Jolly Rogers Seafood House — Restaurant in Port Clinton

We visited on a Saturday evening for dinner in mid-April 2025. We ordered take out.

The atmosphere was great and the staff was great. It was packed but they moved fast. It was fun watching them bread the fish through the window. The best was the outdoor dining. The view out back at the water was amazing at sunset. It was a little chilly so most folks were inside. We decided to do take out but then changed our minds and ate at the car parked at the back facing out to the water. There is like a sandy beach area as well that we saw a couple kids playing at.

We ordered: -Clam Chowder x2. These came with crackers. They tasted okay but not as flavorful as we are used to. Maybe a little under seasoned or watered down a bit? -Shore Dinner. This came with 3 perch and 1 walleye. We got side of onion rings with it. Everyone agreed that walleye over the perch but both were very good. Unfortunately the onion rings were soggy even though we just walked with them from the restaurant to the back to eat them. -Chicken Tenders with side of waffle fries. They did not give us any condiments and we had to go back into the restaurant to ask for ranch. -Salmon Bowl. Wife ordered this and said it was really good and also very filling. She said the only thing missing was a bit more of the dressing or sauce. It was a little dry. -Breaded Mushrooms. These were nice and hot and just okay. the breading was nice and crunchy but not seasoned as much as we had hoped either. Since the mushrooms they used were so large they got soggy pretty quickly. There is enough I would order this to share and not for 1 person unless you're very hungry. -Lobster Rolls with side of hush puppies. The lobster roll was good but definitely had better. Same goes for the hush puppies.

Overall the food was good. A little disappointed in a couple things. We were just stopping by the area and wanted to try something local and not a chain. Glad we stopped by here. The view and atmosphere was...

I took my mother and brother here for dinner and left totally disappointmented. The rails form the line like a maze you order and pick up your food on a cafeteria tray nothing about this place says dinner instead it speaks of fast food with Enormous prices . The waffle fries were horrible hard cold and tasteless. The burger was not fresh ground beef, it was like the frozen patty ones you get from Walmart it was also tasteless slapped on a bun with a small piece of cheese nothing else. No condiments no lettuce tomato onion pickle mayo nothing zippo zadda nada didn't even eat it took one bite tasted one fry left the whole thing on the table My brother collected all the fries from my dinner his dinner and my mother's dinner to give to the birds I'm not even sure if they were fit for the birds poor birds. Pulled pork Was discolored hard no flavor my brother didn't eat his either My mother got three tiny pieces of perch she said it tasted okay we all got coleslaw that was soupy and too sweet. Even with the dinner that my mom had which was a perch dinner she didn't even get a bun or a roll. Our drinks were self-serve from a fountain that had a container of dried up lemon wedges presumably for the fish. I sat and watched an elderly gentleman pick over the wedges with his hands, ewwwwe yuck! Not one smile from the staff not one gretting just unfriendly they all looked angry. Bill was almost $60 for one tasteless bite of burger, a picked over pulled pork sandwich, a few fries and three tiny pieces of perch. However the fountain soda that we served ourselves was passable. If the staff would have at least smiled once instead of looking at us impatiently (this was our first time there the menu is not exactly easy to order from it's at least 12 ft above your head) maybe I would have gave...

We visited Jolly Rogers on a short trip to Port Clinton. We figured, what could be better? Lake Erie was the backyard, and the food was tauted as "Lake Erie's Finest"...not so much.

It wasn't horrible, but I really did expect more, and have certainly had better fish. My husband went with the walleye dinner and I chose the perch. It was fun watching the sorting and breading machine through a large glass window as we waited for our order to be taken.

The waffle fries were like any you could get anywhere. The fish was good, and obviously fresh, but the batter/fish seasoning was almost non- existent; and the crispness I was looking for was just not there. Also, the food was not very hot when it was brought out. I guess I was looking for crispy, crunchy, hot flavorful perch...

All in all, I gave a 4 for my rating, simply because the staff was mostly friendly and helpful. The decor was also very nicely and comfortably rustic coastal. We sat at a table but had to move when we realized it was dirty and needed to be wiped clean. They were busy, but...

Also, given everything, I thought $58.69 was a bit much (includes tip) for 2 fish dinners...

Also, you know what they say about "location, location, location" -- couldn't have been better.

When we return to the area, we will probably not visit Jolly Roger again, since there are other places that seem to be...