"Big Disappointment We have been looking for a good seafood restaurant since moving to Franklin County from Little River, SC a few months ago. Discovered Off the Hook online and could not wait to give it a try. WOW! What a letdown! We approached the dinner with a lot of hope, expectation and really wanted it to be good. With every dish we tried hard to convince ourselves that it was at least OK, but it just went from bad to worse. The Hushpuppies are those skinny little doughnut kind. Not so bad, and we could have accepted them if the rest of the meal was good which it wasn't. Next up was the Clam Chowder and Brunswick Stew. The Chowder did have a good amount of Clam bits, but it was not close to being a chowder. It was thin and weak and tasted odd. The Brunswick Stew was as bad as any I have ever had. I was also thin, but it did have a lot of flavor unfortunately, the overpowering flavor was just plain weird no other way to describe it. There was one item that we really liked the fried Oysters. These were tender and juicy on the inside, tasted great, and had that wonderful Calabash style breading. A definite winner. But then came the Deviled Crab. If it were not served in the crab shell, I would have thought that I was eating turkey stuffing. It was mealy and pasty with little or no crab flavor. The Potato Salad was unremarkable potatoes with a little mayo and virtually no seasonings or anything else to bring it to life. We finished our meal with a slice of Key Lime Pie another disappointment. The pie filing was OK, but the topping (not sure exactly what it was) was gooey and sticky. I tried to figure out why the food was so underwhelming. The only thing I can come up with is that it must all come directly out of a can or freezer (with no additions or embellishments by the cooks). It was all so very institutional. The dining area is roomy and comfortable and the staff friendly and helpful; but, the food is not good. We truly wish it were better, but we won't be back."
