Whale Harbor Seafood Buffet — Restaurant in Islamorada

If you have blood pressure problems stay far far away from here! Home of the salty $39 heart attack! I've never NEVER ate such salty food in my life! The crab was so salty I could only eat I serving and couldn't even use the butter because that was loaded with salt as well. I've seen this trick at buffets before. If you load everything with salt people bloat more and can eat less. It worked on us thats for sure! Even the pasta station was inedible. Which is a shame because we essentially wasted a lot of food and left hungry with our throats burning and stomachs swollen. I came for crab and couldn't even eat it. Unfortunately, I doubt they're considering the fact most people in South Florida are older with existing heart conditions when they load on the salt, or maybe they just don't care. Everyone's trying to save a buck these days and offer less for more. This could be one of those situations. I'd actually rather pay $45 and be able to eat than be subjected to that again. My husband wants to go back and try it again next week, I'm considering sending him in on his own and eating next door or waiting in the car with the dogs. We were planning to eat here for my birthday in April, but I dont see that happening. I want edible crab for my birthday dinner. If I have to drive further north or spend more money for that I will. I'd prefer not to though of course. I just do not want to waste my money on another meal I cannot eat, when there are plenty of good meals just down the road and even literally next door....on both sides. If he goes in next week, I'll edit this review, but I don't see him risking the opportunity for a good meal on this place. I'm sure at some point he'll drag me back. If so, I hope I get to edit this review into a much happier and healthier one. Everyone deserves a second chance in the long run I guess? But maybe not when were talking about $100 dinner.

Side note: Our waiter was awesome. We we're immediately seated. Tables were spread apart. There is a water view and no outside dining. I really liked how you walked up to the buffet and were served your food vs a free for all, scoop your own. Especially during these times, it's good practice, pandemic or not. Everything was perfect except for the food. *when I say the food was not good, I don't mean quality. The quality of seafood was excellent, the taste and flavor were bad. And only bad because of the salt. This could easily be fixed. Which I would love, I'd really like to eat here. *To the owner: Please reduce the salt and repeatedly take my money for the...

Bad to the point of revolting...RUN... as fast and as far as you can from this place!!! That said, let me say this: The staff were pleasant, the manager credited one of the meals because of the oyster fiasco (read till the end), the restaurant was clean, and the view of the water was beautiful. I took my 83 y.o. mom for a late lunch/early dinner on July 27 after years of not eating there, (it had been a good place once upon a time). However this time the meats and seafood were near room temperature, the sauces unpalatably cold (some with the layer of skin that forms from leaving sauces exposed to ambient air too long), and the vegetables and fruits had also been out so long they appeared wilted and discolored by oxidation. What had once been a true sea-food buffet now limits you to two portions of crab legs; they provide you with two tickets that you can redeem for the portions, but they count the crab legs and tear one or two off before serving them to you if it exceeds the number allowed. Of course they do not disclose this prior to sitting you. However the kicker were the raw oysters that although sitting on ice somehow emitted a pungent smell, were not at temperature and were so full of their own excrement that they looked as if they had black tumors growing on them. Even the kids fare they could'nt get right; after taking a bite from his cold hard pizza with obvious dried-out sauce one of my young nephews exclaimed... and I'm quoting him here... "and I thought food at school was bad!!!" At least the school cafeteria does not charge $39.99/person (including kids). But wait theres more, almost so as to add insult to injury I discovered that they charge a 2.5% CONVENIENCE FEE when paying by credit card!!! Well it sure wasn't a...

What a treat! This has to be must stop location whenever I would be back in the area.

How many buffets would you find with such a wide variety of seafood and some are locally caught! Also, usually buffets try to make it all about value and neglect other things like presentation or cleanliness. This place has both too! I've never been to a place that custom makes pasta as fancy as this with linguine (usually some Mongolian stir fry).

For as much as I can try in one sitting, all the food was tasty and fresh, top to bottom to the dessert (had key lime pie and chocolate cake). The only thing I didn't finish was the one cube of pork that came with the yuca. It looked like it could be good and the way it's supposed to be made, but for me it seemed too ordinary/non-tender and given the other choices I thought I shouldn't waste precious stomach space! I also really liked the white fish in coconut sauce (looks yellow, like a lemon type sauce?). I think the white fish isn't local though, but at least the mahi mahi and snapper is.

Jenn was an excellent server as well. Super friendly, personable, and even helped me get the dips for my seared tuna that I forgot!

The only negative I can think of is the AC was kind of strong when I got in. However, I sort of "warmed up" to it more throughout the meal as I ate more 🙂

The views were also nice here in this prime spot 🏝️

I didn't try the crab legs though as I'm not that much of a crab person 😆🦀

In summary, this place would be a main destination for me in the area, and other things more secondary! It definitely hit the spot for me for an end-of day filling and...