Splash! An Ocean Grill

This was my review after going to Splash the first time:\r We've only been there once, but I can't wait to go back. Our waitress was great and very professional. The food was suberb. Those oak planked meats and seafood are delish! They make great martinis. I signed up on their website and they sent me a birthday coupon for $20. They also send me newsletters about their specials. I see they have a brunch nowadays that sounds right up my alley. The atmosphere is really nice, too. Feels a little upscale without being pretentious.\r \r This is what I think after going last night:\r We received another $20 coupon in my email, so my husband and I went for dinner. The service was very good. Friendly, attentive waiter, good cocktails. But, the food was not nearly as good as before. I ordered the rock lobster tail and it was so overdone, it was almost impossible to cut with my knife. It was $39, so I was very disappointed in the quality. My husband didn't care for his dish either, which was off their special menu. It was wild boar, sitting in a pile of applesauce which was extremely sweet. We didn't even bother to take home the leftovers. I doubt we will go back, even if we receive another coupon. There are too many other restaurants in the area with better food for the price. Pros: the food, the atmosphere, the cocktails Cons: pretty busy more

I have heard such good things concerning Splash especiallly from this site. I recently moved to the Citrus Park area so we decided to check it out. The restaurant is so bright, I felt like as if I were at a night football game. I don't mind a place not having a lot of ambienince as long as the food is good, but this place is just bland. Bland decor & Bland food. The crab cakes had no flavor and were cold in the middle, the shrimp dish tasted watery just like the drinks. We did not complain to the server who was pleasant, he just cleared our plates not noticing or mentioning that very little of the food was eaten. You could not pay me to gp back to this place. Pros: good location Cons: nothing is good but the location more

My Husband and I dine there on a Saturday night without a reservation. They told us the wait would be about 45 minutes it was more like 20-25 minutes. We had drinks at the bar while we wanted for our table. The bartenders were friendly and made really GOOD drinks. After we were seated at our table our waited came over to greet us. Francis. Our waiter was one of the best. He was very kind and on top of everything. He explained the speicals, if we had any questions he answered them like he was back in the kitchen preparing/cooking the meal. Our meals were absolutely delicious. My favoirte is the crab cakes. I am from Maryland and I have never had crab cakes like theirs. Usually there is always too much bread or fish instead of crab. Splash's were large lumps of crab meat. If they put anything other than crab in the crab cakes you couldn't taste it. It was so delicious. Prices did not occur to us because the meal was that damn good! Beautiful restaurant, great food, and great service. Pros: Great Food, Great Restaurant, Great Service 5 star treatment more

Great seafood, fresh fish, love the drinks & hot rolls to die for! A must try. wounderful specials .something new every week. splash salad is the best house salad i have ever had. Pros: fresh seafood Cons: bit loud on weekends more

My first visit to Splash was in April, and it was every bit as good as i was told it would be. We had 8:30 reservations on a Saturday evening and were seated promptly. The setting is romantic and service was unobtrusive and efficient. We wanted kalamari, but not fried so the server ordered it sauteed in a little olive oil and garlic. It was served over a red sauce, with freshly shaved Parmesean and a basket of crusty French bread-superb. Our entrees-mahi mahi and shrimp were very good, with interesting sides and very crisp fresh salads. Drinks were generous and the atmosphere was perfect for a special Saturday night. We passed on dessert, but will definitely go back to Splash in the near future. Enjoy! Pros: Interesting menu, ambience, service, healthy options Cons: None noted more

Mother's Day!!!!!! 3 moms and a party of 12. From the begining, we had 2 waiters and they in a nice word horrible! 1st waiter droped half the drinks and his attitude was bad. The food has no taste!!! Out of 15 people only 3 was ok!!! not even good!!! And the biggest problem they have is they charge dime and nickel for everything!!! Glass water they charge, the salad with entree they charge, kids menu cheapest is $8 for burnt chicken and burnt chips not even fries!!! They also messed up on our bill it took us nearly 1 hour to fix the final bill!!! As for the owner/ manager came to our table and explained why they charge nickel and dime. He even brought the menu to our table to show us the fine print which I thought it was very rude!! Did I mentioned it was mother's day!!!! 1-10 10 being the best I give it a 1. My family has a couple of restaurant's in south florida and they couldn't believe how the attitude was in there!!!! So they said the worst thing a customer can do is never go back. As for our family I thought we were polite and fair. We also dressed nice cause the reviews which was way off!!! shorts and a shirt would have been fine. I think we could have a better time in taco bell or KFC. My advice would be don't go there at all!!!!! Pros: parking sad to say!! Cons: owner/manager are really bad!!! service, and mother's day was perfectly ruined!!! more

Love this place - the food, the wait staff and the owner (who goes around making sure you're happy with everything). Pros: Everything Cons: Can't think of one more

The beginning of my first dining experience at Splash started out on a bad note, but did go uphill after that. Our party of 3 arrived just before our reservation time of 5:30; we were told to wait for a little bit (turned into 10 minutes) because our server had not arrived for his/her shift. I thought that was a little strange and rude, as there was plenty of seating available; we could have at least been shown to our booth and offered something to drink. After that, things did improve, somewhat. The food was EXCELLENT!!! Our waiter was slow and not very attentive, but cordial; maybe he was having a rough day. I did receive a complimentary dessert, as it was my birthday. Mom and I will be taking my sister here for her birthday dinner. more

