Walt'z Fish Shak — Restaurant in Madeira Beach

After bringing to the managers attention the Key West Pinks were overcooked, my friends and I were asked to leave by the owner. I work in John's Pass and have referred tourists looking for fresh fish and a unique dining experience to Walt'z on numerous occasions. I sincerely regret suggesting anyone dine there as my last experience was unique to say the very least.

The shrimp were so overcooked they had curled into tight little white balls as if in protest of their poor preparation. I burned my fingers attempting to peel one, but the shrimp were dry to the touch, leading us to believe they were reheated in the microwave rather than freshly steamed, boiled or sauteed. Everyone at the table agreed they were chewy and tasteless.

As a manger in the service industry, I understand these things happen. A chef can have an off night and shrimp are easy to overcook. I also understand there's a certain way to handle these situations. We explained to our server the shrimp were overdone. I was quite surprised when the manager came over, didn't even look at the shrimp and stated abruptly and loudly, almost as if rehearsed, "These shrimp are perfectly prepared and we will not be remaking them or replacing them with anything else!" I politely requested she take a closer look and peel one so she could feel how tough they were. She became more agitated and repeated louder, as if for the benefit of others, they were perfectly prepared.

Her strange reaction to a typical situation should've been my queue to let it go. I had two friends with me visiting from out of state and it was our only night together. I wanted them to have a memorable dining experience. I asked to speak with someone else. She proceeded to the bar with the shrimp, where Walt the owner is a permanent fixture. After showing him the shrimp she turned and yelled at us from the bar something ridiculous about Walt knowing shrimp because he's from the Keys and we've upset him and he wants us to leave immediately! It happened so quick I never got to try anything off the other three plates of food on our table.

Three middle aged girlfriends, catching up over wine and a meal, got thrown out of a restaurant over some peel and eat shrimp! The whole thing was so crazy I would have laughed if it wouldn't have been for the young family with two babies seated next to us, staring wide eyed at the hollering manager.

According to the reviews and my own personal experience, you can get an above average meal there. However, if your food isn't prepared properly or not to your liking, it's also clear from the reviews, you can expect an experience similar to ours.

Walt, you may be from the Keys and you may know shrimp, but I'm going to tell you something you don't know. Your poor treatment of customers dishonors the rest of the locals, business owners and people that work in John's Pass who depend on tourists coming to and returning to our area.

Your restaurant isn't inexpensive, two people can expect to pay a minimum of $75. You refuse to remake or replace poorly prepared food, which is unheard of, and then kick customers out or call the cops when they take issue with it. If your cost is so high you can't replace an appetizer, then you better make sure your chef is on point.

I find it even more alarming that you allow your staff to escalate situations and yell at customers in front of families with small children! People work all year long so they can visit our little slice of paradise, walk the beach, have a decent meal, buy some souvenirs and make some memories with their families for one week out of their year.

Do you think it's okay to turn and burn your customers because they're from another state, you won't be getting their repeat business and there's always another tourist waiting to be seated?

Start treating OUR guests with respect! Quit giving the rest of us, that understand the privilege of living, working and reaping the benefits of our small waterfront...

