Wow, where to begin. I will start by saying I have a long emotional tie to this restaurant. When my kids were younger, this was the "special place" they would choose for their birthdays. When they became adults, this again was the "special place" they would take me (mom) to celebrate mother's day. Multiple times, I took a broken hearted teen there, we stayed in the car, and I would order the coconut shrimp and bread to eat (yes, in the car), to help with all the sad emotions.
Over the past 5yrs, I have noticed a decline in this restaurant. Not just the food, but the service also. I kept coming back.
Yesterday, was the biggest disappointment ever. I set up a birthday celebration for my two sisters, and that daughter previously mentioned (yes, the emotional teen is now a mother of 4 herself). I had a reservation, was seated, and we waited....and waited. 20-25mins later (at least 3 different servers looked right at us and said nothing), I walked up to the hostess and asked for assistance. A waitress came, apologized that she didn't know this was her section, and took our order. Both my daughter and I ordered the Parmesan crusted Rainbow Trout with asparagus. Then I asked dont they come with au gratin potatoes? (They were always included before) She said no, that is a$3 unchanged, so I ordered them. Our food arrived and the fish was excellent, the asparagus was kind of dry/chewey. The potatoes (a gigantic helping which wasn't necessary) were gross. They changed the recipe. These tasted like they took yesterdays leftover baked potatoes, cut them up,added velveta cheese, and a seasoning that had a Mexican flair to it. The menu only said au gratin. (At first we both took them home but when other family members said they were gross, we tossed them). When it was time to leave, we had 4 to go containers. We mentioned the large amt of potatoes and our waitress said "yes, it is a lot. That's why I tell people to just order 1 and share it" (she never mentioned that). She also took the money, left, and never offered bag for all the containers.
Simply put, if I wanted an Applebee's experience, I would have gone there vs Bonefish. Ironically, while sitting at the table, my son called to ask if he could take me to Bonefish for my birthday next week. I laughed at the fact I was sitting there, but then said absolutely not and chose a different restaurant.
Manager: I get saving money is good, but up charging for gross potatoes vs what you used to serve is a poor decision. Staff: Start working as a team. If you see a family sitting there that long, no drinks, ask if they need help. Dont just worry about your tables because you probably would have been my server next week, if I had not already decided not to return.