Nichols Seafood Restaurant

Reviews 4

CU

cumulo nimbus

Staff is courteous and gulf fried shrimp are good. Sorry, folks, that is all you get for good. No music, no signs of life, old folks home eatery. ***No front of house discipline for cleanliness. -Everything I put my hand on, my hand stuck to it -cleaning with a dirty rag for multiple tables, and no sani-buckets anywhere -condiment bottles which had buildup all over; need to change to non-reusable -ceiling lights had not been dusted on the chain going to the ceiling; dust and crap in my food ***No back of house discipline for freshness. +Gulf shrimp are amazing, no question, this is done right. -frozen [fried scallops] no flavor, no taste at all actually. deep fried breaded, not pan-seared. -jarred? canned? no flavor [fried oysters]; this one bothers me -crab? cake: tastes like 3-4 day old fish in a refrigerator, super-fishy taste It seems as there is no formal training, anywhere, with exception to preparation of fresh seafood in back of house, which there is of very little. Everything else comes from a deep freezer or a can/jar to be fried. If it was fresh, it was fresh 2-3 days ago with a failing refrigerator seal leading to danger zone temperatures, causing this odd off-flavor in fresh seafood (crab, etc). The oysters may be fresh, but there isnt a shred of flavor to them, and theyre mediocre warm, not even hot, left in the window to die, or god forbid a lazy chef prepping big batches and trying to keep it warm under a dead heat-lamp. (once again front of house and/or expo) Now like other reviews, the menus had mold on the paper portion, from some sort of spill in the paper area, and the sleeves were cracked and deteriorating in my hands. Plastic drink ware was shoddy at best from being dropped multiple times in the dish room and chipping. Chuck them in the bin, no need keeping this as your first introduction to set the tone for the rest of the meal. Take my advice or leave it. Get training, leadership, and guidance; or shut the doors for good. Owners, get rid of the freezer pre-fried refuse; fresh is king. Fix the refrigerator. Time, temp, date everything. If all else fails smell it, make one, and eat it YOURSELF. Dont feed my family your leftovers for $25 a head. Single sheet laminated and updated menus. They can be wiped down and reprinted as needed, no need to reuse old menus to save $20 bucks. One time use condiments or pre-portioned in throw away plastic ramekins. Easy, simple, and CLEAN. Check and recheck the front of house and dont let the servers leave until it is DONE. I worked in a seafood restaurant for many years, these servers have no training on cleaning. 90% of a servers job is cleaning, the other 10% you can divvy how you wish. Of the percentage of cleanliness, this place gets a 25%. So what are your staff doing the other 75% of the time besides riding the clock. Receipt should be left at the table detailing line items for what was purchased and charged not just a receipt with a price to pay, this is shady business practices. No exceptions. Leave a line-item detail with every bill. You need a Chef Gordon Ramsay, or Chef Robert Irvine to rescue, ASAP.

A

A Private User

A group of 10 of us drove north from Gulf Breeze across the Garcon Point bridge last night and had another GREAT meal at Nichols Seafood. The service was friendly and efficient and the servings were very generous for the modest price we paid. I started with a dozen of Nichols famous raw East Bay Oysters on the half shell and a nice cold draft beer. The oysters were the perfect size, fresh from the water, perfectly shucked, fresh tasting and delicious, as always. Although I love Apalachicola and Galveston Bay oysters, nothing can beat these local beauties! Although cocktail sauce and other condiments are always on the table, I like them with nothing but a bit of horseradish, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a hit of Lousiana Hot Sauce right out of the shell. Instead of my usual Mullet dinner (with a couple of backbones on the side), last night I ordered a half-order of Fried Scallops. Our salads and appetizers came out immediately after our waitress took our orders. (I always have my salad boxed to take home because you get so much food at Nichols.) The waitress asked everyone at our table how their food was - very attentive. When she got to me, I told her the oysters were fantastic - in fact, they were so good I ordered another dozen! When my Scallops arrived, they were plump, juicy, and sweet with a thin, crisp coating of batter and fried to perfection - a definite repeat. Jan, Cathy and most of our group had fried mullet dinners with various side dishes - but no one ordered the infamous Fried Mullet Backbones (which is OK - more for me!) Karen had Fried Oysters, which she said were the best in town, and Gail had Broiled Flounder - fresh flounder fillets layered over a huge serving of local Blue Crab meat, which is next on my list. Neal doesnt like seafood (!) and had a steak instead - Nichols also offers chicken. I was at the head of the table and couldnt see what Ted, Joe, and Marilyn had, but theyre regulars and I certainly didnt hear any complaints. All in all, a great evening at Nichols Seafood. Only problem is - Nichols is only open Thursday through Sunday! The rest of the week there out with their own fishing fleet in local waters. How can it get fresher? I dont see how anyone could choose a seafood chain restaurant over Nichols - a local restaurant run by local folks. Pasco and his staff do a great job - drop by and have a GREAT meal like we do every week!

IS

Isaiah Pires

To the people that are rating this restaurant at a 4 and above....Do you ever go out to eat? I read the reviews and decided to try it out...It was nothing like the reviews. To start with, its not well maintaned....very dusty, floor wasnt swept, multiple tables were not cleaned, menus were old, torn, and had food particles on them. The food was bland with bad presentation....I got the combination plate blackened (blackened apparently meant lightly peppered)...It came with the "catch of the day" (golden tilefish) and I add shrimp.The shrimp were cooked well but had 0 taste and the fish was chewy. My 2 sides were a house salad (pile of lettuce, 5 pieces of tomatoes, and some shredded cheese), and a small bowl of cheese grits which was hard on the top and soupy on the inside....I dont normally write reviews but this place is WAY OVERRATED!!! It was not a good meal and I will not be back.

RO

Robert McClure

The service is always excellent and you can be sure the the fish is fresh in fact the owner catches his own mullet and the rest is locally bought. They have a platter for two that you can get fried or broiled and it is to die for. You each get a salad or cole slaw, a cup of Gumbo or She Crab Soup all I can say is the she crab soup is an old family recipe and it is fantastic. You then get the platter with a choice of several fish fried, fried oysters, fried shrimp, stuffed crab and scallops and I am sure I missed something but it is all my wife and I can eat a broiled platter it is just as good with all the sides but it has steamed snow crab and steamed oysters, shrimp, scallops and several choices for a broiled fish. They are open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night and Saturday and Sunday for lunch.