As a retired Coastie, and a local, this is by far the one of the best overall seafood spots and by far the BEST, seafood boil, best fresh clams and a very nice variety of warm and cold water oysters. Lastly, they have a super yummy steam buckets of oysters that is a must! I have never walked away from this place unhappy! read more

I am a local and have been coming to this restaurant for 5+ years. This used to be a great place, but it's turned into an overpriced tourist trap My last five visits in the last year have all been terrible. The food is smelly, not fresh, the service is at the horrid. The average servers at this restaurant are very entitled and don't know the basics of serving food. Some restaurants can survive. I'm just having good food, others because they've got special service, this restaurant has neither of them. Very sad with the rich heritage that they have and the fact that they can grow their own oysters. Unfortunately, 90% of the time when you go to commanders half the menu isn't even available. So if you like hush puppies and fried crap from China, this is your place. But if you want fresh seafood, there's a whole bunch of others in St Augustine and elsewhere. Not worth spending a couple hundred dollars on several day old fish. read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Inside of restaurant - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Visited in March. A group of 7 of us went for dinner and to see the sunset. The set up out on the back deck is a bit funky as you stand in a line to order tithe drinks and food and then go sit down. Luckily it wasn't overly busy when we went or that line could be really slow. We ordered drinks and went to sit down before ordering dinner. When we went back to order food the line was longer and people were paying as they were leaving as well, which made this a slow process. One woman taking the orders and making the drinks and checking people out. She works hard, but a crazy inefficient system. Food was hit and miss (gets great reviews which is why we went). Some in our party liked the shrimp and others didn't (we got 4 different shrimp dishes). One person got the special fish and unfortunately it was overcooked and dry. Was hoping for better and not sure we would return. read more

Stopped by with a party of six for dinner and was not impressed. The piece of fish I ordered was the size of my cell phone along with a bowl of grits for 35.00. Beware the "market price" pricing, which is on most items on the menu. My husband ordered a dozen oysters. I've never seen oysters that small. And you would think being a fresh shrimp town that they would have fresh St Augustine shrimp - nope - they serve Argentinian (red) shrimp, which are sold at Walmart. But I'm sure they'll get enough unknowing tourist traffic to keep them going. Me being a local, won't be back. read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Husband's tiny oysters - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Stopped for the outdoor seating and some cold beers and messy seafood- it hit the mark with each of those. My group sat at the picnic tables in the waaaay back and our waitress/bartender was wonderful. Super woman, actually, because she was understaffed and was bartending, bussing, serving and taking orders all by herself! Seafood was a tad underwhelming, I was craving good crab and peel-and-eat shrimp, but both were unfortunately overdone. I'm not an oyster fan, but my group seemed to enjoy them. Po-boys were all delicious and sides were as expected read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Oysters - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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We live nearby and have watched what was a great local raw bar to become an overpriced and poorly serviced tourist trap. Nothing special about the fried oysters and shrimp combo. Fries were soggy but the beer was cold. read more

Forgot to do my Yelp review for Wednesday 12.28. After a trip to JAX to drop off our daughter four of us thought it was time for some seafood at Commander's. Apparently lots of others had the same idea. We started with some beers and wine. For appetizers a dozen raw oysters (from Virginia). Excellent. Now the sad news. No seafood left. Yep all gone. Well good for them in today's market it's good to see a restaurant doing well. We will be back. read more

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Food was terrible. Hush puppies were burnt & looked disgusting- why were they even served? We did see a few dolphins, which was the only good thing. read more

Was disappointed. The atmosphere on the water was great but food was definitely below average. Was also irritated that we had to listen to one of the cooks cussing out one of the staff. read more

We had some really good food here. Got the Mahi-Mahi and it was cooked to perfection. Seasoned just right on the outside and light and flaky on the inside. The service was friendly, and the price wasn't bad. read more

I've seen mixed reviews but today, they were on point. Our server Dustin was fantastic. Helped us make our decisions and was very attentive. The fish dip was awesome as were the conch fritters. The tile fish was amazing. You could taste how fresh it was. The fried shrimp were huge! We were all stuffed and very happy. read more

Awesome food loved eating on the water! Crab cake was fresh crab, the fritters were delicious too.

