Duffy's Sports Grill — Restaurant in Florida

Few people appreciate good service and good food more than our veterans. When our VFW post started our “Member’s Night on the Town” events, we selected the best area restaurants we could find that also recognized our status as military veterans. We found many good choices and for two years we held regular monthly meals at another chain. But, one of our members suggested we try Duffy’s Sports Grill in the Mission Bay Plaza. The wider variety of food appealed to more of our members. We met with the local managers, Tyler and Monica who assured us they would be happy to host our group (with a little advance notice) and had our first luncheon last Saturday after our regular membership meeting. The crew at Duffy’s were able to accommodate us by arranging tables for our group. We usually have a dozen, and everyone wants separate checks and great service. Well, we were treated like royalty, food and the service were great, the manager stopped over to see how we were doing and they made us feel right at home. Okay, the members were happy. Now, how about our wives? So with one success under our belt, we arranged another dinner tonight, this time inviting our wives to join us. If anything, it was even better than our first meal. Ashley was our server and she was very patient working with some of our older members who had questions and needed more time deciding on menu items. She was very helpful snf offered tasty suggestions. The meal progressed well, food was fantastic, and we truly enjoyed ourselves. A couple times during the meal, Tyler, the manager on duty, stopped over to see how everything was going. He welcomed us and said hello to everyone. Since this is a neighborhood restaurant, many of us already frequent it and appreciate the ambience. You can actually talk to others at your table and hear them because the music is not blaringly loud or overpowering. Drinks were refreshed regularly, and Ashley checked back frequently to see everything was going well. She worked hard keeping tabs on a dozen people and everything organized on eight separate checks. She never missed a beat. As we prepared to leave, Tyler came back again and thanked us for our service and for our patronage. I think it’s fair to say our post has found a new favorite restaurant and will be coming back for a monthly lunch and monthly dinner with the wives. Everybody left with a smile on their face. It is not easy dealing with a group this size, especially when many of us are between 70 and 90, often needing a little extra time and attention. We certainly got that tonight. We felt genuinely appreciated and welcomed. So it’s fair to say we will be regular patrons. Thank you Ashley, Tyler and Monica for recognizing our service to the nation and community. You treated us like friends and we look forward to a long-lasting relationship (and also great food). And when the wives love it, you know it’s...

Was (when it first opened): DON'T GO... YET Now (7 months later): Improved

I trashed this place when it first opened, and I stick by doing so; but (a) it's a lot better now, and (b) their marketing manager, Dylan, followed up on my review (see below) and did his best to set things right. Props to him. So, I juiced them from 1 star up to 4. I would have given 3.5, if I could have. We've been back twice in recent months, and things could still improve, even compared to other Duffy's locations. Service wasn't great either time, and food has been a bit inconsistent. Come to think of it, service at this location has been my main gripe every time I've been there. Seems like they hired a lot of disinterested 20-somethings. I'm sure we'll go back again anyway, just not when we have time concerns.

[Original Review] Let me preface this review by stating that I've probably been to about 8 Duffy's locations in Palm Beach County totaling over 100 visits during the past 10-12 years. So, I'm no stranger to their menu or general m.o. Went to this new location on their first Saturday night. Big mistake!!! Estimated wait time was 20-25 minutes, which was reasonable, and, in fairness, they did seat us in that time frame.

My full review is on Yelp, so go read that one. Shorter version is: green waiter spilled drinks on us, was generally clueless about his menu, and was slow to service his tables. They had loads of staff there by their own admission, but they were not firing on all cylinders, pushing food out of the kitchen at the stuporous pace of over an hour per dish. I only got soup in under an hour because I complained about it.

Eventually the food came, and the fries and green beans were the best parts. Most parts were mediocre (my fish, mom’s mussels), and the flat bread was terrible. If the entire order hadn’t been comped for all the delay and trouble, I would’ve asked them to take that dish off the bill anyway.

Still, I tipped the waiter on what I thought would be the full price of the meal. Hopefully, he'll remember this experience and think with others from now on: "Am I doing enough to deserve this tip?" So, regardless of this 2+ hour ordeal, we will likely be back sometime, just not for a many weeks, while they get their...

I've visited here trying to enjoy my experience but I haven't had the best of luck especially on Mondays. I saved my receipt because once again I was very let down and called the store the next day to explain what has been going on and I was told the head manager is out of town and I would get a call back when he's back. Well I never received a call. It's been about 3 weeks now. This problem didn't just start recently its happened quite a few times over a few month span. No waitress to cover hightop tables. Only 1 bartender for the bar and tables combined. How in the world can 1 person take care of a packed bar and all hightops full!? I understand staffing is short but like I told the person on the phone I've previously asked if they were hiring and I was told no so clearly short staffed isn't an excuse. Food and drinks took forever. Fries were cold and fish wasn't very fresh. Dirty plates were sitting on the table for about 30 minutes until I got really aggrieved and started piling them up. Anytime I needed anything there was no one to ask. I saw other guests had the same problem. So many things went wrong it's hard to remember every problem that arouse but the situation was so unpleasant my husband who never complains or gets upset was very unhappy since this has happened on the last few visits and isn't just a temporary situation. I will be sending an email to corporate since I now see a contact here for them since many other customers are very unhappy as well. It was way to hard to get in touch with anyone previously as I called the store as well as the corporate telephone number. I hope your restaurant gets it together before they loose to many valuable customers from such awful experiences. Hopefully they fix and get things under control soon. Totally ruined our...