and I believe SHELLY will see she's lost the restaurant much more than the cost of that one entree. Maybe she'll learn something... maybe she won't, but, Karma will take...