Corky Bell’s Seafood

First time here while traveling through. Wait was short given the crowd and waitresses were very nice. Gator tall came out quick and most of it was tasty though a couple of pieces were real tough. Sweet tea was awesome! The food took A LONG time to come out and when it did the stuffed flounder had lots of bones and had to swap with shrimp/​catfish. Oyster was like Mom used to make an the collards were excellent. Sadly we will not stop in again, but don’t regret the visit. If you like fried seafood this is the place.

Service is fast and friendly. Be prepared for at least an hour wait during peak hours of lunch (11:30−1:30) and dinner (5:30−7:00). We came here at 1pm during the week, so it was not busy.
The side salad that I ordered was fresh with many toppings! When the mahi mahi filet came out, I noticed that it was was flat (about 0.5 in. thick). The sides that came with it were plentiful and as described on the menu. My parents had fried shrimp that looked tasty. I believe this is their specialty, and next time I will get this most likely. I don’t think I will return on my own accord (only if someone in my party wants to go here).

Food and service was amazing! Great price for what you get, and the live music just made the ambiance better. We will be returning

Corky Bell’s is a southern seafood restaurant located on the scenic St. Johns river in Palatka, Florida. I went on a Wednesday night around 08:00 pm so it was fairly laid back. As we were arriving crowds of locals were pouring out the front door. The restaurant itself is massive. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor deck has several levels of dining and even it’s own bar. The staff was friendly and efficient. I had the special listed on the chalkboard in the lobby which was deviled crab and shrimp with two sides. My wife had the sea scallops with two sides. We both had the fries and garden salad for our sides. The fries were hot and fresh without being greasy. The salad was crisp, cold, and fresh. My shrimp were lightly dusted and lightly fried to perfection. I tried several of my wife’s sea scallops and they were lightly baked and very delicate and tasty. These were some of the biggest and best scallops I’ve had in a long time. The deviled crab was unseasoned and bland. Overall it was a pretty good meal and a decent bargain. I will definitely be back to try more things on the menu.

We go to Corky Bell’s every year when we come to Palatka to visit family! Excellent seafood restaurant if you’re looking for a casual meetup with family or friends to enjoy great and inexpensive cuisine. Try their gator ;-)! The entire staff is usually always very friendly and the outdoor eating view is fantastic. There’s something everyone can enjoy there even if you aren’t a seafood fanatic like myself! Will really fill you up.

Second time here at Corky Bell’s with my wife Shanen and once again we had a fantastic experience!
Try the Cod Nuggets, fast light and great flavor!
Everything we have tried has been spot on and the service has been as good!

Got a carry out order when I was in town for business. Got a platter and could not believe how reasonable the prices were. The shrimp, oysters and hushpuppies were really good. So were the green beans and cheese grits. The only thing lacking was the key lime pie. It was overly sweet and I didn’t taste any key lime at all. It was more like a sweetened condensed milk pie with no lime taste at all. Crust was super thick. I am not hushpuppy person but theirs was pretty good. As far as seafood prices, some of the best I have ever seen! It was packed and lots of people were waiting to eat. That’s always a good sign. Would go again if I was in town. Prices are incredible, especially at lunch, with nice serving sizes!

Food was delicious and prepared just the way we ordered it. The strawberry shortcake was the best. My son loved the alligator statues that were dressed up in the cutest outfits. Next we go I want to sit outside to eat. The view of the river was awesome.

Nice atmosphere. Waitress wonderful. Hostess could use some polishing… observed her seating several seniors walking briskly in front and dropping menus on table before they were able to catch up.
Had gumbo which was tasty with lots of sausage but one tiny shrimp; good flavor though. Hubby had clam chowder which he enjoyed. Shared shrimp bacon sandwich, fries & coleslaw. Tastey. Will give it another try.

Stopped here on our way to the East coast for dinner. It was busy but there was no wait to sit inside or out. Since the wind died off we opted for inside. After finding out the raw oysters were $ 13 a doz we order one as our appetizer. They were super cold and nice sized so we ordered a second doz for the three of us to split. We all ordered the shrimp dinner (reg size). Daughter and I had Cole slaw and grits for side and hubby went with the collards and grits. Everything was really good. The cheese grits could’ve used a pinch of salt and a little more cheese and the slaw needed a pinch of celery seed. But the shrimp were perfect! If we are ever in the area again this is where we will stop for food!

This is a good central meeting place for my family for many years. The food is always consistently tasty and probably best described as American. The ambiance is nice with an expansive outdoors area right on the river. I’ve never been in the evening time but I can only imagine it bumps! On this particular occasion I tried the surf and turf and really enjoyed it. More so though I like the crab fingers. Never heard of crab fingers? Me neither until now. Pretty much they are the pieces of crab meat right off the pinchers and fried (or baked). I can only imagine the hard work it takes to get so many of these into one bowl per serving. Try it with butter dipping sauce. Also of course they serve the obligatory fried seafood platter. Everything pretty much comes out the same color and flavor but hey, it’s a winner. Hush puppies are always well-​prepared and piping hot! Very enjoyable as well. If you’re fried food adverse have no fear, there is a good chance they can prepare your food baked or blackened.
I know I’ll be back here in a couple months for another family gathering so until next time!

Lunch today. Seafood is always fresh and we’ll prepared. Sat on the patio. Service was prompt and efficient — very friendly.

