Island Grille

What a nice find during our first visit to Atlantic Beach. Reservations are a must since it is a small venue and it was packed during our meal. The BOGO free on the house specials was a phenomenal bargain and the food was superb (pan seared mahi and shrimp/​scallops linguine). Definitely recommend this great little restaurant.

Food was great as was the service. A little pricey, but perfect for our anniversary celebration. Strawberry tiramisu for dessert was a great end!

Best crab cakes ever!!! I had them Wednesday and Friday night. (Had to come back for round 2)… my hubby and I also had the mussel and crab dip appetizers during our two visits… both were delicious. He had the steak the first time and the blackened mahi– mahi special the second night we ate there, also delicious.(Of course I tasted his… had to make sure nothing was poisoned). No other restaurant came close to the quality and taste. We had to cut our trip short but we will be back and the island grille will be our first stop for dining!!! The staff was great and Crystal was a delight! this place!

Wonderful meal. I had a nightly special-​tuna. The flavors were great. My husband had shrimp and grits and loved the dish.
The restaurant is very small and our table for two put me in the way of the servers, but that is part of its charm.

Dinner tonight was excellent. Both of us had the filet done exactly as ordered. Do recommend reading other reviews; go on Monday or Tuesday when 4 specials are half price; make a reservation-​all tables full by 6 pm. Oh the strawberry cobbler desert was great.

My wife had the shrimp and scallops with Gouda grits and loved it! I was skeptical of «The best crab cakes» as everyone claims to have them. I decided to get it as an appetizer so if they were not «the best», I wasn’t stuck with it for my meal. They ranked up there with «The best» in my opinion. Will order them as my entrée when I return this evening. I had the special which was tuna with artichoke salad, garlic mashers and sautéed asparagus and it surely did not disappoint. We split the chocolate dessert and each had a chocolate martini. Very well worth the visit. Great food that I would highly recommend. So much so that we are going again for dinner tonight!

Another fabulous brunch. Great Bloody Mary but only after noon. What a silly law. Great eggs Benedict. Wonderful shrimp and Gouda grits with spinach and bacon. Terrific surf and turf Benedict and all followed with their fabulous key lime pie with strawberry caviar. Delicious. Terrific server as well but they always are. Beautiful day at the beach.

Very delicious Sunday brunch. Great menu with many sophisticated and tasty choices. Super friendly staff. Very glad we found this place on our vacation.

Everything was awesome! I thought it may be a TARDIS and bigger on the inside because the outside looks so small. LOL

A MUST GO FOR ADULTS! We Loved this place. Small and cozy-​Make Reservations!!! Best lump crab cake! Service was excellent. Mon/​Tue the had BOGO– great deal.

We really enjoyed this meal. The place is tiny I suggest you make a reservation during the busy season at the beach.
Like the others I’ve reviewed this week the food was good and the server gracious and attentive. I thought it was funny that the hostess asked if we had reservations because there were only 3 groups of diners in the restaurant. We were seated right away despite not having reservations and our food came out quickly.
My husband had the Fresh Catch Tuna with «macerated strawberries and a chive infused olive oil for the topping» Thanks Island Grill for that description on from Facebook Messenger.
They lost a little bit of a star because the Tuna lacked seasoning even though the topping was awesome. A seafood restaurant has to get the seafood right every time in my opinion.
I had the Shrimp and Scallop grits-​Sea scallops and tiger shrimp sauteed with cremini mushrooms, baby spinach and smoky bacon over Gouda grits. To some it might seem like a small portion but to me it was exactly right leaving enough room for dessert. It was the perfect shrimp and grits. I have had Shrimp and Grits in every state I have visited with a coast and this one ranked right up there with the best. The addition of scallops and cremini mushrooms is spot on!
We usually share a dessert but the hubby does not like Key Lime Pie and I just had to try it. It was delicious with just the right combination of sweet, tart, creaminess and a perfectly buttery graham cracker crust. If you’re a fan of this pie I defy you not to like it!
My husband had something chocolate but to be honest I was so enjoying the Keylime Pie I didn’t get the name. I did taste it and it was good to. Moist, chocolatey and melted in your mouth.
.

I really struggled with how many stars to give this review so I am going to break it in to two categories so you understand how I landed on three stars,
Lets start with the bad and end on the good. The service. One and a half to two stars.
I had heard rave reviews about Island Grille from my family who all discovered it last year after I had left the beach and was very excited. The restaurant is very small so a reservation is absolutely needed. That being said, when I have a reservation I expect to be seated around that time. We arrived and our table wasn’t ready so we went to the bar for a drink. It felt like the seating hostess had forgotten about us. We watch five parties who all arrived after us be seated before we were all the while our table was completely clear, un-​bussed behind us. 25 minutes after our reservation I asked a waitress when we would be seated and she more or less brushed me off and let me know when the table was clear we would be seated but did nothing to help or speed the process. From there it didn’t get too much better. The hostess also filled our water glasses and never acknowledged my «thank you» each time she did. Our waitress disappeared for long periods of time when I wanted another drink. All in all the whole meal took over 2 hours which is much longer than my average meal, but hey, at least I was on vaca.
Let’s end on a high note. The food. Four stars!
The food was absolutely delicious! For apps we had crab dip (yum!) and meatballs (good but over priced) and bread. For my meal I ordered crab cakes which were filled with big chunks of lump crab and curry remoulade sauce. I added a veggie, the grits and they were good but a little watery. The veggies looked like a better choice. It wasn’t a huge entrée but with the apps it was sufficient. Lastly we finished with dessert, the key lime pie and chocolate lava cake! The only thing I would recommend would be to add some fun cocktails and create a bar menu!
Overall, I could or couldn’t go back and feel like I wasn’t missing out. It is quite pricey so don’t think because of the outdoor appearance that is will be a cheap meal!

