Dockside Waterfront Grill — Restaurant in Venice

On strong recommendation from a good friend and great reviews, I decided to take my GF out for a nice birthday dinner . With online reservations for 7:45, I also noted I'd like to have birthday dessert and coffee, hopefully as a surprise. We were seated within 3mins- great. Even confirmed quietly with the hostess there would be birthday stuff. She said the server would be notified and taken care of. Sat at our table... Ordered a vodka lemonade and a coke. (Designated driver)

And this is where everything went down hill. The vodka lemonade was so weak I could've drank it and immediately passed a sobriety checkpoint pulling out of the parking lot. We ordered a ceasars salad with blackened shrimp. - blackened on only half of them and Just barely noticeable flavor. With no plates for both of us until noticed by the waitress and corrected. Our entrees were lobster stuffed ravioli and swordfish with potatoes, broccoli and came with lobster bisque- too thin/ watery. No bread and butter even offered with a pasta dish? So the food, all of it was warm, not hot. And all of it at the same time. Wtf? Let's NOT forget the 2in plus bigger cockroach just wandering around on the floor between tables next to us and also noticed by other patrons right in the middle of eating. Then the check. At this point I gave up on the birthday dessert and coffee, rather disappointed and really frustrated I gave a zero tip and exited.

(My GF had complete knee replacement 3 weeks ago and needed to get her home due to pain) I mention this because on the way out I said to the same hostess the birthday stuff was forgotten. She said sorry. THEN the waitress came up on us and questioned my zero tip and asked why, so I explained She and a Co worker offered keylime pie or chocolate cake after we were in the parking lot. Sorry the birthday was clearly ruined at this point What can I say? Sure let's have cake and... But despite my attempt to convey my thoughts on this, the waitress said "whatever" I get that you work off tips, I was once a waiter myself. But with so many things gone wrong, especially dropping the ball on a requested and confirmed birthday stuff then saying you weren't told about it... OK so my point is, team work. I would have given a large tip if the birthday stuff was presented no matter the rest of the experience. Making my GF happy is all I want to do. Sorry you feel shorted on your income, really. But this is not on me but completely on your co-worker. Talk with the person who dropped the ball and request the 25% from her. If you don't get it, reach out to me and I'll drop off $20 to you when I'm back in the area.

I could've easily posted names but not looking to...

Despite a good reputation and a fun atmosphere, our dining experience left a lot to be desired. We had a party of 11 and we're seated exactly as planned, no issues. Drink service was quick and friendly. But things went downhill from there. Food was so-so with many disappointed members of our party. Some food was undercooked and sent back. Other meals were bland. One guest reported that the crab cake was awful... worst ever. Seafood chowder was advertised as being full of seafood but it was quite small and mostly broth, luckilyonly $6. Another person NEVER got their meal and it took forever to get anyone's attention... apparently the kitchen never made it or it was served to another table so he had to wait 10 minutes for the re-do. Another salad with grilled chicken was served without the chicken. (the manager came over later and comp'd both meals, which was nice) Another noted her sandwich was uninspired and tasteless. There were also extra drinks on my bill, which was corrected. So way way too many problems. Six problems for 11 guests is a red flag that things are not right. Nobody is checking on order correctness or food quality - there was plenty of staff but it's apparently chaotic.... I observed workers with arms full of food wandering to figure out where it was supposed to be delivered... there is a total disconnect between the waitstaff and the food servers. And the bathrooms are currently located in the parking lot in a temporary trailer. Maybe we hit a bad night, but it will be quite awhile before anyone in our party returns here. On the plus side, the chicken tacos got a positive review from two...

We had the occasion to stop by and eat and the Dockside Waterfront Grill in Venice the other day. We did a day trip to Venice and didn't want to eat at the usual restaurant that we go to. Usually when you eat at a restaurant that's waterfront, the price is expensive and the food isn't necessarily that good. The Dockside was not the usual place! The other one was.

First of all, the restaurant is along the dock in the marina, not along the beach but that's OK. You still get the feel of beg near the water. We were greeted and seated right away. We must have hit it right, because they often have a wait list. They had a lot of televisions around and on, but to tell the truth I don't remember hearing any of them, the sound must have been off. I find that nice. I'm not a fan of having to yell over a TV to talk with the people I'm eating with. Our waitress took our drink order right away and was back fairly quickly with the drinks. She took our order and was great for the entire visit. They even have cloth napkins, and real utensils!

Our food was very good prepared just how we ordered it and the price was surprisingly reasonable, especially given it's location on the water. Actually, it was a good price for almost any where in Florida!

We live about 40 miles from Venice so we won't be making the trip there just to eat, but the next time we're in the Venice area, we're definitely going back. PS Try the...