Whenever I go to South Padre I go to the Painted Marlin at Sunset for amazing pictures and ambience. They have a great wait staff and servers. Everything is amazing from Hamburgers to Tuna to Mahi Mahi. They have a great bar. Call and get on their seating list before you get there to get a table quicker. Yum! They accommodated my husband's birthday with an amazing piece of chocolate cake. They also have Key Lime Pie.
stenniss
We both had the Large Shrimp Cocktail. It was great but to much food. Get the small. I had the flounder covered with the shrimp and crawfish etouffee. My wife had the fried shrimp. Both were very good.
Steve P.
We ate at Painted Marlin twice during our recent trip. Plan to wait for a table. They have a online reservation system, but it really doesn't make any sense. We tried to make a reservation for an early dinner, but the system wasn't in use (perhaps because they weren't that busy?). The first time we went we had to wait 45 minutes to be seated. Once seated, the service was superb. We got our appetizers in about 3 minutes and got our food just before finishing the appetizers. The waitress was very friendly and checked on us several times. The second time we took our boat there and docked it while eating. This was the time we tried to use the reservation system, but we ended up waiting about 30 minutes. The food was good, but the waiter was lacking. He started out good, but after he took our order we never saw him again until it was time for the check. Even after he brought it, we never saw him again, somebody else came and completed the transaction. I don't remember a specific dish that was the best, everybody in our party was very impressed with the food.
Greg G.
Beautiful restaurant on the bay. Great views of the sunset. The menu is varied and provides plenty of options. Drinks were good and fairly priced. Service was on point. We had dinner one evening and returned the next for sunset dessert . Highly recommend.
Nishia A.
Great spot to see the sunset. We came for some oysters and they definitely were subpar. If you want oysters, go to port Isabel and go to Joe's oyster bar. We also had the ceviche and it was good. Drinks were fine. Maybe their entrees are better but we only had drinks and appetizers.
Sam M.
Amazing how many people are willing to pay for subpar food. I guess if you get a reservation that serves as good food. NOT The 4 plates of so called fresh fish served to our table WAS NOT! Fishy, under seasoned and nothing more. The rice pilaf was completely flavorless, beige rice in a ring shape, whoop de do! Vegetables at least weren't overcooked, but served cold and nut really cooked at all. Our last time EVER wasting our time and money? The best was the view, that's it for this place.
traveler_Tips123
We tried twice to get in here. The online waiting list didn't work, and the hostess was a snob. Don't let the empty parking lot fool you, if it's around sunset and you didn't make a reservation, you won't get in or your wait will be two hours.
Carla Lacson
Great seafood and view of the bay.High quality food that is not your boring old seafood Sysco tasting restaurant. We got peel n eat shrimp that were fresh and delicious. The crab cakes were good but not the best I’ve ever had. The mussels and shrimp on angel hair pasta was delicious! Plenty for 2 of us to share.Drinks are strong here! Wonderful place to eat and enjoy the bay.
travelingmanIllinois
This is a very good restaurant with great quality food and very good service. Prices are reasonable also. The reservation system is a little weird but workable. This is a open air type of restaurant with great views of the water and sunsets, so it can be a little warm but they also have very good air circulation, so it was pretty comfortable. I am pretty picky and this restaurant is really well organized and efficient. I was very happy!
Sophia R.
This place was amazing, truthfully one of the best restaurants down here. The whole restaurant is open air on a patio, and the view was incredible. Tame Impala was floating through the air for music which we looooved. The vibe was superb. And the food!!!! Tacos were so flavorful and fresh, cucumber gimlets were sweet and refreshing, and our waiter even brought the most amazing chips and salsa per my request (wasn't on the menu) with fresh limes. This place was perfect, once again..the most amazing sunset viewing spot.
We enjoyed the redfish rockfellerand under the sea combo so much we went back the next night to have the blackened redfish. Service was amazing, bay views. Highly recommend, was too busy eating to take pictures of the food!
Robb G.
It was good, but not great. More atmosphere than food. Staff was very good and the sunset dinning was great...bring your sun glasses. We had the Redfish Rockefeller and the Under the sea combo. Redfish was warn, not hot and the shrimp were over cooked on the combo. Overall good experience, one and done.
Erik Villarreal
We saw the reviews and the crowd this place had. After we waited for 1.5hrs we were seated. Staff was friendly and attentive, including the MOD who took great care. The apps were very good and pictured attached. The drinks were very weak and not the best tasting. If your on the water you should be making the best mojito and margaritas. The fish tacos lacked flavor for sure. Over all great place to check out.
MelissaHouston
Stayed at soda Royals room 9152 on 15th floor. Furniture updated but actual room and bedrooms pooled maintained. Paint, rust ceiling tiles. Token baths not updated. Should be a top rated resort this room did not hold true. Food on SPI : we did not find any good food. Bar food and even at Painted Marlin with wait up to an hour was just average. Best burger was at wanna wanna. Bit best seafood ? Still looking
Explorer600227
We have had some good experiences, but the quality has been slipping over the last few months. My wife and I ordered different meals. They were both served to us in less than 5 minutes. This is way to fast for $20+ dinner meals and doesn’t support their claims of being made from scratch. My meal was the Shrimp Chimichuri. The sauce on the shrimp was less than room temperature. The shrimp were room temperature as well and tasted as though they were over cooked. The shrimp was sitting in what appeared to be butter…but there was no taste. The vegetables and the rice were good and unfortunately the best part of the meal. The restaurant was clean and still a nice location, but unfortunately we will be moving this down on our rotation list.
