Pier House Restaurant Bar — Restaurant in Spanish Fort

I'm very disappointed. I ordered the Blacked Mahi sandwich. I received undercooked fries that were still white, two nice pieces of Mahi that had no flavor on a flavorless bun with two pickles out of a 5 gallon pail. That was it. There was a total of 4 elements on my plate. Just like Chick-fil-A style, but with no taste or condiment bar, I am guessing that is the chefs previous gig. My better half ordered the Snapper Escovitch that is served on half of pineapple. It looks cool on the menu. The only problem was that there was zero pineapple when served, let alone on a half pineapple. We have never been to the OB location, but I can assure you that I will never be back to either location.

In response to the restaurants response. No, I did not ask to speak to anyone. In fact, your front of house man came around and asked how everything was. I make it a rule not to complain about my food in a restaurant. I am not looking for a discount free meal or, most importantly, spit in my food, nor is it my responsibility to consult your staff on how to do their job. There was a huge disparity in what the menu stated and what was actually served. This is the owners job to monitor and correct not mine I, for good reason, have chosen not to own businesses in the hospitality industry for just this cause. If you would like me to offer my consultation, we can have that discussion, but it is not free or more to the point, going to cost me 80 bucks to give you a free consultation. Here is my free advice. Read your menu and put what the menu says on the plate you bring to the table. Oh, and fries should be served golden brown, not raw and paper white.

Follow up to their follow-up. I was not clear as to the way the Snapper Escovitch should have been served as per the menu, and the restraunt corrected me. Yes, the menu states served in a pineapple boat." I apologize for my lack of clarity and simplification. However, there was no pineapple in any shape or form on the plate. Not in the shape of a slice, chunk, half, house, or boat. The fact that the base of the dish is half of a pineapple (or a boat) and no one noticed from the cook to the waiter or to the front of the house checking on us is disturbing.

I am sorry I failed my duty as a patron of your establishment to not report to your manager when I was told to do so. I am also well aware that this review does nothing for me, and like I stated above, I don't feel it is my job to do so, nor was I looking for...

Well I was going to leave it at just one star but apparently the owner wants details so here we go.

We went to pier house last night because they had no wait (we called ahead) and because we’ve watched the place being renovated and wanted to try it. My party of four was very underwhelmed by the food and the service. The booths are extremely tight and none in our party were overweight. Our waitress was largely absent, leaving us waiting for refills and taking FOREVER to bring us a single bottled beer. Most of the time we didn’t even see her. The service as a whole was slow. We had a completely different person bring us our food and he mumbled his way through. There were only about 3-4 tables with customers when we arrived, so I don’t understand the long wait times.

The fries were really undercooked and some were cold, the fish from the shrimp to triggerfish overcooked and under seasoned. The only decent plate on the table was the shrimp and grits and even that wasn’t worth the price tag. The menu is really small too, not a lot of options, comparatively. The building looks pretty but that’s the only thing that impressed us.

And why does whoever is monitoring these reviews require words to consider a review legitimate? I don’t have to write anything for a review to be legitimate nor do I have to put my identity out there. I’m immediately turned off when businesses owners are reactive to negative reviews, and had I looked at them before we went here, it would’ve certainly changed my mind and we would’ve went elsewhere.

I’m sure they’ll say we should’ve spoken to a manager but it took so long to get everything from our food to our check, we ended up having to leave. Two in our party were elderly and needed to get home. It’s clear we aren’t the only ones who have had these issues, if the other reviews are true, so it makes me wonder why this hasn’t been dealt...

I am floored, in the best way possible. It’s incredibly rare to find a local restaurant that not only acknowledges food allergies but truly caters to them with such care and intentionality. As someone who is allergic to gluten, shellfish, and nuts, eating out is usually more stressful than enjoyable. But Pier House changed that for me.

First, let’s talk about how allergy-friendly they are. Nearly everything on the menu is gluten-free, with the exception of the hushpuppies, tacos, and pasta, and they’re very clear about that up front. I ordered fish and was reassured that it’s not fried with shellfish, making it totally safe for me. That alone brought me so much peace.

The staff is incredibly well-informed and took my allergies seriously. For once, I didn’t have to explain or repeat myself nervously — they got it. One of the owners came by twice to personally check on us, and I learned her husband — also the co-owner — has food allergies too. It shows. You can tell they built this restaurant from a place of real understanding and compassion.

Now let’s get to the food. BABYYY! Whoever is in that kitchen is not playing around. The food was top tier —seasoned, flavorful, and cooked with love. You can tell the chef cares. This isn’t just allergy-friendly food, it’s delicious food, period.

As an added bonus, I learned that the owner is a veteran and also a follower of Jesus Christ. While being Christian isn’t a requirement for a great restaurant, I love meeting fellow believers, and I could feel the presence of God in the way they run their business. The excellence, the hospitality, the care, it was all there. It’s clear this is a place built on strong values, and it shows.

We will absolutely be back. If you have food allergies, or even if you don’t, run, don’t walk to Pier House.

10/10....