tybee island social club

good food, substandard service. we were disappointed with our dining experience at tybee island social club, and i cannot in good faith recommend this restaurant. if you are interested in dining at the tybee island social club, take the time to read reviews before deciding to dine there.

we arrived at the restaurant just before 8:00 pm on tuesday may 28, 2013. our group consisted of six adults, three hungry children, and two babies. our group had over 67 years of restaurant/ food service experience, and we were looking forward to a great meal.

our drinks wereorderedand arrived promptly. at that time, weorderedboth appetizers and meals. for our appetizers, we requested hummus and chips and salsa. we began to suspect we would have problems when the appetizers took 25 minutes to arrive. we enjoyed both appetizers, but had to reorder chips and pita to keep the hungry kids calm.

our table did not order anything difficult to prepare, just tacos and hamburgers. however, the delay in getting it to us was unacceptably long. we had one false start when a different table’s food was delivered to our table. our food, at least most of it, finally arrived around 9:15 pm. however, one member of our party did not receive their meal until 9:45 pm. it went straight into a “to go” box, and we paid the bill. we were leaving for the parking lot at 10:00 pm.

as people who have made careers of serving food, we can understand having problems and service failures. things do not always go smoothly. the difference between a “great” restaurant and a mediocre to poor one is how a staff recovers when there are problems.

this staff at the tybee island social club failed to communicate. our server did not keep us apprised of the delay in service or the reason things were slow. we were not sure if she was hiding from us or spending more time at her other tables. in either case, she was absent. even with one meal being served after everyone else was finished, the management of the restaurant did not stop by to apologize for the service. they did not offer a drink, dessert, or discount for the bad service. in fact, we were charged the full amount plus an already included 15% gratuity. this full amount included being charged two dollars for the extra chips and pita bread to keep the kids satisfied as they waited 1:15 for their meals. it also included the price of the meal that ended up in the “to go” box as we were leaving.

in the interest of full disclosure, i did stop to ask the bartender what had happened this evening. he stated that someone had quit today, three large groups were being served at the same time, and the kitchen is slow. however, we counted less than 20 people in the restaurant when we arrived.

in fairness, we enjoyed the hamburgers. the tacos were excellent. we especially enjoyed the pork and the tuna taco. the two salsas with the chips were tasty. however, i could not in good conscience recommend the tybee island social club due to the pattern on slow service, the staff’s inability to timely acknowledge that there is a problem, and the staff’s inability to compensate or correct the problem in the restaurant at the time of service. if you take the time to read more reviews, you will see a pattern of complaints being addressed online after the fact instead of in the restaurant at the time of the service failure.

great food, service killed the experience. we stopped in this past saturday to catch a quick bite and cocktail before hitting the beach. usually the place is a good little stop for us locals. there was no crowd, there was maybe three other tables in the place. unfortunatlly this time the server seemed to be having a hangover or some form of mental inebriation issue ( if she was sick then she shouldnt have been there, but it didn't seem like any illness) because we had to explain our order of the pork and chicken tender tacos w string fries twice. we alsoordereda tecate and a margarita and two waters. once we got thru the ordering process ( whew ) we waited for our food. our server tried to give our food to someone at the bar not remembering it was ours (minus the fries which showed up later after we had to remind server we alsoorderedfries) . brought it over and we then proceeded to remind her we did not get our drinks yet ( its been 20 minutes) server/bartender (not sure which one she was) made the drinks and left them on the bar while a new server took over and brought us our fries. after we finished our lunch, the original server was asked by the manager (i assume) whoses drinks these on the bar were. she couldn't remember ( we said nothing since at this point we were done eating and waiting for our check so we could leave and grab a cocktail elsewhere. i would say the food is great, but being a former bartender/ server, i had to break my rule of always tipping at least 15%. had i known the other server would have recieved the whole tip, we would have been more generous.

love this local hangout. beach vibe with live music on the weekends. people can be seen with t-shirts and shorts over bathing suits as well as cute summer outfits. casual, but quaint. the waitstaff is very knowledgeable about the many gluten free options; friendly and attentive. ask for jessie and he will definitely take care of you.

sorry there is no photo of the guacamole... we devoured it before realizing we completely forgot to take a pic! it was outstanding with the corn chips and side of green tomato salsa.

you must try the steak taco! it was so great weordereda second helping! the okra and red onion were pan fried perfectly before being added to the corn tortillas where the steak bites were waiting on top of a mild yet yummy sauce with feta cheese. top it off with homemade potato chips thick cut and you're all set for a fabulous lunch. a must try place.

