Joe Willies Seafood Bar — Restaurant in Thornton Township

Heard many good things about this establishment but when I arrived I was in for a surprise.....

When I say the waiters or whomever they were supposed to be didn't deserve to be working there! I mean it! My waiter was a 19 year old child who could not take my order for a drink because he stated he was only 19! He had someone place my order for a drink which I never even got! When asked when I would receive my drink (13 mintues later after watching the guy walk around who I placed my order with) I was told I never placed the order! STRIKE 1!

Upon me waiting for my food I was served water in a plastic cup! Not only was it in a cheap dollar store cup but I was told there were no more water pitchers left so when I wanted more water I was given another cheap plastic cup in which I seen water pitchers on others tables. How in Jesus name do you have a business in which you can not afford a multitude of water pictchers for your customers 🤔STRIKE 2!

Upon delivery of my food I did not receive a red bucket but small food trays to dispose of the shells. I was told again there weren't enogh buckets soooooooooo I couldn't be provided with one. I was beyond aggravated at this point and wanted to leave but decided against leaving before trying this food people spoke so highly of! The food was trash! I was better off traveling across the country to New Orleans Lousiana to get better seafood than what I was served! The lobster tails were small I only received 5 small sausages (which is by request and extra if you want... Yes I counted I love sausages) and the crab legs and shrimp were over cooked. STRIKE 3!

Not at any time did the worker come and check in but instead parlayed around the establishment talking to his co workers. Other workers became annoyed because I had to request certain things from them because of his lack of interest to preform his job. Never did the guy who I placed my drink order with ever come to apologize or ask if I still wanted the drink but instead just ignore the circumstances at hand.

I don't expect for all places to be a professional business however when I am at a dining establishment I expect a certain level of courtesy which obviously these individuals knew nothing about. The food is certainly overpriced (I understand it's seafood) but what did I actually pay for!?!? Yes I was furious by the time I left and I certainly would not return.

This is my story and of course you're more than welcome to go at your own risk and be...

My wife heard about this restaurant from someone at her work. We live a pretty good distance away, but I was up for a drive to try it, since there's really no good seafood places near us (Merrillville).

The parking lot area is a little grungy, but you can see the pool deck, which is something unique and interesting. The inside is really well done, as well. We got our order to go, since our son isn't a fan of seafood, but I will definitely dine in next time.

Unfortunately, we placed our order via GrubHub, and our order never made it to the restaurant (they never charged my card, either, so oh well), but the host at the bar looked over the info on my phone, got it put in, and had it ready to go in about fifteen minutes. I was very impressed by that.

We ordered way too much food. My wife really wanted the shrimp and grits with bacon (Fanny Boo), and I wanted the seafood mac and cheese (Crabaroni Pie). We weren't expecting either of those to be all that much, so we also ordered the crab and spinach dip as an appetizer, plus the crab and sausage boil (Auntie Odiemae).

We were wrong. It was a LOT of food. And I have never been so happy to be wrong.

The shrimp and grits were cooked to perfection. The shrimp was firm, but tender, and the grits were buttery smooth. The mac and cheese was amazing, with plenty of chunks of seafood throughout. The crab and spinach dip, which came with cajun-seasoned tortilla chips, was a meal unto itself, something that would go well on top of some good buttermilk biscuits.

Then there were the crab legs and sausage. These are the reason they have paper table cloths at their restaurant. Messy, buttery, perfectly seasoned and cooked, enough can't be said about these. The andouille sausage had just the right amount of spicy without overpowering the rest of the dish. The potatoes and corn were done just right. I could wax on with superlatives about just this dish.

Needless to say, we also have dinner for tomorrow night. Not a bad thing!

I really can't understand the bad reviews on here. Our first experience here was just about as good as it could get. My wife and I both tend to be very critical about restaurants, and outside of the parking lot, we couldn't find a single fault about this place. From the look of it, they're fairly new, so I can understand a few bumps in the road, but our experience was great. In fact, we're already planning a return trip, since she's never had a...

Update: Visited 2 weeks ago. Will never come back again.

Called ahead for info. Arrived 44 minutes later to find they are cash only tonight. I'm handicapped and so is my date. That should have been mentioned on the phone. I ask for manager and we are seated by the hostess who is also.a waitress. While two other servers are playing at the same table we wait 10 minutes for the just water. No menus. Its not crowded. Then the so called manager walks over to the table and just stands there. No introduction, no announcing him self. He just stands there lurking until we look over to wonder why he's standing over us. I inform him of the gripe. He seems like he doesn't care but I also defend the lady doing 2 jobs saying that her teammates could be more helpful instead of slacking. He becomes annoyed at the suggestion and at that point he suggested that "we don't have to do all that." We conclude the conversation. And the excuse for the 10 minute wait was that he wasn't sure if we were staying. Why would I ask for a table if we wernt? I can wait for a manager at the front. Just stupidity. Some uncouth person named Ninja....smh. Very unprofessional and unskilled representatives like this drag a business down.

I informed the two assignment worker I wanted to speak to his boss/bosses and left my name and number as well as instructions that I would like to be contacted regarding this situation in 48 hours. Its been 3 weeks. So either they never received the request or purposely ignored it and for that reason they will no longer have my business or anyone else I can infom to stay away from such an establishment.

Try Seafood Junction instead. They are more affordable and closer to the city. Better flavors as well. Juicy N Crab is nice as well as a very nice new place in Evergreen...