The hostess Natalie was far from cordial. We asked for a waterfront table at 7:00pm and were told no way even though tables were empty and were still empty when we left. I have had hostess tell me in a nice way but it was not the way with Natalie. the food was okay. I ordered the flounder, but, believe I got cod or some other fleshy fish. Not sure I would recommend this restaurant. read more

Same story...complacent hostess...10 minutes without service...too expensive for poor service. Left after 10'min.

We discovered this restaurant the last night of our trip. Beautifully decorated and our server Ashley was great. I ordered the bowl of gumbo and my husband the Greek salad with grilled shrimp. Being from Louisiana, the comparison between our gumbo and theirs would not be fair. The gumbo here was tasty. My husbands Greek salad was absolutely delicious and beautiful. The key lime cheesecake was scrumptious. Yes!! We'll be back! read more

I usually refrain from leaving bad reviews, but this place has a high rating that is not reserved. There were people there but the seemed to be in the weeds. The food was room temperature and took 45 minutes to be delivered wrong. You'd do better to eat at the burger king. read more

Loved this restaurant. We expected a pub experience based on the outside appearance of the restaurant. Walked in and went up the stairs to a completely unexpected place. Very upscale. Food, wine list, ambiance, service, all get 5 stars. Waiter John was awesome and we hope to have him again when we return with our foodie friends. Wine list outstanding and incredibly well priced. We enjoyed a bottle of Vouvray (seriously they had that!) with our duck confit fries, seafood gumbo and special fish of the day wahoo. Everything was delicious including fresh warm bread. We are already planning return visits! If the owner of this restaurant would kindly consider opening a similar place in or near Shell Point, we'd be there at least 4 times a week, and I know all of our neighbors would be regulars as well. read more

See all

Quality of food has declined. Crab dip was tasty in a seafoody way but no distinct taste of crab. The fish in the fish taco tasted was incredibly fishy, like days-old Mullet. The salad dressing on the Greek salad tasted store-bought. read more

My Sweetie and I stopped in here for dinner. The place was crowded, we found a table for 2 close to the bar. Service was slow, only 2 servers to cover the entire place. We both ordered the fried shrimp plate and ice tea to drink. The food was hot, tasted fresh. Overall a good meal. read more

We sat in the bar area, wings and tacos were excellent! Great selection of beer! Bartender was very attentive! Nice cozy old Apalachicola feeling! read more

Back again post Covid (if there is such a thing). This evening we had a great dinner. Kendrick was our waiter, and was fabulous. Great service all around. They accommodated us by giving us outdoor seating when they had outdoors closed. We needed outdoor for some of our party needing it due to covid. The triple tail was most excellent as was the "black grouper", very juicy. The chicken with jalapeno, cream and pepper was quite good as well, spicy of course. We dined on the upper back deck, enjoying the views of the Apalachicola River. They all loved the mashed potatoes. We waited a bit for them to open at 5:30, and then a large crowd of hopeful patrons trekked up the stairs in line to try for seats. I do think that the Owl Cafe is very much worth a visit. read more

I love restaurants that have specialty dishes this place was top notch!!! Everything we had was delicious I got a daily special which was really amazing they have good reviews for a reason please visit! read more

See all

No wait. Great service. Fried oysters were so good! I love the design of this place. Drinks were yummy as well.

Don't let them seat you in the bar! I suspect we were seated there because my friend wore old, torn jeans with holes in them. Our waiter did not serve in the dining room, the reason for which became all too obvious. He brought my coffee, with cream, but failed to bring a spoon so I stirred it with a knife. Not a big deal, but a harbinger of what was to follow. He brought the food. I was ready for another cup of coffee but he was nowhere to be found, not having come around to check on us. I was getting exasperated at this point. I got up, found him, and asked for coffee and would he please bring a spoon? The bin at table was full if artificial sweeteners. When the coffee came I asked for sugar. He seemed confused and told me there was sugar. He was quite certain the packets were sugar and seemed rather aggravated at that point. So, what did he do? Brought another container with only the yellow and pink sweetener packets. He put it down and walked away. At this point I wrote him off and found a waitress. I asked for sugar. She seemed confused and hesitant. I was expecting to receive some sugar more or less immediately, but no! She replied that she was new here and would have to go ask her supervisor. I'm thinking "she has to go ask her boss"??!! WTF? My coffee was cold by the time the sugar arrived loose, in one of those little plastic cups normally filled with a side of salad dressing. The Bar Dude happened by and noted the arrival of sugar. I said, "dude, the packets are not sugar"! What's my takeaway? First, the proprietors of Owl Cafe are really slack regarding customer care and service. It also seems they can't hire employees with average intelligence. The Bar Dude doesn't like his job. As a diner, I know it. Does his boss? When you go out to eat A $28 meal you expect to enjoy it. Not so here. read more

