Sharkies Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Surfside Beach

We were visiting Surfsid beach for the first time and came across this bar nearby, hoping to enjoy some live music and a relaxing night. Sadly, we were met with immediate judgment. Within just 30 seconds of walking in, before we had even ordered a drink, the bartender (a white woman with short black hair and tattoos) decided we were “too drunk” to be served. All we did was ask the band if they were doing karaoke and walk toward the bar.

Our designated driver, who was completely sober and only planned to have one drink all night, was the one attempting to order, but we were still denied service. When I tried to remove the tip I had left, the bartender dismissed me with a “thank you for the tip” and walked away, claiming to be the manager and showing no interest in hearing us out or making things right.

We were calm, seated, and respectful meanwhile, others around us were clearly being louder and showing more signs of intoxication. It’s hard not to wonder if we were treated differently because of what we look like. (Racism) That kind of treatment not only ruined what could’ve been a fun night, but left us feeling humiliated and singled out. I hope the staff reflects on how quick assumptions and lack of accountability can genuinely hurt people who did nothing wrong.

To the bartender: if you’re going to manage a space where people come to unwind and feel welcome, it’s worth asking yourself why you felt so justified in making assumptions about us so quickly. A little self-reflection could go a long way… because the way you treat people matters more...

PROS: Has achohol, Resonablely good food...more or less Um... Biker friendly, if that's your thing.

CONS:

NOISY! BIKERS park underneath and the whole place echos and amplifies the racket until they leave nickel and dime you for drinks, take-out and probably anything else they think they can get away with. small menu selection No seafood misleading name of business

Better Alternatives: Would recommend [Pirates Alley Cafe] for anyone looking for the family-friendly restaurant on the beach Sharkies looks like at a glance, and Red Snapper Inn for anyone looking for something a little higher priced, and more formal-ish

Didn't believe the negative reviews, seemed unlikely any reasonable business owner wanting to be even moderately successful would never allow rampant racism, no idea if that is a factor or not, but I can believe it at this point.

Bikers like to park underneath and rev/ warm-up the bikes before taking off, leaving the area noisy for a minute untill they leave. Might take longer if a bit group or they get stuck at the light.

While the official title of the place is: [Sharkies On The Beach: Bar and Grill] the menu is limited as this is really just a bar with extra seating. Despite being called Sharkies, the closest thing it has to having seafood is the jalapeño alligator bites in the appetizer menu, which consists of about 7 items and makes up roughly 40% of the available menu.

Fries are nice though, and what food they do have doesn't seem to...

Several of my friends and I visited this place last night since we had a quick get-away this weekend and were spending the night nearby. The staff appears to be friendly, however, some of the local patrons do not appear to be very welcoming of new people or people from out of town. Not even five minutes after arriving and getting a table a woman approached us and straight up told us that it appeared we were up to no good. She said very condescendingly that my friends and I needed to "vamonos", which means "leave" in Spanish. We are all Hispanic and speak perfectly good English, by the way. Another woman a couple of tables over could be heard very loudly saying over and over that she didn't like the sight of unfamiliar faces. I am certain she was referring to us and was repeating it so that we could hear.

Apparently the local residents do not like new people spending money in their town and supporting businesses. I would give this place one star, but one of the ladies working the kitchen approached us and apologized for the first woman's behavior. She told us that if we had anymore problems to please let her know. It would not be fair to give the business a poor rating based on other customers' behavior and I appreciate that they apologized again when we were leaving. Some of us do have common decency and integrity unlike certain persons who I assume frequent this business and reside...