Blue Fin Restaurant And Bar — Restaurant in Elgin

First of all, let me say that all their food is different than what you will find offered in the area, and even different than how it is described in their own menu!

This review covers more than one visit to this restaurant, So don't make the mistake of dismissing me as a one time customer.

It has been a long time between visits because I forget just how bad some of their dishes have become.

Tonight my visit was part of a couple. We ordered appetizer: Fried Calamari, and she-crab soup, for myself.

Both were delicious despite the Calamari having been served with two dipping sauces I could only describe as Hot and Hot/Sweet.

As a main course I ordered PAN-FRIED Catfish, to be served with a series of vegetables that included Anjouli Sausage, Ocra, Tomatoes and Aspargus along with something called Cheese Grit Cake.

My wife ordered Tonight's Special, as indicated on a separate menu, which was called CRAB STUFFED FLOUNDER, also to be served with a series of vegetables.

The problem tonight was BOTH fish dinners were served in a Bowl rather than in flat plates, as is traditional. That should have been a fair warning against the meal!

Peering inside the bowls, I found a few short, THIN strips (4 fillets, 6-8 inches long, barely thicker than 1/8 thick and about 1-1/2 inches wide) of fish fillets that were SOAKING in a brown liquid.

When I questioned the waitress if she had not brought me the wrong order she quickly said "No Sir, THAT is the Pan-Fried Catfish you ordered".

When I asked WHAT was this liquid, she responded "THAT is the Gravy".

Let me paint a picture for you, if you didn't understand my issue with this - I ordered Pan-Fried Catfish served with a side of - instead what I received was FISH SOUP with OVER COOKED Fish fillets UNDER a half bowl of liquid, and a smattering of chopped vegetables that I could hold in the palm of my small hands.

And when I say OVER COOKED, I mean my fish fillets were crunchy ALL the way through the fillet - Especially the thickest parts of the fillet, which was barely 1/8th of an inch thick. I have honestly gotten thicker catfish fillets at 1/10 the price I paid for this meal! Eating them reminded me of trying to eat burnt crackers.

On the other hand, my wife's dish was equally disappointing, except in her case she received a HALF a BOWL's worth of vegetables MIXED together to resemble the bowl of liquid I had been served, with two small masses of FLOUNDER wrapped around a Tablespoon of Crab mix/meal. Those fillets could not have come from a fish any longer than 6 inches!

For $10 more than I had paid for my $20 Catfish dinner, she received a Bowl of vegetables with some fish on top - Hardly what any one would consider getting their money's worth.

If I were a vegetarian, I still would have plenty to complain about since she said her vegetables did not taste good.

What should have been described as a Romullade (fancy name for mixed Vegetables) was instead written out on the menu as though you were going to be served an assortment of individual vegetables on your platter.

Mind you this place is decorated as though it's a fancy restaurant, with meals prepared by a trained Chef. However, beneath the veil you see the ugly truths: bad or unseasoned foods, overly spicy sauces and a menu that could have been written on the back of a napkin by a Road trucker in a rush.

After it was all said and done, We paid about $100 for two meals that were cooked as if by an tired, old house-wife who didn't care whether you'd like what was served to you.

To add insult to injury, in these times of Covid outbreaks and with 4 NEW virus mutations running rampant in the state THIS restaurant was packing diners into booths along both sides of our booth.

YES, the Governor was not making restrictions mandatory - but as I was told by a senior waittress "the restrictions have been lifted" (Eased since Oct 2020). Mind you they were still being observed in the Red Lobster down the street! (Feb 2021)

So if you choose to eat here, You do so at your own Peril, both in the wallet and with...

