Fish River Grill — Restaurant in Gulf Shores

I came here for dinner with my husband, father-in-law, and sister-in-law + her husband during our visit to the beach. I'd had it bookmarked on Yelp ever since I saw their swamp soup was listed on a Yelp article for best/most unique soup in the state of Alabama. When I saw we were staying nearby, I had to visit!

We came for dinner on a Friday and were pleasantly surprised over how easy it was to get a table. There was no wait, though the restaurant was moderately busy. Parking was easy.

The interior feels like it has a little bit of local flavor and is a little less tourist-y than similar places I've been in the area, though nowhere in town is totally free from that, lol. They have a fairly large menu featuring options from both and land and sea. Prices are fairly reasonable. I liked the staff, particularly the hostess/individual working the cash register (you take your check to the register rather than the waitstaff handling it). They were lovely!

On to the food! Husband, BIL, and FIL all got some variation of fried seafood -- shrimp, fish, etc. SIL and I both got burgers. I'm a sucker for hush puppies so I got a side of those too. :)

The swamp soup lived up to its fame -- those of us who deigned to try it really enjoyed it! Smoky greens, beans, and a little bit of pork. Delightfully savory, not too salty, quite good!

I was not so pleased with my burger. I got the mushroom and Swiss, which is a favorite style of burger for me, but it just didn't live up to my hopes. The patty was kind of bland and the mushrooms didn't have much flavor. What did have flavor was the cheese -- but idk if it was the brand they got or what, but it just didn't taste like the kind of Swiss I like. More on the sour and funky scale, less on the creamy side. The fries were frozen-fried crinkle cuts but they came out hot and crispy. I'm a bit of a fry snob so I thought they were just alright, but the rest of the fam seemed to like them quite well.

For what it's worth, SIL liked her burger! Fish and shrimp consumers also liked their food well enough.

The best thing for me was the hush puppies. They were piping hot, crispy, and had little bits of peppers inside. Yumminess! I was glad I had them and I ate all three.

Probably a better stop if you prefer more classically "beachy" foods like fish and shrimp; that said, I enjoyed the swamp soup, hush puppies, and...

I AM SHOCKED !! I have eaten here so many times, referred to friends and family. Went here for lunch with my cousin. It was late in the day, before dinner. We thought We could split an sandwich and each get a salad. We were told there is a $3 charge to share a sandwich. I said, I've never had that charge before. She responded well, its a new charge the owner decided on. I thought OK, I'll get the meal with sandwich and side and just take the rest home. I asked to switch the fries for another side of equal value. Again, I was told there is a $3 charge for that. I said Ok, then I'll get the shrimp pistol and side salad. I made the comment that while I understand it is tourist season, it is not right for them to upcharge for minor things. I also said that the owner should remember that while the tourist are here and they are making money that WE, the locals are the ones who carry them through the winter months when no one is here. Moving forward now, we get the food. Tried the shrimp pistol, it was actually good. Then I get to the salad, thick black hair mixed in it. Was it intentional? I have no idea. However, they happily removed the charge for the salad with no apology. Needless to say, I will not be going back. We have too many other quality options in the area. The bathroom was gross, feces on the toilet and floor.no paper products to use, and ZERO soap. Which means the employee in the restroom beside me didn't bother to wash her hands. No big deal. I'm just so shocked at all of this since we frequent this...

Went for dinner. We have been before - it was good - we recommended this place to others. But after tonight I doubt I will ever go again. Horrible service, and horrible food. We ordered, got an appetizer of hushpuppies. One member ordered a mixed drink - it was never received. Even the Iced tea was not good. Hushpuppies were good - greasy but good, but thats about it. Food came out - cold, cheese would not even melt on my cold overdone burger. Texas Toast bun was cold. Onion rings cold too. Nasty. The burger was very thin, and very overcooked. What happened ??? they used to be so good. Even the free soup was not good, lacking normal ingredients. As for our waitress - she did not return after brining our food to fill drinks or see if we needed anything. Mayonnaise was needed for the over done burger - but by the time I found her to come refill drinks and get condiments - everyone else was done eating. She did bring hot onion rings to replace cold ones, but we were leaving by the time they came out. We had to run her down to get her to take our checks. She was busy wiping down empty tables and I guess forgot she brought the checks to the table. As much as food costs these days, I do expect it to be edible. And I do expect basic service. We got neither. Also , they were not that busy tonight. So that was not...