Wimauma

I don’t even want to give this place 1 star. Tried it for dinner… it was below average. Slow service. The entrée’s took way too long to be served and were not very hot nor good. Overly salted food. Did I mention the slow service?! Gave it a second try for breakfast/​brunch. Wouldn’t believe that it was even worse than my first experience. Again, slow service. The food took over and hour to come out (eggs bacon simple stuff). My toast was hard as wood. Scrambled eggs were burned AND had egg shells in them. Gross! I’m sure a monkey could scramble better eggs. The bacon was swimming in grease and had something smeared all over it on the plate that looked like lard. Orders got messed up. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.
I would never ever ever ever ever eat here again and I turn everyone away that mentions trying it out. Step it up wimauma! Pathetic.

Betty and I came here one evening for our first ever visit. Right of the bat the atmosphere kind of the me off. It was an open space with to bright of lights.
I like the chalk board with the beers listed, but it was poorly executed. Some beers were listed by brewery only and some were listed by their actual specific name and no prices included. I don’t get it, just put the entire name up there with the price! There’s a big difference when the bees range from $ 5 to $ 8. I shouldn’t have to ask my waitress all these questions.
The food was good, but a tad on the high price. Two scallops for $ 11? Grilled chicken wings were good, but could be a bit more crisp. At $ 8 they were an ok price.
Service was fairly attentive and friendly. I would come back, but I won’t be in a hurry to do so.

Wimauma is a 3 minute stroll from my house, yet I’ve only been there three times since it opened. Why you ask? Because we just weren’t impressed.
We decided to go last night to see if anything had changed since Amy and Gary left (
). In the year since we’ve been they’ve managed to decorate the place with some pictures and install a bar, so that’s good but I really think this place is on its last legs. They’re using the Creative Loafing Restaurant Week menu as their main menu and writing any deviations on the large chalkboard wall behind the bar. I will assume that, because Wimauma is quickly becoming a sinking ship, their real menus were «thrown overboard» in an attempt to stay alive. That was a weak, underdeveloped metaphor but I’m tired and it’s Friday… so shut up.
The servers are great and the food isn’t amazing but it’s not bad (isn’t it weird how food tastes better the closer to home I am?). Their menu was small even before they abandoned it in favor of the limited CreLo offerings but the diver scallops were good, as were the grilled chicken wings.
Bottom Line: If you really want to try this place for some reason, hurry the f*** up.

