Camellia Street Grill — Restaurant in Everglades City

I came down to South Florida to explore the Everglades, so in my quest to visit all four of the visitor's centers, I passed by Everglades City. Some quick research told me that this place was the place to go. So in I went for a nice, riverside lunch. Plenty of seating, even with a decent line at the register. When I got to the front of the line, I asked for some advice, and I got some pretty darn good advice.

I can't find a good menu for them, so I don't have exacts, but I can paraphrase.

I opened up with some she crab soup. The only thing that matters with crab soups is how much crab is in it, and there was a decent amount of it, so I was pleased with that. I was also pleased with the crispy fried wonton strips that were served with it for nice dipping and nice added texture. Very nice stuff.

I also got a fried grouper finger basket with some nice, thick-cut sweet potato fries. Excellent breading. Not too much, adhered nicely, added a nice crisp. I also like the thick fries, because you get to taste the actual sweet potato, very nice. The only thing I was noticing in this meal was a lack of seasoning. Doesn't surprise me. What is probably their main clientele demographic isn't used to seasoning. But that's ok. Not the end of the world.

Finally, I got the big feature on their menu that day, the stone crab tacos. No lack of flavor here! That sweet crab meat needs no seasoning. Very delicious. And it was topped with a beautiful slaw that added acidity and freshness and crisp. Very happy with these tacos. Turned this experience from a four to a five star, for sure.

Overall, there were a few places in town to choose from, but if you're reading this, take my word for it, this place will...

We were recommended this place by a local and I read the recent reviews. We were disappointed though. I will start with the highlights. The shakes and desserts are the bomb. Now for the rest. The shrimp was large and sweet, the cheeseburger was overcooked, though I requested medium/rare, and looked nothing like pics other people share. The fried green tomatoes were in pieces and flavorless. The grilled corn was good. The ordering is weird, order at the counter from a chalkboard where there is a bucket for tips, but get told you will pay at table after meal. Service was on the slower side, even though it was 2pm and not crowded. Waitress was not rude but not friendly. Check was increased for non-cash or decreased for cash, I didn't take the time to figure out which. After we paid and the rest of my group left (6 of us), they returned with two $50 visa gift cards my sister put in towards bill saying they couldn't take because they didn't know how to run them. After all this, I met my husband at car with the kids so he could use restroom (there is only one), but they had locked the gate (3:10pm) even though their hours state 12-9 pm. Edit: when running some gift cards, you need to input the amount, i.e. $50, then hit the charge button. This might be why they had issues? Not sure since I don't know your register system. I did check both cards after we left, and they were still full, and I even used one at Publix last night to ensure they...

Sorry for the long review, but here goes:

We went here based on the prior great reviews. The gentleman who took our order at the counter was truly a pleasure, maybe the owner? Not sure, but he behaved in a way that the owner would have been proud. . . We placed our order and went to a table on the nearly vacant outdoor patio, and then someone brought our order to our table. My wife ordered the "shrimp basket" and I ordered the "fried oyster basket". Each of these dinners we're $20, but included a small side order. We each chose a cucumber salad side order that arrived in a small plastic cup, right next to her "6 pieces of shrimp" and next to my "6 oysters". Seriously, each of our "baskets" would have been appetizers elsewhere. We had each also ordered one bottled beer, so our total bill was close to $60. We were still hungry, so we planned on ordering one of their desserts. But the female who was supposedly waiting those few tables never came back! Ever! . . So I eventually went to the nice guy at the counter to pay the bill and mention our disappointment. He immediately took 10% off the tab. I liked him so much, I returned a 20% top to him at the counter. I truly hope he realizes this tip was for him and hopefully he did not give this to the server that never served us. We'll never know. In the future, I will return to the Island Cafe, a block...