- Mrs. J
- First Reviewer
- 3 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 4
- Reviews
Excellent Food - Poor Client Service
- February 1, 2008
- Rated 2 of 5 by
Ginette39 from Chelmsford, Ontario
The food was fantastic and worthy of their excellent reputation and awards. This restaurant promotes its exceptional view of the bay in its advertising and that's what appealed to us. Upon arrival, we were escorted without so much as a word or a smile to a table for two away from the windows. So, we asked if we could be seated along the windows. There was a table for 4 available at the windows. The response was "no, that's kept for groups of 4". This is a large restaurant and it was not busy at all. I asked if the empty table had been reserved. I was told that it was not but that to seat us there would require the manager's permission. The hostess left and came back shortly and just directed us to the original small table. I said, "I guess we can't have that table at the window". She simply said: "No". We are not unreasonable people, if the restaurant was busy, or if we had been told that there were reservations for that table, we would understand but, at this time of the evening, any 'rush' was already over. There were only 27 people in total in a restaurant that holds many times that number. It was almost empty and, within 5 minutes of our being seated, most of the tables along the window were vacated.
The hostess should have realized this would happen and could have suggested that if we cared to wait a few minutes, we would have a window table. That not having been done, once we were seated and tables became empty almost immediately, we could have been offered to move to the location we had requested. It would have been a nice gesture on the part of anyone who values their customers not just their money. It became even more frustrating, as a few more patrons came in and couples were seated at the tables a the windows (the same table we were told we couldn't have). At all times, there were several tables that could have been offered to us very shortly after we were seated. This part of our experience really took away a lot of the enjoyment of our meal and our evening. We were not made to feel welcome in any way by the hostess or the manager. However, our server did provide good service and, again, we want to state that the food was excellent.
Scampi's
- September 24, 2003
- Rated 4 of 5 by
KristinaM from Scottsdale, Arizona
A truly lovely waterside restaurant. The local seafood (shrimp, red snapper, et al) is prepared in novel ways that set this place apart from the plentiful seafood restaurants on the island. Service was above average.
From journal Nothing but beach! South Padre Island
Scampi's
- January 12, 2003
- Rated 4 of 5 by
lusaka from Rye, Colorado
After a great day on the beach, you can sit and sip your drink as you watch the sun set slowly into the Laguna Madre. Seafood is the specialty, and I especially love the scampi, which has just the right amount of garlic. The menu does offer things for those who don't love seafood.
From journal Sunny South Padre Island
Scampi's
- October 27, 2000
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Mrs. J from austin, Texas
This restaurant faces the Laguna Madre Bay, and patrons have a full view of the sunset through large windows overlooking the bay. The food is fresh and excellent. The wait staff have been less than attentive most times we've gone, but maybe they're as distracted as we are by the gorgeous Texas sunset over water. Although they specialize in shrimp dishes, they have a full choice of fine seafood as well as some chicken, steak and vegetarian dishes. The best tables are right by the windows, but when I've made reservations and requested one of these tables I've been told, 'we can't promise, but we'll try.' Our batting average with getting one of them is about 50/50. You can still enjoy the view even if you aren't right beside the window.
From journal The Tropical Tip of Texas--South Padre Island