88 Keys Florida Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Punta Gorda

Today’s Christmas Dinner was beyond and absolute and utter disappointment! Service was beyond horrible. Our server never checked on us, never refilled our water and took over 30 minutes to get our drinks from the bar (watched the server enter our drink order after we asked for it, again). Finally, after waiting for over an hour and 15 minutes for our meal…I order the Seafood Trio, which was supposed to be Lobster, Scallops and Shrimp with fingerling potatoes and Brussels sprouts cook witj pork belly and my husband ordered the Stuffed Snapper with the same sides. HOWEVER, that is NOT what we got. The server sat my plate down and said “seafood trio?” and sat my husband’s plate down, she didn’t even repeat what he ordered because I don’t think she knew what it was. I had NO lobster and the shrimp and scallops were so black/burnt, they were completely inedible. The side we received were the leftover ore-ida breakfast potatoes and the vegetable seemed to be something leftover from what they would’ve used in omelette. The snapper was supposed to be crab stuffed. It was more like stuffing with minced crab slapped on top of the fish. This was COMPLETELY unacceptable!! For $125 per couple, are you kidding me?!?! I sent my food back and the meal was comped, as it should’ve been. We were not the only table this happened to. We could overhear the floor manager and another server say “well we can’t help that we ran out of food”. How is that possible?!?! This seating was strictly reservation ONLY. They knew how many people would be eating. They should have ordered the correct amount of food. On top of, if your server cannot handle the small amount of people on a fixed menu, then hire someone else. Yes, i understand they worked on Christmas. But whenthe other server started trying to get sympathy from her remaining customers by talking trash about another customer that complained, that was EXTREMELY UNACCEPTABLE!! I cannot believe that I opted for coming here for a nice quiet and supposedly high end meal for Christmas!! You were not prepared by any means and should not have moved forward with this opening for Christmas. I will NEVER come back here again. Complete disregard for others during this beautiful holiday. I have to say, you completely ruined it for me. While we sat waiting to pay for our drinks (another 30 minute wait)….I cried at the table…no server, no manager…NOTHING!!! If I could give a negative...

AWESOME Birthday dinner for my daughter!!!

I'll start with the RESERVATION. This was a surprise birthday dinner booked at the very last minute and reserved close to closing hours. The manager Chris was very accommodating! Due to unexpected early closing he gave us an additional hour and offered to stay late to clean up for his staff if need be!!! Unheard of! Chris came to our table and introduced himself and thanked us for choosing 88 Keys!

Then the SERVICE...YVONNE!!!!! Very friendly and efficient! Extremely knowledgeable about the menu and walked us through the specials numerous times as our guests where trickling in at different times. Yvonne went above and beyond to ensure we all had we needed and never seemed to tire of answering questions or running us different items at different times. Super multitasker!

The FOOOOOOD...OMG! It was 9 of us and we were all beyond satisfied with our dishes! Chef Eric is a genius!!!! I personally had the grouper and truffle potato dish with shrimp scampi and fried asparagus and spinach. It was one of the best meals I have ever tasted! That speaks volumes as my husband is an amazing chef!!! So we are all foodies!!!

Sherry the BARTENDER. Sherry gave us a surprise ROUND on the house! She was very friendly and even came out to greet us , wish my daughter a happy birthday and thank us for our patronage!

The desk clerk, never got her name as we were not hotel guests. Please research who was working March 19th 7pm and thank her for her hospitality. Very friendly!!! She greeted us all on every trip we individually made to the restroom. Lol! We hired a photographer to take pics. We used the lobby and she was VERY accommodating about that.

This was an incredible experience from start to finish. Each and every staff member we encounter made us...

I had been looking forward to dining at 88 Keys since the completion of their renovation after the last hurricane. However, on my first visit, I decided to stay at the bar and listen to the lively guitar and keyboard entertainment. Fortunately, it was still Happy Hour (4-6), so I ordered the Grey Goose Strawberry Basil cocktail, which took longer than expected. I was not a fan of the taste and of the puree in the drink. The entree was also a disappointment: Shrimp and Grits covered in Marinara Sauce! (Menu described it as Cajun. I describe as Italian!) Grits were lumpy. Dessert was the homemade Key Lime Pie. I fancy myself a gourmand when it comes to this pie but the 88 Keys version was very heavy, almost like eating a block of lime -flavored cream cheese I visit a lot of eateries and write a lot of reviews. This was not the best of experiences. However, I will give them another try...this time in the Dining Room, not the Bar. I also look forward to the piano music .... to...