Hooters — Restaurant in Lakeland

Saw the sign for this establishment on my way to an overnight stop along my travels from one destination to another. Not sure if it was out of nostalgia, hunger after not eating all day, or that it was literally next door to the hotel I had reserved, but I stopped in to grab some food and maybe watch the football game. That it was within walking distance to my hotel was the beginning and end of the list of positive attributes of this restaurant. I counted perhaps 10 persons all told in the restaurant…and still waited to be seated. I guess I could have just seated myself, but there was no way to know what sections were being served or not. I waited and when questioned about preferred seating I responded any place which allowed good viewing of the football game. I was promptly escorted to a somewhat deserted area of the restaurant (fine by me) from which I had a perfect vantage point of…NCAA gymnastics? I guess that is a sports game of a certain type. Always a problem solver, I chose seat opposite the table from the one indicated where I could at least kind of see the NFL game. Then the waiting game began. Amanda (I think?) eventually came by, already apologizing for the wait (such foreshadowing). I was in no rush, but a small hurry, so I simply replied that no worries were necessary. After hearing the “specials”, I ordered a water, a beer, two appetizers, and said special. By the time she returned with the food I was done with my beer and so ordered another. And so ends the deep and complicated relationship Amanda and I shared. While it lasted almost two hours, it seemed like mere minutes. I could not quite recall the exact prices for the items ordered, but I honestly could not wait for the bill as I was already late for check-in at the hotel next door so after some quick calculation and service industry math, I simply laid $100 on the table and stood to leave. To be fair, I waited, standing, by my chair for a further five minutes just to see if I could actually get a check upon which I might base my payment. Lo and behold, Amanda returned. She may have said something, but I just asked for the check as I really had no time to spare. She brought me the check within two minutes (shocking, I know). The amount owed was $64 and change. I indicated that what I had left should cover it. Seeing that it was a $100 bill so that no confusion occur she asked if I needed any change. I am not an @sshole, and indicated that no, I did not need any change. To think, what may have happened with actually good service. I wish I could comment further on the food and any other elements of the establishment, but honestly the only taste left in my mouth was that of the service. Patron this establishment at your own risk. Your time and your money are both worth more to you than anything this place...

When all said and done the food was just another meal for me. That being said on this fine Friday @ lunch time, the view was like a Tuesday opener. Disregarding those tidbits I was there only to meet someone and relay a few orders of merchandise that needed to go on a different direction then I. Parking lot has plenty of room to transfer or load and unload and best of all the interstate is just a golf shot away exit 32 on I-4 in lakeland, Fl. Good luck! Added ... I jumped the gun on my description of the restaurant. I was actually typing on my phone while in my car in the parking lot waiting for my order of buffalo chicken Caesar salad and buffalo shrimp dipped medium and side of blue cheese. The salad (foliage) was good and crisp as I would hope, the chicken was blacken not buffalo and had more fatty bites then I cared for ( would have liked zero) lets move onto the crowd favorite. My favorite, the buffalo shrimp. They were perfect. They were not soggy from sitting in sauce too long or sitting in the togo box in a puddle of sauce. The ratio of shrimp to sauce was just perfect. Now I like yo think i'm fare with the wrongs and rights because after all what have I to gain or loose , nothing. So bad mouthing or praising food is only my opinion. I like hooters food becUse when its made correct. Like the chef whom came up with it in the first place, YUM. The only thing that would have or could have made it better was if I would have gotten my side of blue. But that's okay because the shrimp are already a little messy to be eating for lunch while driving anyways and there were no napkins in the bag so kinda glad the blue made the 86 list. I had been on the windshield clock already for a few mins when i made these discoveries , so Owell. Some would say that's my fault for not making an inspection when taking ownership and some wouldn't. Sry for the...

STRIKE THREE - NEVER AGAIN. I am happy to see there are many positive reviews, but we have tried a few times (even before COVID) and have always been disappointed with the food and service, AND yesterday was the worst. I think the kitchen was staffed by incompetents or very new. We didn't complain, but the manager eventually came over after 45min. The manager was pretty sad too when he came over without a clue and offered no solutions. We ended waiting another 15 minutes after he came over - that's an hour at that point. The waitress was trying but didn't do much until we told them we were walking out in five minutes (we had only gotten water at that point). Five minutes later our food shows and most was awful. As expected, the wings were hot and fresh, but the nuggets (boneless wings?) were bottom of the bag rocks and stale. The chicken Philly was the worst. It was obviously an old chicken breast that had been refried on a flattop until it was jerky - it was inedible. After seeing that blank look of the manager's face, we simply ate what we could, paid and left. We should have known after the second failure, but it's so convenient right off...