This place is very quaint real beachy feel and delicious. It has the beachy ambience., The food was amazing, the Lieutenant boil could use some more sauce options the potatoes were slightly dry, but overall, it was delicious. . The service was impeccable., Mia was our server., She was very bubbly and fun and personable.. I would absolutely recommend this place. We had three options of where to sit we could sit inside or outside or outside by the water. We chose just to sit outside, not by the water because it was hot and we saw there was more shade. It was recommended we try it out up here in Georgia, before we even went on vacation and I highly recommend it read more

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If you want fresh and local, this is the spot. We stopped for lunch, had the smoked fish dip and a bucket of oysters. Delicious! read more

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Food was good. Service was SLOW. We had to wait 15 minutes for a glass or water and even more for drinks. The place wasn't overly slammed which was confusing. Food is great which is why we come back but the place is leaving money on the table by not Offering drinks while waiting to be served. read more

Our family enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner one evening. We were seated outside with glorious weather. The crab cakes were delicious, as were the hushpuppies and the fish we ordered. Can't wait to come back here! read more

This place is like a golden nugget on the coast. We got recommended here by a local and it did not disappoint. We came in with a party of ten and although we had to wait a little longer it was worth it. We sat inside near the bar. Our waitress, Brittney was amazing and handled our party perfectly. Some of the main dishes we enjoyed were the shrimp'n grits pork belly with beer gravy and the boom-boom shrimp. They were simply mind blowing. I've never had shrimp so buttery and fried to perfection. I visit Florida a lot and this restaurant is now immediately added to my arsenal of places to return to. Will definitely be back and recommending to others. read more

This unassuming place, boy what a surprise. A fish market with a full bar and some booths and a couple tables up front. But the also have an awesome deck and bar out back. Perfect place to shuck a bucket. We had the fish soup (fabulous) an order or raw oysters, order of clams and the seafood boil. Definitely a top 5 ranking for me. Very fresh and very good. You won't be disappointed. read more

Came here excited to try some local seafood while on vacation in St. Augustine. Unfortunately, they ran out of all the crab on a Sunday afternoon, so we weren't able to get any of the seafood broils. We know that happens and we rolled with it - so we choose the mahi fish, red snapper, and the fried fish sandwich. All of which were good, but the portions seemed small for the price paid. The sides were fine (no seasoning on the red potatoes, so pretty bland). And the service was fine. I enjoyed the views outside. What we did have of the fish was very good! read more

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Food was ok not bad but not great. Service was not bad but not great. Ambiance is not what we expected based on pricing of the food. IMO it's overpriced for the winter season anyway. We'll go back when it's warmer to try again. I believe that ambiance will be much better then. I'd recommend you try this place but don't expect anything more than described above. read more

Thursday evening, 2-19-26. Had high expectations, but disappointed. Food was just ok. Service was really not so good. Had some beers and dinner. After waiting for our drink reorders, we had to track down our waiter both times because it was taking so long. Both times he blamed it on the bartender, and we detected a bit of a "put upon" attitude. Weak. Too bad. Won't be back. read more

Great seafood! Clams are fresh from the Intercoastal adjacent the restaurant. Bang-Bang Shrimp is delicious. Outside seating with a view. Long time customer. read more

Great place. Sat at bar where waitress guided us through the awesome menu. Best fried shrimp I've ever had. Also had a dozen clams (really more like 15) in shells over linguine in a butter sauce. They raise their own clams! Well Worth the 10 Mile drive out Anastasia Island from the Lions Bridge. read more

Came in for dinner on a Sunday evening and it was very busy already. Not that late, so we were surprised how long the wait would be. We opted for the outside seating, but we found out it is not as full service as inside and it was in the sun, so we went back in. The only seating available was at the bar, so we took it. We had excellent service at the bar! The server constantly walked by, refilled drinks, asked if we needed anything, etc. The restaurant is also a fish market so extremely casual and you definitely can smell the fresh fish here. Food was good too. We tried an order of conch fritters, baskets of shrimp and oyster po boys and some sides. The portions were large and fish was very fresh. Prices were about what I expected to spend. I would say, try this place for lunch or a weeknight when it might be a little easier to get a table. We passed this restaurant all week going back and forth from our rental, and it was consistently busy. read more

