Red Grouper Tavern — Restaurant in Venice

I can’t give it a star or answer the dining questions as 7 of us thought we had a reservation. We arrived first when they asked how many we told them seven and we have a reservation. The extremely rude older hostess said very rudely we don’t take reservations and we don’t seat more than 6!! Wow what a greeting for the new restaurant in town. I asked whether or not she would be able to see us. She was so flustered she walked to the back where I assume the owner or manager must have been in the kitchen. Meanwhile we see two tables push together with at least 8 women finishing their dinner. Out comes the young lady who actually took the reservation and said she will seat us. She took us to two separate booths across from each other so for sat on one side and three on the other. One of the women not sitting with her husband. We asked if there was anyway they could actually put us together she said no. I turned and looked at the table of 8, and asked if we could have that table when they left. She replied very sarcastically they may be there in an hour, they may be there a 1/2 hr. I just don’t know. As we sat there flustered at two tables, the ladies behind us left. The waitress came over to take our order and I asked her very politely, now that they are leaving may we please have that table since you actually are the one that took a reservation for seven and we would actually like to sit together. She was very flustered went to the kitchen like the other woman and as she was back there they were breaking down the tables and separating them. She came back to our table and told us know she could not sit us there! Well, we all looked at each other completely tired of the rude welcoming to a place that literally did tell us that they could take us and somebody said anybody want to go to Valente‘s? Yep we all said, and up we went! Very nice of a brand new restaurant to let 7 people walk out! Mind you I didn’t tell you that there was only a few tables of people tucked in the back. Not busy at all! One of those tables was actually leaving as we were leaving and my husband asked the gentleman if it was worth it? The gentleman replied nope! We try to support all the local restaurants especially the new ones! There are 7 people with 7 mouths, that will never go to this place again! Very, very sad to see this poor quality of service becoming the norm! 7 hungry people who liked to drink. So in other words, lots of money and big tip walked out the door that night, with no concern to whoever was in the back that these 2 women...

Typical frozen food reheated...

The place was pretty busy with 70-80 year olds... Thought it might be decent.

I tried their Homemade Meatballs" appetizer just to see what I was dealing with. Unfortunately, it arrived the same time as the rest of our ticket. It had that freshly nuked look to it. Pro tip: If you are going so far as to add a piece of provolone over a couple meatballs that have been sitting in the freezer for a month or two, use a salamander or torch to brown the cheese. I could literally taste the microwave door slamming.

I ordered the Mahi Tacos, blackened. The fish looked like it had been seasoned, but was very bland, with the consistency of a pencil eraser, barf....

I was starving so I choked down the fish so we could get back on the highway. The waiter noticed we each took a single bite out of a meatball and asked if we wanted a box... We told him no, and he gave us a knowing look. He asked if we enjoyed it, I looked up solemnly, with a simple "no". He said he would see if he could get it off the bill, which I said wasn't necessary... He did the right thing anyways, and I know it isn't his fault. The cook and the management don't respect their customers, and you...

This was a terrible experience. We had reservations and were seated right away. However, 35 minutes later, no one had come to our table to take drink orders, bring napkins or silverware. We were finally able to get the hostess to come over and she took our drink order after 50 minutes. Another 15 minutes passed and still no one had come to our table and at the one hour plus mark, we finally got disgusted and asked the hostess when we were going to be able to order. She said it was going to be at least an hour. Are you kidding? Two hours? The hostess said they had recently opened and didn’t have enough help to run the dining area. The hostess said she would go into the kitchen and ask how long it was going to be. She never came back to our table and completely avoided our area. During this time, at least four other tables of seated prospective customers got up and walked out. Obviously, the business should not have even opened if they can’t provide service. I don’t care if this is a new business or not, that should never happen. We will not...