Tiki West Raw Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Tavares

Tiki West Raw Bar and Grill is a hard review to do. I have eaten here three times for lunch in a year and I have had mixed experiences. The first time was when crawfish was in season and I thought they were; 1.expensive 2. smallish and 3. the boil was meh. , but it didn't stop me from eating 4 pounds of the little critters. I asked the waitress all of the right questions for somebody who is very, very experienced with crawfish. Size and heat/spiciness. She told me she didn't eat them and thought they were nasty. (Not a good sales person and no help ) I ordered 3 pounds anyway. The boil was mild aka, no flavor for me. So I asked for some extra seasoning in a shot glass. You would have thought I had asked her to eat one. But after some negotiations, I got the boil spice and fixed the crawfish, then it was good. I also had to ask for extra potatoes which she brought me two to accompany the one that CAME WITH 3 POUNDS of mudbugs. All in all I ordered another pound now that I could fix it. Again No Potato! Walked away thinking 1. the help need to eat the food and 2. meh.

Experience two. Ordered three pounds of peel and eat shrimp. Very good! Ordered the side of fries. Very good. Help very good.

Experience three; Went for oysters and they had Virginia oysters because of th Hurricanes in the Gulf this year. 12 oysters for $14.00 fair price. Now the waitress had some snap and informed me that a table of 12 had just ordered 7 buckets of oysters and they had one guy shuck'n so it would be a while. So I ordered a pound of (out of season) crawfish with extra boil spice. ( I am smart that way) NO POTATO or CORN again! The crawfish were from the freezer I assume, but they were okay. The oysters were off the hook! The horseradish could strip paint (be careful). They brought me a new unopened sheath of Saltine crackers, cocktail sauce and extra horseradish, but no lemon. I missed my gulf oysters but the Virginia oysters more than made up for them. The help is very nice and today's staff knew their job and product which helps a lot. So over all Tiki West has good food and mostly helpful staff. I am glad I didn't review them earlier and gave them another...

2 stars because the food is decent, but a little overpriced. I’m writing this review from Puddle Jumpers directly across the street because after being sat on the patio, ordering or drinks and appetizer, and about 5 minutes later a woman who introduced herself as the “GM” told us we could not sit where we were because it was “storming.” I asked her if we could continue to sit where we were until the storm actually came and she pointed at the clouds in the sky and said it was storming and that we had to come inside (my friends and I only eat outside during this time as we are not all vaccinated). Mind you, it is not raining, we had been sitting outside for 10-15 minutes already, and there had been zero lightning strikes or any thunder. She insisted we could not sit where we were and was extremely dismissive. You can visibly see the Puddle Jumpers restaurant from where we were sitting with people also on the patio…. Not sure how you can refuse us service outside when your competition (also a seafood joint) is functioning just fine (there’s about 20 people on the patio here now). Also, the sun is now out, the clouds (“storm” in her words) are gone and not a drop of rain! It’s Florida. For whatever reason the manager was very ornery and unaccommodating for absolutely no reason. Me and my friends will absolutely never be returning. The food is not even close to worth that type of service. Photos taken as we were leaving the restaurant to walk across the street to...

Where do I begin? My husband and I have stopped patronizing this establishment due to how dirty this restaurant is typically. Cobb webs, dust, and the stench are out of the ordinary. However, I thought we would revisit it after conversing with my bonus son (he said they had started cleaning the restaurant up) and talking to the restaurant owners (I spoke with the owner personally). So, on a Tuesday, March 18, 2025, early evening, my husband and I decided to have dinner at Tiki West again. Boy, this was an epic fail. My husband ordered jerk chicken caesar wrap, and I ordered the dozen oysters steamed medium, one of the daily specials. My husband was served his dinner, and he waited approximately 5 mins before eating, waiting for me. It was approximately 18 minutes after my husband was served his dinner before I got my oysters. When I was finally served the oysters, they were ice cold. Needless to say, I had lost interest and sent them back. I do look at what's going around me. This restaurant was not busy; I walked in before sitting down to see if it was ok to sit outside. There may have been four tables inside occupied, and there were few people at the oyster bar. So the recommendation to a couple that had inquired about this restaurant was not to patronize it. It was dead on...don't...