The Waterfront Restaurant & Marina in St. James City - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Excellent food quality, clean kitchen, good service, slow atmosphere

Staff are rude. Food takes too long to get to the table, but the food is good . A little strange menu.

Very Rude Kitchen manager, lazy and no accountability. Brought 40 people for a scheduled lunches and basically wanted us to go away. Don't ever go by Boat you will not like the short make believe Docks and will run aground and damage your Boat. Never again this place is a no go!

Great place, very friendly staff and superb atmosfere

Dedication to their community and quality of service makes the Waterfront a personal favorite of our family. Delicious food with a decent selection, great service, and a small town family grill atmosphere makes eating here a positive every time!

Drove down from Venice for lunch and to get some locally grown lychees and mangos at a farm on the island. Excellent food, service and atmosphere. Sat outside and enjoyed the canal and passing boats.

Delicious Grouper and Fries, beautiful setting!

We stopped in for a late lunch on Saturday. Service was great, the staff was fast and friendly. Food was very good. We had the fried artichokes for an appetizer, great flavor, nice and crispy. My wife had the Buffalo chicken salad, and it was great. The chicken had great flavor and it was crisp, and the exterior was dry, so it wasn't soggy. Interior was juicy. I had the seafood Philly, not a combination I would have previously thought of - scallops, grouper, and shrimp with cheese, bell peppers, and onions. It was surprisingly very good. I like all of the ingredients, I would have never thought to make them into a Philly. We will definitely be back!

This place was awesome. Great food very casual. What I want to say about it is that Google sucks. So many times we look up restaurants and try and take a trip there in Google has not updated their menu or even when they're open. We went there today intended to get something that was on the menu and we called ahead of time because on Google it said it was closed but then we went to their website it said it was open. Bottom line Google sucks this was an amazing restaurant but what we want to order was not on the menu anymore and they said they've been trying to change it forever and they can't. This has happened over and over again with so many Russians we go to. Google needs to step up and wake the hell up and listen to their customers. Every single time that is something wrong they said we've tried to correct it over and over with Google and it's impossible. So Google don't trust you anymore. There's a couple other search engines out there and you going to be the last one I use now

Beautiful views, We sat out on the patio to enjoy the views only the smells was awful the sewage smell was non desirable while you eat, we watched the back flow septic flow out all over the ground. And we had to go inside to the bar to get drink refills ourself, waitress was not very attentive. I would come back again but this was very disappointing.

Great food! You can tell they scratch cook here. The sweet tea fried chicken was very unique with an umami flavor profile. The grouper was fresh and tender. The biggest surprise was the coleslaw which had a lovely flavor profile and a slight bitter, and spicy bite to it. Everything was tasty. This little kitchen will delight you.

Recently reopened. Staff was super friendly. The fish tacos were really good!

Excellent place to watch the sunset and eat. The fish was fresh and the service was perfect - 👌🌅🐟🌴🍻 💯‼️

Blackened grouper reuben sandwich was outstanding. Cannot wait to come back to enjoy again soon.

To a northerner a Philly steak with shrimp and scales sounds yuck, but they know what their doing here.

Stopped here on the boat. Food was fresh and delicious! Highly recommend 👍👍

Love this place!!!!!best meal on the island

It was great experience with the new look! Service was friendly, professional and prompt. Dinner was delightfully delicious

Very nice place. The waitress was really friendly.

Our server was super friendly! The service was great and the food is delicious! The coconut cheesecake and key lime pie are highly recommended!

The food here is always very good. We've eaten here 3 times and the food is consistently good. I had the grilled grouper with coconut rice and veggies and my husband had the pot pie which he's eaten twice and raves about it!! So 😊 happy we found this place.

The jerk shrimp and jerk scallops were awesome but the grouper sandwich was underwhelming. Service was awesome.

We loved this place! Our waitress was wonderful! The calamari appetizer was the best we've ever had!! The Seafood Philly and cole slaw - delicious and you have to try "The Magic Sauce"! The food was stupid good!! IFYKYK...

Delicious food!! The Cajun and lemon pepper grouper dishes were amazing!

End of the road cool place nice views...

Very nice place,our server Savanna was awesome !! She provided the all information about wines and pairing with the food,wonderfull atmosphere specially at sunset.

Great quiet place for a good meal. Great location. A must go.

I got the Seafood Philly and it was really good. My daughter got the Jerk Seasoned Shrimp w/ Coconut Rice. Also very good. Unfortunately the service was pretty poor. I honestly wanted to leave my tip for the guy that brought our food out instead of the waitress. He was courteous and resolved a mistake with the order. The waitress was non-existent. Unfortunate that a good food experience can be messed up by service employees that don't seem too interested in helping people.

