Can't beat the view at this restaurant - right on the water in Bradenton! That said, I've found that more often than not, waterfront food is typically average. I tried a turkey club sandwich here - decent but nothing special. Fries were okay, but didn't have much flavor. The club did come with 2 cheese which gave it a little more interesting flavor. The ice cream options here were pretty extensive - or should I say gelato? All made in house. Unfortunately, those are quite pricey (small, SMALL dish will run you $4), so no matter how good they are that kills it for me. You're paying for the water, and likely the seafood for which I'm allergic. Staff is friendly and atmosphere casual and fun - you can get your toes sandy once you're finished eating. Great for kids. read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - Turkey club! - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

I really like this place for breakfast right on the beach, quick simple breakfast standards and very good servers all for a super reasonable price tag read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - Coffee by the ocean - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

I give it two stars because of the view and the fact there is a full bar. But other than that, save your money people !! The "seared" tuna was way over cooked. The manager came out and said that was the only way they knew how to make it. Then we ordered peel and eat shrimp and it tasted off. We had to return several things from the table to get redone / remade . I will never come here again. read more

Stopped in for lunch after being stuck at home two months due to virus. Arrived at 1:09pm. Very excited to try some sea food. Asked for a shady table on the beach and were seated immediately. We each ordered a drink and sat enjoying the beach view. At 2:00pm, we still had not ordered food. Our drinks long gone, we proceeded to hostess stand and asked to pay for the drinks so we could go eat somewhere. She asked who the server was and said there was no charge. No apology though. We promptly left and drove to another restaurant for a great seafood meal. This property has a terrific location, mediocre appearance and atrocious service. read more

This little beach side restaurant is the perfect experience if you're looking for a restaurant you can actually put your feet in the sand! They have a variety of tables, either by the bar, under some tiki huts, right on the sand, or a little of an in between. The sunsets you can see from here are amazing! Truly beautiful and romantic yet casual where you can go with family and friends. They do have tables of all sizes so it's perfect for either small or large parties. Oh! And most importantly, our four legged babies are welcome!! The service is where this gem needs some improvements. At one point, we waited forever for a drink, we actually had to remind the waiter, and when he brings it, it's not even what was ordered. In terms of food we ordered the calamari, which was actually very good. Very crunchy and well cooked, and also the coconut shrimp which was decent. Overall, I would recommend this beach side restaurant, but I would advise to not be too surprised if service is not up to par! read more

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Kat was amazing! Very attentive to our needs and provided great friendly service. Drinks were good and food was fast!

Best food and atmosphere around you can't beat eating on the beach. Over and over again the food is delicious amazing and fabulous. The Ultimate Bagel is to die for. The Grouper last night was fantastic. Service through the roof. Thank you Parker, Courtny, Dave and all of the servers at the Kokonut Hut. Thanks Chase, enjoyed Breakfast. We will be back. read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

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A great location right on the beach! I had the blackened Grouper Sandwich, which was disappointing. It was a thin slice of Grouper that was undercooked. Service was a little slow, but I understand that many places are understaffed so I expect that. Next time I'd probably skip the food and just enjoy the cold beer and the view. read more

Great place to sit and watch the waves roll in. Had a burger and fish tacos. Fish tacos were a 1/5 and the burger was 3/5. Drinks are expensive but service was decent. Come for the sunset and drinks but go elsewhere for food. read more

Horrible service. Bartends are extremely rude. For the price of what you're paying, the Beach House is a lot nicer and drinks are 1$ cheaper than this place. Will not be going back. Brought my friend for her first time to Anna Maria and she didn't want to waste her time or money here. read more

In truth, the only thing this place has going for it is the location. It's a great place to have a drink as the sun sets. Other than that, it's just average or worse. The food is ok at best. The service varies dramatically from good to terrible. On top of all this amazing averageness, it is very expensive (considering the quality). I fully understand that they have a high overheard but if your going to charge the high prices, at least have the courtesy to offer reasonably good food. I'm sure that I will be back if only to enjoy a cold beer while enjoying the sunset. I also find it enormously curious that all 3 of the restaurants located on the beach in the Sarasota / Bradenton area are all owned by the son of the ex Governor of FL. Wow, nepotism is alive and well in FL. :-) read more

Great place waterfront on the beach. Tasty drinks with fresh cored pineapples. Tasty calamari appetizers, and loved the fish tacos. One of my favorite spots on AMI. read more

Came here for dinner to watch the sunset. It is right in the beach so you really can't beat it! The food is your typical bar food, but the fish&chips and burgers are great. We had good service and it is a great ambiance read more

We live in Florida and came down on a weekend getaway and ate here for breakfast. We had three people come by and said they were our waiter, the last lady that came by was actually our server. The food was pretty good, I had the seafood quiche with a side of crab cakes. A couple of times they tried to deliver us someone else's order. Our waitress asked a couple of times if I needed a refill on my tea and although I told her I did, it never came. The food is respectable, the staff is not. They seemed a bit confused, but the food was affordable. read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - My tea glass - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

I was surprised to see the reviews on this restaurant, I had a great experience. Amazing view, perfect to watch the sunset. The service was great, tables were spread out and service members took necessary precautions. The food was also pretty good, highly recommend the baked crab dip. read more

Stephanie was great! Great service & attentive First time there and she took great care of us. Definitely will come back again for her

First time here. Food is really good and service is awesome our server Stephanie C really took care of everyone :)

Steph was the best, she is super friendly and provided awesome service, will be back.

