The Seafood Shack Marina Bar & Grill

The seafood shack is beyond amazing. We had our wedding reception here with nearly 270 guests. The view is perfect, the Neptune Room is magical and the staff is spectacular. Brandy along with Chef Gerard helped us tailor our special day to exactly what we wanted. They even helped us go off the menu and helped recreate family recipes from the Philippines. I wouldn’t have imagined having our reception anywhere else. I will never forget everything they did for us and give the highest recommendation to the Seafood Shack and it’s wonderful employees.

The Neptune Room at the Seafood Shack was so beautiful! It is a perfect place for a wedding reception and other events. Brandy, the event planner, was so attentive and made sure everything went well. We couldn’t have done it without her! The staff, including the servers and cooks, did a fabulous job! Thank you so much for everything your restaurant did for us! We also have eaten dinner and lunch here, which was delicious!

This place was a waste of time. Went on 06/​15/​2016 with parents/​wife kids. Clam chowder was bad clumpy/​weird spicy not what you think of for Chowder, burned looking Hush puppies, live in Tampa, been to many Seafood places high end (Ocean Prime Intl Mall)/low end. Kids got freezer burned chicken strips and bag fries.
Waited long, long time, felt bad for waitress she was apologetic. Got vibe staff is stressed, stuff going on behind the scenes.

When we pulled in we saw that the parking lot was pretty busy, usually a good sign. We went in waited about 5 minutes to be seated for no apparent reason but were assured by multiple someone would be right with us. Once seated I noticed it was bigger than expected and still quite a few empty tables. Our server was really good but after a seemingly long time she informed 2 in my party that they were out of what they had ordered. They choose new items. After about 50 apologies and another hour or so our food finally showed up. It was good but the wait had pretty much ruined it. It was out last night on the island and we had a couple things to do unfortunately after being at the restaurant for about 2 hours none of us felt like doing anything and one of the things we needed to do was already closed. They did take a sizable amount off of our tab but damage was already done.

Fried food heaven for those who like fried everything. We preferred our seafood grilled and had some trouble finding decent healthier options. Nice waterfront location

This place was awesome. We sat outside and watched the beginning of tropical storm Colin roll over the bay. The outside area was very nice, with a great view of the bay and good shade from the sun (even though we didn’t really need it).
The fried green tomato appetizer and the fish tacos were very good. The cole slaw had bits of pineapple in it, which was different but awesome. The kumquat wit beer (brewed only for the Seafood Shack) was excellent.
All and all, I’d highly recommend this place to anyone looking for some seafood and a cold brew.

Thought we would give the place a try for dinner over Memorial Day weekend, awesome décor, new bar looked great. fisher mans platter & Cobb salad were good, lobster roll could use more sauce & actually come on a roll instead of hamburger bun, kids cheeseburger looked like a dried meatball. Drinks were great!

I base my five stars on the service along. The restaurant is under renovation. I sat outside for the happy hour two for one cocktails. The gin and tonics were good. I ordered hush puppies. They looked good, but were not fully cooked on the inside. I informed my waitress Jed so that she could inform the chef. She offered to bring me more to take home and I said no thanks, I am fine, just thought the chef should know. Just before I left she brought me an order to take home, a free drink card and a card for 10% off my next meal. She went above and beyond — and all with a cheerful attitude. Thank you Jed! I will be back and hope that you will be my server again.

Let me start by saying I read the reviews prior to dinner today and should have listened to the bad ones! The common theme was terrible service, and we had the same problem.
We ordered 4 grouper sandwiches and a fisherman’s platter (with side salad). Also ordered onion rings as an appetizer. The salad came out with the dinner, but 1 sandwich and the onion rings were missing, apparently given to another table with no questions asked. The waitress didn’t seem too concerned, just put another order in and we got the food 15 minutes later when the other people at the table were almost finished. Nobody got refills on drinks except my water (only 1 person had ordered wine, 1 with a Pepsi)
We decided to try this place because the Tide Table (across the street) was super busy, should have just waited! I wouldn’t recommend the seafood shack because it was way too expensive and the service mediocre at best

Relaxed outdoor eating area that takes advantage of the wildlife. Enjoyed the fish and chips and the wife had the fish tacos. Tyler was very helpful and personable. The best part of sitting on the back deck here is watching the weekend warriors dock there boats.

We went to Seafood Shack on March 22^nd, 2016 (arrived about 6:30 pm), after hearing how great the food was. The restaurant was busy but not packed. We sat on the patio with great views, but the worst service of any restaurant I have been to in the area!
We waited about 20 minutes for a waitress to take our drink order, and did not receive our drinks for 45 minutes– I am not making this up. It got dark and was getting cold, our waitress (Lois) was no where to be found. We asked the hostess to move us to an inside table. After the server FINALLY took our order, we waited for about an hour and a half for our food. In the mean time, we ordered another round of drinks– again 25 – 30 minutes for drinks. The waitress blamed it on the bartender, but there were literally three people sitting at the bar. When our local friend spoke with the manager, the manager actually said to her «You come out in March?!»
The food was mediocre at best, the French fries were cold. I was very disappointed with the service and more disappointed at the managers reaction to our concern. The only good thing about Seafood Shack was the view. I would not recommend Seafood Shack to anyone visiting the area, there are many places with a nice view– don’t choose this one.