Very good! We had the jambalaya and the crab cakes. Had the crab dip as an appetizer. Good service. Clean. Full bar. Nice quiet atmosphere. Good menu. Would go back. Recommend! read more

The Owl Cafe never disappoints us. The food was great and the four of us each enjoyed our entrees. The margarita with house-made sour mix was one of the best I have had. read more

This was good and much different flavors than PCB area. Had the grilled grouper and it wasnt a huge portion. Cole slaw had a great flavor and wasn't over sweet but it was big long pieces of cabbage. Fried oysters were good and tender. Jambalaya was very tomatoey( that isn't a word!) crab dip is dominated by chili powder but very good. Fries were still crispy even when we were done eating. read more

Owl Cafe - Grouper and slaw - Bars Near Me - Apalachicola, Florida

See all

My husband and I really love Appalachicola and this seems to be the only accommodating restaurant if you're vegan. We loved the great service and patio seating with a lovely view. The vegan jambalaya was delicious. We also enjoyed the mushroom linguine and had a yummy bruschetta appetizer. If you're vegan like us, specify and they were great about accommodating. Also, those were some of the best margaritas I've had in some time! If you're waiting for a text that your table is ready, go across the street to Oyster Brewing or next door to the Owl bar. They'll give you drinks in plastic cups. read more

Cold restaurant because doors to balcony were propped open to reduce smoky atmosphere in the dining room. Cold night with brisk breeze blowing right to our dining room table. The wine list printed on the menu was not the "new" list and no one told us this while ordering drinks. When I complained that the Pinot Noir was not the one I ordered (Willamette Valley) and wanted something else I was presented with the new list which showed that they are serving Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir. That explained that!! I closed the propped door as no one was around from the staff to request it. Hostess promptly appeared from the back to open it. When I explained why I closed it she said it had to stay open because of the smoke. Was told of I didn't like it I could pick any table I wanted (no assistance in determining prepped vs dirty table). Many unbussed tables noted in the restaurant. Waitress was noted in our previous location serving tables with a young child on her hip. Our food was undercooked and room temp at best. Steak, mashed potatoes and a whopping 2 stalks of asaparagus. Asked for extra gravy and was advised that they probably didn't have any because they make it to order with each meal. But...I got some canned mushrooms and brown gravy mix special. Wish I had tasted it before I put it on my food. Asked the waitress if they were working short staffed hoping to explain the slow and inattentive service and less than mediocre food.....wrong. Fully staffed but they had a LARGE party in the other room. So our table of 4 suffered. Worst meal of my life all for only $200+ dollars. 3 steaks and a salad. Also had the privilege of meeting the young child with the runny nose on the waitresses hip when she refilled our water at the end of our meal. Departed disheartened after recs from a previous visit to Apalachicola. Stopped at The Tap Room downstairs and asked for contact information for the owner/ manager and was advised to leave mine and they would get it to them promptly. No response to my message to discuss privately so I am leaving review to warn others that the place may not be all it was cracked up to be at one point time. read more

The food was great! We went for brunch and had yummy cold brews. I ordered the cinnamon roll French toast and it was to die for! My husband got the Crab cakes Benedict and enjoyed his meal thoroughly. The service was excellent & the live piano player created the perfect ambiance. read more

I came to many restaurants on my vacation and this one was the worst experience. To start off, the manager was somewhat rude when seating us and she did not listen to what we were trying to tell her. Our waitress was very nice and she provided good service, but it was not enough to make up for the food. Everything that my family and I ordered was over cooked and bland. The grilled grouper was so tough that you had to saw it with a knife, and the fried shrimp and crab cakes were burnt to a crisp. The best food items are the salad with poppyseed and the free bread, other than those I would not choose to eat anything else. After talking to the waitress about our disappointments, she offered to comp our meal by 25% and we sent some of our leftovers back. Overall this place was a big disappointment, the only reason for two stars is based on the waitresses kindness. read more

