11 Maple Street — Restaurant in Florida

The only reason I am leaving 2 stars instead of 1 is because the food is exceptional and we’ve been dining here regularly for years without ever having a bad meal.

The poor review is due to the most egregious and inexcusable customer service interaction that we’ve ever experienced:

We dined outdoors last week for my husband’s birthday with our two young children. This was his favorite local restaurant. We’ve supported this business all throughout Covid both by dining outdoors and by ordering takeout.

Our bill that night came to about $400 including tip and including the 1 corkage fee we were charged for (more on this later).

We spend between $300-$400 per visit which is significantly more than the average table. It’s a long drive for us so we order extra food to box for the next day. The staff knows us all by name and we take exceptional care of them. The service is generally spot on.

We usually order wine there but this time we decided to bring our own wine. Their corkage fee used to be cheaper and at some point went up $25 per bottle, which we were unaware of (and which is totally fine). When the check came, we merely questioned whether this had recently went up and noted that it probably would have been cheaper to buy an equivalent of our white there. The server responded by saying that she would take one of the corkage fees off the check and explain to management later, which was a great customer service move for great customers.

Almost a full week later we received a call from a woman who I believe is the working manager of the waitstaff. She stated that she was calling about “the problem we had last week regarding a corkage fee”. Caught off guard and thinking they were calling to apologize and to thank us for our business, my husband responded by saying that there was no problem and that the staff had taken care of it. She responded in a nasty condescending tone and said “Um, Yes, actually there was a problem because there was an additional $25 dollar charge that should have been on your check”. She went on to say the server had been reprimanded (way too much info and inappropriate to disclose to a customer) and regurgitated their corkage policy and pricing structure “so we fully understood next time”. She talked down to my husband as if he stole something from them. The saddest part is that this individual has waited on us multiple times in the past and we’ve always taken great care of her.

NEVER NEVER NEVER give something to a customer and then try to walk it back 1 WEEK LATER by calling that customer to complain about what you did for them. Business 101! How could you be so stupid??

We’d be more open to forgive this if it were a new employee but this came from a veteran employee in a management role. We wouldn’t return if this were the last restaurant on earth and if they offered us free meals until the end of time. We’d rather go somewhere our hard-earned money is appreciated.

PS – my husband called back 3 times to voice his frustration with the distasteful phone call, but his calls were ignored and his voicemail...

My husband & I have been going here for about 20 years now to celebrate special occasions. The food & service are never disappointing. We prefer the small plates because that way we can try more of a variety, but the small plates will vary in amount of food. For example, the pan fried conch is a smaller portion than the hanger steak (and also less expensive). Check their website for a sample menu, but it does change now and then. Some favorites are the conch, the blue crab cake, skatewing, and warm escarole salad.

They offer wine by the half glass that can be paired with the small plates, an interesting way to try a variety of wines. If you don't want alcohol, the raspberry tea is a good choice too. Be prepared for some food adventure that is a little on the pricey side. Obvious care is taken with each plate, & the service is unobtrusive & friendly. They switch out silverware between courses, & your water glass is refilled at the table without you ever having to ask.

I would not recommend this for children or anyone that has mobility issues. While it is wheelchair accessible, it is an old converted house, so that means odd steps inside and out. The front steps are steep. Then you have to be careful when walking around inside because you have to step down and up in spots. Also, some of the wicker chairs can be challenging to get in & out of, & tables are a little too close together. Once you have a little wine & food, though, you tend to forget about the coziness.

On our last visit, there was a valet in the parking lot, right next to the restaurant. I'm not really sure why you need a valet to turn the wheel of our car into a spot that is 6 feet away from the building. We did not allow him to drive our car, and he said it was okay for us to park further down. I have a standard car anyway, so he probably would not have been able to drive it. I realize this is a Jensen Beach city issue, not necessary the owner's fault, but it was confusing.

While they say they don't open until 6, you can get 5:30 reservations, which is what I recommend. In fact, make sure to get reservations, or you could be turned away. There is plenty of parking at 5:30 (just say no the valet), and except for a few other people in side, it is not too full yet. By the time we leave, it is usually packed...

The restaurant could have easily had five stars, except for a few serious missteps. The restaurant was only 50% full, yet they choose to give us the worse seat in the restaurant. We were literally beside the service station, at most 2 feet away, and just mere inches from the bathroom door. The entire evening there was a constant clattering from the service station. Apparently every customer in the restaurant had to use the bathroom facilities. We were so close to the bathroom door that most of the customers politely acknowledged us, as if we were the guardians of the toilet. It was was awful, distracting, and greatly diminished our dining experience.

We shared an appetizer, but they did not provide side plates for sharing, and they only gave us one set of chopsticks for two people. We had to flag down our server and ask for plates and chopsticks. Unfortunately they could not locate another pair of their lovely chopsticks, but they did find a pair that they appparently pick up at a Publix's sushi stand. Our server was apologetic, but said it was the "best" she could do.

The entrées and dessert were perfection. The staff was polite and knowledgeable.

Sadly, the lack of attention to detail and the dreadful seating made our dining experience less...