Saltwater Grill

Great service, wonderful food, casual, upscale ambiance. We enjoyed our dinner. Started with Camus Pinot noir, the fried asparagus with lump crab meat, and then the entrée was NY Strip and lobster tail add on. The dessert of Key Lime Pie was very good — all desserts are made in-​house. Overall a very, very good experience and we would love to go back!

Had the coconut almond shrimp, which were jumbo gulf shrimp so quite large. Was served on rice with Asian vegetables, but the vegetables ended up being somewhat bland. The potsticker appetizers, served on spinach with a spy ginger sauce, were quite good.
The server didn’t seem to know what a Negroni was, but maybe it was just a little before her time.

This place is a small quiet little restaurant. Wife and I really enjoyed the food & atmosphere. Our server was very interested in being there it seemed. Guess it had been a slow night.
I had the Yellow Fin tuna and my wife had the gumbo. Both were delicious. We also shared the brownie dessert. Really, really good food.

Been here several times for lunch only, was always satisfied with my meals. It’s a bit pricier for lunch but the food is awesome!

Had a wonderful lunch — Almond Coconut crusted Salmon — perfect combination of spices and veggies with the salmon — Yum!
Across from the Opera House

Showed up on a Friday with a party of 7 without a reservation and was seated without problems. Server was friendly and made food recommendations based on dietary restrictions and food allergies. Asparagus with crab meat was delicious –could really taste the asparagus and not heavy breading. I had the Cioppino – amazing tomato-​based broth with fresh class, mussels, fish, and shrimp. The bread served before our entrees was also delicious! Definitely a great meal when in Galveston.

I booked a reservation from their site and mentioned it was my wife and I’s 10 year anniversary. They left us a personalized card and gave us one of the nice booths! SO KIND OF THEM! Plus every single person from the wait staff to the runners and bussers were incredibly friendly. AND THE FOOD! WOW! I cant say we disliked a single thing we tried. Get the Cioppino! I wish I could give them 6 stars. We will definitely visit every time we come back to Galveston.

Huge disappointment. Had reservation at 8:00 for a large group. We were finally seated at 9:30.
Food was nothing special. End of story.
Probably will not return.

Saturday night the place was very busy, we got helped very fast n food was excellent they where offering a 3 course meal for $ 25. The entrée was a red fish with brown wine butter sauce with shrimps and crawfish. Will recommend and will be coming back.

I chose Saltwater Grill as the one restaurant we were going to visit on our day trip to Galveston during restaurant week for a few reasons. Primarily it got relatively good reviews on Unilocal and open table and was in a good location. I was disappointed overall.
It was my impression that Restaurant Week was intended to bring in new customers for a tasting of an establishment’s better courses to entice them to return and pay regular prices. Other restaurants participating had several selections for each course and sophisticated menus. We came here and the «first course» was a house or Caesar salad. …uh okay. The entrees were (2) tacos, BBQ fish over grits with a strange roux gravy or one other I can’t even remember it was so unremarkable. And the last course? Chef’s choice! You don’t even get to choose. Turns out it was a brick of bread pudding clearly using the old homemade bread they serve on the table. Spoiler alert, it’s THICK. And not good.
The waitstaff was surprisingly apathetic as well. The hostess barely looked us in the eye and our waitress didn’t crack a smile. It was a bizarre experience.
I wish the reviews hadn’t been so misleading.

We dined at Saltwater Grill prior to going to a performance at the Opera House. We live in Galveston but had only been to the Saltwater Grill once and had a pleasant experience.
Not this time. My wife had a Manhattan before dinner and we ordered a bottle of wine for dinner. We ordered a corn chowder appetizer and it arrived promptly and was very good. However it was luke warm. My wife ordered the Red Fish Ponchatrain and the fish was so over cooked she could not eat it. Her fork literally «bounced» of the fish as if it were rubber. I ordered the lobster Risotto and it too was over cooked. The Risotto was the consistency of paste. They comp’d a Crème Broulee and it was very good.
In summary we will not return and will not recommend.

Dined at Saltwater Grill on a Thursday night with six work colleagues after a long day of meetings. Place was mostly empty and we had secured the private room in the back. We had individually orders cocktails, wine, and beer and everyone was pleased with there choices. We shared a wide assortment of appetizers and enjoyed them all. I had a seared tuna steak with veggies and soba noodles. Large, thick piece of fish was cooked as requested and everything was delicious.
Everyone had favorable comments about their entrées.
None of us had room for dessert but we shared some anyway. I found the Key Lime confection to be delightful.
If I find myself back in Galveston on a family visit and wanting a seafood dinner I’d be more than pleased to return.

