Turtle Kraals — Restaurant in Key West

11/02/2018 - Friday Night This place was recommended to us - we were staying on one of the yachts. As you walk in, it has a very nice vibe to it - there was a large table of people having fun and it seemed like this was going to be a great experience. We were told to seat ourselves and we did. Renee was our server. She seemed sweet. My daughter asked for Ribs and we were told that they didn't have anymore. I asked for the Fish dip and was also told that they didn't have any. So we eventually settled for the Peruvian Ceviche which was around $13.00 - when it arrived it had an odor that warned us to stay away, I ate a bite and I thought I was going to get sick right there - also the Ceviche had a brownish color - please see my photo. I called Renee and sent the plate back - you could clearly see we had not touched it. From there the experience down spiraled. Renee was MIA most of the evening, I had to get up and ask for water, another menu, and BBQ sauce. I ordered the Lobster / Crab which arrived cold - at this point I just wanted to get out of there. There was this large table of people right next to us and I didn't want to make a "scene" however looking back I should have. We also ordered 2 burgers since that was all that was left on the menu. One of the burgers arrived with a patty that was burned underneath. The French fries that accompanied the food were overdone. We ate in silence - The table was clean, the cutlery and plates seemed clean, but that's it. When we were done - I had to go find Renee - I asked her for the cheque - and I saw that they had charged me the Peruvian Ceviche. When I complained I was just given this blank look from Renee and I proceeded to suck it up and pay for it - and I believe that this situation really encouraged me to write about it. Overall I found the atmosphere very inviting, the food below standard, General presentation not bad, the overall service was so bad I was shocked at the fact that this place was still in business. I warn any tourist in the area to stay away from this place - even though its located so close to the Harbor I would avoid this place and go and spend your hard earned money somewhere...

Unfortunately came in for happy hour today, March 11 about 4pm for happy hour. Ordered the oysters(weren’t properly cleaned) guacamole and chips, chicken wings, flashed fried calamari(cold). Overall the food was not a total disappointment as wings were decent as well as the happy hour tequila sunrises but the service is quite atrocious. My table and I, 3 people ordered drinks, 20 minutes to receive them, almost 30 minutes to place our food orders, and over an hour to receive silverware, napkins and essentials. When my table and i spoke to the manager and requested a different server, the original server came to apologize and we were not given a new server(although one young woman came to check on us one time) and continued to expierance very slow service. Each drink we’ve ordered since has taken atleast 20-25 minutes to reach us and as much as i’d want to like this place, the waitress in my personal opinion should not be accepting more tables then she can handle, as the two hours that we’ve been here we have been checked on no more...

We came by a recommendation of former local. Knowing that not many tourists made their way there and hoping for an authentic Key West spot.

Yes, The view from the upper deck is lovely, we were even lucky to spot a manatee and a tiny shark swimming in the harbor.

Yes, the staff was doing their best with their authenticity and laid back attitude. We even got some tips regarding a storm that was hitting the keys. Even though we were well aware, the gentleman was on point with the time at which the storm would hit and we were able to arrange accordingly.

No, I do not recommend ordering the American mule (variation of Moscow mule). The key west ceviche was anything but special, which was disappointing since the waitress said it was one of their signature plates. My mother ordered fajitas and didn’t like it particularly. I would say we are definitely not picky and typically easy going but I simply wasn’t pleased.

Nice vibe though, if you’re looking for the relaxing atmosphere...