The Docks Restaurant + Raw Bar — Restaurant in Stock Island

I was so excited to visit The Docks after finding them on Instagram. I googled oysters in Key West. I'm a local, so I've been to the first 5 that's listed, and the algorithm did it's thing and The Dock popped up when I was scrolling Instagram. The service was great; the waiters were tripping over each other and circling like a game of musical chairs to serve us. There are live lobsters as soon as you walk up, with the beautiful sun's light, docked boats, fisherman's crates, and literal fisherman catching fish. We could sit anywhere, of course we chose outside, in a shaded area with a nice breeze. I chose a taste of everything from the happy hour menu and The Dock Margarita. I'm not a drinker so I could be wrong, but when I pulled the straw from my glass, my boyfriend, who is a drinker, said he could smell the alcohol, it tasted like patron to me; it was delicious, perfect to wash down the oysters, peel&eat shrimp, lobster ragoon, seafood mozzarella sticks and even the ceviche and fig and a blanket. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the tuna ceviche, but I dont eat tuna, so don't hold that again them and the fig in a blanket wasn't as flavorful with fig as I was expecting and the cheese tasted like mozzarella. Maybe some pistachio would've helped bring the fig jelly flavor out. Luckily, my oysters were delicious. Usually, I do not like the stuff that's served with oysters, but The Dock's sauce was good; maybe a cucumber vinegarette. Thank goodness there's wasn't the expected horseradish, but maybe a blend of it was with shrimp sauce, but, again, I have no idea what in anything. However, I mixed the 2 sauces and used it for everything. The seafood ragoon was good, but I really hate to say I can not remember a taste to say what seafood was in it, but the sweet chili sauce that came with it was delicious. My boyfriend got the fish and chips off the regular menu. Honestly, I was disappointed to see 2 pieces of Long John Silver battered fillets come out. I guess I was expecting something different at market price even though it came with fries. After removing the thick layer of batter, I was glad the taste that the fish was moist and not tough, but I do not recall the fish flavor of ocean that I would expect from fresh fish. It was good, and the sauce that came with it was even better. My boyfriend liked his fish and fries, but the sauce was the best. It tasted like tartar sauce with diced pickles. So good, I took it over and used it for one of my oysters, a bit of my ragoon and seafood mozzarella, and finished it with my peel and...

My cousin, Capt. Jose Rodriguez (a.k.a. The Yellowtail King) of It's Time Fishing Charters just introduced me to this gem yesterday and I'm so so glad he did. He supplies this amazing restaurant the yellow tail snapper they use in their dishes. I have been very fortunate to have eaten food made personally by some of the very best Chefs alive today because of what I do for a living. I'm in the food industry and own a food manufacturing company, Niaddi Foods. That being said this place has food that I would easily compare to some of the best restaurants anywhere on the planet. This is the best food the Florida Keys has to offer hands down. I say this with an experienced guarantee. I was there with about 6 other people and we all shared so I had the opportunity to try out a lot of their food. So you know I tried the Seafood Chowder, Fish & Chips, Calamari, Churrasco sandwich, Figs in a Blanket, Yellowtail Philly, and Zepolli for dessert and finished with a coffee dessert cocktail . So now let's talk pricing. I honestly cannot believe the value this food experience has to offer. The prices are much lower then you would expect to pay for the true fresh off the boat fine food they offer. And when I say fresh off the boat, I mean literally. They are situated on the fishing docks where boats bring in ther daily catch, hence the name. This place has impressed me enough to write a review about them which I think I've only done one other time. Do yourself a favor, whether your a local and live nearby in the keys or do not mind flying in from another state to have your sophisticated palette intrigued, put The Docks on your must go to and eat list. You'll be so happy you did....Enjoy!! Oh, the staff is...

We visited the restaurant with high expectations, but unfortunately left feeling quite disappointed. Our server, Michael, was friendly, but there were notable lapses in service. He seemed to disappear during our meal and only reappeared when it was time to present the check.

We ordered four appetizers and one main dish based on his recommendation as the special of the day. When we asked if that would be sufficient for three people, he assured us it would be enough and quoted a price of $40 for the main dish. My husband ordered a beer and he requested to be served after his soup, but beer only arrived after he finished his main dish. Despite reminding other servers about the beer, we were met with vague assurances that it was on the way.

Upon reviewing photos of our meal later, I noticed that our portions were considerably smaller than those shared by other guests on Yelp. The two scallops were thinly sliced, and the calamari portion was quite small, mostly accompanied by kalamata mayo . The main dish also did not provide enough for three people, (6-8oz dry fish) and to our surprise, we were charged $44, which does not reflect the quality or quantity expected at this level of dining.

To add to our dissatisfaction, a 20% gratuity was added to our bill without prior notice or approval. This experience felt misleading and left us questioning the establishment's integrity.

I regret to say that we will not be returning to this restaurant...