See all

Please Take The Crown Of Best Restaurant In Apalachicola, Off Franklin Cafe, And On Owl Cafe. Right Off The Bat You Get Hit With The Amazingly Stellar Ambiance And Aroma Of The Place. If You Told Me This Is The City Covered In Raw Bars I Would Not Believe You If I Had My First Glance In Here. But Here I Am. Amazing Service. Our Waiter Was Cheyenne. Without Even Asking, They Gave Us The Beautiful Gift Of Bread And Butter. Always A Salty, Delicious, And Great Sign. Those Oysters Are So Big, Plump, Juicy, And Blend So Well With The Sauces. But I Think This Is Where Franklin Cafe Beats The Owl Cafe. And I've Had A Lot Of Apalachicola Oysters. The Kids Penne Is Actually Quite Nice And Addicting. I've Never Had A Kids Menu Item So Deliciously Amazing. Think If They Melt The Parmesan It Might Be Better. Whenever I Talk About The Flavor Of A Crab Cake, I Mention It's Iconic Flavor. But Here, I Almost Can't Because It's So Unique, Flavorful, Yummy, And Hard To Explain. It's Much More Savory Than The Others. The Ribeye May Have Been The Best Dish Of The Night. It's Citrusy, And It Has The Flavor Of The Caramelized Onions And Steak. The Gumbo Is Gooey Because Of The Okra, Spicy, And Super Flavorful. And The Catch Of The Day For March 23. 2024 Is Strong But Not So Much, Tender, And Super Flavorful. The Pecan Pie Is Amazingly Amazing. It Has The Iconic Pecan Pie Flavor And More. At First, The Chocolate Mousse Is Horrible, Fresh, And Bitter. But Then It Starts To Grown On You. In Conclusion, I Expect 50 Plaques Coming From Real Food Critics, Up On Their Walls. read more

See all

Atmosphere was ver nice, food was average, service was very lacking. Too many other places that are better and where the staff is attentive. read more

Food is absolutely fabulous. We had the chicken salad club and the creole Gator, both meals were packed full of flavor. 4 stars due to length of time spent waiting for drinks and food. read more

Exceptional food and wonderful local experience in Apalach. We love the locals, fried oysters and wine at lunch, what a relaxing meal.

The outside says fine dining and the food is great, but shorts and t-shirt are fine. The ambiance is southern formal. Overall a great meal and good experience. We started with the crab dip. This had to be the best crab dip ever, and the chips are perfect. Just saying the crab dip and chips were better the next day. We also had the burger,scrumptious. Our server did a great job. I was a little put off with who I thought were the owners, but I am in the South and people are just people . read more

Excellent menu and great wait staff. We had lunch on a Sunday afternoon and was very busy.

Pretty nice place, food was good nothing real special but it was good. Our server was very nice and another server was really friendly with the kids. The bartender went looking for a bourbon at the bar downstairs and brought it up. We really enjoyed this place a lot. read more

Really nice place for lunch today. We enjoyed our meal and the setting very much. It was a busy afternoon so we had a long wait but I'm glad we tried this restaurant out. I wish they didn't charge extra for the side salad over the fries bc the salad was small and the fries were bountiful. read more

Excellent food and drink. Great beer selection. Had the fried shrimp, which were butterflied and fried to perfection. It comes with coleslaw and fries. Coleslaw was very good. Service was great. Our friend had the Mediterranean salad with shrimp, which she said was phenomenal. It looked amazing. Had a great time. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed. Updated 6/27/20.. just finished, I'd have to say, the best seafood dinner I've had in years, If not ever. My wife and I started with an adult beverage before having the French onion soup. The soup was not your typical French onion with melted provolone on top. If came with homemade croutons and shaved cheese on the top. The soup was unbelievable. The flavor was beyond expectations. The croutons were buttery and garlic, which complimented the onion soup flavor. My wife had the snapper special which came grilled with a lemon butter caper sauce, mixed vegetables, garlic mash potatoes. Needless to say there was nothing left. The snapper portion was so fresh and flaky with such a sweet flavor. I had the mahi-mahi special which was equally delicious. Finished the meal with a lemon pound cake and fresh strawberries with vanilla ice cream.. simply an amazing meal. We will make this a routine.. enjoy oh, and Rebecca was very good waitress. read more

Owl Cafe - Fried Shrimp. - Bars Near Me - Apalachicola, Florida

See all

I'm very disappointed with the owl. We had reservations on Mothers Day. We arrived at 5:30 and there was only 7 of 20 tables with folks. Waitress got water on the table after 10 min. Got bread 10 min after that and took our drink order. After 25 min I got up and walked around only to find there was no bar tender on our floor. Drinks had to come from the first floor. 55 min from sitting we got our drinks. We grabbed the manager and complained and got our meal 5 min later. Where is the salad? Manager asked us do you still want your salads? Food was 50-50. Two fillets that were over done and dry for what was ordered. Two fish dishes that were very good. Manager gave us a 50% discount. Will not be going back. We are locals. read more

Great restaurant in the downtown area. The fried oyster salad and chicken salad were great. My kids loved their fried fish and grilled cheese. read more

Amazing mashed potatoes, great service and drinks! We got the pasta and the steak and a few drinks and were seated outside, the vibes were great. We didn't have a reservation (which is recommended) but they were able to fit us in! read more

Great! Absolutely fantastic! Best food we have had in a while anywhere. Tuna dip was great and the drinks and food in general top notch.

