House of Fish — Restaurant in Southern Pines

Most southerners know that on fridays seafood is served for dinner. That being said I called The house of fish to order dinner. Mind you, I live very close to the restaurant and have been wanting to try it since it opened last year. So on my way home from work I decided I was going to place a to go order.

I have never eaten there before but I knew what I wanted. I wanted the infamous nc calabash plate (which most seafood restaurants serve) complete with fish shrimp fries and hushpuppies (maybe scallops too). By the way, which supposedly started here in nc in the coastal town Calabash, NC.

I called to place the order and was greeted by a male who carried on a conversation with a staff member before acknowledging me for at least 10secs. I informed him that I had never eaten there and I wanted to place a to go order, before I could finish what I was saying he interrupted me and said that if I never had eaten there I would have to come in and place an order "with one of the girls" he didnt have time to explain anything to me. If he would have listened to me before cutting me off he could of said yes we have ...... Or no we dont sell that kind of seafood..... Or no we dont.

3 things that bug me about this interaction.

I have been a restaurant manager since I was 19.

In a restaurant, if it is so busy and lacks proper staff, the phone doesnt get answered. I drove by the establishment 15 mins later only to discover there were six cars in the parking lot, and Im sure at least 3 of them had to be employees. I took a photo which I will try to post with this review. Anytime a guest tells you that they have never been to your SMALL business it is a perfect opportunity to create an encore experience that they will never forget. Since I live across the street, an encore experience would have retained me as a loyal and long term patron. I could have potentially told all my family friends neighbors and social media about it. What will I tell everyone now??? Effective communication starts with listening. If I was heard and not interrupted/ dismissed, I would not be creating this negative review. After viewing the website I discovered that this is a black owned business by a gentleman known as Danny. Post covid there has been a push to support black owned/ran businesses within the black community. How can we support black businesses when guests/clients are treated...

If I could give this place zero stars I most certainly would…. after reading about this place in the Our state magazine I was so excited to come. I called and actually spoke to the owner Danny to ask him about a shrimp allergy and if he accommodate it . He said yes to come and he can fix anything .We got there to celebrate a special occasion and The waitress was kind polite and patient considering it took us a while to decide what we were wanting to order . Danny came over to the waitress first and asked if we had been waited on The waitress in turn informed him that we were waiting to order. Danny Then came over to our table and informed us that he was leaving in 10 minutes and would not be back for 25 minutes and that is all he said . So we decided what we were ordering and placed an order . We received our appetizers we ordered the fried calamari and the boom boom chicken wings . Upon receiving the calamari it was great but the boom boom chicken wings upon biting into them The chicken was not fully cooked. I explained to our waitress that I did not want to say anything about it and she said it’s OK it’s pretty obvious and she took the plate . The entrées were the stuffed salmon and the crab legs and a side order of fish. . The first bite of the salmon had a bone in it and it was not fully cooked. The crab legs were extremely cold . We brought it to the waitresses attention and she apologized for our dining experience yet the owner never came out to address our issues considering (they were not busy ) we were first time guests here celebrating a special occasion . I felt that the owner could have made things right by apologizing and assuring us a better dining experience upon our...

The seafood is delicious. I would say best fried shrimp in the area, better than some restaurants on the coast. The management of the food orders, seating, customer service needs a lot of help. The folks working there seem very nice. It just seems like they are undermanned. I tried calling in an order and the chef says I will be put on a 2 hour wait list. He says come in and it will be 30 minutes. I come in and he says he can't take my order or if he does it will be an hour, then says alright let me see what your order is and I will try to put it in. Chef then runs over to a big top and it looks like he is also managing the floor. Folks are visibly frustrated because they are sitting at the table and they need drinks and their food order taken. Chef made an exception for my order so I am hoping it is in the works. I drove to the gas station to put air in my tire, came back--not sure if my order is being worked on. The food is great, I am a big fan. The dynamics of how the floor is ran, bathrooms not working, flustered staff is probably why it will be a while before I come back. Last time I came it was the same Jul 2021, now it is June 2022 and not much has changed. I think this place has potential, the food is so good. But I am at the counter and folks walking in are being told 1.5 Hrs wait. There are only 2 tables with people eating and 1 big top with about 12 people. I have worked at Denny's and have been alone handling half the dining room. I truly think this place can be awesome but the kitchen should hire a couple of cooks and the floor needs a manager, cashier, and servers. Until then, I can't tell friends or family that they will have a good...