Cool Springs Fish Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Delaware

I would not recommend this place to anyone, upon arrival we were seated for 15 minutes before being acknowledged by our waitress. Our waitress was a fairly older woman and team work is obviously not a thing here. I was practically choking and in need of water when I stopped a waiter asking if he could help with water, he responded okay and went and took a tables order. The manager Carolyn walked back and forth during this process. When our waitress finally arrived we placed our food and drink orders. My partner was carded in which wasn’t a problem. When her drink arrived the manager Carolyn darted over to card her again after we told her the waitress had already carded us. I ordered the Linguine Pasta w/blackened tuna steak in which comes with salad and steamed veggies. The pasta was heavily dressed in cheese and when I asked for extra sauce I was told it wasn’t possible. The dish wasn’t at all what I expected and I didn’t like it. When I let the manager Carolyn know she responded, "well Alfredo is mainly cheese, so what do you want me to do? I can box it up and you can take it home." I repeatedly told her I didn’t want it, she then turned to the male at the table and asked,"would you care to take it? It’s just not a good enough reason to take it off the bill. I can see if it were something we done." She walked off and returned with a separate plate, where she removed the tuna from the pasta and onto a separate plate and offered to bring me a potato. Again I repeatedly told her I did not want it and she took it away. This entire time the waitress never came by to check to see if everything was okay with our food. When it came down to pay our waitress presented a bill with the dish still on it, when I questioned the waitress she then looked at the male at the table and asked if would take it home and eat it. I responded absolutely not and went to speak with the manager. She kept her back turned the entire time stating "I took it off and I charged you for the salad and steamed veggies." I nicely said, "she just presented a check with it on it." I said ," I would like to say one more thing " and she walked off and went to grab the check off the table and replace it with the new one. I literally followed this woman to the bar to let her know the way my family was treated here today wasn’t right, we could have been secret shoppers, etc. She looked at me with a blank stare, no accountability, no apology or anything. I handed her the card for payment and she brought it back to the table. I’ve worked in the food industry for over 8 years and I have never seen...

Atmosphere- Clean with an open kitchen viewable from the bar. Not much of a waiting area to be seated other than at the bar which was already packed.

Wait staff- Seated in 15 minutes after being told the wait would be 30. However once seated we waited another 15 before we were greeted by a waitress to take our drink orders. We watched as others seated after us received drinks, rolls and salads still without anyone asking if we had been helped yet. Finally after ushering over a bust boy we finally met our waitress. She was super apologetic and made up for the long wait with fast service and a great personality. She was able to offer up many recommendations from what to choose from as my wife can be a tad indecisive when it comes to food.

Drinks- I had the Fog Cutter she had the Barbie Malibu Martini. Both of us had no complaints drinks were delicious and strong.

Appetizers- I got the half order of the Oyster Sashimi she got the Crab bisque. The oysters were smooth and Briney with a sweet after taste. They were topped with tuna sashimi and a dollop of wasabi to finish with a bang. My wife said if it wasn't impolite she would've licked the bowl clean that's how good her Crab Bisque was.

Entree- I had the Skillet Seared Tuna Steak, I would wait a whole hour before meeting the waitress if this was the meal I would get every time. Seared to perfection flaky on the outside firm in the middle. Tuna just melts in your mouth and the ginger sauce dances across your taste buds.

Dessert- Strawberry Pie a seasonal delight crispy crust smooth chocolate and sweet strawberries made for a perfect ending to a...

This was once a wonderful, upscale seafood with a good steak place to go for prom, special birthdays, anniversaries etc. I don’t know what happened, but wow. Table of five. Three ordered off daily specials, two off the regular menu. Four meals came out. The fifth (a daily special) arrived after all the other plates were cleared. Wait staff was clearly embarrassed so she would not come over to take follow up drink orders, refill water glasses, or provide any update.

The check arrives with everything listed in the order delivered to the table. And yes, the swordfish special was on the bill - after everything else.

I marked the food low (2 stars). The sauces were oily or gelatinous, there was no creamy cream sauce. Fresh asparagus was not washed properly, it had grit. I appreciate it is from Fifer’s, but I don’t want to eat the sand from there. The tomato salsa for the fiery shrimp appetizer had no heat but did have equal parts tomato with garlic and no hot pepper. My swordfish was well cooked, but arrived almost a full hour after everyone else’s meal at the table.

This did not feel like a special event. The service was abysmal. The food was mediocre. The check for $236 was icing on a poorly made jello-strawberry with instant pudding chocolate-base pie. I love and support locally owned, family operated enterprises. I’m going to have a hard time being...