Whenever I go to South Padre I go to the Painted Marlin at Sunset for amazing pictures and ambience. They have a great wait staff and servers. Everything is amazing from Hamburgers to Tuna to Mahi Mahi. They have a great bar. Call and get on their seating list before you get there to get a table quicker. Yum! They accommodated my husband's birthday with an amazing piece of chocolate cake. They also have Key Lime Pie.
We both had the Large Shrimp Cocktail. It was great but to much food. Get the small. I had the flounder covered with the shrimp and crawfish etouffee. My wife had the fried shrimp. Both were very good.
We ate at Painted Marlin twice during our recent trip. Plan to wait for a table. They have a online reservation system, but it really doesn't make any sense. We tried to make a reservation for an early dinner, but the system wasn't in use (perhaps because they weren't that busy?). The first time we went we had to wait 45 minutes to be seated. Once seated, the service was superb. We got our appetizers in about 3 minutes and got our food just before finishing the appetizers. The waitress was very friendly and checked on us several times. The second time we took our boat there and docked it while eating. This was the time we tried to use the reservation system, but we ended up waiting about 30 minutes. The food was good, but the waiter was lacking. He started out good, but after he took our order we never saw him again until it was time for the check. Even after he brought it, we never saw him again, somebody else came and completed the transaction. I don't remember a specific dish that was the best, everybody in our party was very impressed with the food.
Beautiful restaurant on the bay. Great views of the sunset. The menu is varied and provides plenty of options. Drinks were good and fairly priced. Service was on point. We had dinner one evening and returned the next for sunset dessert . Highly recommend.
Great spot to see the sunset. We came for some oysters and they definitely were subpar. If you want oysters, go to port Isabel and go to Joe's oyster bar. We also had the ceviche and it was good. Drinks were fine. Maybe their entrees are better but we only had drinks and appetizers.
Amazing how many people are willing to pay for subpar food. I guess if you get a reservation that serves as good food. NOT The 4 plates of so called fresh fish served to our table WAS NOT! Fishy, under seasoned and nothing more. The rice pilaf was completely flavorless, beige rice in a ring shape, whoop de do! Vegetables at least weren't overcooked, but served cold and nut really cooked at all. Our last time EVER wasting our time and money? The best was the view, that's it for this place.
We tried twice to get in here. The online waiting list didn't work, and the hostess was a snob. Don't let the empty parking lot fool you, if it's around sunset and you didn't make a reservation, you won't get in or your wait will be two hours.
Great seafood and view of the bay.High quality food that is not your boring old seafood Sysco tasting restaurant. We got peel n eat shrimp that were fresh and delicious. The crab cakes were good but not the best I’ve ever had. The mussels and shrimp on angel hair pasta was delicious! Plenty for 2 of us to share.Drinks are strong here! Wonderful place to eat and enjoy the bay.
This is a very good restaurant with great quality food and very good service. Prices are reasonable also. The reservation system is a little weird but workable. This is a open air type of restaurant with great views of the water and sunsets, so it can be a little warm but they also have very good air circulation, so it was pretty comfortable. I am pretty picky and this restaurant is really well organized and efficient. I was very happy!
This place was amazing, truthfully one of the best restaurants down here. The whole restaurant is open air on a patio, and the view was incredible. Tame Impala was floating through the air for music which we looooved. The vibe was superb. And the food!!!! Tacos were so flavorful and fresh, cucumber gimlets were sweet and refreshing, and our waiter even brought the most amazing chips and salsa per my request (wasn't on the menu) with fresh limes. This place was perfect, once again..the most amazing sunset viewing spot.
Restaurantji Recommends
We enjoyed the redfish rockfellerand under the sea combo so much we went back the next night to have the blackened redfish. Service was amazing, bay views. Highly recommend, was too busy eating to take pictures of the food!
It was good, but not great. More atmosphere than food. Staff was very good and the sunset dinning was great...bring your sun glasses. We had the Redfish Rockefeller and the Under the sea combo. Redfish was warn, not hot and the shrimp were over cooked on the combo. Overall good experience, one and done.
We saw the reviews and the crowd this place had. After we waited for 1.5hrs we were seated. Staff was friendly and attentive, including the MOD who took great care. The apps were very good and pictured attached. The drinks were very weak and not the best tasting. If your on the water you should be making the best mojito and margaritas. The fish tacos lacked flavor for sure. Over all great place to check out.
Stayed at soda Royals room 9152 on 15th floor. Furniture updated but actual room and bedrooms pooled maintained. Paint, rust ceiling tiles. Token baths not updated. Should be a top rated resort this room did not hold true. Food on SPI : we did not find any good food. Bar food and even at Painted Marlin with wait up to an hour was just average. Best burger was at wanna wanna. Bit best seafood ? Still looking
We have had some good experiences, but the quality has been slipping over the last few months. My wife and I ordered different meals. They were both served to us in less than 5 minutes. This is way to fast for $20+ dinner meals and doesn’t support their claims of being made from scratch. My meal was the Shrimp Chimichuri. The sauce on the shrimp was less than room temperature. The shrimp were room temperature as well and tasted as though they were over cooked. The shrimp was sitting in what appeared to be butter…but there was no taste. The vegetables and the rice were good and unfortunately the best part of the meal. The restaurant was clean and still a nice location, but unfortunately we will be moving this down on our rotation list.