The Island Waterfront Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Merritt Island

The Island Waterfront Bar & Grill, 1891 E. Merritt Island Cswy, Merritt Island, Fl, 32952

3 Stars

Checking my surroundings to make sure I was still beachside (I kinda was), I did a double take on what I was looking at. The sign said, "The Island Waterfront Bar & Grill," yet the building said, "leftover Bucentaur from the 1400s." It was so run down that I was surprised it was still habitable, and the interior, with overly sticky tables and dirty floors (please see pic), didn't inspire much confidence either. Meka was my server for the meal, and she was lazy and incompetent. Upon seeing the owner in action, it was very evident that he is a creep as well. All that said, IT DOES NOT FACTOR INTO THE RATING. Thankfully, the food is an barely above average to make up for the boobosity of the staff and ownership.

I did manage to get in an order of some fish tacos, ceviche, and fish & chips. While waiting, I did all I could do not to touch anything. In a post-COVID world, the uncleanliness of the place really took me by surprise. Thankfully, Meka the Inept was soon spotted lackadaisically returning with my grub. Unless otherwise stated and/or requested, all, and I mean ALL, of the ingredients used in this restaurant are the absolute lowest possible grade available to the food service industry. The tacos, the ceviche, the fish & chips, etc., are all made with Swai (Vietnamese catfish), a bottom feeder, and as such, more likely to contain contaminants such as antibiotics and chemicals. It is moderate in nutritional value with a decent amount of protein but very little omega-3 fat. In other words, Swai is cheap, cheap, cheap.

Nevertheless, the execution is flawless. Everything is seasoned well, flavorful, and prepared with care. The fish tacos were served on warm tortillas and topped with shredded cabbage Ala Baja California style, red onions, diced tomato, cilantro, and Cheddar Jack cheese. The accompanying tortilla chips were subpar but edible.

The ceviche was comprised of frozen cocktail shrimp, Swai, tomato, and chopped cilantro. One could almost taste the shrimp, and as I've said before, if your seafood tastes or smells like fish, it's past the freshness date. This was fine but close.

The fish and chips were cooked well enough and served with an adequate industrial-strength tartar sauce and coleslaw straight out of the (I'm guessing) Sysco can. Any Southerner worth his/her/their accent knows this is a serious Southern side foul. It doesn't take all that much to make fresh 'slaw, y'all! All of this, the exterior, interior, the demeanor of the staff/ownership, and the low-grade components tell me one thing. The Island Waterfront Bar & Grill is a few ingredients away from maybe a higher score and one line cook away from a swill alert.

The Big Boy says, "My food was average; however, I can't promise you the...

The Island, Merritt IL

The Island - A great place for sunset happy hours and quick seafood.

The island was a great little stop on our way home after work on a Friday evening. We arrived just around 5:30pm. When we walked in they were just setting up the live music. The place was definitely crowded and lively with great atmosphere. We got a table right by the railing facing the water so we had a good view of the sunset.

Parking was pretty big (and full) but we found a spot very quickly.

The restaurant itself is very casual, low key vibes with no frills and we we’re probably the youngest there by two decades, but still we really enjoyed it. They have a large bar and a mixture of indoor and outdoor seating with tables out on the sand facing the water. There’s also a few dock slips for boats to pull up which is great if you’re boating or fishing in the area.

After getting our table our wonderful server Olivia came over to take care of us and go over the happy hour specials (.50 off drinks and beers).

The menu is seafood centric with a lot of good appetizers. We started with the 1lb peel and eat shrimp and the smoked fish dip. Both were surprisingly good, the shrimp was well seasoned with seafood seasoning served with melted butter and cocktail sauce and a piece of toasted bread. The smoked fish dip was served with pickles, pickled jalapeños, celery, and two types of crackers, the dip was really good, some of the best I’ve had and the jalapeños and pickles were a great touch.

For the mains we got the snow crab legs, served with two sides and toasted bread and my partner got a seafood platter with blackened Mahi, scallops and shrimp, also with two sides. The portion sizes were great and pretty inexpensive for what we ordered. For my crab legs I got a side salad that was served with tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers and chopped onions long with the yellow rice. My partner got the baked potato, loaded with cheese and scallions, butter and sour cream and sautéed veggies with cajun seasoning . Both entrees were very good and served very quickly.

For dessert we shared the turtle cheesecake which was very good, definitely felt store bought but still tasty.

The band, Radar Red, played some great tunes, a lot of classic rock and consisted of guitar, drums, bassist and a keyboardist. At one point there was also a female signer that joined in and was fantastic. Not sure if they play here often but recommend checking out the schedule to see if they are.

My server, Olivia was wonderful the entire time, great service and incredibly friendly.

The check was about $100 and the experience was pretty great. Would...

Revised 5/5/25 We ate here last September and were WOWed, so we gave them a 5 star review. Unfortunately, while the food was mostly good, it wasn't a 5 star experience today. We ordered a blackened seafood platter with sweet potato fries, and a salad. The food was excellent and perfectly blackened, except for the scallops. The scallops were rubbery and bland. I even gave mine to my husband because I couldn't eat them. Also, the service was a little slow today.

9/27/24 We were in the Melbourne/Cocoa Beach area and decided to find a Restaurant for lunch the old fashioned way, using food radar. As we drove along E Merritt Island Causeway heading towards the beach, when we passed by The Island Waterfront Restaurant, "where locals go" and were pleased to see a full parking lot. That's the food radar kicking in. Then, the reviews on Google showed a good curve, so we made a U-turn and headed back to it (which my husband loathes doing). However, he even commented that it was worth the U-turn. We ordered a blackened seafood platter with sweet potato fries, and grilled veggies. This was the best seafood platter we have had since moving to Florida 7 years ago. They understood the meaning of blackened and spiced it well. The portions were good with lots of Mahi Mahi, shrimp, and scallops, (twice the size of the last seafood platter we shared), the sweet potato fries were hot, crispy, and plentiful; and the grilled veggies were fresh, seasoned, and not mushy. The meal was absolutely perfect for a reasonable price. To top it off, I had a cucumber martini that was also perfect and reasonably priced. My husband had a beer that was a little overpriced, but almost reasonable. Our waitress, Grace, was very friendly, attentive, and checked on us several times. We sat outside, had a nice view, and a great breeze. Overall, this was a perfect lunch and we'll make the drive out, just to eat here again, which is 60 miles, 1.5 hours each way from where we live. So, if you're in the area and hankering for good seafood, we highly recommend...