Captain's Restaurant and Seafood Market

My wife and I drive past Captains Restaurant & Seafood every time we travel to the Florida Keys and we are native to South Florida We never stopped choosing to eat in Key Largo or Islamorada. After reading the reviews about the Macadamia nut Snapper and Stuffed grouper we decided it was time to try it out.
The bad fishy smell outside when we arrived was over powering however, it was only outside. Once inside we were greeted by a lovely hostess with a wonderful smile and happy disposition. She made us feel welcome even though getting an inside table required a wait of maybe 10 minutes.
The décor of the dining area was stuck in 1973. The atmosphere was lacking to say the least and it was not what we expected considering the prices they charge. The furniture belonged in a diner in central USA run by a guy named Johnny. You know the place with great coffee the locals love and the people working there love you. The people working at Captains Restaurant do the same. They were wonderful.
The food on the other hand was not. The Macadamia nut snapper had the texture of a boiled fish, it was not flaky, the snapper was soggy. The stuffed grouper with crab meat was stuffed with artificial crab meat so we ordered the everglades snapper. Reading the menu made it sound wonderful, it couldn’t miss. We are used to FRESH fish and even frozen once fish is acceptable. I do not know what they did to the snapper or if it really was snapper, but it was NOT good. Maybe it had been frozen a few times, I do not know why my meal was not good, however my sweet ice tea glass was empty only for a few seconds and the friendly service was very good.
But AS TO THE FOOD, WE WILL NEVER EAT THERE AGAIN, NEVER! The food was way too expensive for what we received. There are many nicer restaurants nearby that are 50% cheaper, taste better and are cleaner. My wife commented that the carpet in the dining area looked like it should have been replace years ago, it was caked with dirt, but the service was good.
When we received the bill, the tip was NOT included, but we tip 20% when the service is good. And again, we will never spend another penny there ever again. The local Ale house has better fish and Cracker barrel is around the corner and their fried catfish is half the cost of Captains Restaurant. Do the right thing for yourself and go somewhere else.