Bar Rescue - Sydney an Australian Beach Club (Blue Water Daiquiri and Oyster Bar) Update

Photo - Facebook

On this week's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Jacksonville Beach, Florida to rescue Blue Water Daiquiri and Oyster Bar. Blue Water Daiquiri and Oyster Bar is owned by a Chinese immigrant who must battle his emotional manager to save his dream beach bar.  Jon Taffer gets Lil Jon to help out during recon and they find that some of the daiquiri machines don't work at the bar.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided change the name of Blue Water Daiquiri and Oyster Bar to Sydney an Australian Beach Club and the bar has kept the name.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Sydney an Australian Beach Club since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):

Positive Reviews:

• "I was surprised by the score when I looked this up on yelp. We came here only because it was Monday and everything else was closed. The food was AMAZING!"
• "This is a great place with good food. I tried fried pickles for the first time here. It sounded nutz but tasted great."
• "We also tried their signature cocktail called Shark Attack which was really refreshing and tasty. Service was great and attentive. The ambiance was great and background music was very nice. Definitely need to take a picture with the shark the photo booth. We will definitely be back and bring more friends with me."

Negative Reviews:

• "The staff were friendly and customized my quesadilla to be vegetarian friendly. Taffer and co. did not think to add anything vegetarian. I got super buzzed from my daiquiri. I might be a light weight or this has more alcohol content than your average daiquiri. The upstairs was closed off so I did not get a good look. This place seems more for tourists or first time visits than a regular hangout."
• "Horrible service. Bar tender charged us for our drinks and the person who ordered next to us, and rather than fixing it, said the next round was on them (she didn't even provide the second receipt, so I didn't even know how much that was until I looked at my account). When I ordered the next round and explained the situation to the bar tender (a different one), she scoffed at me, poured barely half a cup of mixer in my cup and was exceptionally rude about the whole situation. I understand working a busy bar sucks, but if you mess up don't blame it on your customers. This was our first time visiting and we will not be returning."
• "This place could be so awesome especially the upstairs. They recently went through bar rescue and same old same old. Rude staff, watered down drinks and just dark Inside. Besides the downstairs and outside and new name not sure what changed. Great location and want to support the local places so gave it a try. Better options in Jax Beach. Wish them luck."
• "No. No. No. On so many levels, no. The food was fair and that's being generous. We each had the shrimp basket and they were mediocre at best. The frozen shrimp were battered and fried and they could have used a few more minutes in the fryer. We politely sent the cold fries back for hot fries. Thank goodness for the draft beer! We suffered through lunch only to be greeted by a freaking HUGE roach in the bathroom. We will not be back. Ever."
• "I ate at Sydney yesterday for the first time after finding a groupon offering $20 of food and drinks for $10. Looking back, I wouldn't have paid $5 for this. The service, food and drink I had were quite literally the worst I have ever experienced....Meanwhile, the bartender is eating crab legs AT THE BAR! I couldn't believe the two employees' total disregard for my experience there. Not only will I never set foot in this place again, I will share my experience with my friends to make sure they don't make the same mistake as me. This place is an embarrassment and I would be amazed if they last till the winter. What a joke."
• "Poor service and allow cigar smoking that ran everyone out of upstairs. Manager no help when asked. Person was at the door blowing the smoke back in the building. I live at the beach and they have lost me as a return customer. "
• "Mascara on a monkey!!!Bar Rescue my arse less than 20 people in the place and still couldn't get our server to pop a top on a bloody beer. Instead she was more interested in making sugar water drinks for her friends"
• "We came in a few weeks after bar rescue was there. There doesnt appear to be much done besides some paint. The specialty drinks they have are only downstairs, the upstairs bar says they cant make them but have a full bar, weird huh? We had the kiwi drink and the shark attack. The kiwi one was nice, the shark attack was so sweet and didnt taste like it had any pineapple it was just a ton of blue curaco."

*Reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor

Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue makeover happened in January of 2018. (Link)
• Here are two preview videos of the episode from the Paramount YouTube page - Video 1, Video 2
• Here is the Sydney an Australian Beach Club Facebook page.
• The bar is hosting a viewing party for the episode tonight. (Link)
• A few weeks after the Bar Rescue makeover, Sydney put out an ad that they were hiring all positions. (Link)
• Here is a Blue Water Daiquiri website, but it doesn't appear there is a new website for Sydney.
• Here are more reviews of Sydney an Australian Beach Club on Yelp if you are interested (3 out of 5 star average).  
• The reviews for Blue Water Daiquiri were average before the makeover with a 3 out of 5 star average (59 reviews). (Link)
• Here is Bridgette's Facebook page and she is still a bartender at the bar. (Link)
• The bar has an upstairs and downstairs, but Bar Rescue only renovated the downstairs portion.

Conclusion:

Blue Water Daiquiri and Oyster Bar was renamed to Sydney an Australian Beach Club by Bar Rescue and the bar has kept the name.  The bar is heavy on the shark theme and has a signature drink called the shark attack.  The reviews for the bar weren't too good before the Bar Rescue makeover and Sydney an Australian Beach Club's reviews aren't much better.  Most of the reviews are negative and complain about bad service, rude staff and bad food.  Perhaps the fact that the bar is in a tourist location and has appeared on Bar Rescue will help it survive.  As stated above, Bridgette the bartender that was fired on the episode was rehired.

UPDATE - A restaurant inspection in October 2018 found mold on food, live rodents and rodent droppings in multiple places. Here is a link to the detailed report.

UPDATE - Sydney an Australian Beach Club has closed - More details on the closure.


*To see how all of the bars from Bar Rescue are doing, go to the Bar Rescue Updates page, and also Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter to stay up to date with all things involving Bar Rescue.