Thirsty Marlin — Restaurant in Palm Harbor

I cant believe I have never been here before!! This was our first time here and I have found my new favorite place!! Ill begin this review about the host. I didnt catch HIS name. He was a tall guy. Very friendly and attentive.. He looked after everyone even after we were seated...not in a phony sort of way and you can tell he was genuinely interested in you having a wonderful experience. Next stop,, our waiter D.J. .. chock full of smiles, personality that cant be beat or bought.. again.. Loving the kicked back realness that Florida should be all about… DJ was super charming and represents the establishment well.. ive waited tables at many restaurants. Its a tough job!! Hes a keeper for sure!! Next stop, the food!!! Our appetizers, EXQUISITE!! The calamari was perfect!! No rubber bands! And it was just as awesome paired with their delicious and chunky blue cheese dressing! My friend ordered the tuna nachos.. and holy wow for beautiful chunks of raw tuna! We both chewed away and shared each other’s appetizers.. we both agreed.. TOP SHELF in quality and service., Give the chefs a raise!!! I was so full from the appetizers that I boxed most of my dinner, but NOT without a bite because I knew this is a place worthy of my energy in a review. I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak - Now being a place that one would assume focuses more on seafood,, let me just say it was still PERFECT!! And the coleslaw gives KFC a run for their money.. YES, its true.. I LOVE KFC’s coleslaw so much I go there often specifically just for that. Anyway, to make a ling story longer, after our meals we decided to explore the restaurants other areas.. and wow!! They had an eclectic patio with great seating and live music!! , I absolutely love this joint and I cannot wait to return! Kudos to the Thirsty Marlin! You all run a tight show...

It is a nice local restaurant that had both indoor and covered outdoor seating. If you go during the summer, make sure to wear mosquito repellent as the outdoor area will have a few bugs roaming around which is normal.

As a fellow reviewer stated, with inflation alot of dishes range between $15 - $25. Tip is not included. Our total came out to $68 for a appetizer and 2 main dishes.

We had tuna slices as our appetizer. I am not remembering the exact name of the app but the tuna itself was delicious. The red sauce under was spicy and was not my favorite. I have to say, I don't enjoy tuna in a can so I was surprised when it came out looking like real fish and it was fresh. I never thought about it before really lol. It was $17.99 at the time I went in July 2022.

We also had Jambalaya which I will say was amazing. I am allergic to shrimp so I had them replace the shrimp with chicken strips. So delicious with the sausage it came with as well. It cost us $24.99 at the time. My partner had a lobster quesadilla which he did not enjoy and I didn't really care for a quesadilla at the moment so I didn't try any. He stated it was sweet for some reason and didn't finish it. Make sure to ask the waitress beforehand how some foods are since they don't know how you will react to certain foods or if you will enjoy the taste. I believe this was in the $17 - $20s range as well.

Since there weren't many individuals in the restaurant, I'll say about 20-30 all around the entire restaurant, we were in and out between 45 to 1hr and 25 mins. Not too long. There were more individuals at the bar than anything else. Besides us, there were 2 other tables outside preoccupied. Most individuals...

Being a tourist in the area I rely on recommendations, or on reviews through online searches. I usually prefer to go to restaurants where the locals go and that are not chains. So with all the above criteria that’s how I decided to go to this restaurant. It’s located in an unique area in Palm Harbor, where there are several restaurants adjacent to each other. They all have that Islands/Keys look, including this one, which is a fun ambience. There is outdoor and indoor seating, and today they had live music outside. I elected not to sit outside because there is a smoking there. The service is friendly and attentive. The menu is interesting, with items that you don’t see often, like cracked conch. There is also a board with the specials of the day. My husband have not had cracked conch in 25 years, so he was excited to see it on the menu, which he ordered. It was more in thicker strips than the thin layers that he’s used to. Also, the batter was thicker not allowing you to truly taste the conch. I ordered the Grouper Atlantis as I read rave reviews about it. It was a well made dish, with lots of seafood topping the tender grouper: shrimp, crab and sea scallops. However it is not my style of fish preparation. For my taste it was too rich because of the thick Hollandaise sauce and added to that a layer of melted Parmesan cheese. It will be a finer dish if the Hollandaise sauce was thinner and more lemony to balance out the fish and seafood, plus without the cheese. I read the dish description before I ordered it, however I thought it would be more the way I just described it, so that’s why I decided...