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What a find! Excellent food, and their property has a beautiful view of the ICW. The blackened Mahi was delicious, as were the dessert tarts. Would definitely recommend this place. read more

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The food, service and setting were fantastic. The oysters were outstanding. Best shrimp and grits I've had in a long time. Highly recommend this place! read more

My wife and I live on the DE shore but love coming to SA every April. After driving 13 hrs. we popped into our go to spot, Commanders for dinner. Our server was overwhelmed and forgot my wife's drink. OK, whatever no big deal but when we mentioned this to her she got very nasty then proceeded to make the wrong drink. We always loved their clam chowder but last night it was stretched with way too much flour. My oyster po boy was on a really nice roll with lettuce and pickles with three or four oysters on the outer edge to make it look packed with oysters. All I tasted were pickles. The oysters on half were averaging 36.00 per dozen. The going price in DE is 1.00 to 1.50 each for Chincoteaugue salts. These are seafood areas so they shouldn't gouge like a New York restaurant. We were going to order more food but it's obvious they become yet another generic tourist restaurant. Sad to say we won't be back. read more

So being from Maryland until just a year and a half ago we know our seafood. I mean Chesapeake Bay come on! Commanders is named after the owner's grandfather who was a Naval Commander. It was an honor to sit amongst his actual memorabilia from the Navy. Both of us are kids of Navy Veterans so this was extra special. The grandfather also started the clams harvesting business so this tradition is keeping onward down the line which is also nice! Commanders sits back off main drag and behind it on the water. There are inside and outdoor seating close to the place and then there is the wheelhouse outside seating area down their pier. I hear they're working on making this a boat pull up spot which would be really cool. So, sadly because I'm getting older I forgot our lovely bartender's name because she was amazing behind the bar. We sat at the bar this past Thurs and. this was our first time here. We felt so welcome by everyone. Our bartender was incredible talking about all her favs and what we should try so we got a few items.There was even a couple local beer selections which were good. We ordered the clam chowder because I mean we had to, the smoked fish dip, steamed clams with a smoked pork shoulder chunks and the steamed royal red shrimp. Smoked fish dip was great! It was served with packs of crackers. Nice smokey flavor and loaded with actual fish. The clam chowder was very fresh but we felt a little splash more of seasoning would have made it on point. Steamed clams were fresh and nice, all open and the smoked pork pieces had a nice smoky flavor as well. The sauce was flavorful. We had some bread pieces to dip into the sauce. Maybe woulda preferred a slightly crustier bread especially with such a sauce. Lastly the steamed royal reds. Great way to top it all off. I can't say enough. So amazingly good. Served with cocktail and butter sauces. We left here feeling happy and would definitely go back. There's a real passion that shows here and the people are fantastic. read more

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Always great seafood and very fresh!! Prices are not out of line for the type of seafood they sell.

Was not impressed. No liquor license just wine & beer. It was like eating on the boardwalk. The clams were drowning in melted ice water because they waited so long to serve us the dish. The fried oysters were so small I would be embarrassed to serve them to a customer. No presentation on the platters. Horseradish was just a dab in the smallest container for sauces I have ever seen. Went to a Japanese Restaurant the day after and got quality food for the same price as this boardwalk joke and had enough left over to take to our room. read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Great place for fresh seafood! Everything we ordered were delicious and fresh. I ordered the clam chowder and it has a different taste from the usual clam chowder. It had a little bit of a tart taste. The Datil Fish bites were fresh and tender with a little bit of sweet and spicy taste. We also ordered the Captains Platter. It has shrimp, fresh catch of the day fish, and fried oyster. We opted for blackened shrimp and fish and the flavor was very good. Well seasoned. It was perfect. The platter also included hush puppies and side of cole slaw. This place is also great for sunset viewing! Felt like time slowed down watching the sun set while having a drink. They have a deck and additional out door seating. There is also a shellfish farm. I had a wonderful and relaxing dinner. Wonderful service too. Will definitely go back to this place! read more