I have practically daily experiences in my life that are so ridiculous, awkward or unfortunate that I swear I’m living in a sitcom. My recent dining experience at Wimauma would be called «Farm NOT to Table.»
So, I won a gift certificate from the previous owners in a Unilocal contest. Awesome, and very generous! Since the $ 200 amount was so large I knew I had to put it to good use — so I got a reservation for my cousins and I (six of us, adults and children).
Our server immediately let us know that it was only his second day. A little foreshadowing perhaps? I know serving is not an easy job. In fact, back in the day, I was the WORST server ever. I used to drop plates, be awkward, etc. One time I even spilled red wine on people wearing white. Thank God they weren’t on Unilocal.
Anyway, we ordered six entrees from the menus on the table (no drink orders from our server, or indication of the specials. Our beer served was served in wine glasses and we never got a diet coke that was ordered. No biggie.)
But whatever. Commence the wait.
(15 minutes in): Yay! Our food! …Never mind.
(10 minutes after that): Yay! Our food… okay no.
(10 more minutes): Yay! Our… uhh shouldn’t have even looked.
(Fast forward, approx. 7:45pm): It has been 45 minutes. Server passes by table, assuring us that we have «three minutes» til the food will be here. Meanwhile, owner tells us that they are severely understaffed. But, our server is «the nicest server we have» — wait, isn’t it only his second day? Okay then.
(Approx. 8:05pm): It has been an hour with multiple reassurances that the food is on its way in a few minutes. Server comes to our table with bad news. That was an overstatement as our orders were, unfortunately, never even entered into the system. And, he has lost the paper with our choices. Do we want to reorder?
*SIDE NOTE* Wikipedia definition of «Facepalm»:
“Facepalm is the physical gesture of placing one’s hand flat across one’s face or lowering one’s face into one’s hand or hands. The gesture is found in many cultures as a display of frustration, disappointment, embarrassment, shock, surprise or just plain sarcasm.“
Okay. Now imagine a collective mental facepalm by six patrons, including young children.
(Approx. 8:10pm): Server comes to table, and asks us if we have any pets. Blank stare. Normally, I’d be gung-​ho to talk about my dog and our love of pet stores, but not tonight. Anyways, come by Pet Supermarket he says, because he works full time, and will give us a coupon.
Wow. We’ll check it out.
Meanwhile, the owner tells us that good things come to those who wait and that the food will be worth it. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was listening to a sermon. Suddenly the Catholic guilt I’ve been trying to repress since college fires back up. I feel bad about being annoyed. It’s not the Christian thing to be frustrated that your server never entered your order. I also realize that I really need to go to Confession.
(Approx. 8:30pm): Food starts coming slowly. Owner declares that I am lucky to get it hand-​delivered. It’s good, albeit slightly different than described, with different sides. Portions are tiny and we down it all in about five minutes. Meanwhile, our server hands out special cards hand-​marked «HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!» that offer one small free plate or drink. The fine print says, «With big plate purchase only; Valid only before 7pm.» Dang. Unilocalers, please make your own conclusions about this one. The check-​in deal that I forgot to use offers a free plate with no fine print. Collective Unilocal facepalm? Yep. But HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! (It’s Memorial Day weekend by the way.)
The best part of this ordeal is that we decided, despite all that had gone down, to take a gamble on dessert. The salted caramel pie sounds delicious. And it is! Says another server. In fact, she grabs a plate of pie headed to another table and shows us. It does look good so we order three pieces to split.
(Few mins later): We discover they’re actually out of pie.
Facepalm? At this point we’re cracking up. You can’t make this stuff up. From nonexistent dinner promises, to random side orders, pet store discount, belated mother’s day deals with fine print, and grand displays of pie you don’t even have… like huh? Are we on candid camera? That would explain a lot if we were (and be kinda awesome).
Needless to say, after paying for dinner (they comped our beers) we booked it right out of there. And that’s where the night ends, still hungry eating Coldstone and uncontrollably laughing that we really put ourselves through such a mess. So, if you made it this far reading my rambling story without getting bored and/​or offended congrats. I’ve only stated the facts here, and won’t make any conclusions about what the heck was going on but something was truly amiss that fateful night at Wimauma. I can’t say I’ll ever be back to use the rest of my gift certificate OR the Mother’s Day coupons. But my dog does like Pet Supermarket.

A friend and I went to Wimauma for brunch this past Sunday. It was practically empty with us only seeing two other parties during our time there (which I’m not complaining about, just setting the scene). The décor was nice and our waitress was friendly. We used a $ 20 for $ 40 Unilocal deal with no issue. As an appetizer we tried the fried green tomatoes. Neither of us were fans. They weren’t bad, they just weren’t good. My friend ordered a typical eggs and sausage breakfast choice and I ordered the biscuits and sausage gravy. We both thought they tasted fine. For dessert we tried a piece of salted caramel pie with pretzel crust, which neither of us enjoyed. It was pretty much flavorless. The only really positive part of the meal for me was the mimosa, which had sherbet and a basil leaf in it. It was delicious. :)
I honestly feel like I could have received a similar level of food at a small town restaurant or diner (for a fraction of the price). It was edible, certainly, but not something I would ever crave or make plans to try again. I feel bad giving a negative review, but it’s not a place I would recommend. Sorry.
P. S. I am NOT a picky eater, so I’m not being a snob, the food legitimately wasn’t very good.

Maybe I built this place up in my head and I’m sure the reviews here assisted with that, but I was very disappointed. I had a $ 20 for $ 40 deal, and it didn’t change the «value» I felt I received either.
The atmosphere. Not what I expected, I thought it was going to be a tad more upscale than it was for some reason. However, I looked past that until they sat us near the kitchen in the back and told us we may hear some «pans crashing and some cursing» but to enjoy ourselves. Maybe it was humor, but I am going to drop $ 100 in here and haven’t ate your food yet– wasn’t funny at the time.
The food. This is where I really was expected to be blown away. I am from a state in the «Deep South» so while my standards are pretty high, my expectations are usually not. I ordered the Shrimp & Scallop patty, collards, hush puppies, and we had Fried Green Tomatoes as an appetizer.
The shrimp & scallop patty was very rubbery, chewy, and an odd green color. The hush puppies had ZERO flavor and I felt they balled up corn meal and dropped them into a deep fryer (no onion, pepper, herbs, seasoning, etc). The collards were «okay», but it is hard to mess that up. Fried Green Tomatoes were terrible. Growing up, they were always sliced thin to medium and breaded and fried. Wimauma’s were cut into large cubes and the batter they used to fry them in barely stuck– so the texture was way off. Back to the drawing board with that one.
Needless to say, I was disappointed and probably will not be back with the other options in the area. Sadly, I am not too sure how much real «southern» experience the restaurant staff and chef truly has.

