David's Catfish House — Restaurant in Milton

So I came home to Milton for a few days and I brought my girlfriend and a friend with me. I brought up the idea of catfish, they thought that sounded great, and I knew just where to take them. I've been coming to David's Catfish House for a long time now, and it has never let me down.

We get here and we get seated promptly. The delicious sweet tea starts flowing, and the menus get examined. I decide to order off the lunch menu and get the Fried Catfish Plate with double fries. I got the filet option, because the whole catfish option isn't served with the head on. Just warning you now. Shame. My girlfriend orders the Popcorn Shrimp Basket with cole slaw.

My catfish is wonderful. The breading ratio is so small, and the amount of meat that is inside the filet is well worth the price. So good. I'll get this every time. Their hush puppies are a little bland on seasoning or flavor, but they're fried well and are not oily, which is always good for puppies. The fries were good, too. A nice crisp and cooked all the way through. A wonderful vessel for my ketchup.

The popcorn shrimp was also wonderful. The seafood here just doesn't taste like it's frozen. I don't know if it's frozen or fresh, but it tastes absolutely dynamite. The cole slaw was good, too. Not too wet.

Everyone that works here will give you the southern charm that you deserve while eating catfish in the South. The decor is quaint and rustic. It's all just themed so nicely and everything is simple, just like I like things when I'm home. Overall, this place is excellent, and I will keep coming here whenever I am in town and...

This place is just a travesty.

They have two poorly designated entrances: takeout and dining-in. The takeout entrance has dirty, sticky carpet leading to the dining area.

The dining room itself is poorly decorated mostly with décor depicting fish and fishing styles not from the Gulf Coast of Florida. The walls and decorations are all filthy and dirty.

All total, the upkeep and branding are a 1 out of 5.

The staff act as if they have no sense of urgency or any sort of quality manager to keep things running well. I'd give them a 2 out of 5.

Were it not for special circumstances, where I was pressed for time, the general cleanliness of the restaurant would normally have caused me to walk away. If that didn't, the attitude of the wait staff surely would have done it. Alas, I was under a crunch and time was limited.

The food is fairly well done. It is a solid 3 out of 5 in flavor.

All-in-all, I gave this restaurant a 2 only because of the numbers and my scoring criteria. In truth, had I not been in a time crunch, I never would have ate here. To top matters off, I sat and watched a staff member playing on her phone the whole meal rather than cleaning or acting like she was on the clock.

No wonder why all of their displayed awards and accolades are years old with nothing recent. This place is just one health inspection away from being closed down.

If I were the owner(s), I'd fire the management and probably most of the staff; shut down the restaurant for a few days; hire new staff/management; do some critical training; and do a deep clean from top to bottom...

Quaint little place. Hard to find but could be worth it.

The good: The restaurant itself is a staple of Milton. It was there when I moved to that area in 98. The atmosphere is about what you'd expect from a country restaurant. Including the decor. It's a family place.

The service was great. I was with a large group and the lady who took care of us did that fairly well. Given my history in the restaurant industry, I'd hire her to take care of my guests in a heartbeat. She was genuinely kind, attentive, quick and accurate.

The bad: I understand that I run a risk when I order something that isn't the specialty. I don't order a hamburger when I go out for Mexican. This particular evening, I probably should've stuck to that rule. Problem is, I'm not a huge catfish fan. That being said, I ordered what I thought was a fairly safe chicken fingers basket. What I got was an overcooked, previously frozen, made in a factory sorry excuse for food. It would be a logical conclusion to say everything on my plate was from a mass supplier, stored in the freezer, and thrown in a fryer or microwave before being served. The "chicken" tenders were particularly disappointing, being ¾ breading and ¼ chicken jerky.

If they had fresh food, it would be an easy five stars, but the stuff they put on my plate, I wouldn't...