Grills Lakeside Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar — Restaurant in Orlando

LOVE LOVE LOVE THE ATMOSPHERE, THE ENTERTAINMENT AND THE BAR STAFF!!! Lonnnnng wait (2 hours for our party of 11. Tried to call ahead to make reservations but was told "we are unable to take reservations-maybe in cases of large parties they should as MORE money would have been spent as we would have stayed longer afterwards and danced to the AWESOME one man band who had people dancing and singing but we stood for 2 hours waiting on a table so some were tired) But we totally understood because it was a Saturday and the atmosphere, the bar staff and entertainment kept us occupied this is what made us give a 4 🌟. Would have been less due to the entrees not quite yet up to par considering the prices. The male wait staff was attentive and polite however the female wait staff needs a little lesson in patience when it came to the children and bringing items to the table. One guest sat for 15 mins waiting on her meal of Coconut Shrimp (over cooked), Coconut Sticky Rice (which she raved about) and her fries were room temp nor did she or another guest receive the cheesy bread (even if was extra). The kitchen was out of Tips, out of shark and we asked about substituting maybe the Mahi which was the fish of the day and was told NO substitutes. The fish tacos were "ok" per another guest and out of the 4 tacos received only one small piece of fish was inside. The burgers ... One undercooked (the Cat 5 and the basic was over cooked-both ordered m-well) The whole fried fish was delicious and made for some entertainment while we waited on the coconut shrimp dinner. The servers however were pretty attentive with bringing our drinks and refills for the kiddos. We WILL return for the atmosphere (as we all at one time or another have had many memories on the lake and at the location from past party spots), hanging by the outside patio for drinks and appetizers. Not sure if it was just to much for the wait staff (as most were running around like crazy in and out every door there and sadly some on more than one occasion not taking into consideration elderly (per another guest we did not know but she left highly upset). On nights like that and also considering the wait it has been my experience (as a server, guest and a manager) that a manager or a key should check with tables to see how things were. Again we will return as mentioned above for the beautiful ambiance of Lake Fairview, reliving wonderful memories of both the spot and the lake, the awesome one man band and the bar atmosphere...

DISTURBED & DISAPPOINTED From the website, this looked like an amazing place to sit outdoors on the lake for my birthday dinner. We called for a rez and were told that they did not take reservations. We showed up at 6:15 on Friday anticipating getting in the queue for a table. However oddly, they don't take a queue for outside seating..."just go watch for one to come open".

Puzzled, we went to bravely hunt for a table outdoors. We invested 45 minutes trying to politely 'score' a table. Out of 30 tables and 3 of us stalking, we were literally out bullied for 6 tables. Four tables told us they had been there since 3pm and were planning to stay the night. One woman occupied a 6-top alone, having paid her bill over an hour ago, just watching her children play on the playscape. (Mistake to have open after dark).

Bottom line? What kind of restaurant let's their patrons approach and bother other patrons trying to get them to leave, while new patrons physically fight each other for the next opening? LUDICROUS!

I worked in 6 upscale restaurants during my college career and my family ran one. Never have I seen such unnecessary and disconcerting policies.

Especially in our current world situation. Promoting physical contact, approaching others while eating, and then the divisive horrible feelings we had when feeling victimized while trying to GIVE THIS ESTABLISHMENT BUSSINESS!?

Out of sheer determination to celebrate my birthday, we succumbed to a table inside, which has no lovely breeze, no music, no vibe at all, just loud clanging, children screaming, so much din our waiter had to lean in to be heard.

ACTUAL FOOD REVIEW: the margarita was very good, but served in a plastic solo cup. the fish tacos (Tuna) were boring, nothing 'tropical' about them, ordered 4 received 3, ate 1. The tuna was so tough I could hardly chew it. the burger was fine the Reuben was dry the Tiramisu was fabulous waiter Taylor made a real effort but we were struggling in near tears from our outdoor hunting experience.

We cannot recommend the food, the indoors, nor the outdoors experience here. Will not go back.

**Yes, I asked to speak to the manager. He simply said, "I'm sorry you felt that way. This is how we do it here."

OVERALL...

We loved everything at Grills Lakeside Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar until this morning January 6th, 2024. As a long time customer, let me start by saying that it’s very hard for me to write and post this review. It was a rainy morning and unfortunately we hit traffic on our way to have brunch. Brunch here it’s a thing my husband and I do regularly any day of the week but this time one of our twins came along to celebrate 3 Kings Day. Due to the traffic, we were not going to make it on time so I called and the host took my order. At arrival, I confirmed that we could eat there and she said the manager had given the ok so we sat on one of the outdoor tables. This is where it goes downhill, unfortunately one of the orders came with the wrong bread so my husband called the waitress who was assigned to our table, her name is Dani, he explained the situation and asked her if she was so kind to bring him the English muffins instead and, I asked her for drinks to what she answered with attitude “let me call a breakfast server for you” she turned around and left. We were shocked 😳. Brandon, one of the managers, noticed and stepped right in and asked what would we like to drink, all 3 of us were trying to understand what had just happened and couldn’t say a word until he asked again and I blabbered our drinks of choice still in shock. After that, we were waiting for a long time for the muffins… I ended up getting up to get them myself and met with Dani when I opened the door, at this point I thanked her and I said I take them. Muffins had no butter so I had to get up again to go get the butter myself from the host. Nobody came to check on us, Dani walked by us ignoring us the whole time we were there. We didn’t even get check for the drinks, we could’ve just left but I went to the front to pay while my husband and daughter went to the car. I apologize for not catching the hostess’s name, she’s the best and a real sweetheart. She listened and apologized for our experience. I understand waiters/waitresses work for their tips and we tip even if it’s only a drink or take out. We were planning on tipping her for the brunch but she definitely wasn’t worth of our money. Someone else...