Red Fish Taco — Restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach

I went here with my family and was hoping for A LOT more. First off, the vibe and decor is awesome! Love the art and the seating was comfortable. The only way you could see a menu was if you walk up to a chalk board that’s in front of double doors to the outside and close to refrigerators, where you can choose non alcoholic plastic or canned beverages. No option for a fresh fountain soda or water. I felt like we were in the way of the door and people coming in and out. There was instructions on how to go to their website, but there was NO cell phone reception …after about 8 minutes of attempts on one of our family members AT&T, we got it to come through. T mobile has zero reception. I saw a guest Wi-Fi on their options, but there was nobody to help with a password or one posted for the patrons. Zero service except to deliver the food ..just a heads up. The bartender was Fabulously friendly and made an amazing top shelf drink, which is why I have it more than 1 star. The food came out and it was not bad/ok. The cheese dip was served in styrofoam!!! You heard it ..I cringed thinking of whether it was microwaved before they served it. Seriously just unacceptable in todays times, in my opinion. Foam shouldn’t be anywhere these days with society being so concerned about the environment. Not necessary ...just why not go paper or buy a dishwasher?? The guacamole was a little heavy on the garlic side and while the chips tasted fresh and Crispy, they were so thin, they broke when dipped in the cheese dip, every single time. The chicken tacos were delicious but very greasy at the same time. Seemed like the fried the whole thing. While it said fired titillating on the menu, it wasn’t a light crispy fry, but a gut bomb. So be aware if you Spring for that! The catfish tacos were pretty good ….but not worth the price, for that particular fish. The lady cleaning the tables that day was not very friendly or helpful. Just cold and indifferent. Last and by far the most important thing that absolutely floored us was that there was so much waste and single serve plastic and foam containers to serve yourselves with. Plastic soufflé cups for all of the 3 sauces, all that were very strange. There was no option for an authentic salsa or taco sauce. There were foam cups, to go containers, plastic one use forks, knives and one use paper boats for side plates. They reallly should get a dishwasher and try and recycle dishes. It was sad to see that. It just wasn’t good enough to ever go back or to refer to friends...

• Updated from 2 stars to 4 stars * Both Matt and Courtney, contacted me to follow up, apologize for the situation, and went out of their way to make things right - which is greatly appreciated and respected. We visited with a guest on Fri. 8/29, which was a busy evening due to a great band performance. We waited patiently in line to order for over 30 min. We ordered 3 food items and drinks. The Chicken Fajita order never arrived at our table and neither food runners paid any attention, so after waiting for another 10 min or so (thinking that may just be taking a bit longer) we flagged down an employee that sent over a supervisor/manager. He briefly apologized and said they will prepare one for us right away. Another 10+ minutes until the Fajitas arrived. As one can imagine we've already eaten half of our other food and the rest just got cold as we waited to eat together. Upon receiving the delayed order, no apology, and no attempt to make things right for a customer that waited over 30 min for their food, and on top of that we realized they only gave us 2 flour tortillas in the basket (for a $20 Fajita order). We opted to just eat and leave as chasing down an employee again seemed useless. We understand that a business can get busy and have a mishap on occasion, but the true measure of any business is how they recover, which in this case was poor at best. We also left a review (not publicly facing) via the POS receipt link provided in hopes that someone will contact us, but alas that process does not seem to function either. This used to be one of our favorite places, but new ownership, new look & feel, a vibe that focuses on tourists, and menu changes that were not for the better are very...

This place is phenomenal! Honestly this is a highlight of our stay for our annual family trip. Whether dinner or lunch, this place delivers--frosty frozen margaritas, amazing fish tacos, and flavorful queso. I did hear they might have gotten rid of the white queso(best item on the menu) but I'll wait to update review once I've tried their new menu items. Definitely check out this great local spot! RW

Update: still will be a go to and recommend but I few things that can help go from good to great:

1. Staff greeting and over all friendliness was lacking. Both when busy and when slow. When you show up to a restaurant, engagement sets the stage

2. They removed the white queso which was by far their best item. Not sure why it was dropped but I'd encourage a revisit. Their new queso is good but only with the up charge beef add on but it was $4 and only a table spoon(both times I ordered it serving was small). I'd suggest just adding it because without it, it tastes like the standard queso you'd get at a stadium(thin, no kick)

3. Margarita mix seems to be slightly more sweet with less alcohol from their older version.

Overall, this is a fun spot but it seems like there has been some changes that have been implemented that are effecting quality. I'd encourage new ownership to listen to the fans. If nothing else, it doesn't cost anything to improve staff...