The only reason for my giving a 2 is because of our initial interaction when we first walked in. My mom and I walked in all excited about the beautiful view and eating some delicious seafood. We went up to the hostess and immediately the entire vibe changed. I’ve never come across someone so rude and unwilling to do her job.
When we asked how long the wait was her response was «I can’t even guesstimate». First of all, in all of my dining experiences all over the WORLD I have never had a hostess say that. Isn’t that literally the main part of her job? And then when we did decide to put our names down she said very aggressively «stay near because if we call your name and you don’t respond, we’re giving your table away». Clearly this is not the way you want to be greeted. Not to mention the fact that she said she wouldn’t be able to seat us outside for a long time because she just sat some large parties there but when we looked around there were several empty tables.
We ended up only waiting 20 minutes so I’m not sure why her whole attitude was so ridiculous. Clearly this isn’t a job for her and from what I’ve read in the other reviews, I’m not the first person to have this experience.
Aside from that, the waitress was really lovely and was working her butt off but clearly was stretched too thin because she was responsible for so many tables all over the restaurant.
The food was good and the atmosphere was very nice but the whole experience was compromised because of our initial interaction with the hostess.
I would really consider these reviews as a business because it’s very easy to drive over the bridge and go somewhere where the people are pleasant and you don’t feel like an inconvenience as a customer. There’s hundreds of restaurants with food just as good and an equally good view of the water. Hopefully you take this review as well as the others into serious consideration.

A Bradenton institution the Seafood Shack overlooking the Intracoastal waterway was a nice place to grab lunch while visiting the coastal community.
It’s not your average run of the mill tourist trap; Bought by a Canadian real state mogul the colorful crusty nautical themed joint was brought to life with some renovations and at the helm of the kitchen it’s a a hot shot chef that worked at the Ritz Carlton. With outdoor seating by the Marina watching the seagulls fly by ogling my peel n’ eat shrimp. I had a blackened grouper sandwich it was fresh and hot and properly cooked, I wasn’t a fan of the Jicama slaw a little sweet for my taste. The service was efficient and friendly. The display near the hostess stand didn’t have an aesthetically pleasing fresh seafood display. If you’re going to have one it’s got to have that crushed ice brimming with the bounties of the sea if not just get rid of that thing.
Other than that good lunch.

Went here with 5 others to celebrate last days for us in Florida till next January.
Quite disappointed. Several of us had the Fishermans platter which came with; Spanish Mackerel, shrimp, fries, coleslaw, crab cake and hush puppies. $ 21. Fish was about 1“x3“X1/8″ thick. Shrimp tasted old, Crab cake and coleslaw were good.
When we arrived, we were told the kitchen was behind so we should order and then drink until food arrived.
This restaurant is in a terrific location and could be fantastic. It needs paint and up-​dating badly, friendlier staff, better food and more varied menu.
We will not return.

Came here on a Saturday at 7pm. Not to bad of a wait, about 20 minutes. The staff was friendly and we really liked our server Hannah. I ordered the Grilled Grouper entrée and it was very good. It came with a lemon caper sauce and organic veggies (turnips and kale). The sauce was nice and light and the fish had a perfect crisp on the skin. Definitely fresh and not a bad price. I highly recommend this dish. My Parents had the pork chop cooked medium, with purple mash potatoes and baked apples. I was so jealous of the apples! They looked amazing. The pork chop was large enough for two people to split and they enjoyed it. They said they would order it again. We look forward to coming back!

This is the BEST place to eat at for just about anything, but the grouper! Oh it is the best. It is recommended by the locals and we have been coming here now for 2 years when staying on Anna Maria Island. I love grouper and have had it at numerous other places on the island but no place else has it as good as here! Moist, flavorful and just delicious! All sides and salads are excellent too.
We all enjoyed grouper sandwiches for lunch except my sister who enjoyed the Cobb salad, not being a big fish lover. That was excellent as well.
Back again tomorrow for sure!

