Lazy Flamingo — Restaurant in Sanibel

I have been going to Lazy Flamingo since it opened and until last week it was one of my favorite places on the Island. Last week my 75 year old father asked the waitress about a couple of special requests. The general manager came over and rudely suggested that maybe he should go somewhere else. I know it was the GM and I had heard he could be extremely rude to customers, but had never seen it first hand. I will never go back to that location again.

The full explanation is that we went to the Lazy Flamingo with my 75 year old parents while down for a family vacation. When we ordered our food my father asked for unseasoned fries the waitress said that wasn't an option and he said he thought he had ordered them before. Then he asked about options for fruity mixed drinks, again the waitress said they only had beer and wine and he said he thought he had ordered them there before. Some bartenders in the past have made fruity drinks with wine as the alcohol. Look in past newspaper and customer reviews, they are mentioned multiple places.

About 3 minutes later the General Manager walked up beside my father and said "we don't have mixed drinks" and when my father said he had ordered them in the past, the manager replied that they only served beer and wine. The manager was already acting very rude and defensive so we didn't point out that they were fruit juice and wine. Then the manager said "and we don't have unseasoned fries. Maybe you are thinking of some place down the road. Maybe you should go there".

I don't know why he was being so hateful, if he had said "we no longer serve either one" it would have been fine. My father wasn't rude to the waitress, though she acted like he was absurd for thinking they had unseasoned fries. Did they ever? No clue, doesn't matter. It shouldn't have been a thing, he is 75 and probably would have decided he was not remembering correctly and that would have been the end. When the general manager came over and was so horribly rude for no reason, that ended trips to the Lazy Flamingo forever. 30 years of the best wings on the island, but I will not give business to anyone that employs someone that rude. Looking through past reviews many others have had issues with the same person.

Poor customer service...

Typically, I try to only say positive things about my dining experiences. In this case, I'll have to make an exception. Keep in mind that I'm a seafood fanatic. I'm no Alton Brown, but I'm fairly competent preparing not only seafood but almost every meal my family consumes. With that being said, I must say that I could prepare much better seafood than I was served at this location. I've eaten shrimp from first-time cooks that was better. I ordered the peel and eat shrimp. I've never eaten such rubbery and leathery shrimp! It was all I could do to choke them down as I was ravenous and try not to complain. Honestly, Publix prepares better steamed shrimp than this establishment.

Also, as I've been told by my doctor to limit my carbs, I asked if there were another choice for a side other than fries. The waitress informed me that I could choose from coleslaw or a half Caesar salad, so I chose the salad. To my surprise, I was charged and additional $8 for the salad with no offset credit for the fries. That's a third of the price of my meal, for a side I thought was offered as an option other than fries. I must say, however, that the service is excellent. But that doesn't compensate for the tough shrimp and extra charge for a small salad. Maybe if quality doesn't matter, and money is no concern, you'll enjoy your visit. I'd truly go to Publix for my steamed shrimp instead...

I was so excited when I found out the one on Perriwinkle rd. was now open. It’s the first restaurant we went to when we got on the island. Although the interior was terrific and our server was great, the experience wound up being very disappointing. We ordered the jalapeño poppers for an appetizer and they tasted like they just came from the freezer and heated up in the microwave. Chewy and not (temperature) hot enough. I then ordered the grouper sandwich grilled with fries. I was served instead the grouper cooked mesquite style in which the mesquite flavor was overly emphasized. Furthermore, the fries that came with the sandwich tasted as though they had been frozen. They had a cheap taste and obviously aren’t made fresh in house. For dessert, we chose the key lime pie. Big Mistake! We couldn’t taste any lime. Seriously! It tasted as though the baker forgot to add the key lime juice. It was like eating sweetened condensed milk on a graham cracker crust. When I told the server, she said a company makes them. I also noticed plastic cutlery, however I couldn’t remember if they used plastic prior to the hurricane. In any event, I left there thinking that the owners/management have gone into cheap, low quality mode with the same high price. Don’t plan on returning…too many better options...