I totally checked this place out solely based on Unilocal reviews. I knew I liked you guys for a reason… Great recommendation!
We went for brunch last Sunday. As someone who considers myself to be a boozey brunch snob (thank goodness for Sundays), I was excited to try somewhere new. Holy cow — GREAT experience.
The waiter, Holland, was so much fun and was so engaging. I felt like we got so lucky to be seated with him as he advised us that he typically doesn’t serve for brunch. He was so patient and really seemed to enjoy us acting ridiculous and chatting him up about the restaurant.
Onto the food. Okay: mimosas with sherbert? WOAH! I also went for the pulled pork omelette with a side of collard greens. Both so good, but particularly the collard greens impressed me. I left feeling stuffed and champagne tipsy.
I can’t wait to come back to Wimauma to try their dinner menu or to attend one of their mixology classes. I can definitely get behind a restaurant that supports local artists and farm to table dining!

I ate at this restaurant for the first time today. I’m definitely a fan.
First let me say our server, Holland, was great. Any question we asked him from how did the restaurant get its name to why a certain dish was called something, he had an intelligent answer for it. The service was good and quick.
The loved the atmosphere. There was local artwork all over the restaurant and I really loved the sense of community pride that they have.
I ordered the two eggs, home fries and Bentley bacon and it was excellent.
They also have wimosas which are mimosas with sherbet in it and basil. It was delicious.
I will definintely be coming back to this establishment. I want to try it out for dinner.

We came on a Friday during lent so I was very limited to what I could get. Additionally I have given up fried food for lent so that brought my dinner options to 2. Thankfully, the pretzel crusted Salmon was among them because I thought this dish was delicious! Additionally the our waitress was wonderful, and she remembered my dietary restrictions. She substituted my fried side dishes and when the Unilocal appetizer was fried she gave me a free dessert! That desert the key lime pie with homemade banana ice cream made in house was excellent!
My Boyfriend’s favorite part of his meal was the fried collard greens.

Wimauma’s is tucked away off MacDill in a none descript building, Wimauma’s has bucked the odds. When I visited we were one of two tables. We were welcomes warmly by the courteous wait staff, the owner even stopped by asking how we were doing.
We started with the philly cheese steak spring rolls that are as good as they sound! Their concept is a tasty fusion of New American meets southern with a flare. We had the Salmon and Steak that was cooked to perfection. The presentation was as appetizing as the dish was.
This is easily one of my new favorite restaurants, the owners live and purchase food grown locally. They also have catering on the side. I will promote them to everyone I know!

We went for the Valentine’s Day 3 course meal last night because we found the deal on Creative Loafing. When we got there, we were sat pretty quickly but waited 20 minutes for the server to come and ask us for our drinks. After being told 3 times that the wine I ordered was out, we finally got our drinks after 30 minutes of ordering.
I ordered the crab cake appetizer and thought it was okay but too soggy for my taste. My husband’s fried okra was delicious, however, and thoroughly enjoyed by both of us. We then waited another 30 minutes for our entrée but once we got it, the hanger steak, we are happy with our choice as it was made well and tasted great.
I ordered another glass of wine and waited another 30 minutes for it (after asking another server to check on it) and by the time I got it, I was only able to drink half before our meal was done. Thankfully, the second glass was comped.
The desserts (strawberry freezer pie and salted caramel pie) were fantastic and came with glasses of champagne, which unfortunately we did not have time to enjoy. By the end, we had been there 2 hours and felt as though we were neglected by our server for most of the meal.
I hate to rate the place low because the food is great but the service was awful, especially for Valentine’s Day. I hope your server is better if you go.

This is the kind of place that locals would want to keep it hidden. Good food, friendly host and servers, and cozy environ to hang out in.
Menu could be described as eclectic southern. Shrimp and Grits is the famous house dish and it certainly does not disappoint. Really enjoyed their fried green tomatoes too even though I am usually anti green tomato.
I’d definitely go back if I am in the area.

