Jerry's Italian Grill & Tiki Bar — Restaurant in Ponce Inlet

Jerry's Italian Grill & Tiki Bar - A Review

So there we were... four Horsemen, having conquered a mechanical issue that tied up our morning and left us hungry, disgruntled and ready for a break.

We jumped on our bikes in Daytona to head south to our Air B&B, and rode along the shoreline to the haven of Ponca Inlet.

Cool Breeze was in the lead, and it was he who spotted the thatch roof and colorful signage to our right that designated Jerry's Italian Grill and Tiki Bar. Living on the idea that it's better when you're on the road to eat locally instead of finding a chain, we pulled into the parking lot.

Part of it looked very much like a convenience store, but the other part would take you to Fiji if your imagination allowed. We went in, and were greeted by Jay, the stepson of the owner.

Jay handed us a menu, took our drinks and we sat down. Your writer had the veal marsala, Animal did as well, Boss Man had the shrimp and scallops and Cool Breeze had the Caprese pasta, and after settling down in our chairs we prepared to see what Jerry's was all about.

We weren't ready.

To a man, we took one look, dug in and conversation stopped. Cool Breeze loved his Caprese pasta, finding it succulent, tasty and a delight for the eyes and the tongue. Pasta done to a delicate turn, hearty slivers and shreds of meat and wonderfully plated and presented, it didn't last long.

Boss Man's shrimp and scallop pasta was a heavenly blend of flavor, leading up to the juicy jumbo bivalves and crustaceans that proved to be delightful in every decadent bite.

As for Animal and myself, the veal Marsala was in a word, magnificent. Tender, juicy scallopini embedded in a slightly sweet yet tangy sauce infused with mushrooms, it was as the old saying goes, "love at first bite." You can see the end result of some of the olfactory carnage on one plate in the accompanying pictures. Pair that with the garlicky, buttery Texas toast on the side, and attitudes and belts found themselves being adjusted quickly.

If the dishes weren't enough, we were soon honored to meet the bar's owner, Frankie. He's taken care of the place for 29 years through storms, hurricanes and slow seasons without tourists. During that time, he's launched a coup;e more restaurants and has developed quite a following among both the year round residents and the tourists for good food and hospitality.

And my, was he hospitable. We arrived at about noon, and it was after three when we mounted up to ride out. In between he regaled us with stories about his businesses, his wife and family.. and the locals also came up to talk about how great the restaurant and he are.

We saw the biggest meatballs in LIFE. Adorned in sauce and cheese, they looked magnificent as they were served to ravenous patrons.

We saw a tiki that had dreads that was modeled after the aforementioned Jay, who used to have them. He cut them off these days and the tiki remains.

Frankie shared with us amazing calamari, still smoldering from the fryer and done to crispy, crunchy perfection.

We had an awesome time and next time we're down for Bike Week we will be returning. Amazing food, the staff are welcoming and it was just a great experience.

And we found out a secret about Don Julio... but if we told you, it might not turn out pretty...

So if you're ever in the Daytona area, make yourself one of Jerry's kids and visit. You'll be glad you did.

On Train's "Ain't It Good/Good It Ain't" scale, Jerry's gets 4 stars for being one of the most amazing restaurant experiences we ever had.

Jerry's Italian Grill and Tiki Bar is located at 33 Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet, FL 32127. ...

I highly recomment this place! My husband and I recently tried Jerry's Italian Grill & Tiki Bar over the weekend. We drove over an hour to get there. It was the first time for us. We arrived around 6:45pm and can hear the band from the parking lot. We decided to follow the music and entered through the tiki hut entrance. I was immedialy pleased with the atmosphere, it was both clean and inviting. A waitress said hello to us as we walked in. We decided to sit at the bar which at first wasn't full but it didnt' take long before the seats were filling up. We were greeted promptly by a bartender who introduced himself and his partner and served drinks right away. It was hard to choose an appetizer so we decided to get 4 of them and none of them disappointed. One was just as good as the next! We had fried calamari, fried conch fritter, frutta de mare and escargot. I've never had escargot before but now I can say I love them! The food was delicious! We are originally from CT and I am 100% Italian, so I know good food when I taste it! I was practically raised in Italian restaurants with having so many family members who own them. Let me tell you, this place WAS ON POINT!!! Although we didn't have any room left after the appetizers to order a dinner, the meals I saw being served to guests around us looked and smelled amazing. We did save a little room for a cannoli (couldn't resist and so glad we tried it). Between the food and the music, I'm definitely putting this one down as one of my favorite places to eat. We will be back soon and bringing some friends next time. We even got to talk to a few of the locals at the bar. You have to be doing something right if you have guests spending their money at your establishment and telling us new-comers what a great place this is. As we left, we saw an older couple slow dancing near the fire pit...so sweet to see and I coudn't help but think we've came upon a little gem here in Ponce Inlet. Don't let negative reviews deter you from trying Jerry's. Go there, try it, come up with your own opinion of it. The food is THAT GOOD!...

We went to Jerry's right after the annual hot rod parade on the beach ended. It's a cool place with an excellent beachy experience / vibe. We arrived at kind of an off hour ... about 3PM, and the place was pretty empty; we were on the leading edge of the parade-goers. We were able to sit right down at an empty table. But the place filled up quickly as people filtered in.

Unfortunately they hadn't anticipated how many folks would stop in after the parade. They had one or two servers working the room, but could not keep up with demand. Same for the kitchen, which was understaffed. It led to slow service, which nobody would prefer. I'd guess this isn't the norm, but being our first time there it did make an impression. Maybe a bit of situational awareness is in order ... when you know a big event is coming, put on adequate staff. On the flip side, it is hard to find foodservice help nowadays.

I have to say our server was excellent. He took the orders by memory ... from 3 tables before inputting them to the POS terminal, which is quite amazing. Our drinks and food came out without errors. My chicken parm sub was good, but my wife's cheesesteak was really dried out, probably the result of the fur flying in the kitchen due to understaffing. The other couple with us was satisfied with their food.

The prices are favorable and the drinks have a good amount of booze in them, unlike some beach places that serve a lot of sour mix with a float. They had an OK beer selection ... better than most Florida beach spots. I'd rate the place kid friendly and they stated pet friendly till 4PM on a sign. They had a yacht rock band starting at 6PM ... would have liked to see them, but it didn't match with our schedule.

Would we go back? Ponce Inlet is a little out of the way for us, and I wouldn't make a special trip just to go there. But if we were in the area for other reasons, it would be worth another try if a special event is not in play. I go with 4 stars as I feel Jerry's is better than our experience was...