Bonefish Grill — Restaurant in Durham

FIRST TIME I HAVE NEVER TIPPED & HERE'S WHY! I LOVE BONEFISH RESTAURANTS. AND JUST LIKE WITH ANY OTHER RESTAURANT, I AM A GENEROUS TIPPER. THE SERVERS AT THE NORTH HILLS LOCATION HAVE RECEIVED TIPS FOR ABOUT 40% OF THE COST OF MEALS WHICH TEND TO RANGE FROM $100 - $200. BUT NO ONE DESERVED A TIP AT THIS BONEFISH LOCATION IN DURHAM! THERE WERE FOUR OF US. WE RECEIVED GLASSES OF WATER. THERE WAS A KNAT IN ONE OF THE GLASSES OF WATER. WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT AND GAVE THE WAITER THE GLASS BACK, AFTER SHOWING HIM THE KNAT. MY SALMON PLATE CAME OUT AND THE SALMON WAS RAW INSIDE. I AM A PESCETARIAN WHO EATS SALMON ABOUT FOUR TIMES A WEEK. UPON STICKING MY FORK IN IT, I WAS ABLE TO SEE THAT IT WAS RAW. I GOT THE WAITER'S ATTENTION. HE AGREED THAT IT WAS DEFINITELY NOT COOKED AND TOOK IT BACK TO THE COOK, ON A SAUCER TO BE COOKED LIKE IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ORIGINALLY. THE THIRD GIRL'S SHRIMP WAS THE SAME. IT WAS ALMOST RAW. NEITHER OF US TOUCHED OUR MEALS, SO THIS OBVIOUSLY WASN'T A SCHEME TO GET FREE MEALS. WE JUST WANTED FOOD THAT WOULDN'T MAKE US SICK, THAT'S ALL! WE ALL HAD DRIVEN FROM MEBANE AND GARNER (A HALFWAY POINT FOR EVERYONE) BECAUSE I TOLD THEM THAT BONEFISH IS MY FAVORITE RESTAURAUNT. BUT NOT THIS ONE! THE MANAGER CAME OUT AND SAID HE'D SEEN THE SALMON. HE TOO ACKNOWLEDGED THAT IT WAS UNDERCOOKED. HE REMOVED THE MEALS WITH ISSUES FROM THE BILLS. WE ALL HAD STILL PLANNED TO TIP THE WAITER NAMED CHRISTIAN BECAUSE WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE FOOD AND WATER ISSUES WERE NOT HIS FAULT. BUT THEN HE DID SOMETHING THAT MADE US CHANGE OUR MINDS. HE ASKED IF THESE WERE ALL SEPARATE TICKETS. WE SAID YES. IT CAN'T GET ANY CLEARER THAN US NODDING OUR HEADS AND SAYING YES WHEN ASKED IF THEY WERE ALL SEPARATE. I STILL ORDERED CAKE AFTER NOT HAVING A MEAL. AND, WE HAD OTHER THINGS TO PAY FOR LIKE APPETIZERS. IT WAS CRYSTAL CLEAR TO THE SERVER THAT WE NEEDED FOUR SEPARATE BILLS. CHRISTIAN STILL CAME BACK WITH ONE BILL FOR EVERYTHING WE WERE STILL NEEDING TO PAY FOR. I REMINDED HIM THAT WE HAD REQUESTED FOUR SEPARATE BILLS. ONE REASON WAS FOR THE ONLINE GIFT CARDS THAT WE WERE GOING TO USE. CHRISTIAN SAID ONLY ONE GIFT CARD PER BILL. I STRESSED AGAIN TO CHRISTIAN THAT THE BILLS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SPLIT INTO FOUR AND THAT IF HE WOULD HAVE BILLED EVERYONE SEPARATELY THEN THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE. HE WOULD NOT GO BACK AND SEPARATE THE BILLS. HE SAID THIS WAS BECAUSE EVERYTHING WAS ALREADY ON THE ONE BILL. THIS WAS HIS MISTAKE, NOT OURS. SO WE HAD TO PUT ALL OF OUR PAYMENTS TOGETHER AND PAY ONE BILL WITH GIFT CARDS, CASH, ETC. ALL BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO CORRECT HIS MISTAKE. THEREFORE, NO WE DID NOT TIP HIM. ANYONE WHO DOESN'T CARE ENOUGH TO CORRECT A MINOR ERROR LIKE THIS, AFTER ALL WE'D GONE THROUGH AT THE RESTAURANT, DID NOT DESERVE A TIP. I CAME HOME & TOLD MY FAMILY WHAT HAPPENED. MY FAMILY WAS SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT I DID NOT TIP, WHEN I AM KNOWN FOR MAKING SURE THAT WAITERS AND WAITRESSES ALWAYS RECEIVE GREAT TIPS. I DO THIS BECAUSE I SEE HOW HARD THEY WORK AND TO COMPENSATE FOR ANY BAD TIPPERS THAT THEY MAY HAVE HAD. BUT THIS IS ONE RESTAURANT WHERE THE WAITER, COOK, OWNER, AND ANYONE ELSE WHO ASSISTED WITH OUR ORDERS DID NOT DESERVE ONE PENNY! THE IMAGE OF MY RAW SALMON IS WHAT WAS LEFT AFTER THE WAITER TOOK MOST OF IT AWAY ON A SAUCER TO HAVE THE COOK COOK IT AGAIN. YOU CAN SEE...

