Restaurant is not here. Drive 30 Minutes to eat here and it’s empty... extremely disappointed... As many people use trip advisor to find places to eat or explore... a place that is no longer should say so.
Tom Randle
Great server, food was good, sat on the sidewalk and people watched. The menu is 3-4 weeks old, per our server.
Glenn V.
Well some of the reviews are good but we are not going back. Four of us ordered from a waiter that I would give 2 stars to, and the food sure did not cut it for us. Two of us had the grouper Reuben and asked if they could change out the sauerkraut for coleslaw. After a puzzled look he said OK. The two ladies each asked for a fruit cup with their meal. The sandwiches on rye looked OK on the plate but on picking them up the bottom bread was so soaked through it was difficult to lift up. The ladies had watermelon in their fruit cup which was horribly old and mushy. Making note of it to the waiter he said he would bring another one out but by now it was quite late (as he never returned to ask how things were) and she asked to put it in a container to go. A few minutes later he came back with a sealed container and upon opening it these cubes of watermelon were half white showing that they cut down to the core of the melon. That was left behind! Upon receiving the bill we note that they charged us an extra one dollar for the change out of sauerkraut to coleslaw. Really?? There are a lot of other restaurants in the quaint little village so you will not see us snowbirds again!
Sandy G.
We stopped in here with four teens thinking this place had something for everyone, and always a crowd pleaser, nachos! How can nachos go wrong? Ask the Surf Shack. They were the most flavorless plate of chips, semi cooled cheese and bland meat ever tasted. I don't think the meat was even salted let alone seasoned! It also appeared that they were short-staffed this evening, as we only saw two servers. Our waitress was friendly, if not a bit harried, but the service was definitely slow, and the food was blah. Very disappointing experience!
Susan W.
Meh. Seated immediately, then no one came near us for about 10 minutes. Finally the waitress who was serving the table next to us asked if anyone had come over yet, and took our order. Food came out fairly quickly. Drinks were good, but waaayyy too much ice. Coconut shrimp were ok, nothing great. Bang bang shrimp tacos were ok but bland. The hit sauce on the table made them delicious. Companion's a la carte j*** chicken and fish tacos were good, apparently. It's not a terribly clean place, and honestly would be fine if it was actually on the beach somewhere, but on St. Armand's, we could do better, there are a hundred places to eat there.
Kim L
We had a nice lunch at this restaurant. They have a few tables out on the sidewalk which is nice. Happy hour from 2-6 everyday is great. Grouper and coconut shrimp were great. Service was a bit slow. Recommended.
Karen B.
Love this place for fish tacos. I pray they never take Bangin Shrimp tacos off the menu. Great music upstairs in the terrace piano bar too. A staple of St Armands. Great for easy takeout from bar too. Yummy cornbread as well.
Jessica M.
It's food. That's pretty much all I can say. Don't expect anything more. Went in on a whim and got fish and chips, lobster mac n cheese and cheese dip. Cheese dip was the best of the three. Fish and chips tasted like wet paper. Lobster Mac n cheese had little cheese. Probably should have read the reviews first and gotten a taco. As I said, it is food. Not a good place for a special occasion.
Maxim T.
Great American fare! Our server Covington is truly professional. He suggested tasty items from the menu. Definitely try their wings! Delicioso!
Jenny Li
Bought two fish taco: fish in one tack was cold and the other fish in taco #2 was raw.
Thanks to BILLY, a staff member, who told me about this restaurant! I am in Sarasota for a few months and decided to go to an art show on St. Armand circle. I knew I'd have to get lunch at some point. I met Billy while waiting for the bus. He mentioned Surf Shack. Thanks to him I now have a cool little spot to go when I'm back on the key! Once there, Carrie took good care of me. I had the surf and turf taco and the tiger shrimp taco. Both delicious! Great selections of dishes and drinks. I will definitely be back! I can't wait to try some of the
Jacquelyn Burke Gaines
I would fly from Ohio to Florida any day for the Caribbean J*** chicken tacos! All of their food is amazingly tasty!
Rebekah G.
This place had the worst tasting water I've ever had, like something was seriously wrong with it. I couldn't stand it so had to pay for bottled water. The vegan tacos were a soy sauce laden asian lettuce wrap, not a taco. The Thai peanut bowl was the weirdest tasting take on Thai food, so bad we didn't eat it. Even the server said it was "hit or miss". We asked about vegan options and were told the black beans were ok - they arrived with a chunk of meat in them. The service was a little slow (at 6:30 not a busy time) and they didn't give us our credit card back so we had to go back in heavy traffic. I won't go back and don't recommend thIs place for vegans, or vegetarians. Bring your own water, I'd be scared to order anything with water or ice by the way it tasted.
Chelsey K.
The perfect place to enjoy dinner in Sarasota! We drove out to the island right as the sun was setting and arrived just in time for the live music to start. Our server was one of the coolest and most personable people I've ever vibed with in a customer service setting and was so helpful! I ordered two veggie vegan tacos with a side of mac and cheese and it was just what I needed. The cozy aesthetic inside only added to my relaxing dinner experience. Parking looks to be a little crazy on most days but was easy to find on our Sunday evening visit. I would definitely visit this place again!
Linda L.
We had mixed feelings coming to the shack after reading a few reviews. However, we had a great experience and wonderful food and drinks! We had a couple of the local brews and enjoyed them all. The seafood salad was flavorful and packed with seafood! Deeelish! Tacos that were enjoyed were the Bangin Shrimp and J*** Chicken. Kevin was great help at the bar. Depending on what you're looking for I guess. We were looking for seafood, drinks, and quick friendly service. We were not disappointed.
