Keeper's Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in Port Saint Joe

Let me preface this with I truly enjoyed my time at this restaurant and I can see the making of something great here. That being said there were some issues with the service and quality of food that should be addressed.

When we walked in the hostess was missing and the first person to find us was a food runner that was not equipped to accept guests. Once seated our server was capable but seemed scattered, a reoccurring theme, he didn’t have a good grasp on their new menu and took over 15 minutes to get our drinks. Food came out quick and we got everything correct that we ordered so that was a plus.

My friends enjoyed the ambiance but all I could see was the chaos of the runners and servers. There seemed to be multiple people in and out of the kitchen who weren’t even working. We could frequently see people going outside to smoke/vape including the hostess and food runners. We even saw them vape inside. It seemed like cooks were running food too even though they had plenty of staff.

The food seemed very mediocre for the price. I ordered the streak frites and truffle fries. The steak came out on top of the luke warm fries and made them soggy. The steak also wasn’t anything to write home about. Also was surprised that the shrimp we ordered for the salad still had their tails on.

The drinks did take a while to get to us, once they did we were happy. Nice flavors and a good heavy pour made up for the wait. So definitely the best part of the night

Service was good overall and very friendly. Our waiter Hunter was doing his absolute best and did ensure we had a great time! Better front of house management is all this place needs. I never saw a manager taking charge of the crew and this place really does need a guiding hand to round out...

The most delicious meal we’ve had in Port Saint Joe! We started off with drinks from the very well appointed bar. The “love you, mean it” was fizzy, sweet, and perfectly tart. We shared the starter special of chilled crab claws, wedge salad, the pork chop main, and the pear bread pudding for dessert. Each plate that came out became better and more delicious than the previous! The bacon fat blue cheese dressing on the wedge had a Smokey richness that elevated the flavor of the crisp and perfectly ripe vegetables. So unique and surprisingly delicious! Everything from the grits and Brussels sprouts to the carmelized onions on top of the pork chop worked together to make a perfect bite with every single forkful! The bread pudding at the end put this menu over the top! We sat outside so we could hear the band playing at The Haughty Heron. Shout out to Dani and The Chix, who were amazing even without their lead singer Dani who was out sick. And lastly, we had the absolutely best waitress, Logan T.! Just like every restaurant for the last few years, Keeper’s was short staffed. But Logan hustled and more than made up for it!! She energetically explained the specials and her favorite items with great detail and enthusiasm. Logan is an amazing waitress and made our evening meal top notch! As new residents to this beautiful city, we have been hitting all the local spots. We have enjoyed every single one and love that there are so many locally owned restaurants. But so far, Keeper’s is our favorite. The chef has created a unique and exceptional menu that we plan to revisit again and again! And we will ask for Logan T....

We ate here with a party of five people. One ate the seafood linguine which was amazing. Another (vegetarian) had the risotto which was also good.

I had the swordfish which was ok at best. Some parts of it were slightly raw inside. It did not look like the photos of the same swordfish dish on their Facebook page or Google maps reviews; they all looked more appropriately seasoned. My swordfish was very heavily seasoned with Cajun seasoning and lacked any subtlety in flavor.

My son had the market catch which today was flounder. The flounder lacked any flavor at all, including the white sauce it was absolutely drenched in. It was overcooked and a very small piece of fish. It came on a succotash which also lacked any flavor. It seemed like a bunch of lima beans boiled in water with no seasoning.

My wife had the almond crusted chicken piccata. It definitely was not crusty. It was a soggy coating on the chicken which did not taste great. It came with mashed potato which was also bland and tasted like instant mash. They also spelled piccata incorrectly on the menu (picatta) which a chef really should know how to spell.

We had 4 cocktails. They were all delicious, especially the lavender haze.

The cost of the meal seemed quite high considering the quality of the food.

Maybe we had an off night because the photos in every review I have seen looked a lot better than our meals did. We left a little disappointed and will not...