Harry's Seafood Bar & Grille — Restaurant in Lakeland

Went to Harry’s on a spur the moment trip to Lakeland, ended up downtown during a day street market and stumbled upon Henry’s. We were sold on the Louisiana style food. We were seated immediately (part of two though.) Atmosphere was great, inside beautifully decorated and air conditioned (a must during FL summers.) Our server Jo was AMAZING! She was so attentive, sweet, hilarious and really helpful with us trying to decide what to get on the menu. Now, you know you have a great server when your drink never gets below 25% where it becomes a mixture of melted ice and what’s left of your drink. Jo was on top of it the whole time. The complimentary bread and garlic butter (I think?) was so delicious, we asked for another loaf. For starters we got the crab cakes, they were so delicious. Seared perfectly, moist and crumbly on the inside. The sauce/butter to accompany it was so good and complimented the crabs cakes perfectly. Dabble some of their own Harry’s hot sauce on your food, you won’t regret it. Just the right amount of heat to where it’s not enjoyable and you start getting that sweat above your upper lip. If you know, you know. We actually bought a bottle to take home. For the main course, we got the red beans & rice meal and the red fish and added blue crab encrusted. Red beans and rice were cooked to perfection and the sausage that came with, tender, juicy and loved the grilled marks. Sprinkled some more of the hot sauce on there, even better. 8.5 out of 10 only because I think it could’ve used a little heat but it was still delicious. Red fish was mouth watering, flakey and tasted fresh. Nice, mild fish taste and the butter to accompany it, beautiful. 9 out of 10 for that one. Overall, 9 out of 10 only because we didn’t get to try any desserts due to being full. Will return to try their desserts as they sound amazing. Oreo beignets!? What!!?? Definitely will be coming back. HARRY’s, YALL GIVE JO A RAISE! She...

This was a recommended restaurant by Lakeland locals, so we decided to try it out. The interior gave an ambiance of a candlelit dinner and the menu was very appealing to all palettes. We ordered the Jambalaya, Blackened Shrimp and Grouper w/ French Fires and Coleslaw, Chicken Jolie Blonde w/ Smashed Potatoes, She Crab Soup, Cresent City Cobb, Crispy Calamari, and the Chocolate Ganache Cake. Portion sizes we well worth the price and enough to share among two people per plate. The food was well seasoned and very flavorful; we had a great experience and would definitely recommend that you visit when in the Lakeland area!

Jambalaya: ☆☆☆☆☆ The Jambalaya was very flavorful with the right balance of salty, spicy, and rich! The portion was more than plentiful and almost takes you back to New Orleans.

Blackened Shrimp and Grouper w/ French Fries and Coleslaw: ☆☆☆☆ This dish is absolutely delicious and a seafood-lover's dream (although we did expect there to be more shrimp for the price).

Chicken Jolie Blonde w/ Smashed Potatos: ☆☆☆☆☆ The chicken was perfectly cooked and not dry as restaurants generally make it! The sauce was rich and added a perfect balance to the dish!

She Crab Soup: ☆☆☆☆☆ Perfect mixture of sweet and spicy! There was plenty of crab chunks in the soup and the seafood flavors were punchy and fresh; definitely a recommended place to enjoy this Charleston staple!

Cresent Cobb Salad: ☆☆☆☆ The salad came in a huge portion that we shared among all four members in our party. The vegetables tasted fresh and each element was perfectly made for a delicious salad!

Crispy Calamari: ☆☆☆☆ The flavor was good and the calamari was crispy; the sauce that came with was delicious as well!

Chocolate Ganache Cake: ☆☆☆☆ The cake was most, but a little too sweet and not as rich as expected. The vanilla sauce that came with it was to die...

We have now eaten in two different Harry's locations - this being our second. The first was in St. Augustine. In both locations, the Louisiana style food was good. In all honesty, I believe the food was better in St. Augustine, but more on that later.

This is a great location, having probably been a corner drugstore/bar/store that was converted to a restaurant, it seems. It is a large place, with seating for quite a group of customers. It is decorated in a New Orleans style with many pieces of art referring to Mardi Gras. That tells you what style the food will be as well, if you're unfamiliar with this small chain.

We ended up with a Po'boy Shrimp sandwich, Shrimp and Grits and an order of Jambalaya. We also had an order of Fried Grit Cakes thrown in there, along with the free bread appetizer that comes with every meal.

The Shrimp and Grits were reported to be very good, with good flavor, but not a lot heat (meaning spicy). The Jambalaya was also flavorful, but tended to highlight a tomato sauce flavor, as opposed to more spicy, peppery flavors that I'm used to. Finally, having had the Shrimp Po'boy in St. Augustine, I was looking forward to it again. In this particular case, the bread was a bit on the crusty side and the sandwich disintegrated pretty quickly, making it a challenge to eat.

I'm not saying this was a bad experience, because the food is still good. It's just that my previous experience with the restaurant was so highly rated that the bar was pretty high already. I would definitely look at eating here again. The waitress was very friendly and helpful and quick to respond to any needs and the location can't be beat. Honestly, once we got the bill, I was a little surprised. It's pretty hard to get food this good at these prices and in a great...