The Lucky Dill — Restaurant in Florida

Restaurant review (not bakery): It took more than 2 hours from when we sat to when everyone got their breakfast. Food was mediocre. Lots of better breakfast choices in the area, and I won't be returning unless there's a change in management.

Details: It was Mother's Day and very busy, so really the 2nd star of this 2-star review is because I understand this wasn't a typical Sunday breakfast service. We arrived for our 10:30 breakfast reservation, placed our drink order, some of us got our drinks within a few minutes, but the 3 children waited an extra 10 or so minutes for their chocolate milk.

We were ready to order long before the kids' drinks came, but the server did not come back to our table until around 11am. She told us the kitchen is very backed up, we would have to wait 15 minutes to place our order, and we need to order lunch. We had been given breakfast menus so we were confused. She asked if we were okay with lunch instead. I asked if we had any choice because we have been ready with our breakfast order and would prefer to do that if possible. A little back and forth and we decided lunch will be fine as to avoid further delay, and she collected our menus from us.

A few minutes later, she came back and tossed a pile of breakfast menus on the table saying that we can still do breakfast and took our orders. We thought everything was straightened out and focused on keeping the kids' minds off of food.

At noon (1.5 hours after being seated) the server said she would bring some bread and send the manager over because my mom expressed her disappointment.

The manager came up to the table, said our food will be out in a moment, and walked away before we could say a thing. If guests are upset enough to speak with management, that is really not the best way to handle the situation. The way he treated us is what spurred me to leave this review.

I am not exaggerating, it was over 2 hours from the moment we sat to when we all got our food. These are simple breakfast dishes, not extravagant entrees. I think it's the lack of communicating expectations to us that irks me the most. If we had sat and they had said, 'just FYI we need to put in your breakfast order by 11am, and food may take over an hour to come out,' we could have decided to stay or go elsewhere. Instead we were wondering if the kitchen was even aware of our order as the tables that were sat after us got their food.

Service was kind but lacking in every other way. Food was meh. I ordered eggs, extra crispy bacon, and sausage. The bacon was barely cooked. I didn't look around much but others at the table mentioned the dirty bathrooms and dirty floors in the dining area.

If you check my other reviews, you'll see that I'm very generous in my praise of most places. I'm not a Karen-type who is quick to complain. I don't like writing negative reviews, but this experience was so bad that I want to remind myself in case I ever think of...

UPDATE: I wanted to do a follow up review to my last one which was only 18 days ago!

On Thursday March 7, 2024, my husband and I decided to come eat dinner again as we were in the area.

We arrived at 3:35pm and were seated in the section nearest the bakery which I thought was pretty cool since we’ve never eaten on this side. Well, a few things we encountered: 1. The server took forever to come to the table, 2. The menu is now 11 x 17 paper with a total of 4 sides which we honestly thought was a lunch menu and 3. It was very hot. After waiting until around 4pm we took our menus and silverware back to hostess desk to see if we can be seated somewhere else. She wanted to resist at first then proceeded to sit us somewhere else – at that point we could have just walked out. But we chose to stay and eat here. At that point a waiter walked over and said he was sorry that he didn’t come over sooner, he was working on cashing out a customer! Either way it was too hot, and we were moved.

Tim was now our waiter. Within minutes of sitting, we had our drinks and rolls. I had mentioned to him the issues we had last time. He made sure these were corrected this visit.

Dinner came out and everything was good. No complaints about the food or service until…the bill arrived.

They now “ADD 3% service fee” to every check. I asked him why and he said it was due to rising food costs for the restaurant and to keep prices down! Umm how is that keeping prices down. I did ask to see where it was on the menu and lo and behold it was there in very small print under the appetizers. I enlarged my photo for sharing. So that was a bad taste left. When a couple arrived at the next table we got to talking and he said the same thing that half the items are not on the menu anymore. When we mentioned that they charge the 3% they too were shocked, and the woman asked where it was on the menu, and I had to show here. She said the same thing – Any smaller!

Sneaky things like this are going to have you losing business. You’ve definitely lost mine. It’s too far a drive over an hour. I also understand they may be under new owners – not sure.

Sad as this is a staple for most people. I hope it gets better.

Food was amazing. Server a little slow and it wasn't crowded. For only 2 little rolls would have loved more especially the ones with the onions. I see people were offered free cheese cake we weren't offered 😕 went Sunday...

We have been long time customers at the Lucky Dill and the place was always absolutely great. Regrettably, there were some unfortunate circumstances that has forced the place to undergo some changes that do not contribute to their former quality.

There is no longer any draft beer to be had due to issues with their aging system. The patio furniture has disappeared and it was unclear whether it would be coming back at all due to some county restrictions. The menus have apparently lost most of the choices we liked because nobody ordered them, and now there are two choices of burger, 6 or 7 choices for deli sandwiches and a much reduced variety of other choices. The menus are now just two pieces of paper staples together that won’t last.

It is obvious that some adjustments needed to be made to reduce overhead, required maintenance, repairs and replacement. Their staff turn over is significant and the meals have suffered as a result. My bottled beer was in a glass that immediately turned the beer flat, my burger was as raw as dog meat and had to be sent back and the replacement took so long my partner had finished her meal before I received the second attempt.

Our server was great, no complaint. She deserved her gratuity. I just hope that the LuckyDill management team is able to turn this establishment around to it’s former glory and retain it’s loyal customers. At this point I would have a bit of difficulty recommending this venue for anything other than a casual lunch.

Update: just a minor reaction to the response from Lucky Dill on my review above. NEVER tell a customer that his experience was wrong. I am saddened by this and will not consider even talking with this management team on the phone as a result of this response. Will also never go back to this establishment, especially since they are now charging a mandatory 3% on all transactions. I stand by my review and would recommend people to look...