Texas Man Goes to Steakhouse for All-You-Can-Eat Dinner. Then They Only Give Him One Piece of Catfish for the Whole Hour. Then He Sees the Bill

Going to an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) spot is supposed to be a filling experience. But for one man, a restaurant called 5D Steakhouse that supposedly had unlimited catfish resulted in disappointment instead of satiety. 

Texas content creator Barry Matthews (@bearthevoice) went to one of the chain’s locations in Port O’Connor, Texas. While there, he decided to try an AYCE menu option. But according to him, he ended up only getting one portion of catfish the entire time he sat at his table. After that, he was charged $17.99 for the experience. 

As of this writing, Matthews’ review of 5D Steakhouse has more than 252,000 views. 

Matthews’ disappointing meal

Matthews told his audience he had been to 5D steakhouse before and didn’t like it. Despite this, he decided to give the restaurant a second chance and went with his wife on a Friday. That day, they happened to have the AYCE option for catfish available. 

Matthews went ahead and ordered the AYCE catfish, which was $17.99 When his first order of catfish came out, though, Matthews was sorely disappointed. 

“And all-you-can-eat catfish always comes out with three pieces, always, at most restaurants, at nearly every restaurant I’ve ever been to that had an all-you-can-eat,” Matthews said. “But this one came out with one piece of fish. And I asked that server, and I said, ‘Would you please put in an order right now for three more filets of catfish, because it’s an all-you-can-eat.’”

The server did not bring Matthews three additional filets of catfish. After an hour of waiting, Matthews said he had only been served a single filet of fish. Because he never received additional catfish, he asked his server to only charge him for one filet. But the server went ahead and charged him full price. 

“ I’ve got the [expletive] money. I’ll just never go back to those son of a [expletive], and I hope y’all don’t either,” he said. 

By definition, AYCE restaurants allow customers to have “unlimited” food for a fixed price, but across the United States, some restaurants don’t offer truly “unlimited” offerings. Some set strict time limits, while others only allow customers to order one small plate of food at a time. It’s unclear why 5D Steakhouse did not bring Matthews additional filets upon request. 

@bearthevoice3 @5D Steakhouse POC #restaurant #review #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – BearTheVoice3 (Barry Mathews)

Viewers recommend other restaurants in the area

Across the board, viewers said they had similar experiences with 5D. Most of Matthews’ commenters said they disliked the Port O’Connor location specifically. They also said that there were better restaurants in the area. Matthews himself recommended  Cathy’s and Hurricane Junction, which are both located in Port O’Connor. 

“Well almost every single 5D steakhouse is… absolute trash. Only one that’s worth a [expletive] is in Carizzo Springs,” one commenter said. 

Another commenter added, “That place sucks!”

A third commenter even said they got sick after visiting 5D: “Oh my God I got so sick there from raw shrimp tacos. It was the worst two days of my life.”

As of this writing, the Port O’Connor location has 3.7 out of 5 stars on Restaurantji and 2.9 out of 5 stars on Yelp. Customers noted that the prices for the restaurant are “steep” compared to its offerings. 

The Mary Sue reached out to Matthews via TikTok direct message and 5D Steakhouse via email for more information.

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