Ok, I wanted to like this place. I love places on the water with laid back atmosphere. That is where the charm ends. (just the two of us for late lunch-​245p sun.-place was near empty) Our server was non existent for nearly 10 mins after we were sat. Our hostess was like a robot or high im not sure. she ignored us when we asked to sit in the shade & wandered off… so we just sat anyway.
so the server then appears with a sorry be right there. Finally after some more
time,(why r u so weeded?! place is empty!) shows up to take our drink orders; leaves for another comes back– they’re out of specific beer, and sorry the bartender is backed up so your drinks will be a while.(?! ordered ONE watermelon margarita & bottled beer) can we have water while we wait? no? ok thanks
. so a half hour later our drinks arrive! Hoorray!!! 45 minutes or so in… We then wait again to be able to give our food order but *again* he disappeared. (where r u going!?)
((*finally we did get waters, with garbage floating in it. GROSS.*))
anyway we Ordered a lobster roll fried shrimp and oysters. This prompted the review more than the poor service. Soggy old premade from last week coleslaw was what they commingled my sparse «market price» one claw? old lobster meat with and on a super gross STALE (crusty n chunk flakey –in not a toasted way) hot dog bun.
The oysters were full of shards from being shucked and were not cleaned well at all, and the mignonette was missing, no crackers, no extra plate no napkins! Fabulous!
fried shrimp and french fries were fine. but u really have to try hard to mess up fried food anyway so that doesnt count.
I was so irritated by the entire experience i got up and walked out.— (i couldnt wait for the bill to show up, see what we had to pay for that trash, because then i would have definitely thrown up.) –food unfinished and watery «sangria» drink unfinished as well.
Ive worked in service industry and so has my partner. This was a disaster.
No we didnt say a word to mgmt —but server earned his meager tip, for the piss poor job he did. (**wouldve been nice to hear the specials? like other tables had but we were not shared this info. good bc i doubt it wouldve been worth it**) — we would Rather not make a scene and just NEVER GO BACK & WARN others of this mess of a Sunday afternoon… hopefully if youre hungry, youll skip this place. Just drive on by & enjoy the water views via the bridge. Barf.

Update– I’m bumping the review from one to two stars because the manager is trying to improve the service, and she responded quickly to my post. We loved the fishing trip out of that pier, so we’ll be back in the area in the future and may try this place again…
:
An hour from Ordering to entrée arrival. That was after waiting about 45 minutes for the drinks. This is when the restaurant was about half-​capacity — people could pick where they sat /​no waiting.
The hostess at the front was sooooooo incredibly rude. Wife asked where the restrooms are, hostess just gave her a dark stare, *turned her back very deliberately on us* and twiddled with her hair. My wife asked again, thinking the girl didn’t hear her, and she gave an even dirtier look, twiddled hair more furiously, and walked away. I thought I saw her flip the bird at my wife, but my wife said that was just more hair twiddling. Bird or not, she doesn’t belong in that job.
Bartender was so slow, ice in glasses was melted before he’d finish making a drink, so it was half water.
Our waitress was trying — she was busy running back and forth and had a good attitude/​was friendly — so I give her props. She was working tables both inside and out… but again, due to the slowness of the kitchen and bartender. we witnessed two walk-​outs on her where people left some $ for drinks and walked out before entrees arrived. In another, they just got up and left without paying.
The food was ‘meh’. Very uninspired. I guess that’s okay, it’s a shack on the pier, so maybe expecting a Michelin rating would be a bit out of line. But if they tried, it really could have been a popular go-​to instead of the hole it is.

Yeah I got my first freebie for Unilocaling! Go Unilocalers oysters on the half shell my favorite. Fried green tomatoes ok, jeff likes them. Kevin our server was ok only because I had to ask for everything, fork, napkin, plate for appetizer including salt & pepper then realized I had no catsup for FF. I felt like I was continually asking for something. Oh it’s because I did ask for everything. Service overall is okPlace is clean and fun atmosphere! Looks like it hops at night. Jeff ordered Lobster Mac, he was ok with it, a little runny! Loved the side of hash. I ordered a meaty piece of grouper, so tasty. FF sucked which worked out well for my thighs. Coleslaw was very good! Overall experience — very nice time!

We had a group of 10 people. We called ahead but they don’t take reservations unfortunately, but luckily it’s the off season so they were not very busy at 7pm on a rainy Wednesday night.
Everyone was very very friendly, from when I called in, to when we were seated, to who waited us.
The food was pretty slow at getting to us, but we were a big group.
I wasn’t super hungry so I just got coconut shrimp which was very yummy, I just wish it had come with a few more shrimp! It was not greasy like some coconut shrimp can be.
My husband got the Fishermans Platter with a crab cake, cod I think, shrimp, slaw and coconut rice. You get the choice of fried or blackened and he got blackened. Everything was really good except the shrimp. It was horrifically over seasoned and was pretty inedible. You couldn’t even taste the shrimp it’s self, it just tasted like pure salt. His two brothers got the same thing and their shrimp was all the same. One brother couldn’t stomach it at all and the waitress was very nice about getting him something else.
Some of us ordered dessert and they took dessert off the bill as well. I didn’t have any dessert so I can’t make any comments about that.
Despite the over seasoned shrimp it was all very very good, great friendly service and I would certainly come back again.