Surf Shack Coastal Kitchen — Restaurant in Oldsmar

First of all I will say that my wife had a terrific experience one year ago at Surf Shack and we looked forward to visiting today on our return to St Armands. Unfortunately we will not be back after today.

Immediately upon entering the restaurant we were hit with what another reviewer had referred to as a "sewage smell". The odor is what I can only describe as a blend of dirty/greasy mop water, with stale beer, and a splash of dead rodent. Because of our previous experience we thought maybe this was a fluke but we were sadly mistaken. Upon bringing this up to the manager passing by I was told that I was most likely smelling the dish sink behind the bar, but that "they had recently changed the water". She also told me that she couldn't smell anything because she had recently been ill.

PS - A previous Yelp reviewer notes the smell 3 MONTHS AGO!

As we looked around to try and narrow down the source we quickly realized that this place is in need of a desperate cleaning from top to bottom. There is filth hanging from the lights, filth clung to the vents, visible black filth below the coolers behind the bar.

Additionally our ever charming (not really) bartender proceeded to dangle her hair into the clean(ish) drinkware as she carried an armful between her chest and forearm to restock the bar. We then witnessed her pick something out of a drink she was making with her bare fingers.

When we were asking to cash out after we finished about half of our $11 fruit juice (no tequila) margaritas we also asked if we could have a couple of their "to go" cups with ice so that we could have some cold water while we walked. I was told that they "really aren't supposed to do that" and that she could just put some water in them. After an annoyed eye roll directed at me she went ahead and got a stack of cups and filled a couple with ice. Probably the most real work she had done all day so I guess I can see the struggle.

I plan to bring up the cleanliness issues with the local health inspector since it does not appear this business has any intent on rectifying their issues on their own.

Go across the street to the...

I remember when the Surf Shack opened several years back. It was always such a fun place to grab some food. Quaint and coastal with an airy feeling. My boss and I made a point to meet there for lunch or for dinner and drinks regularly, we especially enjoyed their tacos.

I find it really hard to write this review. I hate to put negative things out there, but this is my experience now at Surf Shack.

It's been a few years now and age has not been kind to the place and it's more shackish. I returned for dinner the other night and immediately got the "ick". The bathrooms were terrible, mirrors disintegrating, toilet on par with an old roadside gas station, terribly dirty, dusty and greasy. Upon returning from the restroom we stood at the front for a while and then just grabbed menus and sat down despite being advised to wait, as there was clearly no host. Our menus themselves were dirty and if my kiddo did not want to stay so badly, I would have bolted right then.

Our waiter was adequate, we ordered after about 15 minutes. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time, but we had a chance to look around in the interim. The place did not seem understaffed, but I did sense tables needing attention.

The decor was all the same after 10 years, but it looked like not much cleaning had happened. The glass buoys were loaded with greasy dust, the ceiling had rusty tiles and there was just a funky coating on everything. The atmosphere in general seemed off or even off putting.

Our food arrived and the tacos were absolutely soaking wet. The neat salsa I remembered in top of everything looked to be now more a stew. The filet minion tacos were on nothing like filet, the description, or my fond memories of freshness. There was some stew meat and unidentifieable squishy stuff, it had to go back. The fish taco was fine, but again stewed and just so squishy and not feeling fresh, crispy or memorable. The waiter did try to assist, and again I hate to complain, but things were just not that great.

I hope this review inspires some introspection for the owner or manager. Sadly we won't be returning...

Where do I begin.... We always wanted to check out this place since they advertise d All you can eat Crab on Saturdays... unfortunately no babysitters for Saturday so we went yesterday. We were not greeted...did not know who was the hostess. Then we were given a booth seating with crumbs on the table and the booth benches....ironically the table was set for new diners. Then, being our first time, we as the server for suggestions for the apps and even with our general questions it seemed as though we were taking up his time or asking stupid questions. The chips had a spicy seasoning on them and that was definitely a surprise since we should be warned if anything would be spicy. Our guacamole was premade and super cold versus being made fresh to order. The plates for our main dish were bent so cutting a steak was a challenge being that the plate would spin every time you tried to slice the steak and food would be falling off the plate while cutting. The broccoli was CLEARLY frozen and there were more cubes of stems than the crowns. The steak, rice and broccoli were all very bland and we didn't even finish it. When we explained that we didn't like it and so far weren't pleased, they did offer to replace it but we said no because our experience so far turned us off completely from ever considering to come back. The server returns a few moments later to then say...I would hate for you to pay for something you don't like. Normally, we would be offered a discount if we are not pleased as I would when I worked as an Exec Chef or GM but clearly that was not an option here. My husband then orders a beer to hold him off and once received, I noticed Mayo on the rim of the glass under the orange slice....how that happens is beyond me. Needless to say, I didn't even want to leave a tip but we still did out of common courtesy. Definitely...