Pat's Rest Awhile — Restaurant in Mandeville

First we needed to be sat. The hostess “helping” us wouldn’t even direct us where we needed to be. Just pointed a direction and grunted. Thanks for that. But she’s a young lady, well management are up your training game. There were available seats outside and she said we couldn’t sit there as they were reserved for bigger parties. So what’s the trade off here? Seat CURRENT and living customers who want to sit there or save the seats for the imaginary customers who might show up. It was a lovely day. Would’ve preferred to sit outside. Alas we got stuck inside with Devonte. Oh just wait for that story— more to follow.

Devonte arrived at our table. Each and every visit he literally was running away from us instead of planting his feet and listening he was trying to find ways to sprint away as quick as possible. Maybe his cigarettes needed attending outside? I don’t know he never told us why he ran from his tables like a frightened doe. He finally came back with drinks. Two coke zeroes. Mine (pictured here) had white floaters in it. Old soap from dishwasher cycle? Mildew from an old, stored glass? Excrement? Again don’t know. Devonte would leave us for 10-15min Intervals. Well, those cigarettes need attending to like a babysat child. So we should excuse him for that right? Another server brought the food out. Miniscule serving of fries that were also lukewarm. Grease-fried potatoes, cold? Ok—Moving on. The red onions for my burger were yellow and wilted, clear signs of age and poor refrigeration. Alright— moving on. Oh Devonte is back. I’m actually turned around in my chair now having to raise my voice because he is speed-walking away again “checking” on us. I’m talking to someone as they move further and further away from our table at an accelerated rate. This guy is a terrible waiter. I’m sorry, I should say awful. He’s awful. But he seems new so maybe give him a break? Again? Managers— are y’all asleep also?? Train your team to care more. Just even to PRETEND to care more. These are all the same winners who complain and moan about small tips. EARN THEM. How’s that?

Oh and the “jumbo” 22$ lump crab cake? HAHA!! The only jumbo thing here was the disappoint plus the “I knew it” feeling when ordering a “jumbo” crab cake. For 22$, mind you. Also pictured here. With a messy garnish of some old veggies on the side and some over-salty “remoulade”. Who prepares this stuff or menu or serves it….cooks it? Oscar and Elmo?

Very disappointing experience.

Burger meat was tasty. And crab cake had decent flavor.

Services and presentations F’s across the board.

Management it’s all on...

It was really good. I wouldn't hesitate to take a date there if I was crazy enough to date.

I was expecting a smaller place. This place is two buildings connected by a mezzanine between them with seating and a bar in each building and the mezzanine. Parking is in the back but it's not all paved or even gravel so consider your shoes. I lucked into a spot right by the stairs. When I got to the top I saw the hostess straight ahead who advised me to sit at one of the bars since it was just me. Friday at 7 the wait was an hour, which isn't bad for a popular restaurant at peak time.

Sitting at the bar I overheard heard resolutions for a couple of people with minor problems. Hey, it happens and I think the staff took care of them well. My bartender had myself and a couple. Menu and drink came immediately. Combo plate was not long coming either.

I was a little disappointed at first, seeing the small pieces of fish, but then I realized it was a full fillet they'd just cut it up. A couple of the oysters were a little tough. The fries were excellently crispy. The fried fish, shrimp, and oysters all tasted great. The coleslaw was... bland. It was fine, but it needed something. A dash of Tony's, chili powder, maybe a little vinegar, something. The tartar sauce had a distinct celery taste. Some don't like celery. I'm fine with it in some places. I'm still undecided where this sits on my "preference rating", but either way I thought the cocktail and tartar sauce were both good.

Overall I say 4.5 stars: not perfect, but really good overall. Friendly staff, good food, reasonably priced, and with lake views from some tables at least. I think for atmosphere you could come here for prom date, business dinner, or family dinner. Or just or do like I did. I was just in town and...

We had a good experience. We went here for Valentine's Day and chose to use the special menu so I'm not sure if this review will be representative of this restaurant as a typical experience.

We started with bacon wrapped shrimp. It came with a ranch-like sauce. Not sure if this was the best flavor combination but this was fairly good. Then we had gumbo and corn & shrimp bisque. They were both tasty, though I would have liked some seafood pieces in the gumbo. It did have a good dark roux.

My wife had the petite filet medium rare. It was the proper temperature and had a good char. It came with seasoned potatoes and green beans with bacon. These were very nice sides. I had the Tuna Two Ways. Both tunas were excellent. One had like a peppercorn outside and the other like a batter friend sushi and not overcooked. It came with a soy based sauce and a horseradish (or maybe wasabi, think strong nasal passage clearing) based sauce.

We finished with dark chocolate covered strawberries with (probably raspberry) sauce. As far as this goes, this was some of the best I've had.

The service was fairly good. The servers were well dressed and professional. We were not rushed as we were there close to 2 hours.

I don't give away 5 star reviews easily, but this place could possibly earn it after...