Tamara's Cafe Floridita

User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Been coming to St. George Island annually for several years. We used to dine at the original Tamara's Cafe location and it was OK - good food - but we did not like the building. It felt "old and dusty - not quaint and charming". So we had not been back for a few years. However, based on a recent review we saw about another restaurant that we really like - where the reviewer touted Tamara's Cafe as being better - we recently tried Tamara's in their new location. The good part: the new restaurant is simply spectacular. It's reminds you of the fine old Cafe's in San Fransisco like Jacks, Tadich and Double Eagle Grills. Tamara's did a fabulous job on the renovation. The wait-staff is very good. All-in-all - a VERY pleasant venue staffed properly. The not so good part - the food and cost: On a night where there we only 8 people in the restaurant, including us, so the kitchen was not being overly taxed - 3 of our 4 meals were very poor. 2-of the 4 meals entry (Carne Asada) were mostly grissel and fat and just not edible. Worse yet - all 4 meals were served in various degrees of cold - and these were meals that were to be served hot. Worst of all - 4 nightly specials, shared 2-desserts, an inexpensive bottle of Sauvignon Blanc + coffe/teas came to $194 with tax - but without tip. 4 people at $234 (we tip wait staff for service - not food - and the service was excellent) is expensive for what we ordered even if all had been delivered as expected ... and it certainly was not. Don't know if they had an "off-night" - or what. We liked the atmosphere and interior so well that we decided to try Tamara's again - for lunch. Lunch was better - but this time 2 of the 4 hot dishes were once again served cold. Too bad. Love the "place", service, staff and owner - but the food was not reliable - and serving hot-dishes cold is inexcusable .... and that is twice in a row. The cost for lunch was not overpriced as dinner - but it was priced like "lunch a fine luncheon establishment" - but with not so fine food / preparation. See for yourself - but you might want to try it out for lunch so that if it does not work for you either, then you won't make a $200+ dinner mistake. We sincerely hope that Tamara's corrects these two glaring deficiencies (food / preparation & cost) as we'd love to dine there otherwise. More, if the food and prep were done well, then the cost would not be an issue at dinner, given all the positive things about Tamara's Cafe. We'll try it again next year and see if things have improved.

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User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

An apparently privately run place which almost overlooks the sea & is by a fishing fleet When a non-chain cafe in 'Market St' offers a quite expensive fish course, We thought well done for making the most of their position & saving food-miles, & went in to order seafood naively expected something fresh, but got completely tasteless frozen stuff. We marvelled at the technological achievement of plump prawns busting with water, but with no discernible hint of prawn flavour. We felt a little like mugged tourist.

OK I should have interrogated them before entering the place, but the owners might consider why they think that fish is so successful on their menu & either make the most of their position with fresh seafood or if they source from the freezer, just avoid fish to avoid disappointment.

Fairly empty but still had to go hunt down missing cutlery when no staff re-emerged from the back. Then after long waits, had to go & extract a desert then a bill. However I don't enjoy servers asking 'everything OK?' at every other mouthful, so can't complain.

Place looks inviting & picture windows good for people watching. I'd give it another go, but ask the question before ordering

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User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

My husband and I are frequent visitors to the Apalach area and were excited to try a new restaurant for breakfast. We ordered the Perico, which is an egg scramble and the Any Style, eggs and toast, both were mediocre. The coffee was hot and good. Our waitress was friendlly and attentive. However, what turned the entire experience negative was upon receipt of the bill we felt violated. We were being charged for coffee refills ($1 per refill) and were not informed of this beforehand-RIDICULOUS!!! Unlike Arnold, we won't be back...
***Penny wise and pound foolish***

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