Let me start by saying, I don't usually complain when I get my meal and I don't like it. I suffer through, eat it, then pay for it. We ordered the gator bites for an appetizer and it was delicious. We had two choices for an entree, either grouper or snapper. We could either get it blackened or fried. I chose blackened (because, normally, it is lightly spiced and I normally don't eat fried food.) When it came out I had a bite and it was BEYOND spicy. I couldn't stomach it to eat it. When the waitress came out, I asked her if I could have something different because those was very spicy for me. The waitress said "we don't do that. We aren't going to bring that back. You have to eat it." I replied "I just want something different, it is really spicy. Can I at least have Tartar Sauce to calm down the spice?" The waitress replies "we don't have Tartar sauce here. I'll go get the manager." She leaves and the manager comes out. Let me say, I have never been treated SO RUDELY in my life by a manager. I can't even open my mouth to explain myself before she starts scolding me. She yells "you don't know what you're talking about. This isn't spicy. Everyone else doesn't think it's spicy. You're the only one. We will NOT be giving you anything else. You will eat this and pay for it. You don't know what you're talking about. This is not a chain restaurant, that fish cost me $20." I tried to explain that it was just too spicy and I wanted something different. She then says "if you won't pay for this I will call the sheriff on you and you'll go to jail!" Before I could even respond, she storms off. Five minutes later, the POLICE show up to the restaurant!!!!! She actually called the police...... She showed the officer to my table, I explained the situation to the sheriff; I was very calm. I told him "I will pay for my glass of wine, I will pay for the appetizer that I ordered, but I just wanted something different because the fish was entirely too spicy for me. I'm not asking for anything for free, but if they won't just exchange the fish I would like this taken off of my bill." I also told him "I own a produce stand at home and if a customer comes in with a complaint about the fruit they brought home, I exchange it and give them something different or give them their money back. I never treat them as I was treated tonight in this restaurant." At the table next to us the man was making comments such as "they are probably scam artists and do this all the time." If I was a scam artist, I would have just left without paying. I waited until the sheriff got there, obviously not a scam artist. The sheriff then left to speak to the owner and came back to inform me "you either can pay your bill or come with me." I am the stubborn type of person that says "take me to jail". My friend that was dining with me (this was our mothers get away weekend, we both have 3 kids and this was our weekend away). My friend paid the bill so I wouldn't go to jail. It's truly sad that a restaurant would treat their customers this way when they really do have good food. I've never experienced this kind of treatment in my life. Please, do not go here, they don't deserve to have nice customers when they call the police on their customers for asking to exchange their meal that...

This is another of those opinions I almost don't want to share so a hidden gem isn't overrun by droves of tourists or low-class types who don't appreciate quality and ruin great spots (see a couple of the reviews by people complaining about Walt'z not serving french fries with entrees like a "normal restaurant" such as McDonald's, not letting them bring in their own pizza, etc.). However, keeping great experiences to ourselves isn't fair to business owners who work hard to attract customers so, for whatever our opinion is worth, I'm going to tell everyone exactly how awesome we think Walt'z is. We had what was definitely among the freshest, and might even be the best, Grouper and best Red Snapper we've ever had (and we've eaten at high-end restaurants all over the world). Even the "island rice and peas" side dish was incredibly good, as was literally the only coleslaw I've ever had in my life that I not only ate but loved. I know that sounds odd, but I hate coleslaw and I'm not even sure what is so different about theirs, but I ate every bite and loved it. The crab cakes we had for appetizers were also probably the best we've ever had.

Walt'z only serves seafood, only what select captains at the dock a few yards away caught fresh that morning (deepwater), they don't use menus (the seasonal dishes are written on a chalkboard), and they close each night whenever they run out of what was caught that morning. In fact, they operate on true "island time" so they open around 5pm, but don't really keep regular hours and are known for randomly opening or closing at odd times for various reasons (exactly like the old beach bar joke ... "for bad weather, good weather, naps, etc."). So, if you're the type who slathers a filet mignon in A-1 sauce and ketchup, see any one of the tourist traps across the way. And, if you're not staying close by, call first. In fact, I consider us lucky to not only have just stumbled in on a whim (literally since we were already a bottle of wine deep), but also to have coincidentally found them open this particular week for the first time in 14 years (the owners normally have some sort of personal occasion this week).

The owner and namesake, Walt, is a super nice guy (and, according to what several Mad Beach locals told us before he confirmed it himself, the creator of some of the recipes other well-known restaurants in the area built their reputations on before he opened his own place). The building is literally a restored old fish shack/house (but very clean) so it's tiny and probably not suitable for large groups, but it's perfect for a special occasion, date, etc. In fact, despite the appropriately casual feel, I'd still describe it as upscale. Those two factors (tiny and upscale) speak to why I don't want to contribute to it getting overrun by Burger King rejects, spring breakers, and the like. That probably explains why I had to squeeze a bit to get various locals to mention Walt'z when I told them I wanted to avoid tourist traps and go someplace the locals love. In fact, even though a good friend had already recommended Walt'z to us, one of the several other locals who suggested it was actually an employee at one of the nearby...