Gaffer's — Restaurant in Emerald Isle

We started off with an absolutely amazing experience and such a wonderful atmosphere with live music before we got sat!

It started at the bar when we found some spots there. We sat waiting for a table for probably 12 minutes and the bartender never acknowledged us or got our drink order. We sat so long we ended up getting a table and never ordering anything.

Once we sat down we waited for so long the hostess came back to our table to make sure our server came to greet us.

The server Lauren started off seriously amazing. She was very friendly and personable. Throughout the meal though she forgot several items of food and it made our outing kind of annoying. We ordered several appetizers and she forgot one. By the time we said something we didn’t even want it but it was the Gaff potatoes and we wanted to try them but not after our food came out.

Our food came out and it was decently good. The Gaff sandwich was great but the platters both were meh and the shrimp platter was not that great. One of the platters (the fried platter) was supposed to come with oysters and they just decided to add extra fried shrimp instead of telling us there was no oysters. This was the only reason a party member ordered the platter and it was annoying it did not come as described.

Once we got the bill we noticed everyone had a $3.99 up charge for a loaded baked potato which was seriously an additional few pieces of cheese and bacon that tasted like it came from a bottle. The server didn’t let anyone know it was an up charge and again it didn’t even come with sour cream or butter like described.

Another person in our group ordered a side order with their meal and never received it.

Manager approached our table at the end to the meal after we already paid. She said she was sorry and had she known before we paid that she would have done something but since we paid with cards she couldn’t do anything. No dessert to drink was offered just a mediocre apology that she seemed annoyed to give. She also offered, and I quote, to provide us with “fried oysters for the road” since we didn’t get them. I’m sorry but oysters for the road for an entree that is $43 is not something I want to eat in the car in a Togo box.

We really wanted to enjoy this restaurant because it came highly recommended but it definitely did not meet expectations and was a very subpar restaurant.

The hostess was very nice and went out of her way to clear plates off the table and change the TV to the game we wanted, which was great!

Overall, it could have been an off night, but we would not recommend this to anyone in Emerald Isle. Again, atmosphere was amazing but service, drinks and just overall management was not great. Definitely deserved a one star for...

Very long wait for food, bacon wrapped scallops were undercooked, flounder special was dry, shrimp and grits were very watery as if the grits had not been cooked properly.

We had very high hopes for this establishment only to be treated very poorly by management/owners. Manager Sammy is very condescending and the owner (didn’t catch her name) is quite hostile and very rude. Our server Ashley was great and did everything in her power to try and make our meal enjoyable.

Our party arrived at 5:15 on a Wednesday evening, a large party of 10 adults and 1 child and were split between two tables. This was not an ideal situation however completely understandable given the floor-plan set up of the restaurant.

At the beginning of the meal, I passed an additional tip along to the manager Sammy and told him we were celebrating a birthday as well. Obviously that was my mistake in the hopes of extending goodwill towards the staff.

I had to grab something from my car and the manager Sammy, referred to me a “sweetie” in passing. I’m sorry, that is a very disrespectful thing for a strange man to say to a woman he does not know. That interaction put me on defense and on guard with that man.

Meals came out in pieces vs having each table served as a whole. Honestly quite disorganized. We raised concerns when large parties sat after us were served entrees prior to us. That did not bode well with the manager Sammy. He offered no solution and said he is not in charge of staffing-My response was-You have two hands and should be helping your staff to make sure all customers are happy. We explained our frustration and his solution to was send over “the owner”. Not really sure who she was, but she came in “hot and heavy” acknowledging that meals are sent out at different times and tables are not served together. Her exact words were “happens all the time”. She was very aggressive in an attempt to put me in my place. I matched her very hostile energy, with her last words that they “lost a cook that night in a car accident” and then stormed away.

Obviously her last statement was an absolutely terrible thing to have happened. One would think that the management would have came around to each table to inform guests that the kitchen was running behind or to just double check drinks/water were filled as a proactive way to properly manage the expectations of guests seated in the establishment.

All around a TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE and I can think of many more places that will at least treat their customers with respect vs hostile energy.

not worth the $50 per head...

We ordered the Blackened Shrimp Nachos. Most of the chips were horribly overcooked in the fryer. The cheese they put on top wasn't even nacho cheese. They literally just sprinkled shredded cheese on the nachos, and all of that shredded cheese melted and solidified into a single, inedible mass. There was no sour cream added, and there were no refried beans added. Not even on the side. It was one of the most expensive yet one of the worst plates of nachos I've ever eaten. The shrimp tasted great, but they only gave us about 5 pieces on the entire dish. This was an $18.99 + tax + tip plate of nachos, and they certainly had enough margin in there to add more shrimp. I also ordered a double shot of espresso. It took well over 20 minutes for the waitress to bring it to our table. By the time it arrived, it was nearly cold. They also didn't even use an espresso cup. They just served the double shot in a standard 12-ounce paper coffee cup. I was going to tell the waitress that this wasn't acceptable, be she was hardly even around our table for me to do so.

Whoever assembled our nacho plate could see that the chips were overcooked. They didn't care and sent it out anyway. Whoever was responsible for checking dishes before they go to customers either didn't care or just wasn't paying attention. Whoever designed this dish knew that sprinkling cheese over the chips is not a replacement for nacho cheese and is unacceptable. They knew that sour cream and refried beans are an essential part of nachos, yet they didn't even include them anywhere on the dish, let alone as side items. They knew that more than 5 shrimp should go on a plate of nachos that are this expensive. There were too many failures that took place on too many levels in regard to the food we ordered. On top of all of this, the individual who delivered my espresso to the table could feel through the cup that it wasn't the right temperature, yet they didn't care and served it to me anyway. They knew that it had sat around for 20+ minutes after I ordered it. All it would have taken was a few minutes to make a fresh espresso shot.

I understand that restaurants can be short-staffed on busy shifts, and I understand that new kitchen and wait staff can do things improperly. However, it is the responsibility of management to institute the proper safeguards are in place so bad food and cold espresso drinks don't make it out to customers who are already paying a premium...