Mulligan's Beach House — Restaurant in Vero Beach

If you don't want to read the whole review, skip to the end for the Cliff's Notes.

Note: the food would be 5 stars if not for the very extended wait time, and the service would be 3 stars if not for Jasmine and the nice hostesses.

We were on vacation visiting family in Vero Beach and looking for a restaurant to eat right on the beach. Our local family immediately recommended Mulligan's as a solid choice.

FYI: we attempted to make a reservation ahead, but they will only make them by phone for two hours in advance or more. They did give us the current wait time, however, and told us we could come and put our name on the list.

We went to the restaurant and put our name on the waiting list for three adults and four children and requested a table on the ocean. The hostesses were very nice. We were told there would be a 30-45 minute wait time, and they would text us when ready. No problem, we know it's the busy season. Plus, we get to wait right at the beach right before sunset.

The hostesses wound up contacting us after about an hour or so. Still not a problem. I've worked at restaurants and understand that wait times are always an estimate.

We were seated outside but against the building. We reminded the hostess seating us about our request for a table as close to the water as possible, and she immediately accommodated us without any issue.

Then we waited...

After waiting close to 45 mins without anyone ever coming over to bring water, utensils, or even say hello, my aunt asked a passing server if we could expect service soon. The server was a bit snappy and told us she got assigned "three 7-tops at once." I understand being short staffed and overwhelmed, but at least stop by and explain. Bring drinks or have someone bring something. We were not very happy at this point with increasingly hungry and restless kids. We started to feel that we might have been seated way before they were ready, just so we didn't wander off and wind up eating somewhere else. At this point, things were looking down, and we considered leaving.

That's exactly when our night started getting better. A different server, Jasmine, came over and apologized for the wait and began taking drink orders. Apparently, we weren't even her table, but she had sympathy for us and our hungry and frustrated kids. Jasmine wound up taking over our table and spent the next couple of hours trying her best to make things right. Yes, "couple of hours" is correct. The food took a very long time to come out. Obviously, this was not Jasmine's fault. I will say that when the food finally came, it was delicious and everyone was happy with their meals. Also, the Mega Bloody Mary was great.

So the short take...

Postives: Beautiful location Great live music Pleasant and accommodating hostesses Delicious food Great Bloody Mary but most of all... "Princess Jasmine" is awesome, and she saved the day! Mulligan's is lucky to have her.

Negatives: Long wait for service Snotty waitress, when asked about the long wait for service An even longer wait for our meals

oh... our kids were thrilled to learn the restaurant has apple juice... until it turned out to be...

I had cataract surgery on Monday June 23 at the Center for Advanced Eye Care. My friend was along to drive me home after the surgery, and we thought that after the surgery we would stop by the Vero Mulligans for a cocktail. When I asked a waitress about seating, she directed me to the hostess station. Incidentally, the facility looked to me to be at about 20% occupancy. After 5 minutes or so at the hostess station, I asked another employee but was again sent to the hostess station. After a second 5 to 7 minute wait, the hostess came out of the ladies room and treated my friend and I with utter disdain. As a matter of fact, and I almost hesitate to make this comparison, but the first thing that came to my mind was that this must have been the way Blacks were treated in the South of the late 60's. My friend did ask the hostess for her name as she was leading us to a table.

Once we were finally seated, my friend ordered coffee and I ordered a $16.95 Jack Daniels and lemonade. First the waitress brought out a plain lemonade, then when I pointed out the error, she came back with a second lemonade, this one with about a tablespoon of Jack Daniels in it. I have consumed a lot of Jack in my day, and you can bet I recognize being stiffed with a weak drink as retaliation for some perceived slight.

As we were leaving, I spoke, politely of course, with I believe it was Scott, the manager on duty. Scott did not seem too concerned at the time, so on Tuesday, I called and spoke with Chris, who may be another shift manager. Chris did not seem too concerned either and when I asked for the name and number of the General Manager, Chris chuckled and hung up on me. Next, I called the "corporate" number from the website and left a voicemail on that phone, but was disappointed that I did not hear back.

Both my friend and I were troubled by the entire event, and it was especially hurtful as I was stressed out from eye surgery and really just wanted to relax, unwind and possibly enjoy a nice meal.

I continue to reach out to Mulligans, not to seek any re-imbursement, but simply because these employees represent Mulligans Corporation and management needs to be made aware of this type of behavior.

7/2/25 - The "Vice President" at Mulligans did contact me two days later than she promised. She did nothing, took no action, but offered us a gift certificate, which I declined. Better to...

BEWARE-- THEY ADD 18% GRATUITY FOR ALL TABLES. Not at all ok. Tipping is performance based.

I can't properly evaluate the food because our chicken tenders w/fries and bunless burger w/bacon and grilled onions were cold after we waited 45 minutes from the time the order was rung in.

There server was very bad. I'm a patient person and would have overlooked some of these issues, but there were so many issues.

She overfilled my iced coffee, spilled some on the table when she set it down, apologized for overfilling it, then asked if I wanted a coaster since it was messy, but made no attempt to wipe it up.

I declined the coaster and cleaned up the coffee she spilled with napkins from the dispenser. After taking our order, she left the table and the sopping napkins behind. ??? Pour the extra liquid out BEFORE bringing it to the table - if for no other reason than to get a better tip? Oh, right, she's making 18% whether she earns it or not.

My husband is a chef who has developed concepts to Mulligan's Beach House. I finally asked if I was impatient or this was taking way too long. We'd waited 10 minutes for the server to appear, and now it has been over 30 mins since we ordered. Chicken tenders and a burger are super fast items.

People seated after us were paying and leaving. She hasn't been by since taking the order. I saw her walking toward the kitchen, walked across the dining room and asked her to check our order. Another 10 minutes and she brought our lukewarm food.

I really wanted to like it. I know it's hard being a server. Been there done that. In the past, the food & service has been good. Other servers were taking card of their tables just fine.

The last straw was seeing an $8+ tip automatic added to our bill with no way to remove it. We just signed the ticket and left. Not...