I eat out more than I should. Some places are fantastic. Others are meh. Others suck. So I've decided to start reviewing restaurants for those of you who travel in the same areas in which I find myself.
Yes, it's rude, but when we go places we typically try each other's food (and drinks) so I usually have a point of reference on each serving.
First a couple of suggestions:
The Wash House in Fairhope. Quirky, off-beat and off the beaten path. Food is always good, service is always great. Worth the effort to find it.
Panini Pete's in Fairhope. Good sandwiches, good burgers, interesting atmosphere.
Now the reviews:
Was in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach over the weekend. Got three for you.
Montegos
Opened March 1 at the Wharf where Wings used to be and where something else was before that. Went on a Friday night and there was no crowd at all.
At our table we had two burgers, an order of ahi tuna nachos with fried pickles as the starter. One glass of wine and one of their "signature drinks"
Wine should have been chilled. It was cool and the glass was warm like it had just come out of the washer.
Signature drink was a muddy mix of flavors and simply not great.
Fried pickles were okay. Nothing to write home about. Had better.
Both girls ordered the burgers medium well. One was dripping blood, the other was cooked to near concrete status. Neither were really edible.
The tuna nachos had a weird mixture of sauces that didn't work.
Bill was over $100 and it wasn't worth it at all.
Would not eat there again.
Acme Oyster House
Fairly new, under the bridge across from Lulus.
Saturday night early and we were seated right away. Had we been half an hour later, the wait would have been interminable. People were lined up all over the spacious porch and every table was full.
Orders:
Chargrilled oysters
Ham and cheese po'boy
Oyster rockefeller soup
Raw oysters
Marinated shrimp platter
Oyster shooters
Reisling and Pino Grigio
Chargrilled oysters were really good.
Po'boy was enormous and tasty
Raw oysters were presented well
Soup was good except it lacked oysters (only two in a big bowl)
Marinated shrimp was excellent
Wine was perfectly chilled
Oyster shooters (raw oyster, cocktail sauce and vodka in a shot glass) were interesting, but I don't have any urge to do them again.
Service was attentive, helpful and friendly.
Bill was close to $150 with generous tip.
Not the greatest meal I've ever had, but will definitely go there again.
Cayman Grill
In Orange Beach just down from the Coastal Connection road on 180. Heard good things, and maybe caught this place on a bad day.
Got there at 1:30 on Sunday. Asked to sit outside because they have a huge deck, but no. Nobody's eating outside today. Fine. The hostess takes us to a table pretty far away from the big window and seats us where there's food all over the place. Crumbled up muffin in one seat, smears of something in another, water rings on the table, food scraps all around the chairs. Bear in mind that there were only two other groups in the entire enormous restaurant.
We asked to be reseated and the waitress complied. "Yeah, sit anywhere you want, there's open tables."
We expected a lunch menu and got brunch. Which is fine, but there was no notification anywhere. No signage, no mention when we got there, nothing. We'd looked at the lunch menu online and had an idea of what we were going to get but nope.
So we asked the waitress what she would suggest and she was sort of helpful but not really. Didn't know if the menu was lunch or brunch or what was on it.
She would come to our table and then retire to a corner where four or five other waitresses were lounging around doing nothing.
Orders:
Smoked salmon eggs benedict
Tuna melt
Four cheese pizza
Seafood stir fry
Signature drink
Bloody Mary
Bloody mary was half ass. Two olives on a spear and very little flavor. Clearly a bottled mix and not tasty.
Signature drink was good, lots of coconut flavor.
Tuna melt was very obviously canned tuna, pickle relish and sliced cheese. It was something a fourth grade cooking class might make. Not worth the price
Seafood stir fry had a very very sweet mango-pineapple sort of flavor but they'd dusted in some hot spice. I guess the intent was a contrast in flavors but it didn't work well. The fish pieces all had bones. Shrimp was not cooked well and was rubbery.
Salmon eggs benedict was okay, but the salmon had little flavor. It was steamed instead of smoked.
Pizza didn't work for my pizza connoisseur daughter. She ate one piece and politely boxed the rest up, but tossed it in the first trash can we came to.
Before we ate she tossed a basket of dry muffins on the table and called them "brunch leftovers"
Service was disinterested and apathetic
Food was overpriced even at $80 (including tip)
Won't go back
Interestingly enough I accidentally left my credit card and had to go back and get it. The manager took me aside and asked about my meal. When I told her it was good, she said she really needed an honest opinion if it wasn't because they'd had three different groups walk out and refuse to pay -- including a group of 15 -- complaining that the service was bad and the food worse. So I told her.
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