Review of Jack Mackerel's, Kure Beach

Megan: 
On Sunday, we visited Jack Mackerel's Island Grill at Kure Beach. Let's start by addressing the fact that we LOVE that area and intend to live there one day. And once upon a time, when we planned a beach wedding, we had hoped to have our rehearsal dinner at this restaurant.

We got there at about 11:30, and there may have been 4 people there. Perfect for a Sunday. I was "greeted" while Erik parked, with a smarty-pants hostess that wanted to know, "What I needed." I'm a bit of a smarty-pants too, especially when provoked, so I responded with, "A table?" (I mean, we weren't there to use the bathroom.) We sat down, got drinks and quickly ordered. I ordered a cup of their seafood chowder and the Looney Tuna sandwich.

My seafood chower, like the other 15 times we've been there, was awesome. Came right out. Super creamy, hot, chock-full of fresh seafood, crackers on the side. Perfect.

My Looney Tuna sandwich, which is a teriyaki brushed tuna steak on a dusted kaiser bun with a wasabi aioli, topped with fresh pineapple and a side of their homemade potato chips was average. And by that, I mean, if the tuna weren't fresh, I would have just sent it back. I definitely could have made it at home. (And I don't cook at all.) It was topped with canned pineapple and missing the aioli. And did I mention it took over an hour? We ended up taking it to go because we'd run out of time and patience.

The chips were good, and they were about the only redeeming thing on my plate.

I'll give it to our server, Megan, who was apologetic when we asked for it to-go, but our drinks weren't refilled regularly (or at all) and she was more than snippy more than once.

I'm never disappointed with Jack Mackerel's, but this time was enough to keep me from going back, especially to dine in. If I wanted a sandwich to-go, I'd have stopped at a drive-thru.

Erik:
I ordered a different fish sandwich.  I believe mine was the Mahi sandwich.  I say believe, because Jack Mackerel's does not have a website, most of the time, so I can't give you the proper name of the sandwich. (I do know it is directly below the Looney Tuna though.)  In addition, they do not have a menu on their Facebook page.  Lastly, the only menu that I can find online was from menupix.com, and I know they have changed their menu at least twice since that was posted years ago.  In fact, other blogs complain about how finding anything online from the Jack Mackerel's people is near impossible.

So, my sandwich was supposed to be covered in West Indies spices and grilled in lime oil.  If there were spices on my fish, I couldn't see or taste them.  The fish was drastically overcooked and very bland.  I did taste a faint hint of lime, probably from the oil.  My fish was then topped with lettuce and a grilled, buttered bun.

My French Fries were good, but that is hardly enough to endorse a restaurant.  The Fries were hot, crispy, and seasoned with a light Creole seasoning.

No matter what excuse I try to create, there is none that justifies why sandwiches took almost an hour to make.  Fish takes less than ten minutes to cook correctly.  The blame falls right to the management for not stepping up and getting the food out in a timely manner.  Heck, the table next to us physically walked to the bar to get their Bloody Marys after twenty minutes, meanwhile the bartender was standing around.  There are clearly communication problems at Jack Mackerel's.

I'll be honest, Jack Mackerel's was one of my favorite restaurants at the beach.  But, in the five years we have been frequenting it, there have been drastic changes.  The service keeps getting worse.  The food also keeps getting worse.  The first few times, it was colorful, spicy, Caribbean style food.  Over the years, it has become bland and lacking the unique qualities that made it one of our favorites.  With the way the restaurant keeps declining, I bet Jack Mackerel himself is turning over in his watery grave.

Category	Scale 1-5 stars
Food Quality
Food Creativity
Service
Atmosphere
Value for the Price