Keowee Shores Grill — Restaurant in South Carolina

Apologies for the long post, but want to be sure everyone is aware.

We were on the lake and decided to swing by Tuesday afternoon (6/3) to give this place a try. We were disappointed in the Tiki Hut so we had higher hopes that service would be better since reopening. There is not much dock parking available which will hurt business as Summer ramps up (for people boating in). For example, we stopped on a Tuesday afternoon and still had to wait for a spot for roughly 10 mins. We were seated immediately and the hostess took our drink orders, the place was not overly busy but did have quite a few larger tables seated. We noticed that many people appeared aggravated and quickly found out why. After about 20 mins of no server stopping by to bring our drinks or take our order, a gentleman stopped and asked if we had been helped. I told him the hostess had taken our drink order but no one else ever came back. He apologized, said they were short staffed and disappeared. Now I completely understand being short staffed, but after looking around, this did not appear to be the issue at all. There were at least 4 servers (pretty sure I saw 5) and a hostess. Out of these servers, one was propped up next to the hostess (not approaching a table to whole time we were there), two we only saw twice and one red haired gentleman who was absolutely busting his butt. It did look like there was only one cook (who was also busting his butt) so I understand food being slow. After 45 mins of still not getting our drinks and only having 1 server stop by to "apologize" (he did not ask what we had to drink or bother taking our order), we got up and left. I would like to mention that a couple that came in after us immediately got their drinks and order placed. There were two adults and one kid in our party, so not like we were bringing a group. On the way to the dock we got to talking to two other families who both said they would never be back as well.

Long story short, save your frustration go to the Cabana at the Lighthouse if you are looking for lake dining. There is much more boat parking, servers are attentive, and food...

I do'n't usually take the time to write reviews....but I feel compelled to share my experience because I think the Tikki Hut has huge potential! First of all, the food was excellent! Salad was fresh and good sized portion. The shrimp taco was amazing, fresh and the sauce with the bacon and pineapple was delicious!! My disappointment came in the wait times, attention to detail, overall knowledge of the wait staff and atmosphere. Instead of getting too wordy with details... here are a few suggestions:

Having a fully trained wait staff... knowing the menu inside and out and most definitely knowing the drinks--especially the specialty ones that are promoted on the menus. We observed other patrons having similar issues.

Making sure the bartender doesn't make the easier drinks first which resulted in my daughter and I to wait at least 15 minutes for 2 frozen mango margaritas. Unless something has changed since my restaurant days, you make the drinks in order as the tickets come in.

I would love to see the patio updated. Just a little bit goes a long way..such as louder, more upbeat music. Fresh coat of paint and some fun lighting would brighten the place up so much!

Again, I am taking the time to write a review because it appears that based on the other reviews people have written, you take the time to respond.

I understand the restaurant is under new management, perhaps new ownership. I also know that change takes time. I wish you best of luck in the future and I...

I had the worst worst dining experience of my life here tonight. I looked it up on UrbanSpoon and thought it was super cute, we showed up to an empty host stand... Where we then waited 5 mins for the host to return to her phone and drinks that had been on the stand. When she returned she asked me to hold on because she was trying to figure something out... We were seated about 5-6 mins later. After being seated we waited 10 mins, literally 10 mins for our server. After making eye contact with the hostess she came over with a basket of burnt chips and salsa (that also wasn't good), and apologized that no server had come over... When the server finally came she acted as though we were a burden and was just very unpleasant.... On the menu there is a "bronzed whitefish" that is said to come with slaw, & your choice of fries, a potato, or a house salad. I ordered my fish with a house salad. About 35 mins later a wet slab of fish with pieces of pineapple with a side of soggy fries come out. I ask about my salad, the server says she will be right back... The fish was awful- my stomach is still churning, I ate one fry and those weren't even good. Waited 15 mins for her to come back with my salad, when she returned I planned on asking for a manager, but she didn't come by. I left enough money to cover my food and left, terribly upset that I had to pay for something that I hadn't even eat because it was...