Dockside Dave’s Grill

I was really looking forward to going to this place to get one of the grouper sandwiches. Too bad they’re closed and now out of business. Don’t waste your time visiting

Dockside Dave’s is a must when visiting St. Pete Beach! They are famous for their Grouper sandwich and it will not disappoint. I had mine lightly blackened and it was perfect! I also had their new zucchini fries which were fabulous as well. It was so good I may have to visit twice this trip! Our waitress Mandy was awesome and answered all my questions expertly! Her tip about getting my sandwich «lightly» blackened was the best!

No trip to the Tampa Bay area is complete without a stop at Dockside Dave’s. The best grouper in the history of the world. You can’t go wrong with anything you order here. I love the shrimp and scallops combo. They make their sauces in house, so yummy. I wish I was there right now. The only drawback is the lack of anything local or interesting on tap, but when I’m devouring my grouper sandwich or the shrimp and scallops I’m not too concerned about what I’m drinking. The bartenders and servers are always friendly and service is quick.

Such a great little place! Just walked in with a party of 10 and was super accommodating. Anything with grouper was amazing as well as everything else my party got. My fiancé got the blackened grouper tacos that she thought was out of this world! The waitress was a bit sassy that for me was expectant. If we ever come to St. Petersburg again, we will be stoping here.

Ok so,
We’ve driven by this place 50 times and never stopped in. Shame on us! If you like great real food, great people then stop in! The grouper is fresh and cooked perfectly. The waffle fries are amazing! The staff is hilarious and not fit the faint of heart! I wish Unilocal would let me give this place more stars.

This place is a must go. Went here two nights in a row while on vacation.
Their shrimp and scallops are a great choice. The fish tacos are also very good. Good balance of a bar/​restaurant style atmosphere.

DSD is our favorite place for Grouper in all of Florida! My wife and I have driven over from Orlando before just to eat lunch there.
You MUST try the onion rings! Please be sure and tell them Famous Scott sent you in!!!

Great seafood restaurant on St. Pete beach!!!
We walked in and were able to seat ourselves at a table of our liking. We were promptly greeted by our server, drinks ordered and reviewed the menu. Having dined here previously, we were familiar with their menu and offerings.
Ordered a large basket of onion rings— ohh my goodness gracious were they amazing! The rings were hot, fresh, huge and delicious! Served with horseradish and ketchup– can’t beat the flavor!
Three of us ordered the grouper sandwich which was the largest portion I’d ever seen, a burger that was huge and chicken tenders with waffle fries. The burger was good, chicken fingers batter was great and waffle fries blew chick fil a away! Great alternatives to seafood.
This is a low key restaurant which I appreciate! There are silverware and napkins on the table, some plates are Styrofoam and food is usually served in a basket. There’s outside dining for those who wish to dine outdoors and a small parking lot. Please don’t let this small dining establishment fool you on their food, flavor or expertise of a great meal!

If you want fried processed food. Cafeteria style. Sangria that is absolutely terrible! Yes, this is the place to go. Sorry folks, maybe you were really hungry or have not tasted fresh Grouper or great healthy food. There are too many great restuarants here on the beach to eat at this place…

We had phenomenal service in this small quaint little place. Barb took great care of us and even successfully recommended portion sizes for our family saving us money. The onion rings are to die for. Seriously. The batter is seasoned perfectly and amazing. Tried to order a large order a d thankfully was told we really only needed a small. How right she was! Fried oyster dinner was exactly what I was craving. Caesar salad was so large my nearly adult kids shared it. The side Caesar salad at that. Gator bites, yum! Calamari wasn’t a hit but that was by no fault of theirs. Chicken sandwich was delicious too. We will eat here again when we return to St Pete Beach.

I heard good reviews of their grouper but our experience was not as great as we thought it would be. The ambiance is ok, but you expect that of a bar/​restaurant that is supposed to look like a local hangout. The service is what gets me. I am a restaurant manager and I expect more out of Custer service than the other person. Our waitress seemed to want to be other places than our table and another waitress took care of us better and more. The cole slaw had a little too much mayo for my taste and their breaking on the fried foods was a little too much and greasy for our taste. When we left we saw why our waitress never paid us much attention, she was out back smoking with a member of the kitchen staff. We will not be back here.

Really good hogfish! Blackened but not overpowering. Conch chowder was excellent also. They were both specials so not sure how often its offered.

Place is such a dive, I love it! Food was amazing, and the place had a nice kids menu.
The Grouper sandwiches were awesome. We also got the seafood bisque. That was also incredible!
A definite must when at St Pete Beach!

What a wonderful little spot. It’s not the prettiest place on Gulf Blvd., but I doubt the food could be much better. Our service was good, our food was great.
The atmosphere was a little meh, but this is a great place to eat for sure !!!
The scallops were large, fresh and juicy. The grouper was large, fresh and juicy.
The shrimp were large, fresh and juicy. You get the idea.
YUM !!!

