Poseidon — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

Not worth it. We were seated quickly though it was busy, and we were excited about our first trip here, but things quickly went down hill. Our first issue was how long it took to get waited on while we watched every other table get waited on attentively. Chris was quick to come to our table and take our drink order, but while he was doing so, my husband and daughter had some questions to help them make informed decisions about ordering. My husband gave his drink order, but was interested in a salad, so he took the opportunity to ask if the greens were organic, and then before my daughter could decide on a drink, she asked if the Shirley Temples contained red dye 40. We chuckled a bit about our questions and I apologized to Chris for bringing an 11 year old that was going to ask him about red 40, but we figured they were still small requests and nothing to get us branded as a problematic table. He came back and said yes the salads were organic and yes, there is red 40 in the Shirley Temples, which my daughter wrinkled her nose at because she had so hoped for one. My husband and I were given our drinks, and my daughter asked for Ginger Ale instead. He brought her drink, then he left and never came back. I realize these types of questions can be annoying to wait staff, but they asked them quickly, and they were answered quickly, and we tend to make up for these pesky questions by tipping a minimum of 25%. He literally never came back. He waited on a large group right beside us and sent someone else. Jess showed up after a very very long wait, to inform us that she was now our waitress. We had long since figured out our order, and I played several rounds of tick tack toe with my daughter before we found out we had a new server assigned to us. Then when we did get our food, my husband and I got one refill on drinks and couldn't even see our server again in passing to wave her down and let her know my tea wasn't sweet, and my daughter needed a refill, because she didn't get hers. When she asked about my tea refill, my husband let her know that he could smell a fish smell on his glass and was hoping for a to go cup instead (this happens to us a lot, at all restaurants, I don't know if it's the rinse agent they use, or if the dishwasher isn't draining properly so the water isn't totally clean for the rinse cycle, but we smell it often, it's the same smell, and usually only a rinse with fresh water will fix it. Some dishes have it, some don't), so we figured maybe this was another annoyance, and caused her to pretty much stay clear of us until we were frustrated, because I wanted tea and my daughter wanted her drink, and we wanted the check, and to get out of there, but couldn't ask for any of it. We clearly were not a priority. We watched everyone else around us get waited on quite beautifully. It was our first night here, we drove over 6 hours, and I don't know if we were too small a table, or didn't have the right look to us, or if we were just annoying to them, but we did not feel good when we left. And what was insult to injury, three drinks, and three entrees, over $80, and the food was just okay. I got fish and chips, and for once the fish wasn't a greasy mess like most places that attempt fish and chips serve, but that should be the minimum expectation for $27. The fries weren't good. I kept trying to make them good and just gave up. I expected some really good food for the price and it simply was just okay. Really really hoping the cod fish was at least fresh to justify it. My husband was assured the salad was organic, which was a relief to him but he couldn't reckon with the price of $21 for a grilled chicken salad, that wasn't REALLY good. My daughter got a sushi roll that was containing cooked ingredients, and was flash fried after assembly, but she ended up sick to her stomach, right about 3-4 hours later. We budgeted for two meals out to eat during our vacation and there went one. My family enjoy my homemade Charleston shrimp and grits, so I'd rather just cook for them at the condo. Oh and there is...

Made a reservation on opentable for 12 At 6 PM on a Tuesday. We were seated fairly promptly. However, for some reason it took the server thirty minutes to take our order. It’s pretty freaking loud in there, like if you want to talk to someone four chairs away, forget it. As if it wasn’t loud enough, at about 6:30 they pump the tunes up. That makes it about impossible for the server to tell you about the rotational drafts, so you have to basically just order something from the standard beer list. They serve your first draft in a souvenir pilsner glass, which bumps up the price by about 100%, and then your second draft is a more reasonable price. It’s an incredibly stupid business model because 1) If I wanted your glass I would buy it. 2) What the hell good is a 20 ounce beer when it’s 95° and 100% humidity? I drink fast, and even my beer was warm only halfway through it. 3) I wouldn’t use a 20 oz glass at home for the same reason. 4) I won’t be back. I drink 12 oz, I go to the fridge, I pour another 12 oz. I guess they offer a souvenir liter glass which is even more useless, unless you want a new aquarium for your Beta fish. Our server was MIA for about an hour. All of us had empty glasses for quite a while. I was tempted to go up to the bar and get a refill myself, but I was sure he would show up with the beer I ordered 20 minutes ago just as I sat down. We could not take advantage of the happy hour deals because we were not at the bar. We were outside, about 20 feet from the bar. But apparently that does not count as “the bar.” Stupid. Eventually our food showed up. Select grade strip steak was cold and conveniently pre-sliced for me like I’m freaking six years old. Grilled veggies were basically raw. The kids meals were just that, little kids meals. If your kid is over eight years old or 80 pounds, you might as well order off the big boy menu. You’d think with the location on Shelter Cove there’d be a nice view, but no, there is no view. I guess there probably is from the second floor, but not so much from the first floor patio. One thing that I did like is the curtains they put down in the event of a torrential downpour. They still leave the ends open, so there was a nice airflow the whole time which made it comfortable. If only our food and drinks had been served in a more timely manner, and better prepared, it would have been a nice...

My husband and I recently visited Hilton Head for a weekend getaway, and we decided to have an early dinner at Poseidon. It was around 3:30 PM, so dinner service had just begun. We started our meal with a couple of appetizers—flatbread and calamari. While they were acceptable, neither dish stood out as particularly memorable. We also ordered cocktails, which were enjoyable.

Our server was very cheerful and friendly, which we appreciated. Her jovial demeanor added a positive touch to our initial experience.

For our entrees, I chose the deviled crab-stuffed flounder, which was served with lemon butter, roasted vegetables, and coastal rice. My husband opted for the twin jumbo lump crab cakes, which came with the same sides—coastal rice, roasted vegetables, and lemon butter, garnished with chives and a lemon wedge.

Surprisingly, the food arrived quickly, but we soon realized there was a significant issue. My flounder was lukewarm, and my husband’s crab cakes were not just cool—they were cold, almost as if they had just come out of the refrigerator. We immediately called our server over to express our concerns. She explained that the rice was supposed to be served cold. This was news to us, as we hadn’t expected cold rice with a warm entrée. We then asked if the crab cakes and vegetables were also intended to be served cold, questioning why all of the food on the plate was cold.

Realizing the mistake, she apologized and took our plates back to the kitchen. To our surprise, she returned within a minute, with the same plates. My husband took a few bites, but the experience had already been soured. We decided to ask for a carry-out box and left shortly after.

Once we returned to our hotel, my husband began experiencing stomach discomfort. Considering that this was the only meal he had eaten that day, we couldn’t help but attribute his discomfort to the meal at Poseidon.

In hindsight, we should have left the restaurant as soon as we noticed the cold food. Unfortunately, our experience at Poseidon was far from satisfactory, and we are confident that we will never dine...