Dine in or on the patio. Great food!

Wings not great, sweet potato fries good and fish dip good

Awesome service and good food. Looks like the docks are ski friendly too 👍 We'll be back 😁

Finally open again after a long break. Super nice restaurant by the sea with friendly service and good food

Had a great dinner. Was impressed by the menu.

As nice as the ambience is and the food is excellent, the service is also excellent

The long awaited reopening after Ian has happened!!! Fresh and bright inside due to the rebuild, its lost none of its charm. Most of the original staff have returned...and that says a whole lot!! What a great place. Stop in by car or by boat. This is my favorite place to bring charter customers who need a bite to eat and a break during a fun day on the water.

Waitresses are rude . Parking is difficult and they have no liquor license . They do have select wine and beer. Food is bar food

Outstanding service and the food was great! The waitress recommended the seafood Philly and it was delicious. Great atmosphere being right on the water.

What a great place! Food was fresh and tasty.

Very good food at good prices. Good service and very clean. Recommend!!!

So glad Waterfront is finally back in business after Hurricane Ian. It had been too long since we had their incredible fried pickles. Great restaurant...everything I've had on their menu has been excellent. The seafood pot pie and seafood philly are my favorites. If you are not a seafood person, they have a lot of selection. You can add protein to any salad and they'll make it a wrap as well. If you like fried pickles, these are some of the best I have ever had.

Love the food, the service and the view!

Great little restaurant on the water in St James City. Good food good service and great atmosphere

Haven’t been here since 1999. Still a great place to eat. Perfect grouper sandwich like old time.

Went yesterday with my buddy for a lunch break from fishing. He told me I had to get the Seafood Philly! What a great idea, and Philly it was. He's from Philly too. Glad to see there open,and the place is great. Clean, and great food with 5star service. Good people! Thank you waterfront!

It was super loud inside...we chose to eat inside as it is lovebug season and the bugs were crazy bad.(not the restaurants fault)..but the acoustics in the place are bad...we couldn't carry on a conversation across the table ..on a better note the food was pretty good, but I did have to hunt down the menus and find our waitress after 20 minutes.

This place was a gem right on the water. If you go and you love seafood… you MUST try the SEAFOOD PHILLY!! This hoagie roll melts in your mouth and with there special sauce that the waitress recommended on the side. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My husband got the grouper and he loved it.

Need a different set up outside. Same as it always was. Umbrellas don't shade anything on the dock area. Hot hot hot. We had to go inside & we live here. No fans etc.... then sun sets in the windows inside, no shades on windows, YET.. And then only 3 selections of beer. 2 are IPA. YUK!!! Not sure if there a full bar either. Really nothing has changed there.

We had 8 in our party, and we sat outside. Everything was great!

great service. we all had seafood and it was very good

We had lunch but they were out of a lot

Such a cute place. The food was great and staff is very friendly.

Eat outside if available. Grouper is excellent and beer is frosty...who could ask for anything more.

Great place for dining on the water. Good selection on the menu. I had the Sweet Tea Fried Chicken. Very good. Prices are fair and service is stellar. Only negative I can think of is that parking is at a premium.

I have nothing bad to say about it at all! It was just over the top delicious! The pink lemonade was spot on. I had the all you can eat haddock and ate so much they ran out of it! It was very good and well made haddock. My wife and daughter shared blackened grouper, sweet 🥔 🍠 potato fries, and baked beans. Of course I had to try it, it was amazing! My daughter and wife thought so too. Gramma had the fish-n-ships grouper basket and it was her first time back there since the 🌀 hurricane. In her own words, "The food was good! They need to do some more decorating though since the hurricane." This clearly shows that she loved it! Definitely recommend for a family friendly dinner!

Great experience great food,fantastic service, my favorite place

We had an hour wait which was fine, no one was sitting outside because of the bugs. We went to the bar and got a drink, when our table was ready, we placed our orders, 6 of us, 4 of us live on the island, anyway our food was not delivered requested. No one enjoyed the meals, I was embarrassed that we brought company to this place. Waiting staff needs to be trained before opening. They didn’t know what they were doing. When we got our food we had to ask for silverware so we could eat. None of us will ever waist our money there ever again. When you order a pot pie you can eat it with a fork not this one it was a bowl of soup with very little sea food in it

We sat outside and caught a beautiful sunset over the canals. Our food was fantastic and our waitress was sweet and sassy!

