Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. — Restaurant in Daytona Beach

As longtime fans of Bubba Gump’s, this visit was deeply disappointing — and that’s putting it kindly. My daughter absolutely loves Bubba Gump and has dined at several locations across the United States. We regularly visit the Orlando location, where the service, menu, and atmosphere are consistently enjoyable. Unfortunately, the Daytona Beach location fell far short of what we’ve come to expect.

To start, we waited over 10 minutes after walking in before anyone even acknowledged us or came to seat us. During that entire time, not a single staff member was visible — it was as if the place was on autopilot. Once seated, the restaurant was unbearably hot, which made it difficult to enjoy the experience from the beginning.

My daughter ordered the Shrimper’s Net Catch (½ lb, garlic flavor), a dish she’s had many times before. She stepped away briefly to find the restroom, and by the time she returned, her shrimp were already at the table — but they were Cajun, not garlic. The shrimp were so spicy that even she couldn’t eat them, and this is someone who’s been eating jalapeños out of the jar since she was three.

When we finally tracked down our server (who, like the rest of the staff, was mostly absent), she argued with my daughter, insisting she had ordered Cajun. I stepped in and confirmed it was garlic she had requested, and the overwhelming spicy smell alone proved something was off. We returned the shrimp and waited 45 minutes — yes, 45 — for the correct order. No one checked on us during that entire time. No drink refills, no updates, no checking if we were ready to order entrees. Nothing.

Adding insult to injury, when the garlic shrimp finally arrived, my daughter asked me to take a photo — and although I’m not a seafood eater myself, even I could see something wasn’t quite right. The shrimp appeared uncleaned, with visible vein and waste still intact. My daughter noted that any true shrimp lover would recognize that as unacceptable. It was disappointing to see such a lack of care in preparation, especially from a restaurant that specializes in seafood.

Once the shrimp were finally delivered, the server dropped off the plate and again disappeared. After my daughter finished, we had to wave her down just to get the check — at which point she asked if we wanted to order anything else. Given the heat and the lack of basic hospitality, we kindly declined.

The only saving grace? Our drinks came in collectible cups, which my daughter appreciated. But even that small gesture can’t make up for the poor service and disappointing overall experience. This is not the standard we’ve come to know and love from Bubba Gump’s, and honestly, calling the service “subpar” feels too generous.

To put the experience in perspective, we spent $50 at Bubba Gump’s and received just two drinks and one appetizer — along with a hot, uncomfortable atmosphere and virtually no service. In contrast, we spent $100 at Hyde Park (taking advantage of their early dinner menu) and enjoyed two soups, two entrées, and two drinks — all served with impeccable hospitality, a comfortable, well-air-conditioned dining room, and a beautiful view. The difference in service and overall experience was night and day. Honestly, it’s not even a fair comparison — Hyde Park made us feel welcomed and valued, while Bubba Gump’s left us feeling like an...

Friday night, 06.27.25. No event happening in Daytona this week or weekend. Hotels are not full even on this Friday night. 7:23 - Put down name for 40 minute wait. 7:59 - got text table is ready 8:02 - arrive, but can't find hostess for 3 minutes. 8:05 - Sat at table 8:11 - Figured out that neither one of us have cell phone signal inside. They're playing Forest Gump with the sound off and no captions. Really entertaining.... 8:14 - got up to go to hostess stand to tell her no waiter had ever came over. 8:16 - Hostess line too long, and I saw the waiter at the table. 8:16 - ordered waters, 1 bar drink, and 2 meals in this 1 trip. 8:18 - Waters arrive 8:26 - flip over sign to get waiters attention 8:28 - second time getting up to find the bartender, but I don't find her. Just nobody behind the bar. Customers still in chairs. 8:31 - 1 bar drink finally comes to the table 8:52 - I ask bartender/our waitress to check on food. She doesn't come back to update. 9:01 - third time getting up at the sit down restaurant to find bartender to ask about food again. I couldn't find either again, and tell my wife we are leaving at 9:05. 9:03 - Our 2 meals are finally delivered.

Ultimate problem: Management has 2 bartenders on staff to work a Friday night to make all the restaurants drinks, keep her 8 chairs of customers waited on, plus customers walking up to the bar, plus all (including us) the tables in the bar. The restaurant waaay too understaffed, and the management should be blamed immediately for setting up their bartenders and waiters like this. The kitchen manager, chef, etc should also be fired immediately for being so understaffed in the kitchen, that it took 56 minutes to deliver 2 meals with no appetizers. Obviously, from the crowd inside, they are able to pay their $2.15 out to a few more people to be hired on. Trust me, the food was priced high enough they could pay more than that to twice the staff and still make money. More unfortunately, the food was OK, nothing to write home about. Smaller serving than what I thought it should have been for $28 per plate. We have all the intentions of never ever going back to any of these chain bubba CHumps. We wish had waited the extra time to try Joe's crab shack that is actually over the water. Bubba chump says on the water, but after you pay $10 - $30 for parking across the street, you find out you can't even see the water from the tiny outside sitting area you have to wait longer on. Also, If there weren't vendor booths setup touching the table for the event on the patio, you may have the smallest chance at seeing the water. Like I say, DO NOT RECOMMEND. There is a Wing House on level 1, but we went to the wing house 10 minutes away with free parking the night before. I definitely recommend wing house if Joe's...

About our dining experience last night, where do I begin? From the time we walked in to be waitlisted, the staff was very accommodating. We were having technical difficulties with the text message for table availability. Nonetheless, the staff worked with us to try different phones of the people in our party which led to success. The YELP website used to check your parties place in line was very efficient and gave us a peace of mind ghat prevented us from wondering how much longer.

When our table was ready, we were seated and greeted by our phenomenal server Derrick. Derrick was very informative, accommodating (two toddlers in the party), patient, and knowledgeable. To put the icing on the cake, as our food was being prepared he kindly invited us to try a game of Forrest Gump trivia. I have never seen the movie, only the memes, I was simply going to the restaurant for delicious beachside seafood in which I was not disappointed. While other members of our party had previously seen the movie, Derrick was very comical and gave clues to some of the questions in which I was able to figure out. Most importantly, Derrick’s serving skills were natural and it didn’t seem as if he was simply there for a paycheck. He made our experience as first timers a walk in the park, as if we had been there multiple times before.

The food was hot, fresh, and absolutely filling. Members of our party purchased the Seafood Sampler (2x), Blue Mama’s House, and the Run Across America. The atmosphere is very inviting and unique as there are staples from the movies and even very intriguing information posed about how the movies was created. Great food, great portion sizes, with a great atmosphere, chef’s kiss!!

Derrick has made Bubba Gump a new permanent stop on our Daytona vacation. Thanks to Derrick and the amazing doors at Bubba Gump, I will be watching Forrest Gump when I return home from vacation. I am sure the others servers are amazing, but the Bubba Gump Shrimp wait staff experience is so flawless, our server was easily accessible (the flip license plate system). Thus, ask for Derrick and your experience will enhance. Way to go Derrick and Bubba Gump, we know Forrest would...