Restaurant Impossible - Bryant's Seafood Update

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Hueytown, Alabama to makeover Bryant's Seafood World. The owner Gail bought the restaurant about four years and was hoping to continue Bryant's 30-year tradition.  When Robert arrives, he sees she has done nothing to make the restaurant her own, and he will need to turn this "neglected restaurant" and "passionless owner" around.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Bryant's Seafood to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant Impossible):



Positive Reviews:

• "I had been to Bryant's years ago for their seafood buffet and WOW! what a treat to go back after Restaurant Impossible had transformed it! The decor was pleasing, the staff very attentive, and the food was fabulous!..Even though it is a very small neighborhood restaurant we didn't have to wait long and got to feast on the wonderful fresh hush puppies while we waited! Can't wait to go back!"
• "The fried Tilapia was delicious along with Alabama fish fry. The fried pickles were thick cut and hot from the frier. Couldn't stop popping the hush puppies. Can't wait to try more next time."
• "Ok, last week the TV show "Restaurant Impossible" was in town to try to rescue this local landmark. Let me say right off the bat that my experience at lunch today was NOTHING like my last. The smell of scorched grease is gone gone gone.  The new decor is bright, comfortable and inviting. It was a much needed update. The staff has obviously been trained well...The new menu is appropriately narrowed down, but offers a good variety of interesting choices.  And, as always for me, the food has to be the star. And in this area I can say that my lunch was excellent. The fried shrimp were beautiful to see, seasoned perfectly and not at all overdone. The hushpuppies are light and have good flavor and texture. I am looking forward to trying out more of their offerings."
• "Went in there last Friday to eat looked great inside looked lot better than before food was great hush puppies were like old Bryant's they weren't greasy"

Negative Reviews:

• "First of all I remember Bryant's seafood years ago and the seafood was fresh and very good...Fast forward to today, they have changed owners and kept the same name....Service was quick with the food. But.... the food tasted like it came out of a groceries stores freezers case and it was not fresh at all...For where this restaurant is it had the wrong atmosphere for the area. Don't get me wrong this restaurant was nice but out of character for the area. I will not be going back, my stomach can't handle that terrible food again."
• "$50 for lunch really???????I will never go back. My wife's order of Greek shrimp was drowned in salt and she sent it back and asked if she could just have the fried house shrimp. The waitress brought out the replacement food and said, "at least you will know what to order next time". Let me tell you that there will never be a next time"
• "Now this is the new makeover Bryant's and when I got there I was impressed how nice it looked inside., new booths new floor, decorated nice but then the menu came...Very disappointed. Loved the old place a few years ago. Guess it's new owners, but afraid they will not make it much longer the way it is now. Too expensive, for what you get."

Other News and Links:

• Here is the Bryant's Seafood Facebook page, which is not kept up to date, and there is only 1 post.
• Here is the Bryant's Seafood website, and the menu, which is kind of confusing.  I am not sure if the first page is the items from the old menu and the second page is the newer items, but there are 2 sections for appetizers and salads.  Here is the old menu which is MUCH larger.
• Robert Irvine posted a picture on Twitter of the filthy carpet at the restaurant during the makeover and said something along the lines of "If you saw this carpet, would you eat here?"  He later removed that tweet, but not sure why.
• A quote from a local article says the carpet has not been changed in 25 years and that the booths are torn.  Everyone also agreed that the restaurant was in need of some T.L.C.
• Bryant's currently has a Groupon deal which is $10 for $20 worth of food.
• Here are the reports for 2 restaurant inspections for Bryant's, one in 2011 and another in 2012, which they received a score of 90 and a 92.
• David Bryant was the former owner of Bryant's Seafood, and is going to be involved in a new seafood restaurant in the area.  He seems to have a great reputation as a chef and restaurateur judging by this article and comments.  The location of the new restaurant is only 10 miles from Bryant's.  So he will be competing with a restaurant that still uses his name.

Conclusion:

There were not too many reviews for Bryant's Seafood, but the few out there were mixed.  People are obviously happy to see the carpet removed and the new decor in the restaurant.  They also continue to be fans of the hush puppies at the restaurant.  The negative reviews cite the restaurant having overpriced food that isn't that great.

It looks from the description of the episode tonight, it will focus on the filth of the restaurant along with the owner making the restaurant her own.  It seems this could have been another opportunity for a name change, as there are no 'Bryant's' involved in the restaurant.  In fact, David Bryant is about to become a direct competitor to this restaurant.  Only time will tell if there is room for two seafood restaurants in Hueytown/Bessemer, Alabama.

UPDATE - Bryant's closed sometime in late 2015 and the phone number associated with the restaurant is no longer in service.

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