Dockside Restaurant

We love dockside, especially on a warm night when you can sit outside and enjoy a sunset and live music. They make a great roasted tomato that has cheese on top, it’s not always on the menu but they’ve made it for me every time I have asked.

If the food selections and quality were the only aspect to consider, I would definitely rate this restaurant a 5. The crab cakes, fried green tomatoes, flounder, and shrimp are among the best we have ever had anywhere. The bartenders are great, calm and friendly and never leave anyone waiting. The downside to this restaurant is the long, long wait. A «45 minutes to an hour» wait was actually an hour and a half. The other problem is the noise level. It was much to loud to have any conversation. The wait staff are very hurried and practical sprint through the restaurant trying to get people served and out so that more people can be seated. Although the food is excellent and the bartenders are great, the dining experience is not good and I probably won’t go back unless the restaurant moves to a reservation system. Nothing is worth a wait of an hour and a half.

I had the Seafood Steampot, which was very good and my girlfriend had the scored whole flounder, which she loved. The service was good. The prices a little high, but still reasonable for what we received. We wanted to try Low Country Cuisine and Dockside didn’t disappoint.

Never disappointed. Food is always delicious and fresh. The atmosphere is nice. Love Dockside.

Walking in the door. Turned around and left after a family was grossed out by cockroaches. Hear the food is good though.

I’m visiting from California and having a wonderful time with my family who lives here Ladies Island. While we were having dinner this evening at Dockside we had two separate horrible instances of ROACHES running across our table. The first was horrific and our server was most accommodating. Not ten minutes later another one ran across the table. This was the last straw for us. We were completely grossed out! To make matters worst and add insult to injury the manager of this establishment was completely cavalier about the entire situation as if it was out fault their restaurant is bug infested. Not the proper way to make your guests feel welcome! Won’t be going back!

We were in town and craving seafood and heard about this place on Facebook. It’s GREAT! GREAT food and service and good prices too. Get the She Crab Soup, it’s awesome!. Be aware that their other location in Port Royal is shut down indefinitely.

Excellent seafood. We love sitting out on the patio and the view can’t be beat. Great local spot.

We drove by this place several times and we’re struck by the number of cars in the parking area, so we gave it a try. Advice to get there early was appreciated, as it seemed to fill within 30 minutes of opening for dinner. Seafood was pretty tasty and service was excellent — fast, friendly, and accurate.

We came here on recommendations from the locals. I loved everything about this place! The candles on the patio really set the tone especially for the view on the water. The food was great — I had the crab stuffed flounder!
Most importantly the service was fantastic. Everyone was so friendly and helpful! Teamwork was definitely emphasized, which is always important in my book.
If we visit this area again, we will definitely be back!

Excellent Crispy Scored Flounder and huge Dockside Platter. Corn bread is to die for!

I must admit… I did not expect the food to be this good! Now, to be honest we only had some apps. The cajun calamari & kickin shrimp. I was worried about the spice of the calamari & they let me know I can get it without the spice. Perfect! Our food came out very quickly! It was hot & fresh. The calamari was cooked perfectly not gummy or chewy. .can you believe it? …it wasn’t over cooked which is rare. The kickin’ shrimp wasn’t too spicy either to my surprise. It kind of reminds you of bang bang shrimp meets a sweet/​spicy Asian flavor. That darn shrimp was sooooo juicy & well seasoned & not over cooked. Y’all these two lil apps were perfect! Like seriously good fried food that’s still juicy & not over cooked. I keep saying that because I was so shocked lol. Anywho, great lil cozy spot with a great view & even better fresh fried catches! Ill be back to try more!

Started with the she crab soup which was just ok and little salty for my taste. Ordered the shrimp skewers which I had with some sort of Cajun rice and the teriyaki mixed veggies of broccoli and carrots all for $ 18.95 way more food than I could eat. Also had the peach schnapps lemonade which was delicious. Skipped dessert. Service was excellent.

Been coming to Dockside for sooooo many years! Definitely had a some good times at their Port Royal location & will miss it dearly! This location is just as great. always gotta have the Lowcountry Boil/​Frogmore Stew! Everything is delicious =)

Fried & Grilled Shrimp were both good. Roasted Corn on Cob was very well done (browned & tender). Came at opening on Sun night and it was filling up fast. Very good Casual dining experience w/​friendly staff.
Would recommend.

Dockside is a classic low country casual dining experience. Set on the water, it provides beautiful views as you consume some nice food. They have a wide selection of food choices. Of course, the menu is dominated by specialties fresh off the boat. However a sufficient selection of other stuff for people not so inclined. We given corn brad and seasoned bread sticks to hold us over until our appetizers (hush puppies) arrived. Dinner (for 7) consisted of swordfish steaks, lobster tail, ribs and New York strip. The fish was well received. The strip was good (not great — but then I am a steak snob).
Dockside is the place my relatives insist on taking me (at least once), each time I visit. So definitely a local’s favorite. You can’t go wrong.

Gorgeous place to eat. So beautiful in the evening watching the sunset over the marina. Awesome food and friendly staff. Even at peak time on Friday evening wait was only 20 mins for three people. Will definitely be going here every time we visit Beaufort! Loved it!

I got the crab cakes, dinner not the app. They were great, not spicy but came with a creamy sauce, amazing sautéed veggies, and a bake Potato (no dressings) the only lacking part was the service, so I pulled one star. I would go back.

My family and I recently dined here. It was not my optimal choice by any means, with that said i prefer local authentic seafood. Now you might think I don’t know food but that’s far from true, I am a chef at a restaurant in Atlanta and this by far has been the worst food I have ever eaten. After reviewing the menu three or four times, asking two or three questions about the preparation I was disappointed, the only methods I could find were A) soups B) fried or C) baked, I don’t think that they actually cook there.
I reluctantly ordered the flounder florentine, with hopes that there might actually be something there. I was wrong, once again disappointed. Our food came out and the fish was severely over cooked. In fact now that I look back on it, it may very well have been microwaved. The texture of the fish was like that of fake crab. That’s only way I can truly describe it, it tried to fall apart in your mouth but was so dry that it actually stuck together. It was more like it was glued together. On to the the flavor of the fish, it lacked salt first and foremost, secondly I could tell this fish had been frozen, the flavor profile was very fishy, fresh fish does not taste like that at all ever.
I won’t be visiting anytime soon, nor did I want to in the first place, I took one for the team here and won’t be doing that ever again.

Ok place for casual family dining if you like fried food, they seemed to do that best. Anything that wasn’t fried (like the catfish I ordered) was dripping in oil anyway. We had a large party and the waitress was borderline rude trying to turn the table from the moment she walked over. Just added to the unpleasantness of the experience. I would not willingly return, but then again I don’t eat fried food. If you do, you’ll enjoy what you eat, but know you will be paying tourist high level prices for diner scale food.
However I will add the sunset view outside of Dockside was absolutely breathtaking.