Loved this restaurant!! We were in AMI for 6 days and we went 5 of the 6 days! Breakfast is great. Drinks are great. Views are great! Highly recommend! read more

Destiny was awesome. UGA lost SEC and we needed to drown our sorrows. Peel and eat shrimp was awesome.

Food is fantastic. The service is slightly slow, 3 stars. My husband and I visited This place while on vacation, the waiter took my husbands debit card, and did not return it. Until my husband and I were on our way to Orlando, him and I realized he never received his debit card back from the waiter after making a final purchase. Husband and I attempt to Call the restaurant (20 times) no answer, left a voicemail (once) no returned phone call. The only question we had is if the debit card was there. Frustrating when you are (2 hours away) Fix! Fix! Fix! Communication is very important! read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - Walking on the beach towards Gulf drive cafe - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

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Brian was amazing - great server!!! He welcomed us, served us drinks quickly, and made sure everyone was happy.

We make sure to visit Gulf Drive Cafe every year on our FL vacation. One of the best outdoor patios on the island. The drink menu is yummy and live music days are fun! Our favorite menu options are the turkey pita sandwich, crab cake sandwich, and the French toast. The fries are the bomb! Always prepared perfectly. Staff is kind and you can always find the regular customers enjoying themselves at the bar. A very welcoming beach front spot to eat! read more

I gave you a one star the food was terrible, it was cold, we went for breakfast. The beach was lovely so was the ocean, waiter was friendly but didn't listen, I would have given no stars but no option.! We are visiting AMI would never go back to this restaurant. How hard is it to make a breakfast sandwich? The best part of the meal was when the seagull swept down and took food off the plate. read more

We are down for a week and we're looking for a beachside restaurant so we could enjoy the waves and the sounds of the ocean. I, personally, had been looking forward to eating at a beachside place for weeks, and we had planned on staying for awhile and enjoying the atmosphere and a few drinks. The hostess sat us at a decent table right next to the sand per our request, and it looked like we were in for a treat. Five minutes after seating us and taking our order, a loud ass power washer fires up 20 feet away from us. We couldn't even hear each other talk! I called the waitress over and asked "Is he going to be doing that the entire time we are here?? She said "Umm, I'm not sure, but probably. I told her we specifically chose this place so we could enjoy the atmosphere, why is he doing that in the middle of the lunch hour!?!? Long story short, he continued to power wash and we had to move into the bar area just so we could hear each other speak. I was, and still am, pissed off about it. The food was bland as hell also. So, if you want to pay over $100 for lunch (NOT including drinks), listen to construction noises on top of the too-loud music from the bar, by all means head straight for this place. read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - The lunch special at this place. - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

Great place to eat, snack, drink, and swim!!! Lots of TVs, near swimming.... You can't beat that! Friendly staff!

Sasha was an awesome bartender. She is very attentive to all her customers, very friendly and happy. Made our experience a much better time. read more

I've been wanting to try this place since we were here last year but never had the chance. Went on a Wednesday morning about 8:00AM while it was still cool outside. No wait and the service was awesome. I had the Southern Skillet (yum!) and my daughter had the chocolate chip pancakes and loved them. The view is amazing and the local birds are very comfortable with humans and don't mind coming right up to you for your food offering. :) read more

Their chicken nachos were horrible, chunks of tasteless canned chicken with gross canned cheese sauce. Fried calamari over cooked to the point of being burned. Peel and eat shrimp - low quality mushy shrimp. Grouper sandwich- ok but nothing special. Crab cake - tasted good. Disgustingly dirty and smelly outside bathrooms always have a line and are wet on the floor and they close off the inside ones to customers with a lie by posting an "out of order" sign on the door while you watch employees going in and out of those restrooms. Clearly they don't care about their customers or sanitation. It's more like a college bar scene with people drinking and being loud and rowdy. Not a classy place at all. These are my personal notes I have taken in my dozens of visits here. I always make notes for myself so I know what to order. I never reviewed online as I only do when there is a strong reason to do so. Today I had that reason. Horrible customer service, normally free parking and some horribly rude woman aggressively gouging bc it's a busy day monitoring the parking lot, charging for $30 parking which I have never seen across my many many visits here bringing guests and spending money here. And the parking attendant woman was a mean spirited condescending rude individual with no customer service skills barking at people as you roll down your window. Literally the only reason we come to this place is bc of the parking and beach access, and it's one of the closest (by just a few minutes) to where I live. So we eat their horrible low quality bar food to get 20-30 minutes of beach access. However, other places on the beach offer this too, with better food and customer service, so we have basically stopped coming here anyway, but we have a guest in town and already brought her to those so figured u would show her something different so we came here. Big mistake. The parking attendant woman rudely said that if we were planning to carry towels we had to pay $30, despite our commitment to eat and give them business. There is often a wait to sit and no seats at bar, so we like to sit on beach while we wait and she threatened to tow us if we carried our towels. Maybe a better idea is show a paid food receipt for 2 hours free parking. Rather than act like the Spanish Inquisition asking if we are bringing towels. Yes for our 25 minute wait for mediocre bar food we would like to sit on the beach lol. Then we asked to speak with a manager to explain that we have an elderly disabled person and a handicap parking pass and that due to their 25 minute wait, we'd like to be able to bring a towel to sit on beach during the wait and the manager could not have been more rude and said "that's our policy". They wanted us to wait on a concrete patio with no view of the beach or the water or else pay $30. I have been here dozens of times as I live 10 mins away, and this really soured my entire perception of this place. There are many nicer places along the beach and we won't be returning here. read more

