Broke N Bored Grill — Restaurant in Redington Shores

Ok, so the dreaded nasty review.

We are locals. It was my son's birthday, and he wanted to go to Broke N Board.

I made a 7:30 PM reservation.

We arrived a few minutes early, and the nice kid handling the reservations sat us on time.

We sat outside and a waiter, whom I believed may be named "John" based on the receipt for our drinks came over to take the order.

My 2 son's ordered rather costly items, and I just ordered a wrap.

We waited, I believe over 30 minutes, because our receipt said 8:19, and we sat at 7:30, right on time.

So, I went inside and spoke to the nice host, and said we have been waiting a long time for our meals, and I have to go to work in downtown Tampa early the next day. I did say it was inexcusable. Maybe a little strong. The explanation from the host was, a special takes a little longer. I said that's fine, nicely, and said in the future you should let people know a special may take a little longer. That was it.

So I sat back down, and a kitchen staff member comes out about 3 minutes later and ask's our waiter what the issue was. I heard the waiter say loudly, "he just wants to cry about it".

I appallingly stopped him and asked him if I just heard him say that I just want to cry about it. The reply was, nonchalantly... " yeah I said it". This was in front of everybody on that patio. My young adult son's were appalled as well, and got up and walked out. They used some language choices, I did not approve of... however... I digress

So here I am alone... I told the waiter, you know what, I will pay for the drinks, and be on our way. The waiter said, forget it, just leave. The waiter points to the table next to them (poor people, because apparently we were supposed to be pitted against them), that these people waited 40 minutes for their food. It was so ridiculously awkward. It was surreal. They didn't respond, and I wasn't sure they nor I knew what was happening right there.

I grabbed the nice host and said, I insist on paying for the 2 beers I drank. He charged me, and I even tipped the waiter some money.

He said, the order time said you were waiting 29 minutes for a special, which isn't too bad. I explained to him that, we would have stayed but for the way the waiter acted. We would have griped, ate our meals, and forgot about it by the next day. It was very unprofessional. I think he understood the issue. I said we may be back. I reminded him of my earlier constructive criticism, to tell customers specials may take longer.

My son's pulled the truck up, and I got in. I could hear the waiter cracking jokes. It was such a weird and entirely avoidable event.

We probably will...

Through a recommendation of our excellent charter captain, Skyler of Inspired Fishing Charters (check out their instagram), he suggested we take our Red Snapper for a catch and cook at the Broke N Bored. Partner/Owner-Operator and Chef Justin was apparently the best in town. Chef Justin came through in spades. Instead of a basic blackened fish with two sides you get just about anywhere else, Chef Justin took it upon himself to spend hours creating a multiple course experience.

Chef Justin prepared the fish three different ways starting with an appetizer of boom-boom snapper, a lightly fried take on the classic appetizer dish with from-scratch ingredients; a first course of blackened snapper grilled in a corn husk with mango chutney and rice and beans side; and a second, final course of baked snapper on rice with roasted cherry tomatoes, lemon buerre blanc, and parmesan on top. This was paired with an excellent asparagus side. Served family style, he stretched what little we caught into an absolute marvel for all of us. While he greeted our table and shared in some jokes and conversation before dinner, I only wish he came out after dinner to talk to us about our meal.

Chef Justin, it was fabulous and the only real way to go about enjoying a fresh catch. I can't imagine another option that could come close to meeting the standard you set. The pride and care you take in each step was apparent in each dish and the waiter, Travis, was knowledgeable, hard working, and personable. Keep at it. You folks have a wonderful place there.

As for the general review, the Broke N Bored is a casual, bar-like establishment with gourmet food to go with their beer and wine selections. You can get anything from a LARGE rotation of daily specials (they don't repeat the same special in a month's timeframe) or focus on burgers, chicken, or seafood and salad. If you're just killing time for a quick lunch or dinner or looking for a more formal meal, the laid-back feel of the place will fit the bill for any occasion. I'd reserve a table today, this place won't be a secret...

I don't normally do this but I HAD to rate this place. First off the food was EXCELLENT. It's a real local place if you are looking for that. Hogfish was second to none. Calamari was right on point and the fried green tomatoes were great. John is in management there but he waited on us. Man what a great guy and great service. Definitely going back tomorrow night.** Every rose has it's thorn. Fast forward to tonight 7/24/22 and as promised we returned to the restaurant. John had promised us a free appetizer with dinner and just said to write his name on the receipt last night. So we did. Well tonight, John was not there. The manager Alex was reluctant to give us the appetizer. He even went as far as calling John, but John did not remember (don't know how because we had a great conversation with John). So it took three visits from Alex and he finally reluctantly gave us a discount but could not do the appetizer. He gave us 7 dollars off the meal, mind you the appetizer was 11. So for 4 dollars, he made us feel embarrassed. Now, it's not about the money, we would have been happy to pay for it but it's about the principal. We spent over 100 dollars yesterday and 70 dollars today at the restaurant and were going to keep coming back since it's only 30 minutes from where we live. How on earth Alex is in customer service, I have no idea. But I will tell you, we will NEVER go back to the restaurant and hope the owners take note and train their employees not to embarrass customers. I mean come on, who would make this up, keep the receipt with John's name on it for an 11 dollar appetizer when you are spending that much money. But they lost a customer. Hopefully they learn a lesson in hospitality and customer service. Yesterday I rated them 5 stars now I...