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Fantastic local oysters, best shrimp and grits I've had in a long time!! Love the staff and the Datil pepper sauce! read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Shrimp and grits, conch fritters and raw oysters - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Came here wjth my parents on a Sunday afternoon. We have pretty low standards when it comes to decent restaurants especially when they're smaller local businesses in town. We ordered for the outside seating area and waited about 20 minutes for our first dish, clam chowder. It was good. Then we proceeded to wait another 45 minutes for the rest of our dishes to arrive. We watched parties who sat down after us receive the same dishes we ordered, before us. It was not a crazy busy day. There was maybe four other tables outside half of which already had food when we got there. When we went to confront the hostess about our wait time and wanting to leave, she proceeded to tell us they only had two people who fixed up the food for the outside tables and how it was "very busy". She told us as we were about to leave that they were saucing our plates that were just now ready to come out. We decided to stay. Hush puppies were completely cold. We received our oysters on a half melted pan of ice. Our seafood boil was cold and I guess the "sauce" she was referring to was just old bay seasoning on top. That isn't a problem however, that doesn't take 45 minutes to do. The shrimp was good but everything else in the boil was pretty much just plain boiled with nothing more than old bay on top (and arrived cold just like the hush puppies). Overall, we were excited to try this place and left, unfortunately, very disappointed. Outside seating area is nice however, so many other places in town worth the time and money for much better service. read more

One word, wow!!! Everything was perfect and our server Katie was the best. We will be coming back, over and over when we're in town. read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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We stopped into Commander's Shellfish Camp after being at the beach. We decided to have a late lunch based on the rave Yelp reviews. We started with 2 cups of their blue crab corn chowder which contained no crab meat. The rest of the food we ordered was average. We had their crab cakes, mixed green salad with goat cheese, walnut, and craisin, fried oyster with string beans. The string beans had more flavor than the fried oysters. The oysters were room temperature and not crispy. The crab cakes and oysters were bland. Needless to say, we were underwhelmed with the food especially for the price. We don't mind paying for a delicious meal but we felt this was average at best. We ordered a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon and LOVED it. We sat outside which was beautiful and breezy. The staff were friendly. The 3 star is for the bland lunch experience and not for the friendly staff nor the beautiful outdoor atmosphere. read more

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So delicious solid crab in the 2 crab cakes extremely light batter and pan fried for 2 seconds served on top of lettuce served homemade sauce. Boiled Beet and green bean that snap and crunch so fresh salad with white onions, blue cheese no dressing the yummiest beet salad I have ever had. Steamed kale greens with light oil and little seasoning so good. Sweet potatoes fries crunchy and a lot of them. Their portion sizes are extremely generous. Don't drive by this place you need to stop and enjoy. And walk on down to the water before you leave. The services were nice, knowledgeable and flowed nicely. Small and quaint inside and also has seating around the entire Outside of the restaurant. Great place and very relaxing and go for walk in the back with a drink in your hand and watch the sunset. read more

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This place was excellent. Staff was very informative and helpful with the menu. Food was fresh and cooked to perfection. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful Florida weather. Would definitely go back.. Try the oysters!!!! read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

First time being here, came from Flagler County and regret not coming here sooner. Started with Oysters Rockefeller followed by a pound of snow crab legs and both were delicious. Wife had fresh Oysters from Massachusetts and fried shrimp, and all of it was tasty! Can't wait to come back and try more fresh seafood on the menu. Service was on point as well. Will DEF be coming back soon. read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Oysters Rockefeller - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

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Me and my friends were looking for a simple restaurant with delicious low country boils. This place did not disappoint! The food was delicious, the portion sizes were massive, and the service was great. A shout out to Brittany, she was awesome! If we come back St. Augustine we will definitely go back! read more

Commander's Shellfish Camp - Bars Near Me - St. Augustine, Florida

Amazing seafood dinner with great view. We opted to sit by the observation deck. Seafood is fresh. Shrimps and clams were huge. Smoked chicken sandwich with datil barbecue was good, a different take on bbq chicken sandwich. Service was fast. read more

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