Sho Nuff Seafood — Restaurant in Durham

WARNING! DO NOT EAT HERE! They will not ask if you want your receipt. ASK FOR YOUR RECEIPT AND KEEP IT & PAY USING A DEBIT/CREDIT CARD. There is no on-site manager & no way to contact the owner if there is something wrong with your food/order. They don’t give refunds & are too arrogant to admit to doing anything wrong. They have no integrity. The email address listed on their website doesn’t work. The owner will block you if you try to contact him through any social media channels. The owner, Michael Griffin, even uses the fake name Canelo Gee as the admin for his Sho Nuff Seafood Facebook group and business page. I had to file a complaint against this restaurant through the Better Business Bureau after receiving cold, unfresh, inedible food that made me sick after I ate a crab leg and a piece of corn. I left the rest of my food for the owner to see that I couldn’t eat it. I informed the cashier of the situation. She tried to contact him several times, but he wouldn’t answer his phone. She said that my seafood wasn’t steamed to order, but had been sitting in a warming tray. I knew that because my seafood was cold, it wasn’t held at a safe temperature to prevent bacterial growth, as I have a culinary degree and have taught ServSafe food safety classes. Their sanitation grade means nothing. They know the timeframe to expect the food safety inspection to take place. They obviously clean up well to pass inspection, then start slacking off again. Here is the link to the BBB if you encounter a problem with this restaurant: https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint. They will keep a record of complaints against this restaurant, and people will be able to make an informed decision before dining there. The owner never offered me an apology or refund. I tried to contact them before leaving a public review, to ask why I was not being given a refund, and why there was no manager I could speak with, but I found that they had blocked me. I also tried to contact the owner by sending an email to the address listed on their website, but it did not work. The bathroom had no paper towel dispenser; instead, a roll of paper towels was sitting on top of the dirty toilet. The bathroom trash can's foot pedal to open the lid was broken so I had to lift the dirty lid to throw away trash. Staff using this bathroom can further contribute to the spread of foodborne bacteria/illness. The only other bathroom was out of order. This is not a Black-owned restaurant, as I thought it was. The owner is white. He is largely profiting off the Black community’s hard-earned money & taking advantage of them because he makes himself unavailable, serves mediocre and/or unfresh food, & isn’t consistent with the quality of the food or cleanliness of the restaurant. I feel that they have their circle of friends writing positive reviews or are paying for them. Often restaurants may flood their ratings with positive reviews to make it appear that they’re offering better service & food than they actually are. There are multiple negative reviews stating how disrespectful the owner is & how unwilling he is to settle disputes. He intentionally avoids his customers & is running a shady business. Spend your money at establishments that respect you, care about you, and are thankful for...

First encounter with the heavy set lady with the glass and locks was unpleasant. When I was talking to her on the phone she rudely said I couldn’t order over the phone rudely explained how to order and hung up without notice when she was done talking. I’ve been to this restaurant once before months ago and the previous person took my order over the phone and was pleasant. I don’t know what’s going on with this place but I ordered food for take here and it was good. This time it was the nastiest food I ever had in my entire 42 years and I traveled and eat all over. We ordered the 2 lobster tales, cluster of crab legs, shrimp that came with potatoes and corn meals with 2 sides of hush puppies. The entire tray had absolutely no flavor at all with an unbearable hot red dye #40 oily lacked of seasoning brown gunky weird sauce that coagulated and fell to the bottom of the tray. Not to mention those undercooked hush puppies that were like chewing a grainy dessert gum consistency that were so dry I couldn’t swallow it and it chocked my child. The so called sweet corn was far from sweet or fresh yet stale mushy and came from the freezer for sure. After realizing we treated ourselves to a painfully disgusting meal and didn’t want to waste our $112 dollars. We decided to rinse the food off and try to eat it but that was a bad decision to forced ourselves to eat it cause we diarrhea from last night all the way until now. I felt the urgency to write this review and never to return to this restaurant again which has great reviews. I also want to give warning to other people to take caution before eating at this place after 6pm( around the time we ordered) or in general. This place came highly recommended and I’m highly sick to my stomach and disappointed. On the positive side the potatoes were fresh and most were fully cooked and the size of the crab legs are the biggest Ive seen in Nc. I would love to know where they...

Shonuff Seafood left a bitter taste in my mouth, and it wasn't just the mushy, unappetizing shrimp. The owner, Michael Griffen, seemed more interested in perfecting his rudeness than ensuring a satisfactory dining experience. Our grievances were treated like an inconvenience, blatantly ignored and unempathized with. Spending over 400 dollars at this establishment felt like tossing money into a pit of disrespect. Michael's lack of accommodation reached new lows as the mushy shrimp arrived, making the shells impossible to pull off. It was a culinary catastrophe, and to add insult to injury, the shrimp had a foul taste that lingered like a bad memory. Shonuff Seafood not only failed in the kitchen but also in basic customer service, leaving me with a distaste for both their cuisine and their unprofessional owner. When explaining how much of a inconvenience it was to have to drive an hour to pick up food for a messed up order, Michael told me that wasn't his problem and that he has nothing to do with how far we live. This felt like a spit in the face. When I explained how it ruined my family dinner not being able to enjoy the food in its fullness, he responded that He isn't getting into all of that and he has nothing to do with that. Every year since they have been open, my family spends around 2000 dollars at this restaurant as we use them for catering for several events throughout the year. The disrespect at Shonuff Seafood on this evening was utterly uncalled for. Despite being a paying customer, the owner, Michael Griffen, chose to unleash a wave of rudeness and disregard. There was no reason for such disdain. It was a blatant display of unprofessionalism that overshadowed any attempt at enjoying the meal. In any dining experience, regardless of circumstances, basic courtesy and respect should prevail, and Shonuff Seafood failed miserably...