My New Joint — Restaurant in Stock Island

An honest review.....When visiting or living in the Florida Keys, The Square Grouper is a must! A true staple of the lower Keys this place is unlike any other eatery most have been and will ever go. There is a reason why people line up out the door to dine in each and every day. One word, Quality..... It is not by chance that the Square Grouper is featured in most Keys dining books and food articles on where one "must eat". It is a must go when you are visiting or living in the Keys. What is great about The Grouper among many things is not just the local caught Seafood prepared fresh and delivered daily, but just the good feeling you have when you are eating there. The Square Grouper tells a story from the pictures on the wall and makes you want to travel back in time. It is that small town USA feel one longs for when in the Keys that makes stepping in The Square Grouper so worthwhile. Inside, there are no TVs at the bar or loud music. Just good old conversation, amazing food and people and enthusiastic, fun, and witty bartenders and waitstaff that cant do enough for you. I have never seen such a dedicated hardworking staff. All the employees of the Grouper WANT to be there and love their jobs. Everyone is working together for the common good of the Restaurant. No one is out to get one another, and everyone seems as passionate about its success and quality as the owner herself. It is a really cool sight to see. And not something that is normally seen in today's restaurant industry. As a local now in the Keys and someone who honestly eats at the Grouper quite often it fascinates me that with the success Lynn Bell's Square Grouper Bar and Grill that Lynn is still there each and every day working side by side with her staff and in the Kitchen preparing her top notch menu for her customers. She is one of the hardest working hands on owners i have ever seen. I literally have NEVER been in there to eat when she wasnt working hard in the kitchen. What is even cooler about that is once her rush is over instead of taking a break she often goes into the dining room and chats with her patrons and asks for feedback on the menu she put together that day. I mean... how cool is that?! Her impeccable attention to detail is apparent in every single aspect of the Square Grouper. From the truly amazing seafood, always changing menu and daily specials, to the overall ambiance, this place rocks!. Every time i walk into the Square Grouper Bar and Grill i feel like family. That is a feeling you dont get nowadays when eating at most places. Her upstairs bars is amazing too. Some of the best craft cocktails and largest craft beer selections in the Keys. Thanks so much Lynn, Rob, Mimi,Ray, Lenore, Samantha, Luke, Carl, Mike and Mike, Devon, Shelia, for always taking such great care of us! See you this...

Went here for my birthday dinner and had the absolute worst service ever. As a waitress who works in the Florida keys myself i would've never seen myself leaving a bad review especially solely for the service. Our waitress had 3 tables one of them being us and was very clearly not busy yet she barely came to our table. Upon arrival at 9:20 we were told the kitchen closed at 10 so we very quickly made our order as it is not stated on the website that the kitchen closes at 10 it only states they are open till 11. Not a problem at all as we very quickly put our food in. The waitress came back 15 minutes later to let us know a dish we had ordered had run out. she stood at the table tapping her pen to her book and just looking at us until my sister ordered a different dish not only rushing us but also seeming annoyed as if she had not been the one to not know they were out of said dish and therefor making it our fault instead. once the food started coming out they brought by a wrong dish and I informed them it was not ours and that we were waiting on tater tots and chicken sliders. Our waitress brought out the sliders and I asked if we still had the tater tots coming to which she just nodded her head as if she was annoyed by this question/ didn't need reminding. She proceeds to disappear from the floor all together for about 30 minutes. We were looking around as we needed drink refills and were still missing food. She finally comes by and i remind her we have yet to receive the tater tots. she comes back and scoffs at us and continues to says well the kitchen just didn't make them and now they're closed. I asked for the bill which took another 15 minutes to bring. She did take off our 2 drinks (which we did not touch anyways as they were not good and she would have known this had she checked on her table) even then it was an $80 bill for 4 appetizers the size of my palm and no real service. Someone at our table stated "those were the most expensive KFC appetizers i've ever had" I only left a tip because i understand the dynamic of a restaurant and there was supporting staff that did actually do their jobs and promptly cleared our plates. For that price and for the small amount of food we received we should have had amazing service and i would've had no issue at all. Eating out may be a luxury but as a waitress myself i know i have to give good service for a good tip, I do not just expect it from my tables. So I certainly hope that if you decide on this place that you get a better experience with the...

Very disappointing....we were a party of ten and we were told we would have an hour wait. We had to wait for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not sure why they had such a long wait as there was big tables open. We had three kids under sixteen therefore, they could not go upstairs which this was never advertised that upstairs was not family friendly. We had looked at website and called and listened to the recording and that was never mentioned. We were all starving by the time we were seated. Waitor took forever to bring bread buckets and waters. After, that he told us he would bring another bread basket then got lost. We had to get his attention and remind him. Fish sandwich and Conch Fish was just very bland. Expected better for the price. He took the soda cups for a refill then never came back with refills had to remind him. We had also told him we had a birthday we were celebrating that didn't happen either. He forgot to sing Happy Birthday. When reminded him instead of being apologetic he turned to the person that had originally told him and told her she needed to remind him. He had been working seven days a week and therefore, had forgotten. He did try to make up the birthday singing but it was already ruined by that time. Or guest were equally disappointed they did go upstairs and than took forever to get tab. We have been to many many local and out of town restaurants but for sure this one was very disappointing. I guess being located in that area in the keys there aren't too many restaurants to compete with so you can treat your customers like that and get away with it. We will not...