Always love coming here when we pull into Galveston. Food is always delicious and service great.

Great spot on the strand. I’m a big man and was worried about the portions. Shrimp and lobster tacos were so good and came with the lobster bisque for only 12 bucks had to take one Togo. Thanks Molly for the outstanding service!

Saltwater Grill is a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the Seawall restaurants that appeal to college kids and beach-​goers. After popping into a couple of places that were totally packed and dirty or oddly unappetizing, we grabbed a reservation at Saltwater Grill.
The atmosphere is lively and the place is clean and cute. The service was impeccable. We never had an empty glass and were checked on frequently. We started off with a special — crab claws in a spicy tomato broth — which were super good. My husband had a lobster and I had a steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus. We topped off our night with a delicious white chocolate bread pudding.
This place had some of the best food I had during our trip to Galveston and there’s lot of stuff around it so you can grab a drink before or after.

Enjoyed this place in the past, when I ordered a martini and was told it was $ 19, my fan status plummeted.
Texas Red Ponchartrain with brown wine sauce, mushrooms, shrimp and crawfish had no snap, whipped out a microscope to see the crawfish, the asparagus was outstanding, rice was also servied with this $ 25 entrée, salivating never occurred, this was a blah and bland dish. After the martini dissapointment did not want to venture into the $ 55 lobster.
A few business diners such as myself were the extent of the groups, Tuesday night is easy for the staff. No reservations required. We were seated in a booth by the ice machine, bad choice for conversation, water glasses were filled consistently.
One wait staff person that we saw, nice and attentive.
Did ask on the way out the door how they managed Open Table, the answer, manually, hmmm
Won’t return, better options even for a Tuesday evening.

Their lobster tacos and saltwater salad are really good. This place is a notch above casual with reasonable prices, great waitstaff, and delicious food. Also, it is across the street from the 1894 Grand Opera House so it is a great pre or post-​show dinner spot. I work in downtown Galveston and we go here a few times per month.

A great intimate dinner setting on the Strand. Came here before one of the Mardi Gras parades. The food was fresh and flavorful. My only complaint was that the server was not very attentive, and by the time the waitress brought the bread, our food was already ready.

This is one of my favorite places to eat in Galveston! I won’t go on the weekends (Fri, Sat), but Sun through Thursday is nice. Sunday nights, they are slow, and that’s when you can get the best service. If you’re into the bar scene, go on the weekend – because there’s a young, lively, crowded restaurant and bar on the weekends, but come Sunday night, it’s more laid back.
The food is solidly good. They have some of the best appetizers I’ve ever had. Travis was our waiter three times in a row, and his service was exceptional and consistent every time. We really enjoy his wait service, and he’s got the personality and timing down for making it a pleasant and wonderful evening.
The mussels in the cream sauce is to die for. The lobster rissotto is a must try too. They have an ahi tuna spicy appetizer with these awesome crackers. They have a full service bar with a great wine selection and full call drinks. You can get a tender steak medallion, lobster, seafood and fish – you name it. The menu is diverse, but not overwhelming.
The restaurant isn’t very accessible. It’s narrow and the tables are close together. On a slow night, the tables up front are easy to access, but getting to the back for the restrooms in a wheelchair would be difficult and on a busy night, I’d say it would be impossible.
Parking is a side lot on a steep incline too, which makes accessing the sidewalk via that incline a little precarious for those in manual wheelchairs. Not impossible, but definitely a scary roll down that hill.
We have loved their food, though, and will continue to go back, especially on their slow Sunday nights, so we can kick back and relax and enjoy a leisurely meal. But for those who like the more vibrant Galveston scene, Saltwater gives you that too.

It’s a solid 3.5 but I’ll round up for good service. We went on a Monday night and it wasn’t a full restaurant but it wasn’t dead either. Pretty laid back. Good start.
Our waiter must have known we spent too much time at the pool bar that day cause our water glasses were always full. Complimentary bread and butter while you peruse menu. Nice.
I ordered the red fish ponchartrain. Red Fish with a crawfish n shrimp sauce with grilled veggies and rice. The crawfish seemed a little passed its prime and the rice was dry and bland. It wasn’t bad at all. It just could have been way better. Step backwards for me.
Mama ordered a special. Blackened Snapper with mushroom risotto, asparagus, two grilled shrimp and a tomato basil sauce. This plate of food was freaking amazing. One bite with all the components together was worth the $ 30 price tag all by itself. I thought I made a pretty good mushroom risotto until I tried this. It was perfection.
We will be back.