The Blue Parrott — Restaurant in Saint Pete Beach

Awful. My husband, sister-in-law and brother-in-law visited there tonight by way of the beach. When we sat down before the beginning of the first set at an outside table away from the main dining area, we were informed by our server, Eileen, that there was a $12/person cover. My brother-in-law replied that it wasn't a problem by saying "We'll eat and drink our way there." So three of us were happily drinking and listening to the Tomcats and having an OK time. My husband was the designated driver and didn't drink anything, not even water. How simple and responsible can you be, right.? But no, that wasn't good enough, the owner came over to my husband and harassed him about not eating and drinking and told him that as an owner he had to pay the Tomkats $400 per performance and he couldn't afford to have someone like my husband sit there and just listen to the music. So the owner told my husband that he had to leave. So my husband left. The other three of us had every intention of making up my husband's share of drinks and food but that wasn't good enough for the owner who wanted everyone to be buying drinks and food. But it felt to me that the regular dancers didn't eat or drink. Maybe they did but they weren't put on a schedule and harassed like we were.

We left immediately followed by my brother-in-law who paid the bill and cancelled a table for six he had reserved for the following week. We'll never go back. Here in the St. Petersburg area there are just so many welcoming, great venues to go without putting up with that nonsense.

I have never in my life experienced anything like it. It's certainly not the southern hospitality I have to come to know and love. You can try the Blue Parrot it but there are no guarantees. We were there many times before this evening but...

Attended the Blue Parrot on Feb. 12, 2014 with a party of fourteen people. Waiter Landon took our orders including our names. He brought all the orders except mine. It turned out he gave my order to Wayne, who had ordered sausage lasagna. They sent the sausage lasagna back to the kitchen and I sat there will no food. Finally, I called Landon over and he said it wasn't his fault. After waiting for an hour with no food and everybody else was finished, I went to the bartender who was very rude. She said they were working on it but the burgers are thick and it takes awhile. I said I didn't think they were working on it because it doesn't take an hour to grill a burger.

It was Landon's fault because with my name on the order, Beth, he gave my food to Wayne. Naturally, Wayne should have advised Landon that it wasn't what he ordered. However, Wayne is a customer and to a member of the Blue Parrot staff. It was Landon's responsibility to know who ordered what. As there was an extra order he returned to the kitchen, he should have picked up on that. If he was wondering why he didn't tip, it is because of poor service, lack of responsibility for his error and rudeness on the part of the bartender.

I am writing this on Barbara Keily's computer, because I am visiting Florida. Guess what restaurant I will give a miss to.

Respectfully...

We chose the Blue Parrott because it was a local place (not a tourist trap) and when we looked online they had an extensive menu including a good selection of vegetarian options (this was important as one of our group was vegetarian). When we arrived, it had a great "local dive bar" vibe. Some regulars at the bar told us to grab a seat anywhere, and they would send the bartender over when she came back out from the kitchen. The bartender brought out the "pared down menu" because there was live music that day. It consisted of 7 items (one of which was already sold out at 6 pm - also there were 4 people other than us at the bar), and not a single vegetarian option. The vegetarian decided not to eat, but the rest of us ordered. Service was fairly quick, but unfortunately, the salmon was barely cooked. It came out looking good on the outside, but the inside was cool and slimy. The rest of the order was pretty good by bar standards, and I'd give them a second chance. Just be aware that if there is live music, you won't get many options...