What a terrific lunch! We started with some fried oysters and found ourselves wrassling over who was going to get the last one. They were that good. Plump, juicy and briny. Mmmm. Grandma's Fried Chicken Wrap was delicious and so large I had to take half home. Yes, I paired my wrap with a Raspberry Hibiscus beer and it truly was "winner, winner, chicken dinner". I believe the RH was a seasonal selection but I encourage you to try it if you are looking for something refreshing and unusual. I liked it so much I walked across the street to Oyster City Brewing Company and bought a couple growlers to enjoy with friends over the weekend. My companion had the Jambalaya and raved about it. Our younger companion had the Kid's Penne & Meatballs and it was so good we were eating off her plate! In this crazy time it's nice to be able to go out to lunch, relax, eat and enjoy delicious food and drink. read more

After two weeks in the area and being just a tiny bit uppity, I was dying to visit a restaurant with a little bit of ambiance and a menu selection that goes beyond fried this-and-that with potato chips. Owl Cafe' fit the bill. The food was good, our server was great, and I'm so thankful to have finally had a somewhat upscale experience! Highly recommended, and those crab cakes are good! read more

Owl Cafe - Bars Near Me - Apalachicola, Florida

See all

If I could give this place 10 stars I would! Firstly, we had excellent service from the hostess and from our waitress Shameka. In small town FL we usually don't have high expectations but Owl Cafe raised the bar. The food and service were excellent - we are picky about our alcohol but Shameka was happy to offer us tastings so we could make our decisions. My fried oyster salad was delicious and incredibly filling - they did not skimp on the oysters! But my husband's gator-pork sausage was truly to die for!! We were traveling with our yorkie and they were very accommodating, giving us a shaded table upstairs and water for the pup. We'll definitely be back! read more

Sound the weather sirens, because my review forecast calls for rain on this restaurants parade :-( THE SCENE Let me first start off with praise. The staff is incredible. I just loved the service, friendliness and professionalism of the team assembled here. We also enjoyed the main dining area of the restaurant being located on the second floor. A wrap-around balcony made it perfect to enjoy the Apalachicola Mardi Gras Barkus Parade which passed right by the restaurant. This is a annual event for dog lovers. I even caught a few pairs of beads thrown at me... but I'm gonna keep secret what I had to do to get them ;-) The restaurant is a little dated on one side, but feels much different on the bar side where exposed brick walls, hardwood floors, a huge wooden bar and glass wine cellar made me feel like I was somewhere in Charleston or New Orleans. It was also brighter on this side of the restaurant @ 3pm and felt more cheerier and more inviting. We decided to order the following: THE FOOD DUCK CONFIT FRIES (5 stars) | $10 appetizer Description: pulled Duck, Gruyere, Prosciutto and Duck Cracklin ++ Verdict: Simply put, I ate them carefully at first, not sure if I would enjoy them. However, by the third bite I was fully committed to stuffing as much of this dish in my belly as possible. Truly the best item we tasted. OWL CAFE CRAB DIP with Flour Tortillas (2.5 stars) | $10 appetizer -/+ Verdict: If I had known prior to ordering that the crab dip was cold, I would not have ordered it. Flavor was okay, just not what I was expecting. FILET BENEDICT BEEF TENDERLOIN (3 stars) | $15 Description: Beef Filet w/two Poached Eggs on an English Muffin smothered in Béarnaise sauce. + Verdict: Hard to mess up a Benedict, but it could & should have been a lot better. CRAB CAKES BENEDICT (3.5 stars) | $15 + Verdict: My 13 year old son thought it was great, but the small "Daddy sampling" I tasted was just okay. HALF POUND CHEESEBURGER (3 stars) | $11 Description: Included all the trimmings and choice of Provolone, Cheddar or Swiss Cheese + Verdict: Decent burger and the biggest compliment I can give is my 16 year old didn't complain, but said it was "nothing to write home about." FRIED JUMBO GULF SHRIMP w/fries (2.5 stars) | $16 - Verdict: If I were a betting man, I'd say these shrimp were pre-battered in some factory, frozen for shipment, thawed several weeks later and cooked before arriving in front of me on a plate. The meat of shrimp (especially fresh shrimp) should have great flavor, but these had no flavor and were completely unsatisfying. Even the batter could have made a difference, but it too was bland. My wife didn't want any of the entrées on the menu, so she ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, grits and fruit À la carte . Her words: "the eggs were bland and the grits watery." Also, the fries and potatoes that came with our meals were good, but not a fan of the cole slaw. FINAL THOUGHTS When you are surrounded by the sight and smell of ocean water, one would tend to think the food being eaten was caught this morning and hauled in for lunch and dinner. My mind's eye pictures some scruffy sea crew proudly showing off their catch to local restaurant merchants eager to make a meal out of it. I can't help it, but that's just what my grey matter expects when dinning in oceanside villages. However, it is more likely that the food here is no fresher than what's in my very own refrigerator & freezer at home. What's worse is I'm a pretty good cook and could have done far better, even with not-so-fresh ingredients. I just expected a seafood restaurant averaging 4 stars on yelp to be so much more. Maybe that's unfair, but it still doesn't take away my disappointment with our meal today. 2018/10 read more