Beautiful view, good service, food was fine but way over priced... fries are a special side for any sand which and there is a $2.50 upcharge if you don't want mashed potatoes or rice (who does eats that with a sand which ) The subpar chowder is $8 for a small cup. read more

Breakfast on the beach this morning. The view doesn't get any better, everything else could be. The service was just ok. The food was so-so and overpriced. Be prepared to get harassed by the parking staff as you try to convince them that you truly intend to eat and do not plan to sneak on to the beach. Wicked Cantina across the street has a better breakfast!! read more

I know this place is cute but everyone has to stop eating here. The food is a nasty and the service is horrible. I will never step foot in the place again. We come to the island 2/3 times a year. Locals won't go here and we tell all the renters don't eat here. read more

Can't beat the setting, but there's so much potential here that is not being met! Parking is available across the street, which must be a bit dangerous during the high traffic season. We found seats at the tiki bar. Two women arrived right after we did and were treated rather rudely when they asked if they could move a stool over to the bar where one appeared to be missing. The bar servers were attentive for the most part, but with the VERY LONG wait for our food, it would have been appropriate for someone to follow up with us. When we asked, the server basically said it's the norm! We did think the food was good after it finally arrived - chicken nachos and roasted beet salad (although the dressing was bland and watery, maybe lacking oil). In addition to the inordinately slow food service, the drink prices are way out of line, considering the casual atmosphere - $8.00 for a small plastic glass of house wine? The customer beside us said her mixed drink (with house liquor) was $12.00 and her friend complained about her beer being warm. Based on our experience and other reviews, I don't think we'll return to or recommend this place right now. read more

View is AMAZING!!! Food was great. I had some cheddar grits and hash browns breakfast and couldn't even finish it due to the large serving. The only issue was our server disappeared when we were ready to leave and the bathrooms needed some repairs. Only one bathroom for all to share. read more

Nice little beach bar over on the Kokonut Hut side of the building. Buckets of beers are only $15 and the Patron signature Margarita is $11 which is decent for being right on the beach. Craft beers on the other hand are $7 for a pint. Friendly service and great views read more

Gulf Drive Cafe - Seafood Near Me - Bradenton Beach, Florida

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Great location. Grouper bites and the seared tuna are my favorite menu items. New owners a few months ago. They need to invest in remodeling the restrooms. Friendly and helpful staff. read more

One word, HORRENDOUS! This place used to serve a good breakfast years ago, but not anymore. Coffee, terrible, zero flavor. Ordered 2 eaggs, link sausage, homefries, and had to order separately because otherwise you must have 3 eggs. Eggs, hard and vinegary, patty sausage looked like hockey puck, potatoes old and greasy. No plates for toast, and no coffee cups available. Slow service both beginning and end. Never again. read more

You absolutely cannot beat the setting for this place. We literally ate with our toes in the sand with the sunset as a backdrop. What else needs to be said. Huge bar. Tiki hut canopy's. The food was solid. The fish was good and fresh. The live music was tremendous. You might wait for a seat and be patient with the service as it is busy. One of my favorite places to eat when we visit. Reasonable prices and big portions. Adding a 5th star because they have the best fish tacos I have had anywhere. Tons of fresh fish and very tasty and filling. Might as well splurge for the key lime pie too. Thank me later...enjoy! read more

Overview: 2/5 This place has so much potential but falls way short on many fronts. See below. Ambiance : 3/5 The decor is a bit dated and they should have had the fans on this Hot July day. Food/Drink 3/5 The beer was served in a plastic cup and not very cold. I ordered the Fish tacos that were OK. It came with a substituted side salad that had an up charge. Service : 1/5 This is where the place fell apart like a cheap dress. There were six in our party and they didn't get all the lunch item out at the same time. I asked for extra sour cream, pick and salsa and never received it Conclusion : Will not be back, too bad a great location right on the beach. read more

If you're sitting there right now looking up reviews leave now and go elsewhere. I wish I would've. The reviews about service are spot on. Service sucks, wait times for food are about 60-90 minutes. This isn't just our experience it was multiple people around us who mentioned that this was not their first time here and it's happened before. Honestly the food was decent but not worth the wait for a simple burger and fries or a club sandwich. They could do much better if they tried but it seems like their location keeps them busy enough where it doesn't matter in their opinion. Plenty of options nearby, skip Gulf Drive Cafe. read more