O'Shucks Karaoke Bar — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

When I first got in I got the impression this seemed like a dive bar. I didn’t see anyone with food at the time I arrived so maybe the kitchen closes early. However, with how the bar looked I would not eat from their kitchen. I put in my name for the karaoke line. Then when approaching the bar to get a cup of water, I grabbed some more slips to give to my friends to join in karaoke. The person that was serving me the water (seemed like the bouncer/bar tender/manager) told me I had to get 1 drink minimum to go up on stage. I told her are you serious ok then a bottle of water. I asked if they took Apple Pay she said for card it had to be a $10 min. This is how they get you to spend more money. The first time I’ve been at a karaoke bar that had minimum purchases to sing. Then when one of my friends decided to sing as but was afraid to go up on stage alone, decided to add me for a duet. The MC instead of calling us to the side to let her know that our song order would be moved to after 1am because I had already sang up on stage. She just bumped the song to a later time with no courtesy or warning. She should’ve treated us with respect of our time and pulled us aside to explain how they do things there like she did with one of our other friends to let them know they didn’t have the song. I would’ve gladly taken my name off so that my friend could sing on stage. Then when I turned in my partner’s paper she told me because I’ve gone up I was going to be pushed later if they had room to fit me in. I said no this is not my paper. This is my partner’s she said oh ok. Mind you there was this amazing singer who was already a return that went up on stage prior to 1am which completely contradicted what the MC said how they do things. We just ended up leaving altogether after that. Not to mention their alcoholic drinks are pricy for the worth of this bar. $8 for a tiny cup of pineapple vodka. I can get a regular size drink for that price at a nicer karaoke bar. Would not return.

Update: I changed my 2 star down to 1 star. If a company has been in business for over 22 years and has exorbitant fees with their credit card merchant then there is something incorrect with this picture. at most the fees shouldn’t be higher than $0.35. As a small business owner myself I negotiate my fees. Let’s not forget that as a business owner you completely glossed over my concerns as a client. Please speak to your MC she had short curly hair. As someone who has witnesses she specifically said she had to take my duet out of the line because my name was on there. I could have taken myself out of the DUET. Which didn’t allow for someone NEW to actually sing. Let’s not forget there were also repeat singers going on stage. So the inconsistent policies you mention should get thoroughly reviewed to optimize guest experiences. Side note Google specifically asked me if the food was good hence why I mentioned I’m not sure if food is served...

I used to love coming here but the last multiple times have been such a let down.

The first let down was when I called ahead of time to find out what time the stopped taking songs, I got there 30 minutes prior to the time that they gave me and they turned my friends and I away. I would understand if it was packed but it was not even close to busy .

The second time, I want to Preface, I have been here manyyyy times . I am mixed black and white and i do not pull the race card very often. When I first started coming here , i would come in with my white friend group . We NEVER got ID’d (not that it would matter cause we were all 21+) and we never had issues with song rotation. When I came in with a more diverse friend group we were ID’d and turned away always by something minor. Now I am a security officer and I’m very familiar with the law and I can say that turning away a 45 year old man because his id was BENT is insanity . (And not to insult my brother in law but he looks like he’s pushing 50, very obviously a grown man) but we were turned away and asked to leave the property. Yes my brother in law is a black man.

The third time we showed up was with my friend and I and it was a Saturday night, very packed , and because we knew it was so packed we bought our drink and submitted a few songs each (4 songs each) we were in there for hourss and only got 1 song in each , while other people were going up multiple times and YES my friend was black. At the end of the night the dj said we could tip to skip the line. And we both did and still did not get to get another song.

This recent time I came in,,, and this time it’s understandable because it is the regulations, I forgot my ID and asked if I could use my security license and was told no, i was speaking with a man that had sold me many drinks in the past 🤣 and I understand he sees many people everyday but I am a conversationalist and a big tipper, so it just baffles me . We were asked to leave the premises tonight and not in a nice way . Again this is more understandable thing and If it wasn’t for the attitude and the fact that it was from someone who I know had served me plenty enough times to have recognized me , I can’t help but to think there are other reasons why these recent times have been so disappointing…

Its verrryyy disappointing because I loved this bar but I won’t be coming back to...

If you are going to go, arrive by 11p if you want to sing. I arrived at midnight and put in for my song. By 1a I still hadn't sung and it was time to "tip your way to the top". I didn't have a lot of cash on me but I thought hey, "I really want to sing so I'll tip". Even though I was second in line to tip, apparently I didn't tip enough because I never got to sing. I overheard the girl running the karaoke tell a table that the top tippers went first and everyone else had to wait or not sing. I did end up getting my tip back but I think you should let the crowd know that your tip doesn't guarantee you a song and that you are basically buying your slot in the rotation.

Hello Bob, since Google won't allow me to reply to your comment I figured I'd post it here. Shame on you for presuming too much. I've been to your establishment before and had an okay time, the margarita wasn't great and I wasn't a big fan of the smoke but an okay time I had. Also, shame on you for posting how much my tip was after your karaoke host told another table that it was in bad taste to disclose how much people tip to get to the top when someone asked. I think that it is very unprofessional to try and shame someone who came in and bought drinks and tipped your bartenders the same night. But I know, you are just stating facts, so my dollar wasn't worth as much to your establishment as other dollars. Much like you I also manage a very successful experience location in Orlando so I do understand how these reviews work. I've also worked in the food and beverage industry (won some awards from my company) so I do understand how this works as well. See, at my establishment, when we have a complaint or someone has a bad experience, we try to understand why in order to improve on our service to our guests, we don't get petty in the reviews on Google because we take them as constructive criticism. Being someone who loves karaoke I'll still tell folks to visit your establishment, I will just give them the same information I posted in the comments so they are aware before they enter. I know you are successful and will continue to be, I read the award you won in 2018 for Orlando's best karaoke bar, so I wish you and your team the best in the...