Great place to come by boat, fine service and good food.

Waterfront used to be our favorite restaurant prior to Hurricane Ian.To start off our server was rude and snippy from the minute she approached our table and did not provide attentive service.Chicken wings undercooked and the fried pickles were soggy. Fish and Chips were good but came with 3 tiny strips of fish and a lot of fries( the people sitting next to us also had undercooked grouper.)Service was slow we waited forever to get our second beer and our food took over an hour to get….they were not busy.I have been visiting their food truck at least once a week and was so excited that the restaurant was opening. Food was great at the food truck, not so much at the restaurant.Our entire experience tonight was so disappointing.Will be a long time, if ever before we go back. (FYI:They only serve limited beer products and wine)

We love this place. Trying to get back in there once they reopen after renovations from the hurricane damage. Definitely highly recommend this place.

I did not get drinks or food because did not get any serve. The waiter kept ignoring me, I did let her know that I haven't been attended to. Very bad perspective, maybe if I was Caucasian my experience would have been different. No coming back or taking my guest back to this place !!! BTW it was not that busy when I was there.

Food truck only building was wrecked by hurricane

They’re still serving food! Might be out of the food truck but best flavor ever had at the waterfront! Cajun fish tacos amazing taste freshness! Grouper Reuben full of grouper meat & pouring with yumminess! Seafood hoagie bursting with fresh seafood! Amazing woman still serving our starving faces! Building actively under construction but it doesn’t take away from the amazing island vibes!

Love this place. Great service and great menu. Still not open because of Ian, but food truck is open 11am to 5pm and is great. Can take food and sit on the deck

The was amazing & very friendly! The lady serving us on 20 Dec 2023, was kind enough to answer our questions on Hurricane Ian! For now they are serving food from a food truck while they rebuild the restaurant! The food was delicious, we ate on the back deck with great view of the canal.

I love and miss this place after moving!! Hands down my favorite restaurant of all time. The best fried chicken on earth!! Also great burgers and fries. They only serve fried chicken on Sundays FYI. By far the best ambience of any restaurant. It's right on the tip of Pine Island on the Gulf!! Beautiful Place!! The Waterfront took a beating after Hurricane Ian. I heard they are serving out of a food truck for the time being while the restaurant is getting fixed up. I hope all the repairs will completed ASAP.

These girls are awesome! They’re in the process of restoring the actual restaurant, but their food truck is just as good as the restaurant was! I had the seafood Philly for lunch today and my gosh, was it delicious. The seafood was the perfect amount, and so juicy.. the fries are always amazing and the remoulade served with the sandwich was absolutely perfect! Would 100% recommend lunch or even dinner!

Still serving out of food truck parked in front while they wait for permitting to be approved. But food and service were excellent! Will be returning, want to give them support while they continue to work on re-opening their main building and recover from Ian.

The inside dining is not open yet but the deck is awesome. There using a food truck out front , my burger and fries were the best. Order out front and they bring it to you on the deck.

Great hard working folks. Restaurant has been closed due to Ian, but they are serving good food out of a food truck and hope to reopen in August

I’ve been eating here over 30 years. Never good. Today was the last day. CROW sandwich was supposed to be grouper, the two ounce piece looked, smelled and tasted like cod. The pulled pork had so much liquid smoke in it, I’ll never get the taste out of my mouth. Was supposed to have coleslaw on it. I told the server and she said, “oh.” We only saw her a few times. Oh yeah, almost forgot, warm beer. I’m back to edit again, the gator bites we started off with were so chewy. I love gator and this was like chewing the heel of a shoe. The place is a classic though. Just don’t expect gourmet.

Freundliches Personal und gutes Essen.

Operating out of a food truck. Limited menu. We went to show support.

Amazing food and amazing atmosphere. The owners are also just amazing people! They unfortunately took a hit by hurricane Ian and as of 11/3/22 are working hard to restore it and get her back up and running.

They have a good food and the location is really nice. The waterfront view while eating lunch makes the feeling more special. It's a smart choice to eat here!

I'm afraid that this place is mostly just a fond memory now. Hurricane Ian destroyed a great deal of the waterfront on Pine Island. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering from this terrible tragedy.

Best grouper we've had while being here. Staff is incredible. Million dollar view and ice cold beer. Who could ask for anything more. A definite return will be forthcoming.

I remember trying the soup here and it was totally awesome! I like sitting at the bar personally and awesome gear! Bobby Chips out!

Beach bread was not worth the order just an fyi

The food and service were both awesome! Love the view.

