Cherry Pocket Steak n Seafood — Restaurant in Lake Wales

We always drive by the sign for the restaurant, and my family and I have always been curious to try it. It's close to our house and we came here with an open mind. We suspected it would be a long wait because we always see that the area is filled as we pass by. There was a two hour wait.

The complimentary bread was delicious, but the butter tasted strange and was rather salty. The bar's drinks were also excellent. The pineapple juice and sweet tea were both exceptional but the pina colada—which I typically get wherever I go—was deceitful as it tasted like pineapple juice mixed with ice and had no coconut flavor at all.

My father ordered wings, though they were overcooked, he didn’t order blackened wings and even if so they were still far overcooked for blackened wings. It came with a side of celery and carrots which my mom ate. He also ordered onion rings; the batter on some tasted like it had been fried in old oil, and then some the onion was just partially cooked, had to be spit out. They were not crispy, instead rather soggy and lacking in flavor as well.

The steak my mother ordered was dry and bland. We anticipated a tender juicy steak. In addition, she placed an order for a Caesar salad, of which she accidentally received two side house salads. My grandma liked the cherry dressing though I did not. I wasn't particularly fond of the cherry dressing because to me it tasted like onion and a bit sour. The caesar salad was served afterwards, which was delicious but might have been even better with the addition of parmesan cheese, as it is called to have that but maybe they don’t include it. The live music distracted me from taking pictures of the salads, but they were still delicious!

I ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich, which was decent despite the slight dislike for the bun as it was a little bland. The chicken was tasty and the sauce had a nice flavor. I put the fries onto my mother’s plate because hers only had the steak on it, honestly, I had no room on my plate because it was so full of fries and the large sandwich. It came with a side of french fries and one hush puppy, which was nice. I failed to take a picture of how it was served. Overall though, it worked out because I gave her the yummy french fries and that was about all she could eat because the steak wasn't good.

We all tasted the garden cream fettuccine that my grandmother had ordered, and it was not good at all. I detest having to spit it out food because it is impolite. The sauce had a canned flavor to it. It was terrible, so if it was homemade, it needs to be worked on.

To ensure that our shared taste buds weren't the only ones affected, each person at the table tried each other's food. You would think the food would be excellent after such a long wait in a place that is so full and packed, but in all honesty, the place was not worth the wait and it is costly for bland, unappealing food. What I will give to them is that the bar and live music are really what made the place amazing! but aside from that, I can't think of anything else. I've seen this happen frequently, though where the chefs are unable to cook to their full capacity. I'm not sure if this is the owners' or the chefs' fault, but maybe like in other restaurants they have their own method of teaching the chefs how to prepare food to their liking.

Overall, everything was mediocre aside for the complimentary bread, hush puppy, fries, buffalo sandwich, tea, salads, celery and carrots, and pineapple juice. We debated getting dessert but ultimately opted against it because we didn't want it to disappoint us just as the food, though I've read conflicting reviews here; one stated the food was awful and the dessert was better, but we came here open-minded, but I suppose they were probably right. I would give 1 star but 2 is given because of the live...

Inside/outside establishment. Inside smells of cigarette smoke and feels cramped. Outside is the place to be. A variety of seating types and positions. Very social atmosphere.

We were greated upon entering in a reasonable time and escorted to our seat. Waitress arrived promptly and took drink orders ad returned in a reasonable time.

Ordered the blackened Grouper platter with $2 upcharge for premium sides I chose Asparagus and a loaded baked potato which came with starter bread and whipped butter and a garden salad with cherry dressing. The Grouper was blackened then placed on a bed of dirty rice and topped with a parmasen cheese sauce mixed with imitation crab, 2 shrimp and 2 scallops.

The bread was a good starter and the salad was nothing special(lettuce and tomato), but I did really like the cherry dressing which saved it in my eyes as I like sweet Salad dressings.

The main dish came and looked good and had good and not so good points about it.

First the not so good... the Asparagus was mushy. I expect a bit of snap when eating Asparagus but this was over cooked. The good news though there were 4 large which pieces. The loaded baked potato was fairly standard ad obviously pre baked earlier. I don't mind the pre cooked option but I really think instead of bacon bits they should fry 2 slices of real bacon and quarter cut them and place that on top instead for that unique wow factor and throw sone chopped chives visibly on top.

The good. The 2 shrimp and 2 scallops were cooked properly which isn't easy to do every time. The Grouper was a bone size piece and was not dry it was cooked well. I like fake crab I don't know why so the topping fit for me and it was not overly creamy or cheesy they did not over power the fish which is a risk when topping a fried piece. So good there. I did not need to add any seasoning to the dish they hit it perfectly which again can be hard to do because you can never take salt away once added.

Rice goes with everything in my opinion so that was welcome. Overall the dish was fairly balanced and it's shortcomings can super easily be corrected.

I liked it. I think it's a good choice on the menu if you want a feed and a bit of competing flavors and structure. Overall the place I'm sure is busy and they probably on average do everything well rather then not so I think it's a cool place. I'm from Canada and .traveling not likely to return but happy...

My server Stacey was great. Too bad the cook was uninformed about ingredients and caused me a horrible allergic reaction that ruined a dinner that was very long in waiting for. The "manager" Kim was rude, unapologetic, and had the audacity to ask me with a dead look on her face WHAT I'D LIKE HER TO DO FOR ME...REALLLY? As a seasoned manager she 1st should have apologized. 2nd SHE SHOULD have offered to pay for the meal my date had to eat because I was too busy SCRATCHING MY FACE OFF..MY EARS, EYES AND THROAT WERE ON FIRE with zero compassion. She insisted the cook SAID THERE WAS NO PEPPER ON MY FOOD. I didn't come in that way and I'm 100% positive I KNOW HOW IT AFFECTS ME when there IS PEPPER ON MY FOOD. Her lack of an appropriate response was disheartning and unacceptable. I should not have HAD TO SAY I WAS NT GOING TO PAY FOR THEIR LACK OF INSTILLING THE PROPER INFORMATION TO THEIR STAFF. I stated Stacey was not at fault because she wrote down the allergy as well as put it in their system. The owner, just as unapologetic as her unskilled manager was consistent with her statement: "well I can't speak on Kim's response as I wasn't there" Was absolutely unprofessional and again bad business. How the hell they are in business for as long as they have been is astonishing. The owner insisted STACEY WAS AT FAULT. REALLY?she didn't prepare it and she didn't cook it so how is at fault???? Lets now address the servers that was standing behind me relaying their messages and what have you to the Cook that we all in the restaurant had to listen the one very tall blonde girl a server cursing like a sailor driving a truck. When I brought this up to the owner, she said yes we've been having a problem and we're trying to address it. Trying to address it?? I would imagine that anyone in my position would think there's no such thing as trying to address that situation how you address it is you have a foul mouth and it's bad for business you're fired. If I were Stacey..I run not walk away as she was a very good server with skills to make sure the kitchen was informed. She deserves to be in a better establishment. Hey STACEY ..RUN THEY THREW YOU UNDER THE BUS. HORRIBLE PLACE...