The Port Grill

Food was okay at best (fried bar food). Service was a huge downer for us! I would have given 3 stars if it wasn’t for the service. Waitress’ were more content talking with each other at the bar, rather than offer ANY service. We had to get our own menus and seat ourselves. We won’t be coming back. The last straw was the waitress adding her own gratuity of 20% on out party of 5! With the service we received she would have been lucky to get 15%.

Have to agree with Misty J… hard place to rate. Food was pretty good, nothing outstanding, service staff was friendly and attentive but kitchen was horribly slow. We were there on a Friday at 2pm, so the main lunch crowd had cleared out. Only 4 tables of small groups, so don’t understand why it takes so long to get the food out?! There are other options for «on the lake» dining with better food and service. Pizza Hut, Big M and Baxter boat docks, as well as up around Indian Point, to name a few. Happy boating/​dining!

You’re right. The food looked good, but never got to try it. Three servers walked by me at least six times. Finally left. I noticed most people sitting with no food on the table.

Had a nice lunch here on a very busy holiday weekend.
The service was a little slow, but we were seated quickly and brought cold beer, which was replenished as needed, so it was not a bad wait, sitting outside watching the boats and birds.
The oysters were surprisingly fresh and tasty, salads were crisp and loaded, sandwiches were nicely done, as were the chicken tenders and the fries. The tuna (served blackened) was outstanding, if a bit overcooked, and came with grilled veggies.
It was nice to eat «on the water», and the food did not disappoint. I’ll be back.

This is a tough one to rate because the food was FANTASTIC. Just a shame it took an hour to get it. I have never had such a disorganized, unenthusiastic, uncaring waitress in my life. The service was AWFUL. In fact, we had decided to leave a $ 5 bill on the table for our drinks and walk out and she came out with our food as we were getting the money out (and I have NEVER walked out of a restaurant). Had to ask twice for one refill, no one else at our table got one at all, no napkins or silverware were provided, took 10 minutes to get menus (the maximum number of tables occupied during our entire hour and 45 minutes there was 8), took another 10 minutes for her to come take the order, and then 40 minutes to get the food. Drinks came at the 30 minutes mark (4 teas — really, how hard is that?). At no point during our visit did she once say, «Sorry about the wait,» or «Your food will be out soon or anything.» She didn’t bring the salads out in advance of the meal (which would have helped ease the pain of a long wait) and then when she did bring the food and forgot a salad, she acted very put out when we asked for it, so we told her not to worry about it. Tried to wave at her when she was at another table to get a refill and she hurried away after making eye contact. When she did finally come back, we asked her for the refill and to go ahead and get our check ready. Our boat was rented and we had to get it back and didn’t want to wait another half hour on the check once we finished eating. When she finally brought it, we looked to find she still charged us for the salad she never brought, and she charged us for a 5^th meal (we only had 4 people). Took another 10 minutes to straighten on the check. Now, that being said, if you have patience, and time to kill, the food is actually worth this horrible service (if you know to expect it in advance). The fried shrimp were possibly the best I’ve ever had, the coleslaw was EXCELLENT, the haddock filet was huge, fresh-​tasting, and perfectly cooked. The beer-​battered fries were the best I’ve had in a while, and all in all the prices were decent for the type of «tourist-​y» place it is. The décor is really cute (dock/​seaside theme of course with lots of hammocks hanging from the ceiling). Just don’t expect anything to go quickly and check your bill. I’ve since talked to two locals and both have said the food is always great and the service is always bad, so it sounds like our experience was typical.

Terrible service every time I have been. Never going back. Better to go to Dock-​N-​Eat. At least there, I know I am treated like a customer should be treated.

As a part time local this is one of the few places you can take friends out to eat in Shell Knob on the lake. We love pulling up in our boat and the sandwiches are always great.