Obviously it is a chain restaurant. Usually the food is decent. A portion of my order was wrong and the fish was over cooked. Not their best performance. Update: 6/20/2021 We made a reservation for 7:30 pm they got us seated exceptionally quick. While we waited, we ordered mojitos. The drinks should have been a warning to us. This was another terrible visit, and this after a poor performance previously. A mojito is a cocktail that consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint. The bartender made them using sour mix, I don't know if he did it on accident or if he was unaware of how to make one. They remade the drinks, and they tasted fine, still not up to par though. (As a side note, I do not like their slanted cocktail glasses, they spill, they are poorly balanced, and they break, not to mention the pain it is to wash them. Bonefish needs to remove them from all their stores.) We sat down and waited for about 5-8 minutes before the server arrived to take our drink orders (it seemed like a semi-busy night). We ordered drinks and an appetizer and waited for about 10 minutes before it arrived. They brought out bread just before the appetizer arrived. The table next to us however had to wait, what seemed like an eternity before their appetizer arrived. I have no complaints about the app. We then ordered our food, which consisted of two macaroni and cheese dishes, one key west ahi tuna, and one other shrimp dish. We were seated about 7:05 pm, by approximately 8:10 we still had not received our entrees. The server let us know they should be coming out. The entrees did come out 5 mins or so after she stopped in. The Ahi Tuna was ordered rare, when it came out, it was well done, which was the issue the last time we visited, my fish sat under the heating lamps and cooked, so that it was inedible. I sent it back and it was another 10-15 minutes before they returned with it cooked correctly, though the sides, I am certain they simply moved over to another plate. The sauce tasted ok, but the shrimp, avocado, and tomatoes tasted like something prepackaged. The shrimp were extremely salty. I scraped everything off the tuna and ate the tuna steak. I will say the manager tried to make things right by comp'ing the meals that were wrong, and desert. I will say this about my last two experiences; there are several dishes, e.g. the crab, key west salsa (shrimp), and the topping for their raspberry cheese cake, all taste artificial. My youngest who loves raspberry toppings of all sorts, did not want it. I appreciate they manager attempting to make it right, he also should have compensated the POC who sat next to us because their meals were just as wrong. In fact, everyone of the tables near us, all had issues with their meals. I cannot recommend visiting Bonefish in...

My wife, daughter, daughter-in-law and I stopped on our return trip from a medical appointment in Cary, N. C. at approximately 1:00pm on Friday, September 3, 2021. It was a first-time visit, ever, to any Bonefish Grill for all four of us. Seating for four was immediate. Waters were delivered to the table with a warm and cheerful welcome and our drink orders, as well as our appetizer order were taken very promptly by our server, Danni, and another server that she was training. Before leaving the table, Danni very graciously described the menu on the daily specials. In very short order our drinks and appetizer were brought out to us. Once again, Danni described other menu choices we inquired about, that were not covered on the menu of specials. Our orders were taken and in less than 15 minutes, they sat beautifully plated in front of us. Not remembering exactly what all was ordered by our party, I will say that my wife had the Crab Cakes and a House Salad. After a small taste of one of her Crab Cakes, I was in Heaven. So light and tender. Not overcooked to the point of being hard and crunchy as I have had them served in other restaurants. Perfection on a platter. I ordered the Key West Ahi Tuna with a citrus glaze and topped with corn, roasted peppers and avocado. My sides were the Bacon Mac n' Cheese paired alongside Garlic Whipped Potatoes. Without every detail, I will say that my meal was delicious. Every aspect of it. The Ahi Tuna cooked to a perfect WELL, however, I would have ordered my Tuna MEDIUM had I not had another 2½ hours to drive home. The Bacon was the shining star of the Mac n' Cheese. Wonderful! The macaroni was also cooked to a perfect al dente, a plus in any pasta dish. The Garlic Whipped Potatoes were perfectly flavorful without the garlic being too overwhelming. Beautiful balance of flavor. This being my very first Bonefish Grill dining experience, I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised with the entire experience. The atmosphere, the decor, the service and the quality and presentation of the entre we each received was nothing short of outstanding. Prices?If you had to compare the prices to other restaurants, their prices are comparable to Texas Roadhouse or Longhorns Steakhouse. Would I visit this establishment again? Without a doubt, I would. As a matter of fact, I can't wait to come back again. Do I recommend Bonefish Grill? Absolutely, unequivocally, YES, I do. 100%

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5

Eddie...