Bonefish Grill — Restaurant in Southern Pines

Mediocre food, HORRID management, awful disrespectful wait staff We dined here last night, and will NEVER return. We have dined at this restaurant 141 times, more than the average, for sure, and can report that our experience is well within context. This restaurant has had a significant management issue during the past few years, firing a few managers and servers nearly one year ago, and spending time working on correcting issues that have been mostly related to cultural problems that were part of the area in which this restaurant is located. The employment pool here is limited for many demographic reasons and the lack of management structure, poor policy and standards definition have all contributed to serious operational problems. During the past 9 months, however, things seemed to be turning around, and the food had been relatively good, and the server staff had begun, under the new management group, to show some respect for customers. Servers who had routinely been arriving dressed in dirty tee undershirts, carrying their wait staff shirts over their shoulders, parading right in front of diners tables, began to arrive dressed, rather than undressed. Wait staff began to show signs of respect for diners, instead of hanging around casually chatting with each other while staring at diners. Last night was different. We ordered our usual salmon entrees and requested broccoli, as always, cooked crisply, preferring not to have our broccoli overcooked and mushy with dirty stem ends. The broccoli was served extremely overcooked, falling apart it was so mushy. But worse, the waitress server put my plate down and said there was no mango salsa as I had ordered because no one had prepared any, so I would have to wait while the kitchen made some salsa. She said that she did not want to serve my dinner without the salsa I had ordered, but the cook told her to "just go ahead and serve it anyhow". We waited 15 minutes for our broccoli ordered to be recooked, crisp, as originally requested. Then we had to wait another 15 minutes for the salsa to be prepared and served. The manager on duty arrived at our table as we were eating, and told us she had a new cook she was training, so he was "the problem". She continued to stand at our table as we tried to eat our dinner, which was now cold from waiting for the broccoli and salsa we ordered. She kept repeating "perfect" as we tried to explain the problem with the missing salsa and the overcooked broccoli. She did not seem to understand that her interruption of our dinner was rude and interfered with our effort to enjoy our food, after the long wait we had. This manager had been assigned to kitchen work after offending multiple customers with her overbearing attitude and unpleasant disposition nearly a year ago. Why she was suddenly again dealing with dining customers was perplexing, at best, last night. The waitress came to apologize and asked us to "not punish her" for the bad experience we had had. We were surprised at her comments, and felt intimidated by her suggestion that we would ever "punish" any wait staff. We provided feed back to the restaurant, and a manager called to tell us that we were no longer welcome at this restaurant, blaming us for the bad experience with the food and staff we encountered last night. After 141 dining experiences at this restaurant, with what clearly was expressed by Jason, the manager, for about one year as his assurance of his appreciation for our dedicated patronage at this restaurant, we were flabbergasted at this man's ugly accusations. We will certainly take our devoted dining business elsewhere, and will never look back at Bonefish Grill as a dining option ever again. There are too many good restaurants from which to choose to ever have to put up with rude managers, dirty undressed servers, careless waitresses, mediocre food, and insulting district managers. Bonefish Grill is a Boneheaded dining choice. Avoid it at all cost, or dine here at...

Ah, Bonefish Grill in Southern Pines. Picture this: an establishment with aspirations so high, they practically graze the clouds, yet it’s clear they’ve tripped over their own laces trying to reach the stars. Welcome to the fine dining experience that isn't quite sure if it's fine dining or just a dressed-up chain restaurant.

The Ambiance The moment you walk through the door, you're greeted by a maitre d’ who seems to be channeling the spirit of a slightly disheveled cruise director. The dim lighting, an attempt at creating a cozy, intimate atmosphere, instead makes you squint at your menu like you’re deciphering ancient hieroglyphics. The decor screams “We’re fancy!” with a mix of faux-marble tables and art prints that look suspiciously like they came from a bulk sale at the local home goods store.

