Tacky Jacks Orange Beach — Restaurant in Orange Beach

The only thing saving my stars from a 2, is the atmosphere of this restaurant. Our experience started out, with a busy and estimated long wait: which was no surprise to us. It was a Friday night, right around 6pm. We knew it would be awhile! They have you sign up with your phone number, giving you a text with a link that shows your live wait time and place in line.

This restaurant is right on the ole river with lots of docks to walk. The kids were having fun hunting blue crabs and hermit crabs in the shallow water. (& Putting them back in the water after they would catch them) There are dispensers for fish food. Bring quarters with you! It’s a lot of fun to throw in the food and watch the fish jump up to get it. Sandy little beach area for kids to play & a gift shop gives you plenty to do while you wait.

Our wait was just under an hour. We were seated on the bottom deck and that’s when my rating goes down. We waited, and waited for a server to come greet us. Finally put in our drink order, waited again around 15 minutes before getting drinks. We put in our food order and waited another 30 minutes until it was brought out. By this time of the night it wasn’t as busy as it was when we had arrived. We didn’t get checked in on again by our waiter until way after we were done. Our drinks were well past empty, we were all in need of refills. No waters were ever brought to us. & the food… was quite awful. We had alligator bites that were chewy. My double decker BLT had gross single slice American cheese, like the kind in wrappings. It did not belong on the blt, regular white bread, and wayyy to much lettuce making it seem like a large sandwich when it wasn’t. I had 3 pieces of bacon on the entire thing.

Fries were just frozen out a bag and heated up. The best part was feeding them to the fish while we waited for someone to show up with our bill.

The dining experience took just shy of 2 hours in total.. it was quite ridiculous. We didn’t leave there until 9pm.

I would go back for the atmosphere again but I wouldn’t plan to order a meal, maybe some light snacks. I will say their nachos looked fabulous and wished I would have gotten...

First things first—what a hoot of a spot! 🎉 Even at breakfast time, when the party animals are presumably still snoozing, you can feel the evening vibes waiting to burst out later. From the colorful decor to the cheerful ambiance, Tacky Jacks is serving pure personality with a sprinkle of Southern hospitality. 🌟

We rolled in for breakfast and found plenty of parking out back—no parallel parking Olympics here. 🏆 Our server, Carla, was a rockstar. 💃 She catered to all our picky food whims with the patience of a saint and the precision of a master.

The food? Oh, honey, let’s talk about the Shrimp Breakfast Burrito. 🦐 Imagine this: plump, juicy Gulf shrimp, seasoned to perfection and cuddled up with fluffy scrambled eggs inside a soft flour wrap. A match made in foodie heaven! 😍 It’s like breakfast and Southern comfort food had a beautiful baby.

On the side came a glorious helping of cheesy Gouda grits. If you’ve never tasted cheesy grits that make you want to write poetry, you’re missing out. 🤤 These grits are a whole experience—rich, creamy, and unapologetically decadent. And don’t even think about skipping their Spicy Tacky sauce—it’s the cherry (or spice) on top for burrito-dipping bliss. 🌶️🔥

The vibe? It’s an eclectic explosion of everything everywhere all at once. 🏠 A delightful mishmash of quirky spaces that somehow feels like you’re home—if your home had bay views, a dock to stroll on, and a gift shop loaded with trinkets. 🛍️ After breakfast, we wandered out onto the dock to soak up the peaceful bay vibes and, of course, peeked into the shop for a little souvenir action.

Bottom line: Tacky Jacks is a win. Whether you’re here for breakfast serenity or evening revelry, this spot has something for everyone. Come hungry,...

The only reason I’m leaving 4 stars is because of our server Mariah. I felt so horrible for her- she was the bar tender for not only the bar we were sat at, but the bar inside, and making drinks for the entire restaurant. She had no help running food and was visibly stretched to the max. As someone who has worked in a restaurant for years- I feel for her tremendously- I reminded her to breathe and that she was doing everything she could. She handled the cards she was dealt with BEST SHE COULD- with a smile on her face at that.

Now the manager? I would leave no stars if I could. She was rude, had an attitude, and inconsiderate when I tried to bring to her attention that she needed help or to make the floor plan differently- because ultimately the way it was tonight would only impact our servers money as this is a reflection of her if the customers don’t know what’s entirely going on. She didn’t want to hear what we had to say and kept dismissing it with them being “short staff due to school starting back”. Part of me wonders if she can’t keep staff around because of her attitude and what she puts her employees through.

I wanted to hug Mariah as she was doing the best she could. But I highly recommend that if corporate sees this having a strong talk with the manager. She was extremely unprofessional and it was concerning to see. I never noticed her once help Mariah, help her run food, make drinks, or anything.

I cannot stress enough how amazing Mariah was, and if the manager had taken our conversation in a different direction I would have nothing to say about her, but this is no way to run a restaurant nor listen to your...