Smokin Oyster Brewery — Restaurant in Fort Myers Beach

Some caveats...we were looking for a small bite, so can't review the garlic crab legs that I'm sure is a great attraction. We sat at the bar, which might have been ill-advised, as the gentleman sitting next to us sparked up his cig. I was surprised this was still allowed, even though we were sitting at the covered front patio bar, wanting to get that nice gulf breeze coming through. A word to the wise, this is not a brewery, but they do have two of their own beers, but I was disappointed nothing was on draft...cans and bottles only! I really liked their IPA. Not overly hoppy, but enough to be true to the style. Easy to drink and fit the fun, Florida coastal vibe. We went for the island bread, which was delicious cheesy goodness. Then we tried the special, a blackened octopus in a spicy sauce with chimichurri. Wife and I both took one bite only. It was too burnt on the outside, not sure what blackening seasoning was used, but it tasted like the inside of an oven. Just a burnt flavor...there was a slight hint of the spicy sauce but the burnt flavor overpowered everything. I'm not sure if the execution was off this time or if this was the actual representation of the dish. I think the chimichurri with the octopus is a great idea, and perhaps a different cooking method would allow the flavors to marry more harmoniously. Back to the positive, our server/bartender, Brian, couldn't have been more friendly. And overall, the whole staff seemed smiling and upbeat. Overall I would have given this place 4 stars despite the disappointing Octopus, but the smoking made me drop them another star. But I like you, SOB,...

Very disappointed at SOB tonight. We have NEVER been kicked out of an establishment before. We were told we had to leave at 6:30 pm tonight because we reached our 90-minute time limit. We ordered apps, dinner, drinks and kept ordering drinks. I was very upset and in tears. I told the manager that we brought our friend from Jamaica to help take his mind off his family who lost everything during the hurricane. We also had 2 veterans at our table. We were told they did not know how to fix it and they had a party of 6 who had been waiting for 20 minutes and we needed to leave. We spent over $300 during our 90-minute limit and were continuing to spend money. This makes no sense to me. We were frequent patrons but will never go back to SOB because of how we were treated tonight. I told people at our resort what happened and they could not believe that happened to us. Very disappointed and in tears. When we arrived, the waitress told us when it got busy, she would have to start a 90-minute clock for us to have a table. She told us at 6:00 that the 90-minute clock was starting. The manager then told us at 6:20 that we would have to leave our table. We told her what we were told and that we had until 7:30, but she said she had a party waiting for 20 minutes, so that changed. We should have been told that from the beginning - not 20 minutes after our waitress started our 90-minute clock. We had a person in our party who cannot sit at a bar stool or stand for a...

No one who has ever eaten at a decent restaurant can possibly give this more than one star. Words can't even describe how bad the food was. I can try but the proper words elude me at this time. I would imagine that whomever came up with the recipe for the stuffed buttons (mushrooms) and garlic bread was going through their kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and used whatever was available at the time to throw something together. The New England clam chowder however was not bad, but I'm 99 percent sure it's Campbell's Chunky soup that was warmed up in the microwave. The plates, bowls and silverware appeared to have come from a 1982 school cafeteria. I believe that the cheeseburgers that the kids order also came from the same school cafeteria. We sat outside and our waiter informed us that there was no glass allowed outside and that the bottle of beer I ordered would be put in a cup. I was shocked to see the almost Dixie cup size that the beer was brought out in. Not even Solo cup size. I imagine that it was the equivalent to a nip size beer bottle. This place might be fine after a night of drinking when you've drank so much you taste buds don't work. But for deliberately going out to dine, this is NOT the place. I'm sure any of the other restaurants in the area would be better. They couldn't possibly be any worse. The Yucatan down the street is a much better option. I've eaten there several times and always had good...