Kyma Seafood — Restaurant in East Cocalico Township

My husband and I ate at Kyma a long time ago (not long after it opened) and the waiter suggested a sauce for the fish that really overpowered it. It was pricey and we were not thrilled. We also tried Johnny's, the steak restaurant downstairs. Johnny's was LOUD. There was a party from Pepperidge Farm there (execs) and several of them were drunk. There was little to no carpet or anything else to soak up the sounds. Silverware clanking, tipsy people being overloud, etc. and kind of high prices.... No reason to hurry back. But I digress.... My dentist always plugs Kyma and he lives in the next county. Recently friends visited Kyma and had glowing things to say. We decided it was time to try it again. We ate there on a Saturday evening. We purposely had breakfast on the late side (for us)... around 9. Then we "picked" for "lunch"... Some PB crackers for me, a hard-boiled egg and some cheese for him. We planned to get to Kyma early because every time we go past, the deck is packed and/ or there's a line to be seated. Nyla was our outstanding server. 5* for her! I ordered the coconut shrimp, he had chicken Oscar. Both were very tasty. The salad was included as one of two sides. See photos. I got a margarita ... I'm not much of a drinker, so I sipped until I had food. Good thing - it seemed strong. I had water otherwise. He had iced tea. The bill was about $80 and then the tip was beyond that. We didn't really take a vacation this year so we didn't feel bad about paying that amount, and I didn't help by adding a cocktail...but it seemed a little high. The food was terrific, though. The music was mostly 90s top 40... Montell Jordan, LaBouche, Gin Blossoms, Smashmouth, etc. It wasn't blaring, thankfully. TV was on at the bar.... We ate on the deck. Golf was on so I could peek at what Sheffler and Schauffle were doing. We were a little cramped at a 2-top, but it wasn't what I would call "uncomfortable"... And I completely understand that with the crowd this establishment draws, a 4-top has to be reserved for a party of at least three. We arrived around 4:10 pm and were there perhaps 75 min. There was a line by the time we left. We ate on the deck because I usually find the a/c indoors too strong. IDK how I would have fared inside because we didn't stay indoors but proceeded directly outdoors. No reservations are accepted Fri or Sat nights; I believe I saw that they are accepted...

We used to go to Kyma quite often. Enjoyed the inside bar and also outside during the summer. Food was hot, fresh and flavorful and service was good, just had not been there for a long time.

We heard about new owners taking over and last Saturday we decided to meet some friends there to eat outside on The Dock. We went early as it used to have a reputation of getting quite busy. Well, not to worry, maybe their bad food, poor service and lousy customer service are catching up to them, because even at 5, 6, 6:30 on a Saturday you could get a table.

First round of drinks were ordered. Pomegranate martinis and orange crush were very weak, second round was even worse, no alcohol just tasted like sweet juice. No-one ordered drinks after that.

The table ordered some apps to share. Calamari was awful. It was rubbery, chewy and barely warm. No flavor at all. Like chewing on rubber bands. Boom Boom shrimp are so full of breading with tiny little shrimp inside, you can't even taste shrimp. Scallops with bacon were old and overcooked until they were dry.

We didn't order dinner yet so I decided to call it safe and order a cheese steak. Can't mess that up, right? Wrong, totally burnt. I sent it backed and they remade it and it was ok but sat there and ate alone as everyone else was finished by the time came out. My wife ordered the trio. Crabcake was full of fillers, cold and mushy. Same with the crab stuffed flounder and shrimp, cold and mushy. Most of that dish was packed to go for our friend's dog. The mushroom risotto came on a separate plate and looked like it was sitting on the counter for a couple days. Nothing creamy and enjoyable about it, it was like a scoop of ice cream. My friend had the mussels, just soaked with butter and no flavor. They also had coconut shrimp, totally dry breading and overcooked.

No one at the table even wanted to know what they had for dessert. It could only be frozen or old. We go out to eat quite often and this is one of the worst experiences in quite some time. Worst $300 we have spent lately. We will never come back.

Do yourself a favor,...

Took my Wife here ( August 17th ) for our 4 year wedding anniversary.

The only good thing about this place was our waitress Taylor, she was very nice.

Other than that, everything we ate was pretty terrible. Calamari first came out ridiculously overcooked. It was sent back and a new batch was made and this one was okay for the most part but there was practically an uncooked squid with tentacles visibly detailed and veins, once the breading fell off it it looked like it was literally just taken from the sea.

The boom boom shrimp was good but overcooked a little as well.

Wives Wagyu Steak came out unbelievably rare, had to be sent back to be cooked more. It came back, for the most part was better but still very rare in areas.. Wife decided to eat as is and said it was really good so that was nice at least.

I got the Chicken Oscar. Lump crab meat was bare minimal and what was there was very watery crab meat. Got rice pilaf as a side and it was literally Spanish rice, never had rice pilaf be like that, but definitely seemed like some type of boxed Spanish rice.

The garlic mashed potatoes were the best thing I tasted. My daughter got chicken tenders and fries and they were more enjoyable than our overpriced meals. The diner up the street is more satisfying food wise.

This is always my fear going to places like this rather than chains of similar food type ( Coastal Bar and Grille in Wyomissing , Bonefish Grille in Lancaster ) the quality is always inconsistent at these non chain places and are always always way over priced .At least at chains you know what you're getting just about 100 percent of the time at a more manageable price. Being our wedding anniversary my wife really wanted a Lobster tail but the price just didn't justify it and based on the quality of the other food we ate I assume it wouldn't have been...