Eat here. Just do it. High quality ingredients combined creative recipes leave you wanting more! The lamb-​burger was to die for. Reservations may be a good idea.

The Island Grille is a gem, but it has one major flaw. The restaurant is too small. That makes it too loud to enjoy a conversation. All that aside, the food is fantastic. The crab cakes were incredible, both filled with lump meat. My husband loves the grouper. The BOGO sale on Monday-​Tuesday is nice. Make sure you have a reservation, though. We didn’t know we needed one, but we lucked out and got a coveted table. The waitstaff is phenomenal. I’d strongly recommend The Island Grille!

We visited Island Grille on a Saturday night and the place was very busy. I am very happy for the restaurant as a quick ride around Atlantic Beach showed a town that unfortunately appears to be struggling to find its footing with tourists post-​recession. Maybe that is why the reviews of Island Grille are so positive? There just isn’t much competition here for a decent higher-​end meal? In any case, I was less impressed than many of my fellow reviewers.
Let’s start with the size. Island Grille is small, like tiny house small. It felt almost claustrophobic to me and it was difficult to even reach the restroom from our table. We had a reservation for 8:15pm and waited outside at the one bench since the bar was full. Not a problem and we were seated about ten minutes after our reservation time.
We ordered the crab dip ($ 12) as a starter for our party of four and while we waited for that, our server brought out some bread and dipping oil. Here in lies my first of several issues. The bread was not of good quality nor was the dipping oil; an unseasoned and separated mix of flavorless olive oil and astringent balsamic in a white plastic ramekin. The bread was essentially slices of cold white processed bread. Color me beyond unimpressed especially at this price point. When we finally got our dip (our server forgot to place the order at first), it came piping hot but with no discernible evidence of crab. It didn’t even taste like crab! And it was served with more of this bread, at least this time toasted.
Our entrees were all very good. Several of us got steaks and agreed the steaks were flavorful and well-​cooked. I went with a clam and fish linguini that was in a Moroccan sort of broth; heavy on cumin and hints of cinnamon. We all agreed, again at this cost (entrees mostly between $ 20 – 35), this didn’t feel like a value. At least it would have been nice for the entrees to come with a simple side salad. We also got their Atlantic Beach lemon pie to go and it was delicious. I put some chopped basil on it (posted a pic) and while that took it away from the traditional, it really complimented the pie well. I’d recommend this dessert as a local specialty done well.
So, for me, Island Grille had some hits and misses but ultimately the lack of quality ingredients, some service missteps (including a restroom with no toilet paper) and a crowded interior with no water views kept me from giving more stars.

Fresh and local sourced seafood
Quaint, small restaurant just down the street from the circle. Locally sourced seafood gives everything on the menu a fresh to table taste that cant be beat. The servers are very knowledgeable about the fresh choices on the menu. The seating is limited, reservations are suggested, but you can eat at the bar. Nice craft bear selection as well as a deep wine menu offer the dinner numerous diversions.
The crab cakes were some of the best we have sampled along the crystal coast.

A crystal coast fave. Interesting specials. Good beer selection. Excellent lobster bisque. Great scallops! Can’t go wrong here…

First time at Island Grille for a birthday celebration. We went on a Tuesday and took advantage of the BOGO entrée special.
Food: The food was remarkable. One of the best steaks I’ve ever had. The filet was cooked perfectly medium rare and the presentation was great. Portions leave you full without being stuffed. We didn’t need takeout boxes.
Service: Service was spectacular. Waitress was attentive, offered recommendations, and knew the menu very well. She was also great about keeping drinks full without being disruptive.
Location: The other reviews are correct. This is a tiny place and you’ll end up hearing other conversations as you eat. It can be interesting to listen, and I found the ambient noise to be acceptable. This isn’t a place that takes itself too seriously. When we went, it was full of locals, and everyone was very friendly. Great experience!

Not been here in 4 years. Food better than I remember. By myself and had 2 appetizers, both really incredible… a word not used loosely.
The Spring beef tartare was a really different take on steak tatare, but wonderful. A filet was used to roll spices, and it was served on a bed of mixed dressed greens that was heavenly. Simple and well done.
Other app was the crab cake with honey-​mustard remoulade. Crab cake really good, remoulade left me licking the plate. …really.
Here for a week, I’ll be back again.

We stumbled into Island Grille quite by accident. We had thought we would go to Tight Lines, but they were closed on that particular Tuesday. We thought we would checkout Surfari, but they were closed, so we went driving around. I saw the sign for Island Grille and we said, let’s give this a try. It was a little early, we were really wanting just a beer to kill some time before dinner. When we arrived about 4:50 pm, we found a line of people of the age group who eats dinner at 5:00 waiting for the doors to open so then could take advantage of the buy-​one-​get-​one special. It turns out this is a weekly thing on Mondays and Tuesdays and it really attracts a crowd. The place is small and you do need reservations, but we were offered seats at the bar, so we took them.
They have a small but decent beer list and some very good wines for such a small place. We selected our beer and looked over the BOGO menu. For obvious reasons, they limit this offering to some selections that change from week to week. Ms T chose Shrimp and Scallops with linguine. It was excellent and she kind of inhaled it. I had Cobia with tomato confit. This was also very nicely done and was served with jasmine rice and perfect crisp zucchini.
This turned out to be a happy surprise. The place is cozy, the bartender was great and the food was excellent. We had been eating a lot of fried seafood and barbecue and such, so this was a very nice change. I would certainly return to Island Grille.