Food was good overall. The fried oyster appetizer was refreshing and delicious! I highly recommend! (And we got it free for checking in on Unilocal!) I ordered the braised rabbit enchiladas with rice and beans on the side. The rice and beans were typical and standard, although the rice was green due to seasoning (pretty tasty). The enchiladas themselves were a big let down. Way too much bechamel sauce (and it was fairly bland). The portion size was very generous though! I would order something different next time.
My friend ordered the hanger steak over coffee infused mashed potatoes. Her dish was delicious!
We ordered a few beers as well, the Curious Traveler shandy (what a great summer brew!) and the Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan (fabulous!) Now on to try and find where to get those beers!

Kim & I went to Wimauma using a Deal Chicken promotion which included a 3 course meal with corresponding wine flights and were not disappointed. Kim started with the Fried Okra, a huge plate with jalepenos and shallots, while I had the philly egg rolls. Both were very tasty! For entrees, Kim had their famous shrimp & grits. I had rabbit enchiladas. The shrimp & grits was really tasty, and had a unique flavor I couldn’t put my finger on. The rabbit enchilada was a home run! It had the right amount of spicy heat, as well as being served au gratin style with a bubbling cheese sauce. I couldn’t stop eating it!
The overall menu is eclectic southern. The décor is pretty eclectic as well, with paper table cloths and home grown art for sale everywhere. The service was great, but it was quiet (it was Sunday night), not busy, so that should be expected.
We’ll be back.

I am sorry to say that this restaurant is a disaster. This is the kind of restaurant where the cooks THINK they know what they are doing, but what they are doing is actually serving complete crap. If you know good food, AVOID THIS RESTAURANT.
I was hopeful from all the reviews I had read, and from the fact that when you sit down at a restaurant that has cookbooks like Zuni Café and Momofuku prominently on display, you expect great things. But Wimauma is an atrocious disappointment.
The shrimp and grits that are so favorably reviewed was served to me COLD and the shrimp did not taste fresh. Also, the grits were lumpy and the dish here is more like a soup, which was not appetizing to say the least. Fail.
The fried chicken was extremely greasy, the meat was tough and tasteless and one of the pieces of chicken included in my entrée was still raw with blood dripping out. Fail.
The hush puppies alone are so offensive that I wish I could give this place zero stars. They are tasteless and seem like they were fried in very old oil. If you are going to do cracker cuisine, you must AT LEAST have outstanding hush puppies. Major fail.
The biscuits and gravy were terrible. The biscuits tasted like they came from a tube at the supermarket, and the eggs were not cooked properly.
The service was spotty, as our waitress was handling way too many tables at once.
I cannot imagine that any self-​respecting Floridian would think this is good food.

Good, but not great. We came here for brunch on my cheat day and I was ready to engage in a serious calorie feast.
Let’s start off with the good… Service was fantastic. Our waiter was very friendly and prompt. The restaurant has tons of atmosphere and is covered in cheerful, bright paintings. There is a room in the back of the restaurant where you could hold a private party. Menu prices weren’t cheap, but they weren’t ridiculous either.
Now on to the bad… We started off our meal with the worst coffee ever. The coffee was weak and bitter. After two sips I decided I didn’t need the caffeine enough to continue drinking my coffee. Since they were out of french toast (boo!) my sister and I decided to take the Unilocalers’ advice and order the shrimp and grits. The shrimp were fresh, the eggs were poached perfectly and the dish was topped with a generous portion of crumbled bacon, but the grits were bland. I could tell the grits had butter on them, but the tomato broth diluted the flavor. I think the grits could have used cheese or chili sauce. After the so-​so shrimp and grits we ordered a plate of homemade biscuits a.k.a. the WORST biscuits I have ever eaten!!! The biscuits were cold, dry and lacked flavor. The biscuits were served with cold, hard stick of butter that would not spread on the biscuits. A Southern restaurant with bad biscuits?! Bless your heart!
I love Southern food, but I do not love Wimauma. Maybe brunch is not the restaurant’s specialty? I would return to try the dinner menu since I hear the fried chicken is amazing. (I might have to sneak my own biscuits in though!)
**Side note: the restaurant only serves wine and beer so no liquor cocktails.

