Tackle Box 2 — Restaurant in Fremont

Wait staff was awesome!! Menu was misleading in that it reads the “River Fries’ come with bacon. It was fake bacon; like Bac-Os We ordered an entire pound of peach and got two measly soufflé cups of tater sauce that might have measured 1 Tblsp. each. When I asked for another, I was told there would be a $.50 charge for each one. Ok. Being me more.

Then… the owner came in, sat at the bar, and began to berate the staff for sending 2 people home earlier in the evening. It was my first time there so obviously I don’t know anybody that works there and I don’t know what their policy is regarding low census and sending employees home to save money. Judging from my experience, it would appear that the owner is tighter than the bark on a tree. Most persons pay with plastic nowadays. There is a $3 charge if you want to use your credit or debit card.

I can appreciate the fact that he wants to run a tight ship and give people good service, but I think it is highly unprofessional for him to “coach“ the staff out in the open in front of everybody and make an example of them. It’s demeaning and uncalled for. Incidentally, there are signs up all over the restaurant that he is hiring for about every position available... imagine that.

I refrained from making a scene by walking over and telling him what I thought. I waited until I was off of the property and called and spoke to him. I was not aggressive or rude with him regarding my feelings. Instead of him simply saying, “I’m sorry that you had an experience that wasn’t so pleasant” he chose to argue with me! For everything that I said he always had an abrasive come back. He always had to have the last word. Very unprofessional. In no way did he act to quell the situations. Instead he talked over me and told me he was “Number one in the State of Ohio and he knows what it takes to run a restaurant!” News flash: I was raised in a successful family-owned restaurant that did an outstanding business and treated employees with dignity and respect.

You will not see another dime of my money, sir. You’re not the only one around Lake Erie that serves decent lake...

If I was rating this based on food, I would have given it more stars but since I am rating this on overall experience 1 star is generous. We were treated rudely by management not once but 2 times without even prompting to speak to a manager. Our food arrived about an hour and 20 minutes after we ordered. We were a larger table and was warned over the phone when calling ahead but after we ordered we watched several smaller table order, eat and leave. I am assuming they must serve smaller parties before serving larger parties (12 total). What made it even worse is we went there for my mother in laws birthday at her request because she was excited for us to try the Tackle Box 2. As I mentioned, not once but twice she confronted my mother in law to tell her she was told it would take awhile to be served if we arrived after 6. My mother in law explained she was not happy but did not want to have that conversation with her several grandchildren at the table. Another minus...5 children waiting over an hour for food, one waitress took pity on us and gave us some saltines...lol. Needless to say we wont be back which seemed not to phase the management. BTW we traveled from Toledo which for some reason was brought up several times as well..."Are you the party from Toledo", "I told you when you called from Toledo that if you got here after 6 there may be a wait", over heard at the bar, "that's the party from Toledo" Seemed they may only want to serve locals...don't bother making the trip if you expect friendly service. Food was good though. Too bad atmosphere and attitude...

Restaurants that specialize in serving fish... not seafood, but locally caught fish... seem to be increasingly difficult to find. And the few you do run across make most of their sales on carry-out orders. This is not what you will find at the Tackle Box 2.

Finding the Tackle Box 2 requires driving down a residential Street and taking a driveway down to the river where the restaurant shares a gravel lot with a boat ramp and other outbuildings. The building is unassuming on the outside, but step inside and suddenly you are looking at walls stuffed with souvenirs and kitsch to capture your interest and start conversation.

There are tables, large and small, stuck in separate spaces surrounding a bar area. These seat from 2 to 8 people. And you will likely need to wait for one to become available.

The two entrees everyone is there to try are fried perch and fried walleye. Buy it by the pound or the half pound and it comes along with fries and coleslaw or a salad. There walleye recipe is better than any other I've had in the area.

There are a few interesting appetizers but save room for the fish. I don't even know if they have dessert because I've never made it that far.

If it is your first visit then I suggest a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when there are not many customers and you can find your way down the driveway. Trust me, it's...