Arthur Paul's Steak and Seafood — Restaurant in Orangeburg

Ok let me start with I am very non confrontational usually when I receive the wrong food I just eat it no big deal.. but this place was horrible. We had a Christmas party and this place was called two weeks prior to make sure they could accommodate the number of people in the party (12 total) they said it would not be a problem. We arrive the day of and were told they didn’t have several things on the menu including any chicken items,pasta, crab legs, lobster, any pork items and they only had 1 1/2 racks of ribs available. So we were disappointed but decided to stay since we were there already. Drinks were ordered and everyone that ordered liquor had to walk next door to the pool hall to get their drinks. The waitress who was outside smoking with other members of the crew asked if members of my party could come to her to give their food orders, this was odd but we complied. It took over an hour to receive our food and much of it was either overcooked or not correct. One member of my party ordered salmon and got two small pieces of a white fish that appeared to be catfish or Tilapia but it wasn’t salmon. The food was also in Togo containers which we took as a hint to leave. Each member paid for their food and on top of everything they added a $8.00 gratuity on everyone’s bill. I will never eat there again… worst experience ever. I would rather eat McDonald’s on the park bench of Central Park fighting off pigeons before ever stepping foot in this place again.

Please read the reviews before going to this place to many long wait times and bad service. Then after this review the owner has the ball$ to blame the customer I don’t think so buddy. If you have cameras please post them so we all can see what trouble we caused.. you won’t because all you will see is a bunch of people sitting around a table with empty drink glasses playing gift giving Christmas games. There were no out of line people sitting at that table. And as the only white couple at this party I hate to throw the race card but it really seemed that this place treated the people of this party very differently than what I’m used to.. so again post your pictures with the time stamps and don’t forget make sure you post the only white guy in the party since we were causing a scene.. I’ll be waiting just like I was...

This is my first and last time eating at this so called restaurant. We had reservations (set almost two weeks in advanced) for 7:30. We arrived by 7:25/7:28. We were told almost 90% of their menu was not available because they didn’t have it. There was probably 12 of us. We ordered our drinks (no one got refills). Those of us that ordered alcoholic beverages had to go next door (the pool hall) to get them. Then we ordered our food. My husband and I got skipped for our order so I walked up to the waitress that was standing at the register to ask her if we could order. She told me to go to her to order. I complied because I didn’t want to cause a scene or anything. We waited over an hour for our food to come out. We placed our orders around 8/8:15. Most of the food was either over cooked or not right. I ordered Salmon. My “Salmon” was very white, small, and thin. It also did not taste like salmon. Someone in our party witnessed the wait stuff sitting outside smoking cigarettes multiple times while we waited for our food. Our food came out in to go containers because they were closing/closed and clearly wanted us to leave. On top of all of this they had the gall to charge all of us $8 for gratuity. DO NOT EAT HERE! EVER!!!

Update: My boss asked for Togo plates because we did not realize the time and he felt bad for us being away from our families as long as we were. None of us expected to spend 3+ hours just waiting on service. Do not let the “owner” sway you into thinking our party was rowdy and required the police. We were nothing but cordial and even kept to ourselves. We were the only ones in the entire restaurant and never saw the owner or a manager once. We are not the people to upset. I did however happen to notice that we were the only party in the restaurant when we walked in that was primarily African-American. If you are planning on eating at this establishment, do yourself a favor and ask if this type of management style is the one you want to be...

I pride myself on posting accurate reviews, fair and often generous when able. The only saving grace at Athurs was the waitress. I ordered cod, it's a very delicate bottom feeding Atlantic white fish, succulent, sweet but not this. The dry weight was maybe 2 ounces and it came overcooked in 5 ounces of cornmeal batter, tough, over cooked. My wife ordered scallops, she received 12 ounces of bay scallops (an extremely generous portion by any standards), previously frozen* and on the verge of spoiled. The salad she received was small but well presented so we were hopeful. The cole slaw was inedible. It was raw cabbage seasoned with oil, celery seed and salt (way to much celery seed). In a diabetic and took me insulin prior to going in, I had to eat something, the sweet potato fries from Food Lion were ok, I ate one thumb size piece of cod and broke the other open to get an accurate photo. Our entire bill was 47.00 for two people, no alcoholic beverages, just seltzer water that was flat *Bay scallops (any previously frozen seafood) if thawed properly can still be a delight to eat. They can never be thawed in a microwave and must be dry before cooking in an oiled very hot saute pan,pan fried until golden brown. Cod, fried cod, must also be thawed properly, dried and cooked in a light airy beer batter, never a corn meal batter (although a table spoon of cornstarch in the batter can make them extra crispy). If you cannot turn enough product to do it justice, don't serve it. These folks maybe some of the nicest in Orangeburg but sadly we won't be returning. Update: If your feel you must defend your product against an objective review, as I've noticed you have, often it comes off in poor taste. The average person is not confrontational. If the product in question requires a manager to come to the table, it's already awkward. I wish every establishment the very best and that goes with this...