The food was a mess. They brought the wrong food on the wrong plates, then mine wasn't done,, then there was a hair, then the next sandwich had toppings on it that i couldn't eat.. i gave up. The view was amazing. The storm rolled in just as we sat down and we all had to scramble inside. They got the doors down fast enough that no rain got on us. As soon as the storm passed, they opened the doors back up. Hearing the water hit the docks while eating was awesome.

I always enjoy the food and the atmosphere. Dining room and deck available for canal side meals or beverages.

We have been eating here for many years. It is one of the better restaurants in St. James City. The service has always been friendly. I love the newly updated décor with the bright colors. The menu has varied over the years with daily specials and plenty of seafood. They make a excellent burger topped with onion straws. People rave and rave about the sweet tea fried chicken on Sunday but I have had better.

Great small business to eat at. Staff and food was excellent.

Compared a couple Restaurants and decided to Order from the menu of the Waterfront, location St James City on the Island in Florida. Their 20 wings said $15.75 and steak and cheese sub for $9.75 on there posted menu (Totaling 25.50) I was given my dinner and was told I owed them $44.09. Was speechless but I than told the cashier The price on the internet. A waitress than stepped in and told me I shouldn't believe what I see. HUN! I than told her I could have gone to Texas Road House and gotten a Prime Rib Dinner with all the fix-ins for $35. I paid it because I was very hungry and it's hard for me to get around missing a leg but I did assure them that they wound never see another dollar from me. For bites and the sub was gone. OMG, TOUREST BEWARE (I have the receipt)

Superb afternoon spent eating lunch in an idyllic setting. Fabulous food and fantastic servers. We will be back! Thank you.

Food was great! Cozy little restaurant off the beaten path. Highly recommend it!!

View is nice but staff didn't seem friendly. Waitress took it upon herself to change my beverage order without asking and didn't seem to care. We were there early and they were already out of things. The ice tea chicken was meh at best but the pickle spears were really good. And if you require ADA bathrooms, be prepared to use the smelly porta-potty out front. Disappointed overall and likely wouldn't return.

Went for the first time 0n 07-10-22. A younger waitress saw us by the door and just left us there waiting when asked if we could be seated she gave us a terrible attitude. Lucky for us she was our waitress at first but then was switched. Overall it was not bad but first impression we were disappointed.

Nice view and breeze. Went in for appetizers on a Sunday they were out of oysters and gator bits. They have their sale on Oysters on Saturday. Had the calamari it was okay.

Best Sweet Tea Chicken in the world _and_ the best virw.

Fun little bar located in St James Island. You can park vehicle or dock your boat, you choose. The food and drinks are great! Recommend the seafood its fresh and delicious. They even have a dog menu for your pups. The service is top notch as well. Outdoor seating is available if you enjoy to see the boats go by. Come visit this place you will be impressed!!!

Food was good. I had the blackened grouper tacos, yummy mango salsa on it. The complimentary Coleslaw was pretty good, you can taste the celery salt which gives it a kick. The key lime pie was nice and light. Not too tart. I recommend eating outside on the water, the inside of the place needs some updating. Just kind of grimey inside. Outdoors was perfect.

Found this amazing place on google maps. It wasn't listed on our boat map so we we felt we had to check it out for lunch, SO GLAD WE DID!! Lindsay was just the sweetest from the beginning! Family day on the boat means we have our 1 year old pittbull with us too... Lindsay welcomed our pup like any other customer and made sure our Olive had fresh, cold water to enjoy right away right next to our table. They even have a DOGGIE MENU!! Our pup loves veggies, which wasnt in the menu, but Lindsay had the cheif put some mix veggies in a dish for her, the chef put extra carrots because we said they were Olives favorites. This is truly a great stop for a family meal! We didn't ask for special accommodations, but Lindsay and the man who brought out our food just accommodated us like a natural habit. The homemade sangria is a sweet delicious treat too!! 😋 ahhh! So many great things I could say about this place, Lindsay was the best server in Florida! 👌💗

Great place, right on a canal off the river. Good food, great staff. Wish they had a full bar instead of beer and wine only, but I understand why they don't. Great deck to sit on and watch the world go by

Great food, awesome service, beautiful spot!

Food was good , service was great , beer was cool. 👌

Good food great service and right on the canal.

Effen loved it. Great food, great service. Seafood Philly yummy. Good wings too. I was too broad shoulder to walk straight into bathroom, find out for yourself. Going back.

It was very pleasant out on the deck overlooking the canal watching the boats come by. We only stopped for a snack which was perfect because they had oysters on special the day we were there. They were very, very good.