Floridian Florida

Review of Rusty Pelican

My wife and I had family in from out of town, and ...

My wife and I had family in from out of town, and wanted to take them somewhere nice.
We had visited the Rusty Pelican a year ago and were very happy with everything, so we took them there Christmas Eve or a nice dinner and drinks.
It was pretty bad!
Started in the bar area 1st to watch the sunset on the Miami skyline, every drink took 10+ minuets to get and 2 of 5 were wrong. (Only two other couples in the area, so they were not busy) The waitress was clueless for a bar area, we had to repeat everything several times and point to what we wanted on the drink menu before she maybe got a clue.
Then we went to dinner and the waiter could not have been less concerned for our dining experience. Several quick, abrupt responses to any questions. An example of many would be: When I asked about a steak special they had, he ignored any feedback and quickly asked "how do you want that cooked" and then turned and walked away. Drinks were empty, and I still wanted to include a few appetizers for the table, I had to go chase him down to complete my order, and ask for drinks. The service was equally as bad thru the entire meal.
We skipped deserts after we asked to see the desert menus and he dropped 5 menus on the corner of our table and walked away.
Not the service I expect for a $450. dining experience (5 people and no desert)
That also includes a (as they call it) "small" 18% gratuity which I think they added before tax was calculated.