The food here was awesome. I had a fried platter with green beans and they were awesome. I would definitely come back here again for a seafood fix.

Great stop on a Sunday afternoon drive through the forest. Mahi sandwich and bloody Mary for me! Both perfect and the view was spectacular.

Avoid this place! Each time I’ve been here it was progressively worse. The food is awful and overcoooked. The service is the worst I’ve ever encountered. I actually had to break into a conversation between bartender and waitresses after waiting one unserved at the bar for 10 minutes. Then you actually have to ask and keep asking for silverware, salt & pepper, tarter sauce and cocktail sauce, etc. I gave three tries and they’ve totally struck out with me.

First and foremost Mike, our server out on the back deck, was terrific. He was not only waiting on the tables but serving as bartender as well but never would you have known he was doing double duty. Always had a smile and time to explain items and give recommendations.
We started with Corky’s Cod Bites. Lightly breaded and perfectly fried they were very good. Serves with a sauce that was a great compliment to their mild taste.
Hubby had the shrimp and bacon sandwich that Mike had mentioned and he truly enjoyed every bite. Lightly breaded and perfectly fried shrimp accompanied crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and tomatoes on a fresh bun. Served with cole slaw and French fries.
My daughter and I both had the shrimp lunch. We both asked for fried and it was again perfectly breaded and fried. Large shrimp and very fresh. The baked potato and green beans were our choice of sides. Baked potato was steaming hot and the beans were served with boiled potato and a little bacon. How could you go wrong?
Plenty of shady spots on the deck and a view of the St Johns River made for a perfect spot for a relaxing lunch.

Came for Mother’s Day. Brought both sides of the family. Not a bad wait time, considering there was only ONE parking place left (including the overflow). Started off with a gator tail appetizer with ranch dressing. Deeeelish! They even ate the kale trimmings. More to come.
***okay side note, the table of like 12 right next to us just pitched a fit about how the food doesn’t look like they thought it should… server didn’t even bat an eye, just happily replaced it with something else they wanted. 5 star service!***
Alrighty, so we got our food after a little bit of a wait, it was nice and warm though, so no complaints. Everything was very good, except for they ran out of Oysters, so I got about 5 extra butterfly shrimp to replace them. My ONLY complaint about the food would be the «fish» that comes with the big mate platter honestly tasted like a Gorton’s fish fillet from the freezer. The texture was a little tough (and TOO perfect throughout), and there was very little taste besides the breading. The shrimp was very good, the oysters, dunno, the gator tail was scrumptious. No room for the cheese grits and a couple of hush puppies, so they came home with us. All in all, even with the oyster shortage and the bland fish, I would still very definitely go back, AND rate them 5 stars! It is a bit out of the way, being in Palatka, but I would say it is worth the trip from anywhere south of Jax.

Corky Bell’s is a down-​home, down-​South, style seafood restaurant that not only gets its mission – Southern seafood, mostly fried, decent diversity though, decent drinks, plenty of beer, outside riverside seating – done right but has over the years built up such a local following that it’s kinda a giant in its game. And it acts the part: you walk in even on a week-​night and can expect a wait for a table and a staff that is really a small army. A small army of mainly young blond women in bright colored T-​shirts and a couple good ol’ boys wearing the same. Seriously, while they’re super-​nice and efficient I cannot stress how the sheer size of the staff will impress. It seems like they outnumber the customers at times, despite there being ample customers, too. For that reason I’m puzzled by the other reviewers who complained of unbussed tables or poor service, because what I found was very attentive and prompt service plus thinking «great day, how can they afford to pay all these people?».
The food is what you’d expect: they do a good job on fried fish. The shrimp seem to be local and fresh – Mayport I’d presume. The hushpuppies are a bit sweet for my taste but overall good and perfectly fried, not burned. I know of a fine dining restaurant in Florida I love, but they often burn the hushpuppies. Corky’s doesn’t. They’re paying attention. The cheese grits were good, too. I’ve had better shrimp (at Robinson’s in Cedar Key) but these were fine. My friend’s fried fish (not sure what kind, but it was fish and it was fried) was good, too.
If you’re just one or two people and they’re busy, ask to sit at either the inside or outside bar: it will be (probably) no wait and faster service. There are very small things I could pick at about Corky’s but I won’t: overall, it’s very good. It’s not fancy but it’s well-​kempt and well-​run. They know how to run a frier without getting stuff burnt nor too greasy, as they ought to know, since they do so much business in fried food. But it’s no mean feat: carrying off large volumes of food of this nature isn’t easy – maybe not fancy, but not easy, either.

Great place to eat if you want to impress someone.
We drive from Daytona Beach on a weekly basis to eat there. Food is fantastic. Seafood doesn’t have a lot of breaded coating.
There are lots of seafood places here in Daytona Beach but not like Corky Bell’s.

Excellent food, generous portions, reasonable prices, good service, nice views. 5 out of 5.
Service was attentive, friendly and prompt.
Fried foods (gator tail, boneless wings, Southwest eggrolls) were tasty and not greasy.
Lunch special of $ 7.50 broiled flounder had more than ample protein portion, hush puppies and two sides. The green (pole?) beans were perhaps the finest that I have ever had. Collards were very good.
Two thumbs up and will return again.