Flagler Tavern — Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach

First encounter with hostess was friendly. We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our reservation time. The hostess went upstairs to see if our table was ready and came back down and said it’s ready, just head upstairs to The Bounty. Mind you, the hostess stand is outside on the first floor deck before entering the restaurant. We asked how do we get there because this was our first time eating at this restaurant. She seemed annoyed and reluctant to show us to our table. Once sat, we were greeted by a delightful bar tender/waitress named Chloe! She took our drink order and gave us menus. We perused through the menu and ordered the crispy calamari and the oyster tower. When they were delivered, the calamari was well cooked with crispy outside and tender inside. The only problem is that it was cold. The marinara sauce provided some heat when dipped into. The raw oysters on the bottom of the tower were good tasting, but were not disconnected from the shell which made it hard to eat. While also providing to little fork to disconnect them either. This oyster tower came with 20 oysters, I think, but only came with 1 slice of lemon. The remaining oysters were good. When it came to the entree portion, we ordered house salads with our meals and they were good, but they came right before our meals were delivered. We understood they were a little short staffed, so this didn’t bother us too much…just preference to have them earlier. The tacos that were ordered were made well and tasted delicious. The Thai chilly salmon was delivered without any sides, which there was a minor miss communication with the rice being substituted out for a salad. We just wanted to add the salad and have the rice too, but the entree was also missing the vegetables. When the vegetables came out, they were cold. They did bring a side of rice to the table to accommodate the original order. The third meal ordered was the Tuscan garlic chicken which was to come with a sun dried tomato, spinach and creamy Parmesan sauce…which was way watered down and not creamy. Not to mention there was no spinach and only 1 small piece of tomato present. The chicken was Luke warm and over cooked with no garlic flavor to it. The mashed potatoes were delicious and hot though! While we were enjoying our appetizer and oyster tower a couple came up and sat at a table about 30 feet away from us. They both started smoking cigars, which was odd to us. We were out on a balcony that had an overhead covering and open/screened sides. The wind blew their smoke right at us making it difficult to take full breaths of fresh air. No one on the staff asked them not to smoke in an area where people were eating, a bit rude if you ask me. I didn’t appreciate inhaling smoke against my will. I would say the biggest highlight of our service was Chloe!! She made the experience bearable. Not sure if we would visit this restaurant again due to the...

I had the haddock sandwich and fries. My food was okay tasting, however, not worth the $18.00. I have had a better fish sandwich at Gators Dockside for less money. In my opinion, the prices here for the food are on the expensive side. The value of the food is not equivalent to the prices. The glass of rosé that I ordered had a decent pour, and for $8.00 a glass, I had no issues with my drink. My husband ordered a frozen daiquiri, but it wasn't frozen. It was extremely watered down, so my husband asked our server to take it back. Our server said the frozen drink machines had been running all day, which was the reason for the low-quality frozen daiquiri. I don't recommend any of their frozen drinks because of that issue unless you visit when they first open for the day. My husband also ordered a dozen steamed oysters and a shrimp cocktail. He said the shrimp cocktail had no flavor, which means the shrimp were old or farm-raised. He said the steamed oysters were stringy and fell apart, which means the oysters were old as well. The prices of both the oysters and shrimp cocktail were acceptable, but the quality was lacking. The service at this restaurant was good, with the server coming by regularly to check on us and see if we needed anything. The atmosphere, on the other hand, was extremely loud, but that was because of all the drunk people and loud music.You have to literally shout when speaking so the person next to you or across from you at your table can hear you. All of the indoor chairs have no back support; they are all bar stools. Bar stools are fine for seating at the bar, but not if you want to sit at a table. If you have back, neck, sciatica, or hip problems, or if you are an older adult who needs back support, then the indoor seating is not recommended. The bar stools are simply not comfortable seats, even if you don't have orthopedic problems. The indoor seating proves that they do not want older, sophisticated people in the restaurant. Honestly, they should put all of the bar stools in the outdoor seating area and bring all of the outdoor chairs that have backs on them inside. Also, another issue is that the bar stools are too close together at the tables, making it extremely uncomfortable for people sitting next to you or behind you. The gentleman at the table behind me mistakenly kept touching me because of the close seating arrangements in this restaurant inside. I do not recommend this restaurant, especially for older, mature people. I also do not recommend this restaurant if you have kids, as it is more of a bar scene. Finally, I do not recommend this restaurant if you are looking to dine in a relaxing atmosphere. Primarily based on the seating arrangement and the loud, boisterous atmosphere, we will not patronize this restaurant...

Overall mediocre and a waste of time. This was my first visit here after a close friend of mine swears by this place being the BEST. The drinks are absolutely horrible. They're over poured, inconsistent, and not made properly (as described on the menu) I ordered the Ship Wreck first and the ONLY thing i could taste was an overpowering amount of spiced rum. It wasn't served with a shooter or whipped cream as described. The strawberry puree was completely missing in this drink. Overall, way too strong and general gross to take down. The second drink i ordered was the Beach Water. Once again, over poured and inconsistent with the menu. It has two kinds of rum, one being Malibu (Which i absolutely LOVE). Sadly, there was just an overpowering amount of Captain Rum it was very unenjoyable (i didn't bother to finish it). The atmosphere was dull and pretty dead (the other bars were packed, i wonder why) The servers were average and not the most attentive. A very underwhelming and mediocre experience. I'll stick with TATON O BRIANS and CONNORS CORNER next door. No wonder they were packed with this place was barren.

I wouldn't recommend this place by any means. It's best to stay away and let the loyalists/regulars come here.

EDIT: I see you're trying to create some false narrative about MY experience. No, I wasn't at the business next door at the time of my review because I went home after leaving your establishment. Calling my review "fake" and trying to invalidate my experience is not only unprofessional but very rude. As a business owner you should be able to take the negative reviewers and keep rolling instead of trying to hunt them down at neighboring establishments and "talk". I was as you say "laughing and smiling" because i was with my husband and we were cracking jokes and trying to make the best of our night. Lastly, the neighboring bar was indeed packed (we were planning on going to the back patio Connor Corner) as we arrived but had to SETTLE with your establishment instead. I'm not a karen that's going to shout and holler at a bartender over a mistake, but rather take the crappy drink, warn others of my experience, and not return. Do better, your reply is quite embarrassing trying to be condescending and rude because you can't handle a...