On April 1, 2015, I had my birthday dinner at this establishment. This was the first time I ever been to this Restaurant. It was also the first time for my friends I invited as well. The only thing pleasant about this place was the Hostess. I made reservations for seven it looked like it was for four. When we were seated our Waitress Niki Hamilton took 5-10 mins to approach our table. When she FINALLY approached our table we ordered our drinks and needed another minute or so to order our food. When were ready to order some of us had specific questions about the entrees on the menu. Our Waitress Niki Hamilton seemed to be getting irritated about the questions being asked and wasn't being very helpful. I ordered She Crab Soup, which was awful (and I love soup especially She Crab Soup) and their #3 Fried Seafood Platter (which came with oysters, scallop, shrimp, flounder, hushpuppies, sweet potatoe fries, and slaw. While we were waiting on our food (which took forever to come out) our Waitress ignored us. We had to constantly ask her to refill our drinks and she didn't come check on our table. I mean it wasn't like the place was booming on a Wednesday night. When our food finally came out it truly wasnt what we expected. My #3 seafood platter that I ordered looked like something I could get out of Captain D's or Long John Silver for half the price maybe less and my oysters weren't even on my platter. For a 23 dollar plate i expected way more than was on there. Anyway sad to say that no one was satisfied with there entree. Ms. Niki Hamilton our Waitress end getting my friends order wrong and ended up charging her for another entree. As the night went on i did get a complimentary dessert which OK i've had better pecan pie. Now here is the big boom and how I do not recommend anyone to go to Blue Fin as long as Niki Hamilton is a waitress. After everyone was done eating we were still at our table conversing. Our tickets were paid for. Our Waitress proceeds to approach our table and chastise us about her tip that she was left and how it wasn't enough and she basically waited on our table for nothing. Now i have had my share of Restaurants (some good...some not so good) and for 31years of living I have never been reprimanded about a TIP that was not even deserving for not so good customer service. I was baffled, appalled, humiliated, wrapped up in a nice sushi roll. I had to maintain my composure and professionalism. I told Ms. Niki Hamilton to move away from the table because what she was saying was not appropriate. I am a person who rarely charges a tip to my card. I usually just give cash and I do it right before leaving the table. So Ms. Niki Hamilton missed out on the tip that was going to be left before I got up from the table. I addressed the situation to the Manager and his remorse for his Waitress actions was not genuine. His excuse was that she was new and he will talk to her. I told him it was our first time at Blue Fin and a damper was put on my Birthday dinner and he was still un-bothered. I do not recommend this place to anyone for their poor Customer Service and there over priced Long John...

I have been to this restaurant about 5 times because the food is great as well as the staff. Yesterday I decided that I would go eat there because it had been a few months since I last been there. My overall experience previously was amazing, however yesterday was the first time EVER feeling upset with the experience I received! Amber was our waitress and she was nice, I ordered the sea bass which came with shrimp fried rice. So after having a few bites of my rice, I was ready to taste the sea bass that looked so succulent only to cut into the fish releasing a horrific smell. I notified Amber about it and she was very apologetic and came back out to let me know it definitely was not suppose to smell that way and I would not be charge for the dish and I could pick something else out. Reluctantly...still feeling nausea from the awful smell of the sea bass, I order the fillet mignon to go. I received my bill only to find out nothing was taken off for the experience I had with the sea bass. I work as a guest service representative at a hotel and I know how customer service is suppose to go!. I ask to speak to the manager only to find out he was the one that was walking around the entire time we were there and NEVER came to our table nor anyone else's table to ask how is everything and are you guys okay. When the manager John came out, I shook his hand and introduced myself and told him about the whole experience with my meal. He made it known that he knew about my situation which HE NEVER CAME AND APOLOGIZE before having to ask to speak with a manager. Then he was telling me he took the sea bass dinner off so I wouldn't be charge for it which I certainly felt offended by that because if I had taken one bit and gotten sick then it could have lead up to a law suit. He offered me a coupon for the next time I come but my mind was already made up that once I saw how his management skills where, that I would NEVER come here again nor recommend this place to anyone! After I ask how was we going to make this right, he then said he would give me half off my meal. I left there in total disbelief and disgusted and sadly to say I would never go there again nor recommend this...