See all

The food was delicious and service excellent. I had the fried oysters and crab cake appetizers. Both were very tasty! read more

Owl Cafe - View from the porch and margarita - Bars Near Me - Apalachicola, Florida

My rating is really 3.5 stars. Not enough for 4 stars IMO. We ordered the following: Arnold Palmers (2) - nothing special but tasty. Oyster Po-Boy with side salad - Sandwich was good according to my dining companion. He did not use the dressing/sauce that came with it because we were afraid it had dairy which he tries to avoid. It looked very similar to the dressing for my salad. Good ratio of oysters to bread. He would order again. Side salad was a generous portion and tasty with the balsamic vinaigrette. Deep Fried Apalachicola Oysters Salad - This is an overly simple salad in my opinion. Despite there being a generous number of fried oysters, with only lettuce and onions I kind of felt jipped that was all it was (given that it was $14). Flavors were great together. Dressing was supposed to be a creamy horseradish. It was more of a creamy mustard horseradish which I had to use very sparingly. It had more mustard than horseradish flavor (not my preference on a salad). Oysters were cut really small, battered then fried. They were tender and tasty but I would prefer larger pieces with less batter (but overall volume to remain the same). There were several pieces of lettuce that were on the brink of going bad, with a few slimy spots which I left for the kitchen staff to hopefully see when my plate returned to the kitchen. Cup of Gazpacho (soup of the day) - wonderful flavor but would be better if blended more like a typical Gazpacho so it feels more like a cold soup (the veggies were really chunky). Garlic flavor punch was great. Other observations: Our waitress Breanna was awesome. Friendly, informative and offered several suggestions when we asked about favorites. Attentive and polite. Dining ambiance was elegant and sophisticated without being stuffy. Main complaint: Another waitress Bree sounded like she was auditioning on stage for the next drama club play in high school. She was over the top loud when communicating specials while painstakingly and loudly enunciating each syllable of each word (even adding extra syllables to words such as Bas(a)mati). By the time Breanna was over to give us the specials, Bree was on her second recitation (although I think she was reading it off a cheat sheet), and we offered to let Breanna skip it so we could get to our orders. Every time Bree started over with the specials it was like nails on a chalk board. She was loud, rote sounding and frankly pierced the calm and serene atmosphere over and over again throughout our meal. At least twice, we heard people stop her mid-sentence so they could move on with their orders without hearing it again. I would try the place again, holding my breath that it was an off day for Bree. read more

Owl Cafe - Daily Special - Cup of Gazpacho Soup - Bars Near Me - Apalachicola, Florida

We were staying in town and were given a recommendation to try The Owl Cafe. The building has great character and the meal was excellent from start to finish. The oysters and crab cakes were great and I was happy to see that a glass of wine with a generous pour was only $7. Our server Rebecca was very friendly and attentive but did not rush us. As this was our first time out after sheltering in place for almost 3 months we were happy to have had our first meal out at this great restaurant! The staff all wore masks and there was plenty of space between the tables. Highly recommended. read more

With the Hole in the Wall around the corner, it's hard to give this place a solid rating. It feels like an outdated, "nice" restaurant that belongs a decade or two ago. The interior is aging but full of solid wood and local photography. Our server was very nice and probably the highlight of our meal. That said, the food is subpar. Oysters were full of pieces of shell. The bread is served with dipping olive oil (no spices or vinegar?) but it's very low quality olive oil, almost like dipping in vegetable oil. The worst was the crab dip. It's cold and seriously tastes just like it's been blended with run of the mill taco seasoning packets. I was scraping it OFF of the chips (because I was hungry). My friend's pasta dish was good. Probably the best part of our meal. We'd intended to get dessert but changed our minds because of the low quality food (at higher prices). I don't recommend this at all. Go...anywhere else. read more