Gulf Island Grill — Restaurant in Gulf Shores

Tried this one for dinner tonight and it was another good choice. We took an Uber to the restaurant and funny thing- the Uber driver was the same guy that was our bellman a few days ago. How’d that happen? Anyway, the place was very busy and we asked if we could wait at the bar. No problem. Ordered a round of drinks and asked about appetizers. Found out we could order dinner from there too. 😄 My two friends ordered the grouper roulade. I’d really wanted a grouper sandwich but was not on the menu. The staff was very accommodating and said they’d make one for me. It didn’t take very long for our appetizers to arrive. Jen got the crab stuffed mushrooms while I opted for a half pound of boiled shrimp. The shrimpies had some red spices on them and were a little spicy, but not too much. If you don’t like spicy I’d advise you to ask them to leave it off or ask for much less. It burned my lips for a bit afterward. The cocktail sauce had plenty of horseradish; just the way I like it. Jen said the crab stuffed mushrooms were excellent and the crab stuffing was very generous. Dinner arrived and again we were not disappointed. They said the grouper roulade was perfect and again a very generous serving of the crab stuffing. My grouper sandwich was very big, with perfectly prepared fried grouper, lettuce, tomato and tarter sauce. I’d recommend asking them to cut it in half or even thirds to make it easier to handle. I made a big mess of it but enjoyed every sloppy bite. I opted for the steamed veggies on the side in place of the fries and they were excellent. Delicately seasoned and cooked enough to be tender but not mushy. They still had a little bite to them. The bartender was great, very friendly and helpful. They had an assortment of specialty cocktails and he patiently described several to us. Jen ordered one called What the Duck; it was blue and had a little rubber duck floating in it. Too cute! To finish up the two ordered these big chocolate cocktails called Bushwhackers and I chose a slice of key lime pie. It has long been one of my favorites. They said their drinks were delish! To be honest I didn’t care too much for the pie. It seemed a little off, not spoiled just not what I was expecting. Like I said, key lime is one of my top favorites. It had this almost fluorescent green sauce drizzled over it and I never could tell exactly what is was. It didn’t add to the presentation to me; it was so neon colored that it just looked weird. I did eat it but wouldn’t order it again. Other then that nuclear green glowing pie the entire experience was fabulous. I’d recommend Gulf Island Grill...

WORST DINING EXPERIENCE EVER!! When our party of 5 arrived early evening on July 24 we were told there would be a little wait for a table but we could get some drinks from the bar while we waited. When we finished our drinks we were shown to a table. We waited at the table for 45 min. with empty glasses, menus, & no service. I stopped the server in the next section & asked if she could send our server to us. When our server did arrive he did not apologize, only stated that he thought we had drinks. We ordered another set of drinks, nothing difficult & 1 was in a can. An hour later the drinks arrive. No apology from the server for being late with the drinks. During this time we observed that the neighboring section had cleared & was being reseated. We ordered a second set of drinks for fear we would have another hour to wait. The server made some rude comments about ordering a second round of drinks since we receiving drinks now. We also ordered our food. The second set of drinks arrived in about 10 min. Our meals did not arrive until over 1 hour later & 1 meal was not brought out at all. While we waited for our food we observed that in the next section the server had served 7 tables, ranging from 2-6 people each, their bar drinks & meals. Some we getting their checks & leaving. What food we did receive tasted like it had been under the heatlamps for a very long time. Rice was crunchy and dried out. The Ya-Ya had a skin on top. All the food was cold. The forgotten meal never arrived and we were never checked on by the server. When we had had enough and were ready to leave we didn't see our server to ask him for the check. We went to the cashier & told her we wanted to pay out, minus the meal we never got. She had to go get the manager. We told the manager about our experience. No apology. The manager got the server. Again, no apology. We ended up paying for all our meals, minus the one that never came. And no apology. Horrible experience. The manager & that server don't care about...

Wow we should’ve read the reviews before going. We got there 10 minutes before they opened and as soon as they opened they made us aware that they were under staffed. We were seated and I asked if I could have a strawberry colada daiquiri. Our waitress said she didn’t know if they could do that but she went to the bar and came back 5 minutes later and said they can do it (which i knew because all you have to do is put half strawberry and half pina colada). Then she brought us two waters. My fiancé took one sip and literally SPIT IT OUT. He said the water tasted like they walked across the street, scooped it out of the ocean, and placed it on our table. I personally thought it just tasted like sink water but he couldn’t stand it. Then we got the bacon cheese fries for an appetizer. My fiancé enjoyed it although I thought the cheese just tasted artificial. I ate around the cheese. Then our drinks came. My drink had a super bad after taste. It wasn’t smooth like a daiquiri should be, it was more like a smoothie… then our food came out and this was our last straw. if you view image one that was how we LEFT. We maybe took a few bites of our sandwiches. My fiancés chicken sandwich was so overcooked he couldn’t bite into it. He said the quality was horrible and didn’t taste seasoned at all. He said I make better chicken at home that I get from walmart. My burger did not taste like a burger should taste. It was so off. It didn’t taste seasoned and didn’t taste charred which was concerning considering I asked for the burger to be cooked well done. Now the worst part was the bill. Not only did we legit leave two full plates there. We paid in total EIGHTY DOLLARS for this meal of ours. $80. view the pictures, take in the comments and see for yourself why this place gets a one star. If we could put 0 stars we would. we will...