The Menu Ah, the menu. Here, Bonefish Grill flaunts its culinary ambition with dishes named as if they were plucked from a Michelin-starred establishment’s playbook. “Bang Bang Shrimp,” they call it, as if the repetition adds sophistication. It’s fried shrimp. With sauce. And then there’s the “Imperial Longfin,” which sounds like a rare delicacy but is, in reality, just a slightly overcooked piece of fish that might have been majestic in another life.

The Service Your server arrives with the flair of someone who’s been trained in the ancient arts of high-end dining, only to remember they’re actually serving at a place where the main competition is a nearby Outback Steakhouse. They describe the specials with the enthusiasm of a sleep-deprived Shakespearean actor, detailing each ingredient as though reciting sonnets, but you can’t help but notice their eyes glaze over when they get to the word “grilled.”

The Food Here’s where the Bonefish Grill really shines...a dim, flickering light. The “Wood-Grilled Fish,” heralded as their specialty, arrives with the precision of a fast-food order. The sides, a lukewarm affair of garlic mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables, have the distinct taste of something that’s been reheated more times than you’d care to imagine. The pièce de résistance, their signature “Macadamia Nut Brownie,” is served with a flourish but ends up being a glorified chocolate brick with a scoop of rapidly melting vanilla ice cream.

The Drinks The wine list is a masterclass in names you vaguely recognize from the bargain bin at the grocery store, but presented as if they’re rare vintages. The cocktails, with names like “Bonefish Martini” and “Pomegranate Mule,” are ambitious in title but somehow manage to taste like they were mixed by someone who just discovered what a jigger is.

The Conclusion Bonefish Grill in Southern Pines is the restaurant equivalent of a high school theater production of a Broadway show. It has heart and tries its best to put on a grand performance, but in the end, it’s charmingly amateurish. If you go in expecting a five-star dining experience, you’ll be sorely disappointed. But if you’re looking for a place that tries so hard it’s endearing, you’ve found your spot. Just don’t forget to bring your sense of humor and perhaps a flashlight for that menu.

All jokes aside, the Staff...

My stomach hurts from how unwelcome we felt. My parent’s birthdays are a few days apart and our entire family is in town from all over the U.S. due to a family emergency. To get some reprieve and away from the hospital—and above all else to celebrate our parents, we decided to go to dinner. We had all just gotten our appetites back.. walking in at 7:13 we saw a sign posted the restaurant closed at 8pm due to Super Bowl Sunday. Figuring we’d be quick we all sat down. I ordered a French 75, having made this cocktail countless times and my profession as the bar manager of a James Beard nominated “best restaurant” category, my cocktail was not only unbalanced but I believe there was no alcohol in it. Lemon juice. We all ordered, and as we did who seemed to be the head chef mean mugged us at our table. So disheartening. Half way through entrees the bartender who made my entirely lack luster drink turned off only one television in the restaurant, the one we were watching the Super Bowl on. My little sister politely asked her to turn the tv back on, and she did. Not five minutes later it was 8pm, the lights were dimmed to a low light and then suddenly they were up to the maximum setting making it entirely uncomfortable and obvious we were no longer welcome. Awkwardly looking around in the brilliant light we said to each other how indecent and unacceptable this was. Important note: at this time we were not the only table in the restaurant. We could overhear our server telling her manager how ridiculous and rude turning the lights up was. They ended up lowering the lights. Our server was so apologetic and was clearly embarrassed by the unprofessional attitude of the manager, bartender, and other closing server… It’s places like this that make you question how your food was handled or the staff is treated. Having been in the industry for over half of my life at this point I don’t expect every place I go to be 5 stars, but I don’t ever expect to be degraded for being a paying customer. Happy 60th and 63rd birthday mom and dad—I wish it was memorable for better reasons than being treated poorly and your oldest daughter being in the ICU. We chose this restaurant to honor our sister and the memories we’ve had going there over the past several years when we come to visit her. I don’t know if any of us will ever be back. On a lighter note, we had the sweetest and kindest server who seemed to be belittled and pushed around by other staff members. I really hope her tip made her night and she knows that we know it wasn’t her fault for how awful our collective experience was. We walked out of the restaurant at 8:21 while they were still preforming closing tasks, good things they had already started putting...