Sunset Cafe' Waterfront Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Cocoa Beach

My wife really wanted to go here and have a sunset dinner on the river. They don't take reservations but encourage you to "call ahead" for a table. Not sure what that accomplishes. We arrived just after 6 PM and there was still some table availability though it was filling up. We were seated right at the patio entrance by the hostess station - so lots of traffic, and the view of the river was restricted. Two tables by the railing were leaving and being cleared. We asked our server if we could move over to one of them and were told, yes, that would be fine. So we grabbed our menus and moved. Much better view! Shortly after the waitress took our drink order the bartender came to the table and said that the table had been reserved (which we were told you couldn't do) because they needed a four top. We explained we had asked our previous server if it was alright to move and had been told we could. She said they had decided to let us stay. So why were we having this conversation? If she had already decided we could stay then why jam us on it at all? Power trip? Seemed like if it was an issue it needed to be between her and the server. Tell all of them no table changes without going through the hostess. She left and I looked around and other than a couple of larger tables ALL of the tables were four tops. So I really didn't see her point. Not a great start to the evening.

They had live music and he didn't seem to understand that he needed to be background, that we weren't at his own personal concert. The music was way too loud and made conversation difficult. Even taking our orders was a struggle for the waitress and she apologized and rolled her eyes at the entertainer. She repeated our order back to make sure she heard it - which was good. Her overall service was mediocre at best as she did not bring part of the meal and it arrived much later. There was very little follow up until the check was brought. The food was not particularly good, merely average for a tourist trap. And being a tourist trap was similarly overpriced. Unless you just have to have the dining on the river at sunset experience I wouldn't...

Went here for Father's Day and because my parents had received a gift card. Our server was awesome and attentive.

Food wise though, it is way overpriced for what you get. I'm a local, if you want good food and a good view, go to the Port where you got the Grills, Rusty's, Fishlips, etc., or to Squidlips (either of their three waterfront locations). Other recommendations would be Coconuts on the Beach, although finding a parking spot can also be a nightmare since it's downtown Cocoa Beach. The Sandbar at the end of 520 has great fish tacos but no view but you can walk to the beach. Long Doggers is good and barely a block over from Sunset but no view. I don't know about Florida Seafood or the one next to it as I haven't been there.

Back to Sunset, I got the Hurricane Shrimp over rice pilaf and what was supposed to be a spicy teriyaki sauce. Sunset's Fantail Shrimp is dry, overcooked and doesn't even look appealing. That did NOT look like teriyaki or taste like it and the rice pilaf was borderline mushy and tasteless. It was flooded by the gravy looking teriyaki slop. I did not send it back, I just picked at it and tried to muster through it but that is pathetic for a dish especially what they try to charge for it.

My dad got their mahi, it was good but the presentation for what is almost $30, is ridiculous for some coleslaw and rice pilaf on the side. My bf got their fried grouper, it was a nice big fillet and tasty, we'll give them credit for that.

Their menu is limited and supposedly from the Covid days. Well Covid is long gone, there's no reason to keep a limited menu and charge crazy prices for what looks like something you could get from the mess hall.

If you just want a good view and some drinks, they do have a good location for a view but all in all, it's just a tourist trap. We thought their mixed drinks were weak but you be the judge of that. They're good and presentation is nice otherwise.

Parking is also tight, if you got a group, try and carpool. Florida Seafood next door has a parking lot in the back and they DO have someone watching the lot. They will advise you to move which is understandable but keep...

Sunset Cafe Waterfront Grill & Bar 500 W. Cocoa Beach Cswy., Cocoa Beach, FL 32931

3 Stars

When dining anywhere in the Sunshine State, it's hard to avoid tourist clip joints, especially where Jeannie resides, Cocoa Beach, FL. And so it was with slight trepidation that I headed north. Don't get me wrong, I love Cocoa Beach; I just detest tourist traps, and the place is littered with them.

Upon entering the Sunset Care Waterfront Grill & Bar, I paused as my eyes took in the scene. I glanced at my watch to make sure it wasn't the 3:30 geriatric dinner crowd as at 58; I was the youngest human in here by a decade. It wasn't that early, but it wasn't late either...is this how it begins?

Tamara was my server for the meal and while she started out with a bang, she ended with a whimper. The charm was there, as well as the skill, maybe the desire checked out half-way through my meal. I asked Tamara for an order of the Sunset Seafood Combo along with some Fries.

Taking in the atmosphere along with the view, I wondered what it was about a great view and average food. Is the rent on the location so high that it affects the ability to procure quality ingredients? Or maybe the owner thinks that the view will obscure all else and is trying to make as much off of each patron as possible? I don't have any answers, all I know is experience and experience suggests one of those, at the very least, must be true.

If you take a moment to toss your peepers at the accompanying pictures, you will see that everything certainly looked good, if not delicious. The Sunset Seafood Combo consisted of a filet of grouper, shrimp, and a crab cake grilled or blackened served with your choice of sweet potato fries, French fries, or rice pilaf and homemade slaw. As one can tell, I went with the blackened.

Nothing was ocean fresh, or even close to it, but everything was seasoned well. I found the shrimp to be above what one normally finds in a joint like this; the grouper and crab cake were not.

The Big Boy says, "better than most places with a view, but...