mixed review but overall positive. had a fantastic seven day holiday on tybee island. sunday afternoon, i went by myself to social club to have a quick lunch, and was pleased to see a very good live blue grass music band. iorderedthe farmer's platter which consisted of humus, cheese, carrots, cucumber and warm pita. delicious! and a refreshing departure from the regular deep fried, wrap and burger fare that is available on the island. the bill came to approximately ten dollars (including club soda.) i had a great time and was excited about bringing my husband back for dinner. the evening ambiance is as inviting and comfortable as the afternoon, with low lighting in a fresh cottage atmosphere. weorderedthe blue crab stew, which was beyond excellent, a steak taco salad and blackened fish taco. the service was spotty, our waitress was very sweet, but didn't seem to know what was offered on the drinks and food menus, and was slow to bring us our drinks. i heard about "tybee time" while we were down there, and appreciate that this is a laid-back island lifestyle, but bringing drinks promptly is a necessity anywhere - i don't care what time it is. the very small taco salad had no tacos in it, instead the tacos were piled on my plate beside a very small fish taco, which was nice enough, but two bites and it was gone. when i asked the waitress if the fried tacos shouldn't have been in the salad, she basically shrugged. the bill, including four bottles of beer, was about $37. a bit pricey for a rather small amount of food. i really want this place to succeed and become a fixture in tybee island, which needs a restaurant that serves simple, healthy meals at a reasonable price. people are here on holiday, already spending a fair amount of money on accommodation, and we can't afford the fine dining prices that the social club is verging on, especially if the portions are tapas sized. also, the wait staff needs more fine tuning - know the menu, and make sure the customer gets what they order, improve communication with the kitchen and bar. there are some bugs to be worked out, but this place is a diamond in the rough and is worth the effort. but by all means, keep that crab stew on the menu!

run away. we arrived on a crowded sunday evening. there were only 2 waitresses on duty. we asked for arnold palmers and we're told they were out of lemonade. no big deal we'll have unsweetened tea. when the tea came we had to ask for lemon to put in it. we had to ask for napkins. we had to ask for silverware. my husband finished his soup. i had to ask for my salad again. i received it in time for my husband to watch me eat. they brought the entree after i had two bites. iorderedcaribbean jerk chicken. there was nothing jerk about it (scotch bonnets, allspice and thyme), not even salt was in it. i had to ask for salt. the only thing caribbean about the fish was the curry. it tasted like they dumped the whole bottle of curry in the dish. the lemon infused rice was plain rice with a couple of lemon wedges. to top of the evening, they allowed someone to buy a beer and smoke a cigarette and blow his smoke towards us. nummy!

great location - excellent food - neat vibe. we stumbled upon this place on a sunny day trip to tybee. the seating was unique boho chic feel both indoor and outdoors. there was also live entertainment for brunch! nice breezy flowing through the porch.orderedlocal savannah brewed beers and amazing tacos! i had the fish tacos and they were spot on. very unique flavors that blended together perfectly. who would have thought you could put fish, chorizo sausage, bacon, and pear puree in a taco and the flavors be so perfect. we also enjoyed the steak tacos; the sauce they created for the taco was absolutely amazing.

we will definitely be back!

loved it! great food- iorderedthe zissou ahi tuna taco which was outstanding and the blood orange sangria. the place could use a little rehab admittedly.. but overall it was cute. we sat on the porch and could hear the live music from inside. overall would certainly go back! so many other things i wanted to try on the menu.

man. i had high hopes for this place. the location is super, the menu was filled with interesting dishes, the decor was adorable, quirky, and hip. our server was very attentive and sweet. and that's all the positives i can say sadly. iorderedthe bloody mary with bacon, olives, and steak seasoning on the rim. it was way, way too salty. i couldn't finish my drink. the kids meals were blue box macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders that looked like they came from the frozen food section at a supermarket. i had the shrimp and grits. the grits were cooked well but super rich and was swimming in grease. yuck. my sisterorderedthe tuna tacos. she could hardly finish them because they were so heavily saturated with mayo. my husbandorderedthe chorizo burger and loved it. i wish i had followed his lead. the sweet patatas were chewy and not crispy at all. overall, i was disappointed. great potential, but just fell flat.

delicious food, awful service. the tacos, burgers, and queso dip is incredible. work ethic of the staff sucks. take #1- online, their site says the kitchen closes at 10pm. i got there at 9:24pm, and they said the kitchen was closed. lazy bums. take #2- iorderedthe shrimp taco, listed as $5.00, and my bill said it was $7.25. i told the waitress, and she smiled and said, "sorry! but the menu says prices are 'subject to change!' " and then when i gave her money to pay, she kept my 67 cents change (but i left her tip on the table)

they hire bums. cute ones, though

a lot of potential, but disappointing. we visited tybee this past weekend with 2 other couples and their children. we chose the social club based on the great reviews.

we were very disappointed.

we arrived and there were no high chairs for the children, so immediately the kids started breaking down. weorderedthe guacamole to begin our meal and it was extremely bland.

the manager came over andorderedthe crab nachos on the house, and were thankful, but later realized she was trying to hold us over because the food took forever to arrive. we waited over an hour for our food and when it came out, most of us were disappointed. the fish tacos were sitting in grease. the steak taco was delicious, though.

we didn't have a chance to even complain about the wait time because the children were so tried by the end we just wanted to get out of there.

some of the food was good, so we might try it again, but really hope for better service next time!

delightful experience. 3 of us drove from savannah tonight and had a wonderful meal.
we allorderedfish tacos and each of us alsoorderedanother selection, steak, orange pork and short rib. everything was flavorful.
the staff was helpful and fun. we will be back soon