Amy E.
Yelp
I have to start off my review by being honest:
The day I went to The Mucky Duck, it was one of the Sundays in August where the toll to get over the bridge was paid for, courtesy Lee County. The Lee County Board of Commissioners / Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau wanted to have a program in place for six weeks (August 6 to September 10, 2023), where each Sunday would be the day people could cross the Causeway in order to help locals build the community back up from the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian in the end of September, 2022. They called it "Savor the Shore".
Three stars but hovering on 4, as this was the first time in for me.
It was a long and winding trip of an interesting treat to get to the restaurant. I was told that people completely rave about this place and you are so lucky if you can get in, get fed and get out, as it gets packed from the jump. To think that remark was true even before Ian graced Southwest Florida. Seeing it now makes it even more so!
I had gone with one other person, and we had planned the trip accordingly - we were going to get to The Mucky Duck before it opened so we could get a parking spot and get in line. Sure enough, by 11:15am, the lot was starting to get full. It was to the point a staff member was telling people where and how to park. I have to say, the guy was nice and didn't make a scene with anyone. He kept people moving and was polite enough to tell us that we needed to move up just another foot in our spot because we were a little too far into the turning lane for people to get by. Once we got it sorted, we got out of the car and got in line.
About tenth in line we were, at this point in the morning. The restaurant opens promptly at 11:30, so expect quite the few people in front of you, if you think you can swing in at 11:25 and get first seating (good luck if you try to show up right at opening).
By the time the doors were unlocked and the lunch bell rang, the amount of people waiting to get in was long. A few parties were hanging out at the outside tables, as you had a choice to eat a la sand or a la air conditioning. It being about 100° with humidity, my choice was "inside, please".
If the Mucky Duck parking lot is tiny, then the inside is just as big. I think there were two dozen tables, maybe a little more, but nothing outrageous. There were more humans waiting for a table (both inside and out) than there may have been seating. Which I think speaks volumes for what this place is capable of. Like I said, people rave about it and if you don't get in and get a seat, you aren't going to get a meal.
From the word go, the wait staff scurried around like the packed house is nothing out of the ordinary. Beverage orders were made, jokes were laughed at (thanks to our waiter, Chris, for pretending to spray ketchup on all of his patrons) and no one felt rushed to order / shovel their food in their mouth. Leave the bucket and trowel for the ocean view while sitting at a picnic table outside if you want to play with anything.
How was the food, you might ask? The person I was with ordered a water and fried shrimp ("platter" of sorts - came with fries and coleslaw) while I ordered water and fish and chips (comes with fries and coleslaw). The waters were cold and the shrimp was crisp. By no means were the crustaceans tiny like their namesake. Each piece looked like they were on a healthy workout diet, built up with no additives, just living the breaded salty life dream. The fries were shoestring and the coleslaw was.. well... coleslaw - not overly mayonaissed but not under impressed. The fish wasn't overly battered but it was slightly difficult to cut into each of the three (good sized) pieces, as the meal gets served in a plastic basket with wax paper between the food and the basket. It almost felt like previously frozen battered fish (grocery store level), but the actual pieces of cod tasted better than it looked (they were flaky and warm). I would probably order it again to give it another chance. I like fish n chips, so maybe it was all the wall art distracting me from properly enjoying this fresh meal in front of my face.
I'm sure the lines get slow in mid day, but by the time I left (around 12:45), the line of cars were still coming down the road pretty heavily and people were trying to get a space to park. I'd love to say I'd be back to try again, so maybe it's not as crowded during the week. I'd have to try then, and see where the menu might take me.
