Parrot's Cay Tavern & Grill — Restaurant in Grand Forks

Really a wonderful place. Very casual, lived-in environment with plenty of personality pieces. The benches have names of previous patrons carved in them, it's completely not fancy but for me that was part of the appeal. This is a local bar with years of history, the wear of the years is apparent, but somehow this was not a drawback for me. Some might be put off by what I considered a charming vintage look.

This is a bar with food and surprisingly is really the only place I can think of that brings in the Louisiana Cajun cuisine to Grand Forks. Jambalaya is a regular special and it's the only place in Grand Forks where I've seen crawdads on the menu. They have a larger variety though and I very much enjoyed their lavosh. Another interesting niche they provide, possibly going along with the Cajun theme, is spicy heat. Many of the dishes can be ordered on a heat range from 1 to 40. I consider myself to be very tolerant and enjoy mouthwatering, tear inducing, and runny nose induced heat. I roll my eyes at just about every other restaurant calling their food spicy. Not here, they're serious about the heat. I got the shark wings at a level of 20, loved them, but was gulping water and tearing up. I'll not try higher for quite a while but happily bought 8 ounces of the shark sauce (at level 20) to take home. I can also recommend the Mardi Gras pasta as excellent. The food arrives on paper plates, this sort of turned me off years ago, but I think I've matured enough to focus on what's important, the food.

The service has been excellent. They are attentive, anticipate needs, and offer very good suggestions. The server is a great resource for deciding your likely spice tolerance. I have not a single unkind word about any of them and already know three of them by name on sight despite having only gone there twice.

The bar also offers a blackjack table, pull tabs, and electronic 'pull tab' machines though not many of the latter. I can't really comment on their beer and liquor offerings, I only went there for the food (again odd for a bar).

In short, a great local place without pretention, but with tremendous, unique, food. Well worth the trip. I will...

Now I like the Parrots Cay as much as the next person and I have ordered the same shark wings every time I have gone in. Twice it has happened that I have ordered the shark wings and received their regular buffalo wings instead. Now I work at a restaurant and I know how busy it gets and how stressful it gets as well, but what happened next really puts a damper on my experience. I waited until the server came around and she asked if anything was wrong and I stated that I ordered the shark wings and not the buffalo wings. Her response was "you didn't order the shark wings but I will have them make new ones."

I was dumbfounded. As stated above, I have ordered the same thing every single time without changing and the server is accusing me of being wrong. NEVER should a server say that to a customer. We would get reprimanded big time where I work if we did this. I get it, yes it is noisy and it is hard to hear but come on, take some responsibility.

The second time it happened I simply stated the same that I ordered the shark but got the regular buffalo and said it was no big deal that if I could just simply get a side of the shark, I would be fine. Again I was accused of ordering something I didn't order and said she would have to charge me for the side of sauce or I could just have them remake it.

Well right there is one of the dumbest things I have heard. I had them remake it and waste the wings the buffalo sauce and make new wings instead of just getting a side of shark sauce.

The service is lacking big time and if it weren't for the great food, I would not go back and the place would be gone by now in all...

A hole in the wall with a great atmosphere. I was born in and raised in the south and since moving to Grand Forks I've been looking for a place with some southern qualities in their food. Well I found it a Parrot's Cay. The Hushpuppies were definitely a huge hit. just the right mix between soft and crispy. Just as they should be. My second appetizer was the chicken, I was told the shark chicken was the best, and they did not disappoint. Juicy, with the right amount of sauce and just enough bite from the heat that wasn't too intense not to enjoy. As we were finishing up our appetizers, which we were able to enjoy at our own pace, our entrees were delivered. We both got hamburgers mine with fries and my wife with Cajun fries. They were cooked perfectly and the fries were very good as well. Plan on going back to and trying more entrees so I can do reviews on those as well. I expect though from our first visit we won't be disappointed in whatever we try.

Let me throw in a separate blurb about the staff. The staff was amazing. Attentive, welcoming, and very friendly. Answered any questions we had and took time to go over specials, wing sauce choices and other menu items. Just a breath of fresh air when it comes to small...