Oh dear, I don't mind spending money for good food but my meal was very disappointing, especially for the price paid.

Background: I'm a budget traveler, I didn't stay here but I'm on a road trip, have always wanted to see Flagler's grand hotel and decided to stop in for dinner and ended up at Seafood Bar.

The space itself is impressive, slick like the interior of a luxury car. The showpiece is the bar top that holds an actual aquarium with fish (I mostly saw clownfish in it) and there are excellent views of the sea. The service, place settings, furniture are all far above par, as you would expect.

For just under $85 (service fee included though you can round up your ticket for charity) I got a grapefruit margarita, a swordfish sandwich with fries, and their signature key lime pie.

The margarita was straight alcohol with barely any grapefruit flavor to it. And very small for a magarita. I would have liked a glass about 30% bigger with the same amount of alcohol and more juice!

The swordfish sandwich was ok - I got it blackened (other option is grilled) and it comes with lettuce and tomato and a side of fries with old bay seasoning. I ate the whole thing so it wasn't terrible but about halfway through I was really wishing for a slab of fresh onion or some special sauce or something. It just didn't taste like anything. The fries were good but the old bay was a bit heavy handed. I may have done it to myself by ordering a drink with a salt rim, a sandwich with blackened seasoning plus fries with old bay but I have to say - heavy salting isn't the same thing as adding flavor. And I wouldn't say the swordfish was oversalted but the overall effect of my meal was very bland yet salt-saturated.

I thought I could redeem it with some key lime pie, and it was very good - the graham crust was AMAZING and I liked the pairing with some blackberries - but again, it wasn't nearly as tart as I wanted it to be. It's definitely on the creamy sweet side of key lime pies. My poor server, she asked how it was and I was honest and she said something like, "it's our 126 year recipe!"

Oh dear. I don't think I'm that big of a clod when it comes to food (and I'm not coming down with covid, I can still taste) I just expected a lot more flavor, especially in the citrus department, even disregarding price. Perhaps the kitchen prefers subtle, muted flavors (except on the fries...) I think my stomach, my wallet, and my tastebuds would have been a lot happier with a glass of actual grapefruit juice and a salad.