Restaurant is not here. Drive 30 Minutes to eat here and it’s empty... extremely disappointed... As many people use trip advisor to find places to eat or explore... a place that is no longer should say so.
Great server, food was good, sat on the sidewalk and people watched. The menu is 3-4 weeks old, per our server.
Well some of the reviews are good but we are not going back. Four of us ordered from a waiter that I would give 2 stars to, and the food sure did not cut it for us. Two of us had the grouper Reuben and asked if they could change out the sauerkraut for coleslaw. After a puzzled look he said OK. The two ladies each asked for a fruit cup with their meal. The sandwiches on rye looked OK on the plate but on picking them up the bottom bread was so soaked through it was difficult to lift up. The ladies had watermelon in their fruit cup which was horribly old and mushy. Making note of it to the waiter he said he would bring another one out but by now it was quite late (as he never returned to ask how things were) and she asked to put it in a container to go. A few minutes later he came back with a sealed container and upon opening it these cubes of watermelon were half white showing that they cut down to the core of the melon. That was left behind! Upon receiving the bill we note that they charged us an extra one dollar for the change out of sauerkraut to coleslaw. Really?? There are a lot of other restaurants in the quaint little village so you will not see us snowbirds again!
We stopped in here with four teens thinking this place had something for everyone, and always a crowd pleaser, nachos! How can nachos go wrong? Ask the Surf Shack. They were the most flavorless plate of chips, semi cooled cheese and bland meat ever tasted. I don't think the meat was even salted let alone seasoned! It also appeared that they were short-staffed this evening, as we only saw two servers. Our waitress was friendly, if not a bit harried, but the service was definitely slow, and the food was blah. Very disappointing experience!
Meh. Seated immediately, then no one came near us for about 10 minutes. Finally the waitress who was serving the table next to us asked if anyone had come over yet, and took our order. Food came out fairly quickly. Drinks were good, but waaayyy too much ice. Coconut shrimp were ok, nothing great. Bang bang shrimp tacos were ok but bland. The hit sauce on the table made them delicious. Companion's a la carte j*** chicken and fish tacos were good, apparently. It's not a terribly clean place, and honestly would be fine if it was actually on the beach somewhere, but on St. Armand's, we could do better, there are a hundred places to eat there.
We had a nice lunch at this restaurant. They have a few tables out on the sidewalk which is nice. Happy hour from 2-6 everyday is great. Grouper and coconut shrimp were great. Service was a bit slow. Recommended.
Love this place for fish tacos. I pray they never take Bangin Shrimp tacos off the menu. Great music upstairs in the terrace piano bar too. A staple of St Armands. Great for easy takeout from bar too. Yummy cornbread as well.
It's food. That's pretty much all I can say. Don't expect anything more. Went in on a whim and got fish and chips, lobster mac n cheese and cheese dip. Cheese dip was the best of the three. Fish and chips tasted like wet paper. Lobster Mac n cheese had little cheese. Probably should have read the reviews first and gotten a taco. As I said, it is food. Not a good place for a special occasion.
Great American fare! Our server Covington is truly professional. He suggested tasty items from the menu. Definitely try their wings! Delicioso!
Bought two fish taco: fish in one tack was cold and the other fish in taco #2 was raw.
Restaurantji Recommends
Thanks to BILLY, a staff member, who told me about this restaurant! I am in Sarasota for a few months and decided to go to an art show on St. Armand circle. I knew I'd have to get lunch at some point. I met Billy while waiting for the bus. He mentioned Surf Shack. Thanks to him I now have a cool little spot to go when I'm back on the key! Once there, Carrie took good care of me. I had the surf and turf taco and the tiger shrimp taco. Both delicious! Great selections of dishes and drinks. I will definitely be back! I can't wait to try some of the
I would fly from Ohio to Florida any day for the Caribbean J*** chicken tacos! All of their food is amazingly tasty!
This place had the worst tasting water I've ever had, like something was seriously wrong with it. I couldn't stand it so had to pay for bottled water. The vegan tacos were a soy sauce laden asian lettuce wrap, not a taco. The Thai peanut bowl was the weirdest tasting take on Thai food, so bad we didn't eat it. Even the server said it was "hit or miss". We asked about vegan options and were told the black beans were ok - they arrived with a chunk of meat in them. The service was a little slow (at 6:30 not a busy time) and they didn't give us our credit card back so we had to go back in heavy traffic. I won't go back and don't recommend thIs place for vegans, or vegetarians. Bring your own water, I'd be scared to order anything with water or ice by the way it tasted.
The perfect place to enjoy dinner in Sarasota! We drove out to the island right as the sun was setting and arrived just in time for the live music to start. Our server was one of the coolest and most personable people I've ever vibed with in a customer service setting and was so helpful! I ordered two veggie vegan tacos with a side of mac and cheese and it was just what I needed. The cozy aesthetic inside only added to my relaxing dinner experience. Parking looks to be a little crazy on most days but was easy to find on our Sunday evening visit. I would definitely visit this place again!
We had mixed feelings coming to the shack after reading a few reviews. However, we had a great experience and wonderful food and drinks! We had a couple of the local brews and enjoyed them all. The seafood salad was flavorful and packed with seafood! Deeelish! Tacos that were enjoyed were the Bangin Shrimp and J*** Chicken. Kevin was great help at the bar. Depending on what you're looking for I guess. We were looking for seafood, drinks, and quick friendly service. We were not disappointed.