Our first visit to Splash was VERY disappointing. We had reservations there but had to wait while they sat everybody else that came in after us first, as they all seemed to ""know the staff"". After we were seated in the bar area, which was not even an option, the background noise from the bar made it very hard to communicate between us and not to mention the server. Anyway, we had heard that this restaurant was a nice place for dinner. Maybe we went on a bad nite, but the food was tasteless and dried out. There were 4 people in our party and we all ordered something different. The most expensive dinner was the $35.00 lobster tail and filet..(this was an insult when the server placed this dish in front of us ) Waaay over priced, dried out and very small portion. As with all of our dinners. The fried shrimp was wet and tasteless. We ordered london broil and the portion was so small, we had to look for the meat under these god awful potato strings. We ordered a marguerita and had to send that back because it was very very sour. So all in all, this was just a terrible dining experience. After walking out paying over $125.00 (and still hungry) I would definitely not recommend this restaurant . more

My wife and I always enjoy going to SPLASH! because it is one of those places that are so hard to find . . . a friendly relaxed neighborhood place with first-class service, always fresh selection of the best seafood (and steaks) in town, a good wine list and bartenders who know how to make a perfect Martini. And the prices are reasonable. What more can you ask for?\r \r Well, maybe a bag of money. But until that happens visit here and enjoy!!! Pros: Relaxed atomsphere, excellent service, great seafood Cons: A/C set for Floridians, you women (and old duffers) may want to bring a sweater. more

After reading numerous reviews on this establishment, we decided to try Splash. We should have been instantly skeptical when a 5:30 pm reservation request on a Friday night accommodated 2 for 7:30 with no wait. The Tuna Tar tar appetizer was outstanding, but it was all down hill from there. The shrimp prosciutto appetizer was deep fried beyond recognition, followed by a 3 inch wide 1/4 inch thick piece of dry sea bass ($28.00) served with bland over cooked rice. The chefs special of beef stroganoff served on top of overcooked linguine in a thin watery mushroom sauce would have been better attempted had they just opened a store bought can. Had it not been for decent salads (adequate at best) we would have gone away hungry. All in all $ 150.00 (including tip) would have been better off spent elsewhere. Pros: ambiance, decor Cons: food, food, beverage more

I have been dining at Splash since they opened their doors, and return every chance I get. Good wine selection, great menu, excellent service and food is outstanding! My favorite is the sesame crusted pan seared tuna which they server with fresh wasabi and a soy reduction. Heaven! Steak oscar another favorite. A little pricey, but not outrageously so. One of the best house salads around. more

First visit...VERY noisy, despite reservations we were given a small table opposite the kitchen...Service was slow, (given water, no offer of ""beverage?"", then took waitperson a LONG time to return..We finally had to flag her down..food was just lukewarm, veggies overdone, entree a disappointment..Maybe we visited on an 'off' night, but I'm not sure we'll return.. Cons: very noisy, crowded more

We recently dined as an anniversary dinner. It was our first experience, and while we will go back, we will be careful. My husband ordered yellow tail snapper and what he recieved was probably snapper but NOT yellow tail. The food is good, service is excellent, but be wary of the exotic offerings on the menu- expecially if its a fish with a limited ""season"" like yellowtail. more

The Steak Oscar is to die for. Seafood is excellent. They have a tomato salad which is wonderful. My husband once tried the Meatloaf (hard to believe this type of restaurant would have this on the menu) but he could not quit raving about it. It can get a little pricy but worth it. The staff is very knowledgeable and personable. more

Great food, wonderful atmosphere, and fantastic service. The ever changing nightly specials and generous cocktails are definitely worth the short drive to Lutz. more

What a pleasure to have a restaraunt of this caliber just off North Dale Mabry. It is a hidden gem of impeccable food and service. Great place with great food and a service and bartending staff this is one of the best around. Daily menu specials are varied and when coupled with the regular menu gives many choices. As another reviewer wrote leave the kids at home for this one and just enjoy the experience with someone special. Reservations help more

I have been to Splash atleast 15 times in the past two years and I have never had a bad experience. The Seafood is consistently ""Superb"", The staff make you feel very comfortable throughout your dining experience and are very attentive to your needs. If you like a little spice - Try the Infused Bloody Mary - It's Wonderful... The salad is always fresh with a delicious house dressing and the rolls which I believe are flown in from Chicago are fabulous.. I highly recommend this Restaurant to all...except please leave the wonderful little children home with a babysitter... Pros: Great Food, Great Service, Fairly Priced more

This is more than a neigbhorhood restaurant. Our So. Tampa friends reluctantly come out as a courtesy, and leave committed to come back. It's worth the drive to one of the best restaurants in Tampa area. Pros: Food, Management attention, value more

The ""welcome home"" feeling is a major part of the experience that one with enounter on the 2nd and 3rd visits to Splash! Great food and great fun make dining at Splash an experience rather than just a meal out. Pros: Superb food, Great hospitality, Warm & friendly place more