Grouper Shack — Restaurant in Saint Augustine

Was very excited to try Grouper Shack for the first time. Arrived at 4 pm for a late lunch/early dinner. Sat at the bar for a full service experience. My husband ordered a beer which came out quickly. I ordered a Bahama Mama which was on the cocktail menu. It was apparent that the bartender had no idea how to make this drink. It came in a small plastic cup and was a cloudy off pink color. It looked nor tasted like a true Bahama Mama. The bartender did ask how I liked the drink. I was honest and said it tasted off. She mentioned that it was only her 2nd time making that particular drink. You can not charge $13 for a drink and not know how to make it. There are far too many other great restaurants in the area that charge less and make better drinks We ordered two appetizers...the fried crab claws and a bowl of the seafood gumbo. When the crab claws came out they were sautéed and soaked in butter and not fried. They were not good at all. The gumbo was not traditional and overly salty. While sitting at the bar, Victoria mentioned a few times how tired she was and the older male bartender (did not get his name) mentioned how he shouldn't be working today. We planned on ordering entrees but decided to go elsewhere for quality food and a better experience. I'm hoping they just need to work the kinks outs and that the experience will be better in the weeks to come. After receiving a response from the restaurant, I am adding a copy of my receipt which clearly shows a charge of $13 for my drink. And as the restaurant pointed out, I generally only leave negative reviews. I should leave more positive reviews. As a local, I will leave more reviews but to start there are much better local establishments. Here are some to start...Brisky's, Beaches, Black Fly, St Aug Fish Camp, Drake's, Beachcomber, Commander's, Conch House and countless others. My point was not to get into any conflict with you but to help work out the kinks with your establishment. We LOVE to...

From parking to leaving, the entire experience did not disappoint. This is a place where you order your food, grab utensils and find a seat.

The welcome greet from the cashier was warm and friendly. She was genuine in her menu descriptors, answering honestly and providing solid specs to the items. Her suggestive selling was spot on and I didn’t mind upgrading a few bucks just because of the hospitality.

The food came out and didn’t disappoint. Let’s start with the opportunities. The waffle fries were cold but well seasoned meaning it was probably sitting for awhile in the window hot holding area. The frozen drinks were average. Would like to see a garnish or special touch to make it a bit more authentic.

The good. Fried clam strips and fried oysters were great. The lobster roll at market price was worth the money. The other sides were pretty good with collard greens separating from the rest of the sides we got and packed with flavor. The lobster bisque was good overall, but a bit creamy fit my liking.

The service was great. We are natural at socializing which helps, so we like conversing with the staff if we see something happening. One of the food runners/bussers was shooting what looked like a nerf gun, so I had to ask. He ended up showing us a salt gun that takes care of the flies. He was disappointed to not see any at the time he showed us how it worked which clearly meant he was doing his job. Manager was doing table touches and even rooted us on to finish all of the food we ordered. Unfortunately, we needed boxes.

Overall, great visit! Food, service, music, everything....

We were here visiting family for the 4th and decided to eat our one outing at the Grouper Shack. Now I am a Florida girl and eat at a lot of seafood restaurants. So here is my perspective on the Grouper Shack. Con: It started off with finding a parking space, but they do have overflow parking in a field of short walking distance. Extremely high prices for a little amount of seafood. Ordered shrimp poboy sandwich for son, shrimp tacos for self along with a side of collards, and two drinks cost me $48, for two people. When we received our food, my son's po-boy was about 4-5" in length. He counted a total of 3 small sized shrimp on each half and roughly 6 waffle fries. My two shrimp tacos were small and had 3 small shrimp in each with a little bit of cabbage, corn, and sauce with a small hand of not fresh tortillas, and no salsa and I ordered a side of collards, disposable cups, utensils, and baskets left a bad opinion due to the high price, small portions. And to add, you have to fight for a table. This is nothing more than like walking up to a food truck. Pro: Food flavoring was good, right on the water. Final comment, if you don't mind high prices and small portions, fighting for a table, serving yourself, then go, but if you are looking for good portions and a dining experience where you don't have to stare people down to wait and fight for a table, and you want a waitress who takes care of you, so you can enjpy eating with your family and look at the water, then I would suggest picking...