Surf City Line — Restaurant in Surf City

Copy and paste of the email I sent Monday (which has received no response)

Good Morning!

Last Sunday (8/29), our dear friends who live in Surf City brought us to your restaurant for the first time. Our experience was wonderful….the atmosphere, service and food were all exceptional. Yesterday we decided at the spur of the moment to take advantage of this beautiful weather and take a drive from Wilmington back up to Surf City with another set of friends. We had spoken so highly of your restaurant that we all decided that we would be our place to eat that day, hopefully sitting outside to enjoy the sun and breeze. When we arrived at your restaurant at about 3:30, you were BUSY. The inside was about 75% full, and there were plenty of people sitting outside listening to music. Your sign out front stated that Saturday and Sunday you are open all day. We walked in and after a few seconds a server walked past and told us she we would be right back with us. A moment later a gentleman (owner or manager I can only assume) approached us and literally stated that you were closing until 5pm. I know we must have looked confused because he simply repeated himself. Now, while this is happening, a server walks past literally taking beverages to a table to start their service. There was no explanation, no apology…..just this statement and a look that we must be idiots to not understand. My friend asked if she could at least use the restroom, and while she was told yes it also came with a “look”. We proceeded to leave but decided to call back into the restaurant and “play dumb” as if we had not just been there and inquire about hours……hoping to simply get an explanation as to why you said you were closing when you were obviously beginning service to at least one table if not more. However, the phone immediately rolled to voicemail which it stated was not set up.

Please understand that we are all aware of and sympathetic to the service industry and the extreme shortages of staff and supplies these days. Had an explanation of “I have to give my staff a break legally and they are all pulling doubles” or anything been provided to us, we certainly would have understood and wished you the best. Instead, we were simply told no. That makes you feel unwanted at any time in your establishment and, at least in the case of our friends who were with us, they will not return. The point to this email is to simply point out that it only takes a few seconds to provide further...

EDIT: My review of the food and atmosphere stays the same. As I mentioned before we were trying to plan our dinner rehearsal here. I spoke to Daniel the manager in July about planning the event, he said he's sure we could work something out, and he collected my information and told me he would call me the following Tuesday. I never heard back. I called him and he said he was, "Looking at the piece of paper right in front of him" and ensured me he would call me within the following week. Flash forward to December, I still never heard anything from him and my wedding is in June. I called again but Daniel was not in. I left a message with the hostess. My call was never returned. I called AGAIN and this time the hostess referred me to the executive chef Jay, who is very nice and professional. Jay and I spoke about some detail and he told me that we would definitely be able to work something out, he just needs to talk to Daniel. After a few more days of - again - not hearing anything back, I called yet another time. This time, Daniel told me he would be working with the chef that Thursday and he will get back to me the same day. He assured me it would be possible he just needs to speak to Jay. Come Thursday and no phone call once again. I called AGAIN and Jay answered and apologized profusely for the staff dropping the ball. He was very polite and professional. Jay said that he would text Daniel in that moment so they could speak. After months of phone tag, being told it would be possible, and deliberation Daniel called me today to tell me they could NOT accommodate my event. I would not be upset if he had told me this day 1. This is incredibly unprofessional management. I am upset not only because this is my wedding, but also because I love this establishment and frequently eat here.

Drinks are great, the blueberry cole slaw is AMAZING, I really enjoy the Tacos (especially the fish ones), Churros are absolutely delicious. Employees are super nice. Fun games and music. My fiancé is half Mexican and step dad is Salvadoran - they approve as well. So much so that my fiancé and I are thinking of having our dinner rehearsal here. Great view from top deck!!! Lots of...

I would not come back here again.

The atmosphere was very loud, but that’s no one’s fault there were just loud families in there.

The drinks weren’t good, strong, authentic margaritas, but if you like sugary and watered down margs, you’ll love it here.

The food was a rip off. It was fine, not great, and the portions were way too small for the price we paid. I got the only vegetarian bowl on the menu, and there was a piece of fried fish in it. I understand that kind of thing happens, so it wasn’t a huge deal to me, just something to note. My family got the Three Amigos bowl, and I can’t speak for them but they were horribly unimpressed as soon as she put the bowls down. The fried pieces of fish (actually not sure WHAT kind of meat it was) were soggy and questionable. There was not nearly enough substance to the bowl to charge the price they did. In my opinion, adding another scoop of rice and beans would’ve benefited everyone.

Sam our server was very attentive and sweet, but it was off-putting seeing the other male server pulling her braid and slapping her butt and grabbing her and hugging her right in front of the whole restaurant. I mean get it on all day, but maybe save it for the break room ?

We are in town on vacation, and we should’ve done our research before dining here. We chose it on a whim, and we regret our choices. We ate and drank everything because we spent the whole day traveling and didn’t have anywhere else to eat. Because we ate and drank everything, we did not complain to the restaurant. We figured we’d count our losses and warn whoever reads Google Reviews, like we should’ve in the first place.

For reference, there were 3 of us. We each got a margarita and a bowl off the menu. No app or dessert. We spent $125...