SUNDAY MARCH 27TH 2011

Date and Time Visited:            Arrival time was 3:00 p.m., Sunday, March 27th, 2011

Restaurant Name:                    Big Ketch Saltwater Grill

Location:                                   3279 Roswell Rd.

                                                   Atlanta, GA 30305

Reservations:                Not necessary

Dining Style:                 Causal

Cuisine:                         Seafood Restaurant

Entrees Order:   The TBK Veggie Burger ($7.95) and the Fried Wild Georgia Shrimp ($11.95)

Rating criteria: We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates an average score.

               

Food:                           Taste                       

 Presentation                       

                                     Texture                                       Average Score: 2

                                     Portion Size                       

                                    Authenticity                        

Service:                       Wait time           

                                     Quality of Service                      Average Score: 2.5           

                                     Wait staff knowledge

                                     Wait staff appearance           

                       

Restaurant Cleanliness:

                                    Appearance

                                    Atmosphere                       

Cleanliness                                  Average Score: 3           

Noise level                       

                                    Restrooms                       

Smoking?                        No

Patio Dinning:                Yes                       

Parking:             Parking is available

Overall Experience (reflects the collaboration of both critics):  Okay, folks; here it is. We arrived at the Big Ketch at around 3:00 p.m.; clearly breaking with our traditional Friday or Saturday night dinners. When we entered the restaurant the first thing we noticed was the starkness of the décor. We guessed they were trying to attempt a kind of worn, sand blown beach look. Well, they failed miserably. The restaurant looked more like we were entering a sterile environment; like we were visiting someone in the hospital. Anyway, when we walked in, there was no one there to greet us. We stood there for at least two minutes looking like lost puppies, thinking do we seat ourselves or wait to be seated? Finally, a hostess came along and sat us in a booth.  Our waiter was polite and very helpful, but he made the mistake of bragging too much on their hush puppies. He told us that he would stake his life on their hush puppies and bet us that they were going to be the best hush puppies we’ve ever tastes in our lives. We must admit, the hush puppies were good, but we can safely say that they were not the best we’ve ever tasted.  Now as for the entrees, my (Jill) shrimp were big, but they had one major flaw. They were the saltiest shrimp I’ve ever had in my life and get this I love salt, but dang! I was thinking just because your name has Saltwater Grill in it, it doesn’t mean you have to salt up everything! I did finish the shrimp, but the only way I could do so was by removing the breading. It was really bad! I (Jack) ordered the veggie burger and believe me, it was nothing to brag about. The burger was as dry as sawdust and didn’t have a good flavor. I’ve had better. Hey, I bet I can find a recipe on the Food Channel that could easily rival this and as a matter of fact, I’m going to challenge myself and do just that. I’ll let you all know how it comes out! Now on to our next comment; we noticed something rather strange about at this restaurant and it was something we’ve never seen before and that is our waiter didn’t deliver our food. We are not saying that we’ve never seen this done before; the problem comes in when the person delivering your food looks like the restaurants dishwasher. He had no professionalism at all. He dumped our food and left. He didn’t even look too hygienic. We had to wait for our waiter to pass by before we could even ask for condiments. We watched this guy come out over and over again. Our question is, “Why couldn’t our waiter deliver our food?” He certainly wasn’t too busy to get it. And, “Why couldn’t this guy be dressed like the rest of the wait staff and not look like he’s been living on the streets?”  

             

Would we go back: No, we don’t think so.

Suggested Improvements: Tell people your food is good without all the drama. Get rid of the dishwasher food delivery guy or have him dressed like the rest of the wait staff.  Liven up the décor. Lessen the salt on your food. Throw the veggie burger in the trash.