I absolutely love this place. Came on vacation. I used my trusty Unilocal friends to lead the way, and they didn’t fail me!!! The ONLY possible improvement I could come up with is possibly a better beer selection. That being said, it’s Florida. Florida isn’t big on craft beer, so if I want a yummy IPA, I should go home to New York. So let’s break this down…
Ambiance… I LOVE dive bars, so the low key vibe was my jam. Bathing suit, shorts, flip flops. Boom. You’re in.
Drinks… As I mentioned, I’m a beer drinker, so it lacked there. But, the waitress suggested the Florida lager on tap. Citrus-​y and yummy. It fit. Win.
Dinner… Holy frick! I’m in love. I started my love for fish tacos in Austin, TX, where it sets the bar pretty high, and I’ve been chasing that high since. So I opted for the spicy shrimp tacos. My friend got the friend got the «famous» grouper sandwich, which, again, the waitress, Mandy, suggested. We shared a «small» basket of onion rings. They also offered several sauces, which they gave us large bottles of. (Who doesn’t love sauces?!) Nothing fell short of amazing. These tacos were out of the world. Healthy slathering of guac on the bottom with some fresh salsa. The shrimp was fried perfectly with a banging spicy (not too hot) sauce on top! The grouper was lightly breaded country style, fried just right, placed on so soft roll. The onion rings were the bomb! REAL onions, thick slices and battered. So good. We followed it up with their only dessert, key lime pie. In a chocolate graham crust! Everything was absolutely delicious!
Service… Not one face short of smiling or friendly. Food came out so quick (helpful after a day at the beach in the sun!). Mandy was so friendly and helpful, plus we were able to make the hometown connection!
In conclusion. I love this place. I will come back, 100% when I’m in St. Petersburg again. Heck, if if I’m in Tampa. If you love food, it’s worth the drive.

Beyond our hungry and high set expectations. Brought here by Unilocal 4 star reviews. And, 4 stars may be too low for our experience. Freshest seafood and none overcooked!
Best calamari I’ve ever had and I’m picky. Light batter used. Homemade marinara was good, but I prefer an aioli or more creative sauce. Sierra brought options: swamp sauce (remoulade style), cocktail sauce with straight horseradish (because we asked), and an asian style orange sauce that was my favorite with habenero that Sierra appropriately suggested.
Fried oysters: great light batter with plump and juicy oysters. As good as the best I’ve ever had.
Peel and eat shrimp: man and the boat overboard. These suckers were BIG. But, again, not the least overcooked or dry. Tender and juicy with good flavor and served with just enough Old Bay seasoning.
So, we had to try the Captains Platter to seal our fate. This was not about hunger, but endulgence at this point. Lightly blackened was our selection out of about 5 ways. Scallops were big, not really big, but juicy perfection. The shrimp were plump and juicy, not overseasoned. The grouper was a little well done, but so fresh that it stood out as the best tasting I’ve ever had.
No reason to need it, but again, we couldn’t stop. Key lime pie. Not too sweet or too tangy. Just creamy and perfect with chocolate cookie crust.
We usually stay away from fried foods, but this was a great choice with our appetizers with no regrets.

This place looks like a complete hole-​in-​the-​wall, but don’t let the appearance fool you. The seafood here is excellent. Be sure you start with the seafood bisque. Then order the black grouper (their specialty) which is fresh caught daily. There are several ways to have it prepared so I asked the waitress what was the best, in her opinion. She recommended the «lightly blackened on the grill» which was amazing. It gives you the best of both worlds — blackening seasoning for a little spice and the caramelization from the hot grill.
There are dozens of seafood restaurants on Gulf Boulevard, but don’t overlook Dockside Dave’s Grill because it doesn’t have a fancy neon sign or even a proper parking lot.

This is a charming little hole in the wall with really good food. My hubby, Peter P. managed to write a review before me and mine would read nearly word for word like his.
Highlights
— Grouper «lightly blackened on the grill»
— Onion rings the size of your head
— Friendly and fast service
Lowlights
— Sangria, while tasty, was made with a powder
— Key lime pie. Get it if you love sweet (they use an Oreo crust). If you like a tart pie, skip this one
— Either someone was smoking in the kitchen or just outside the back door. It was starting to waft in as we were finishing dinner and it was yucky.

This is it folks as good as Grouper can get. You can have it prepared 7 diferent ways. You can even get Grouper tacos or nuggets. All come with the signature fresh sauces, horseradish, tartar and cocktail. This is FRESH! The tacos had generous amounts of grouper with slaw and a pico de gallo on top. The grouper sandwich (which is what Dave’s is known for will not disappoint or leave you hungry!
The REAL sliced, battered, fried, big as your fist onion rings were the bomb! Waffle fries were crispy, hot and goooood!
Don’t forget to save room for the (homemade Of course) Key Lime Pie.
If you are looking for a great place, great food and good prices without alot of attitude – this is IT. Dave is even their bussing the tables!

Why did I wait so long to come here?
Paula, who ran the entire dining room rocked. She was quick and efficient and was kind enough to blacken my fish on the lunch special instead of it’s advertised fried.
For $ 10, I received a decent size piece of fish, crisp lettuce and a white onion with bread and butter pickle slices. My only complaint was the bun wasn’t toasted. It was served with waffle fries (yes they were that good and put chick fil a to shame) and a side of cole slaw. Everything was great and a wonderful deal.
Support local business and local seafood.