Grumbles Seafood Co. — Restaurant in Port Aransas

Start to finish just a phenomenal experience. We were outside chatting about the menu because a long line had formed and we were in no hurry. Talking amongst ourself about what looked good... a friendly guy kinda popped in on us and gave his vote what we would like. We started to chat and realized he was one of the owners just leaving for the day. He was so kind and really took time to answer our questions. Made us feel like old friends!! He made the menu just come to life before is after was so excited to have my mother in law try HIS amazing pina colada. He had to see her expression... lol... she is always in search of the best pina colada... and swears by her fav place in Galveston... but THIs one put a HUGE smile on her face!! Best one in the RockPort/Port A area!! And she has been searching!! (But it did come w a huge price... 2 coladas and a Bloody Mary was over $50!) my Bloody Mary was spiced to perfection and so good, but its my hope that next time we come to town there is a nice crispy piece of bacon in there too....LOL, but that's just me...Now onto the food... we got the seared blackened tuna bowl - so refreshing... and yes the Siracha is dairy free... family got the mahi mahi BLT and it was so beautiful and delicious, and the Shrimp burger ( which is not what you think at all.... It's basically a shrimp sandwich w a friend green tomato, which was good but only had 4 shrimp on it... get the shrimp poboy if you really want more shrimp. The bacon hush puppies were yummy as well. Oh man and don't forget those fries... those were the most addicting spiced to perfection fries Ever! And such a heaping helping!! Hi praises goto Vy Vy! She took our order and was just a bright ray of sunshine. So helpful and friendly and just like Michael, she spoke to us w such ease like she knew us as regulars!! Michael mentioned the new upstairs restaurant soon to open next year and we can't wait to come back for a visit!! We saw some not so great reviews and still went for it... glad we did! Please note.... If you want a FULL service experience... this is not the place to come. You must go to order at a counter, get your own drinks, silverware, condiments, everything... BUT with that being said...it was no big deal for us! The view was so great and the weather was so pleasant! For sure our new fav...

I have to give Grumbles a kudo for the thoroughness in this restaurant design to eliminate as much overhead as possible, very basic interior architecture, walkup to order, and everything else is serve yourself.. from beverages, eating utensils, condiments, all of it, even the bar you have to walk up and order at the bar and carry your drinks back to your table, cut out all that overhead…nice. Ate at Grumbles on Sunday July 3, 2022, we were looking around for a place to eat some fresh seafood in Port Aransas, we decided to try out this place over the others, fist mistake. Like I mentioned above, you and have to order at a walk-up counter like a takeout joint, very limited menu, and very expensive for what you get, my wife and I thought we would try the stuffed flounder, it was served with the Grumbles style rice and one side. After we ordered, we were informed that the food wait was one hour, looked at the time and it was too late to go anywhere else so we decided to stay (already paid for it anyway). Had to wait for a table to open up to sit down, (like is mentioned above all self-service) 1 hr and 10min later we got our meal, which was a complete disappointment, a small piece of flounder setting on a bed of white rice with a scoop of crab stuffing on top (not stuffed as the menu described) the Grumble style rice was dry white rice (dang sure nothing special about that), the one side was the seasonal veggies which was steamed carrots (under cooked), the cost was $31.00 for that, we also ordered a piece of Key Lime Pie (my favorite pie) it was $8.00 a slice and a very thin slice at that, the main entrée was mediocre at best, the pie was nothing short of disgusting, it was not chilled and had a very harsh taste of metal, could not eat it. It doesn’t bother me to pay for good food and the service to go with it, but charging that much and you don’t have the service either,...

I don’t know how this place is still in business. I ate there a few years ago and was far from impressed. I was forced to eat there again last weekend because we had some upset kids with us and they were the quickest dinner option.

To start, you order at a counter and there is no wait service. You have to get your own drinks, silverware and condiments yet they still have the audacity to ask for a 25% tip when ordering at the counter. While you’re waiting in line you can order at a bar. My wife and I both order a mixed drink that were $15 each and extremely watered down. They don’t list drink prices on their drink menu so be warned they are about to rob you blind if you get something other than a beer.

Our food arrived about 45 minutes after ordering at the counter and it was horrible, just like the first time. I got the fried sampler with shrimp and oysters. I could taste the freezer burn on my shrimp indicating that they don’t use fresh seafood despite being literal feet away from where the shrimp boats dock at every day. My fried oysters were cold COLD and the batter was soggy like they had been sitting out for sometime. The only redeeming quality for my plate was the French frys.

The restaurant was a mess too. I get it that it was a Friday night, but when you have at least a dozen teenage employees standing around and occasionally running a plate of food, there’s no excuse why there would be piles of cocktail sauce all over the floor mixed in with tons of trash, napkins and dirty silverware.

Again, I don’t know how this place is still in business. If you’re visiting Port A, do not waste your time here. There are so many other options that are worth waiting for. Plan ahead and expect to wait a bit longer for other restaurants, just know you will have a much better...