Hudson Bay Seafood — Restaurant in Fayetteville

My friend and I went here last Friday for lunch. It has been almost 12 years since I've been back at this restaurant and I'll say it wasn't a disappointment. We both ordered their Lunch Special of Catfish and shrimps. It included baked potato, coleslaw and hushpuppies. Our server, Sierra, was friendly and attentive. Our hostess sat us down as soon as we got there. Now this was their lunch hour on a Friday and we got seated as soon as we walked in and they already had a buzzling room filled with their customers. Less than 5 minutes our server came and got our orders and drinks then came back with a basket of hot and golden hushpuppies with whipped butter. Yum!!! I havent had hushpuppies in a long while and we were both hungry, so we ate it all before our lunch came, but Sierra checked on us even while waited for our meal and brought us more. Less than 10 minutes our lunch came still fresh from the fryer. 2 large fried catfishes and 10...yes 10 deep fried jumbo shrimps, baked potato and coleslaw. I was so hungry I almost burned my tongue. The baked potato only came with a side of their whipped butter and a little packet of sour cream that you can get at a fast food place, but if you asked for more, they will give you extras. You do have a choice of french fries if you didn't want a baked potato. I wasn't fond of the coleslaw...it wasn't the coleslaw I'm used to and love growing up here in the South. It was sort of minced into small bits, and I guess because of their customers are older folks. But all in all, the food was delicious. The place is clean...so clean that even their restroom was spotless and didn't have that awful smell of sewer like most other restaurants have. The hostess was in one of the stalls with gloves cleaning, now that's true dedication. She was so friendly and I wished all restaurants here in Fayetteville were liked that. So we all fuss about the food and the staff and say we won't be coming back" , but Hudson Bay Seafood cares about their customers. I love watching their staff interact with their customers new and old. That's what's missing these days in restaurants and even any businesses...they're forgetting what proper customer service is. Thanks Hudson Bay Seafood...y'all I'll be coming back. Oh...I forgot for the lunch special we had it only cost a us a whopping $23+ ($10.95 each). Just sayin....check this local...

Would have loved to leave a great review of the food at Hudson’s tonight, however we didn’t get any food. Apparently, showing up before 6:30 at a restaurant that closes at 7pm on a Sunday, is frowned upon at this establishment. Upon arrival, the hostess asked, with a snarky tone, if we were dining in. Well, we usually don’t go in as a family of four to pick up to-go orders.

We were seated and watched as waitresses were flipping up chairs and cleaning the dining room with many tables still eating or waiting on food. A waitress then came to our table before we had even ordered drinks to ask us if we were going to need the sauces on the table (cocktail, tartar, ketchup, etc).. why yes, we wood, but she clearly just wanted to take them to clean/fill for the night. Once we realized we weren’t feeling welcomed at all, and they’ve removed any broiled/blackened options from the menu, we decided to leave.

On the way out, I stopped to speak with one of the worst employees ever when asking to speak with the owner/manager. He told us the owner was busy in the kitchen, and basically solidified that they couldn’t care less to lose business. He was rude and non-apologetic, ending with a very sarcastic “yeah, y’all have a good night.”

We will be calling tomorrow hoping to get a better response when the owner isn’t too busy to speak...

As packed as the parking lot appeared to be we just knew there would be a lengthy wait however as soon as we walked in the door the hostess showed us to our table, our waitress Anna was very likable and professional which is why service got a 5 star rating on top of providing our entrees in an amazing speedy time! However the food... I had heard great feedback about Hudson Bay's meals but I must say we all were displeased, I chose the catfish and shrimp combo along with a baked potato and honestly if it wasn't for the texture of the food I could NOT tell the difference in the fish and the shrimp! It was totally bland as in tasteless with zero flavor, my wife and father in law happen to agree the exact same with their meals as well. Sadly the only enjoyment we got out of our meal was the hush puppies and the baked potato. We won't let this discourage us, we'll have to return someday and see if it happened to be just a bad day for the cook or preparedness of meals, hopefully the change will greatly...