Gulf Drive Cafe — Restaurant in Brandenton Beach

As I walked to the beach, I heard an elderly man shouting aggressively, "YOU! Come here! YOU! GET OVER HERE!" His arm was outstretched, pointing at a family, and he seemed ready to physically attack them, including the mom and kids. It turns out they were dining at his restaurant, Gulf Drive Café. They had a large family and a big bill, which they paid. At the advice of their server, they walked on the beach next to the restaurant. Just as they stepped onto the sand, the owner started chasing them and screaming, telling them he was getting their car towed. They had only been on the sand for about 90 seconds. As nearby home owners on the island, we tried to comfort the family and apologized for how they were treated. We hate to see anyone attacked, especially tourists. The family was almost in tears, shocked by the owner's behavior. My heart was racing, I should have called the cops on him. By the time I got my phone out to video what was happening, the owner, seen in my photo, was walking away. I thought about pulling my phone out earlier but I was scared he’d come after me too.

The owner of Gulf Drive Café is notorious for being extremely aggressive and mean. He charges $100 to park in his lot, which is outrageous. We've heard numerous horror stories about the place: food being reused, the owner grabbing food off plates from tables being bussed and putting it on new plates, and a garbage area infested with rats due to only having one dumpster because he doesn't want to spend the money on more. Ex-employees have also said that he cuts off moldy parts from meats and serves them to customers. Additionally, servers have reported that he adds cheap liquor to his premium liquor bottles.

The food is terrible. The last time we ate there, the owner was throwing ice at birds and screaming at them while he waved his arms, all next to our table. This is how this business owner treats tourists, the very people he makes a killing from. It will be the last time we ever give that lunatic a penny. While the location is beautiful, it's just not worth it in the end. There are dozens of other great restaurants with just as beautiful locations on the island. Choose anywhere but Gulf Drive Café.

I’d give zero starts if it was an option, he doesn’t...

I don’t know what hellhole this place crawled into, but it sure wasn’t the beachside café we remember. Gulf Drive Café used to be a laid-back gem. Now it’s a glorified tourist trap with plastic utensils, sky-high prices, and a staff that looks and acts like they gave up on life long ago.

Let me break it down.

We paid ridiculous money just to PARK, which should’ve been our first clue to run. But no — we tried to give it a chance. Then came the “dining experience,” which was more like being handed takeout at an understaffed gas station. Real utensils? Nope. They hand you plastic forks like it’s a hurricane relief center — except there was no storm, just laziness disguised as excuses.

I ordered chicken and waffles. Sounds simple, right? Somehow they managed to botch it to the point that we were physically ill later. That’s right — we got sick from this disaster of a meal. And no, we’re not “delicate.” This was straight-up unsafe.

The staff? They moved like zombies, barely acknowledged customers, and gave off “I hate this job and you” energy from the moment we sat down. Two different heated confrontations broke out near us — and management? Nowhere. Just a manager or owner slinking around doing absolutely nothing to de-escalate or apologize. One might’ve even been fueling the fire. Truly professional.

This place is supposed to be a prime beachside spot, but it’s lost every ounce of charm it used to have. It’s now a soulless, overpriced, mismanaged dump that weaponizes a pretty view to trap unsuspecting visitors. Do not fall for it.

If you want to pay too much for bad food, feel nauseous, and be ignored or even disrespected by staff and management — this is your place. Otherwise, save yourself the money, the stomachache, and the rage. I wouldn’t come back here if they were giving away free food and massages.

Shame on Gulf Drive Café. You’ve earned your place in the hall of...

Went there for a nice lunch, didn’t get that experience. When we first got there we sat down at a nearly empty restaurant on told up tables. Unclean already. Then when our waitress came around we gave our drink orders they came out quite fast and were good. Then we ordered our food, quite simple things 2 burgers, wings, a chicken sandwich and a waffle. Now here’s where we started to question why we chose this place. After taking our orders we did not see our waitress for at LEAST 40 minutes. Not to check on us, ask if we need anything, or tell us our food would be done soon. We sat there with empty drinks and no food. When our food finally did come out it wasn't her that brought it to us. No big deal or so we thought. My wings were cold as if they had been sitting but had good flavor so I didn’t wanna send it back and wait 40 more minutes for food. The wings were definitely not mild and fresh. The chicken sandwich was fine but no pickles? Which we had asked for four times. Also the avocado that we were charged $4 for wasn’t ripe. It was hard and inedible. The waffle which took the longest to come out an additional 10 minutes was drowning in Nutella. It was like Nutella with a side of waffle. Strawberries were fine. Burger 1 was cold and the bun was beyond overcooked yet the sides of fries were undercooked. No ketchup to be seen. When we did get ketchup from again not our waitress it was rancid had to ask for a second bottle. Burger 2 also good. Fries also undercooked. No pickles for either of the burgers. Did they run away? After all that the bathrooms were beyond disgusting. Soap dispensers weren’t on the wall and the floors were gross. Waitress finally came over after we found her ourself. As we needed napkins. No managers in sight. Not a lot of help. And to top it off was NOT worth the $121 we spent. So overall would rate negative stars if possible. Would...