I wanted to go to wimauma for a while especially since it got great reviews and pictures looked great.
I walked in and thought the place looked pleasant, nice w painted art work, and it had southern food. The place where I first tried southern food and loved it was in savannah, ga.
I waited a while since I was waiting for my husband. Traffic made him take forever. Stupid joke from waiter already made him lose points, «oh, guess u r getting stood up,» whatever dude. Waiter barely said anything to me in the first place, & that was one if the first things out of his mouth.
Service wasn’t great. As soon as my hubby came, took forever even more. Waiter really didn’t have any gd insight on recommendations. I mentioned that my hubby didn’t care for veggies & could he substitute something, he said not on specials but menu yes. When husband ordered pork tenderloin w potatoes, apple butter, there were lots of veggies including collards, peapods and artichokes. The waiter could care less.
My dish was a breaded fish w mushroom sauce w a type of corn pudding that tasted like quiche. It didn’t stand out at all for me.
The best part was our appetizer — fried green tomatoes. The sauce made that exceptionally gd.
All in all, the food, the service, the prices for the size of the plate, oh and the music that would make u fall asleep, or think u were back in the 1930’s and 1950’s era influenced me to give this place 2 stars.
One positive thing though, I observed a super helpful waitress w long brown wavy hair. Of course she served the tables next to us. She was very gd and helping her customers w food on the menu.
When u go to a restaurant, u go for food and service, I don’t feel I got it here.

I have been back to Wimauma twice since my first review.
The first was just for dessert. We were dying for dessert, so we stopped by. Amy sat us down at the bar, and we sat around with a couple other customers, as well as Amy and Gary. They recommended wine to match our dessert. My husband had a scoop of the lovely sweet cream ice cream, while I swooned over the bacon chocolate brownie.
The next time was for dinner on the 4^th of July. There was only one other table of customers. We brought in our own wine (there’s a very reasonable $ 10 corkage), and our waiter was so excited by our bottle that of course we offered him a taste, and he couldn’t stop thanking us. What a sweetheart! We had the delectable fried okra (it really does pay good homage to Yummy House’s salt & pepper calamari). Then I had the bacon-​crusted flounder, and my husband had the pulled pork. Everything was fantastic. My husband rarely eats fish, and he was picking off my plate and sopping up the mushroom sauce (he usually hates sauces). We finished with the pickled peach cornbread upsidedown cake (heavenly). Gary came out again to greet us.
I love this neighborhood restaurant. The staff and owners are wonderful, and the food is solid.

Why 5 stars? Because they care.
— — —
And because being delicious never hurt no one.
I walked into an empty Wimauma for lunch. I ended up timing this very late lunch (2pm) perfectly. I was highly tempted to order Wimauma’s specialty — the Shrimp and Grits, as recommended by the server… but I chickened out and went with the Catfish Po’ Boy instead. I ordered grits on the side so that I could at least give them a try. This meal made me happier than a dog on a walk.
(The preceding line was in conjunction with the southern theme of Wimauma)
But the real treat of the occasion was that I had the pleasure of speaking to the owners and chef while I chowed down. I learned a ton about this restaurant, and loved every second of it. As I tried not to spill the juicy Po Boy all over my shirt/​face, I learned about the very storied career of the Chef and the pride that he pours into his business. It is refreshing to come across someone like that. and with his passion/​drive for success, we should all enjoy Wimauma now before it becomes impossible to get a table.
Oh…and as for the grits… yeah I will be ordering them upon every visit. Cheesy and delicious! The fries were great as well. This instantly jumps up to one of my favorite places in the Bay Area.

Clearly a mixed bag and perhaps I should have only given it 2 stars. We enjoyed our «small plates» which were delicious. My wife’s carrot soup was outstanding and I cannot remember what I had, but I did enjoy it.
For the main my wife had the smoked brisket served with grits and collard greens which she liked but was not enthusiastic about. I had the Disco fries with braised Oxtail which was OK, but just OK. The Cigar City Jai Alai IPA that was listed on the wall menu was unfortunately not available.
Now onto the atmosphere: very bare and uninviting décor — sterile — and when we were there we had screaming kids all around us — not conducive to a relaxing meal. They need to do something to break up the noise that bounces from wall to wall — perhaps some plants? The Manager was, well…, very chatty, sitting down at other tables, moving around, working on her computer which was located on a dining room table and really was not acting like, in my opinion, a restaurant manager should.
The chef clearly has talent but the front of house needs to seriously get it’s act together.