Good food. Good service. Good ambience (a bit noisy). Not much more to ask for. Had burgers, wings, grouper and mahi sandwiches. Decent quality food for a place that is the only choice for the captive crowd on the island. We were staying on the don pedro side and drove to the resort with ride on the golf cart- much appreciated on the rainy day. If you come here to stay plan a couple nights here. Take a break from cooking ! read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Bar area from the outer dining room. Very nautical. - Seafood Near Me - Cape Haze, Florida

The food is mediocre. The worst thing about this place is the service. We've gotten carry out twice and the woman who brought out our food is incredibly rude. When we ask for a few more desserts to go she actually said "I'm going to kill you, you're going to cause me so much extra work!" No joke. When i decided that kind of treatment did not deserve a tip, she yelled "Unbelievable!" as I walked out the door read more

We've had several items from Rum Bay over the last 20 years. Haven't been disappointed too many times. But last night we were. Their pizza is usually very good. Last night we ordered 1/2 with bacon and half with 3 other toppings. The half with bacon was awesome (although a little burnt for my son). My half was missing the onions altogether and one of the slices had only one single pepperoni on it! It cost $1 for each 1/2 topping and I barely got 2.5. So the $15 cheese pizza cost $20. I do know from past experiences that the Conch Fritters are great read more

Had a great time and the service was excellent. I believe our server was named Lelan or something close to that. We sat out on the patio surrounded by trees - nice spot but watch out for bug bites at sunset. Food was hit and miss. Fish tacos are HUGE and yummy even though fish was overlooked/dry. Server offered to give me one hard and one soft taco when I couldn't decide. As he had described the soft taco is much easier to manage but hard is worth trying - instead of a corn tortilla it is the flour tortilla deep fried. Caesar salad starter was good. Home made croutons clearly made from home made bread you can request (served with an orange butter that was good but felt a bit more suited to breakfast than dinner). Had the rum bay smash cocktail. It's basically a pina colada straight out of the 80's with maraschino cherry and all. Husband's grilled chicken pasta also straight out of the 80's with tons of parsley garnish. Chicken over cooked/dry served with bow tie pasta covered in a bland cream sauce. Worth the trip. Boat ride to rum bay is nice and again service was really friendly and fast at the restaurant. read more

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Excellent service by an experienced waiter. Menu prices are reasonable for what you get and the atmosphere and location are terrific. Even the boat ride to get there is entertaining. read more

Came early season 1/16, for lunch, boat ride is laid back and easy going system, but alittle disappoints at restaurant- light crowd of people but waitress appears overloaded as we waited well behind another table of two which arrived after us. Maybe not waitresses fault but we were left ignored for a duration. The atmosphere is pleasant and we had a sparkling day with low humid in 80s. If it wasn't for weather I would give two stArs. The pub fare seems ok but I expected better sea view. I also think the patio and furniture could use a scrubby. The mahi tacos, not sure what hard shells are like but the soft shells are not even heated on the grill, just outta the bag. The fish was cooked properly thank goodness because the rest of the meal was quite tasteless. I think I need to drink a ton a rum first so my bad. read more

We took some visitors to Rum Bay. We had never been there, but thought the boat ride would add to the experience. For lunch I had the grilled mahi mahi with blue crab. The mahi appeared to be about 4 ounces, probably previously frozen. It was about 1/4 inch thick topped with about an ounce of shredded blue crab. It was supposed to be served with a Key West scampi sauce (whatever that is). I thought the sauce would have been on the fish, but no - all I was served was a small cup of some kind of sauce, that was not a scampi sauce. The fish was dry. The price was not bad until you add in the $6.00 boat ride. Save your money! read more

When your the only game in town you don't have to worry about the competition and when your near or on the beaches that makes it even easier to just be "OK". Last time we were here was about 8 years ago and not the much has changed. The service is "ok", not great, just ok. The drinks are "ok" , and the food is "ok",. The restaurant itself is "ok" , this pretty much sums up the whole experience here, its "ok" so don't expect good or bad, just "ok". I don't see any reason to go into the food details, it's a fish and burger place with a full bar with inside and outside seating. They only take reservations for party's of eight or more so during prime time you could possibly have a wait but otherwise The place is big enough to seat people most of the time. read more

Average food and False advertising regarding their happy hour. Website states draft beers and featured wines are part of happy hour however that is not the case. Very dissatisfied customer. When this was brought to the manager's attention she stated it was up to the customer to ask the waitress exactly what was included as part of their happy hour. This is not how you treat a customer. Will not return EVER AGAIN!! read more

MOST OF THE WEBSITE IS A LIE!!!! DO NOT GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. First, I was told by the website, the person I made reservations with, and the person who took my call to help with getting to the right location when we got lost( (directions were NOT clear) that the water taxi (that you have to take to get to the restaurant) was complimentary. IT WAS NOT! IT WAS $6 PER PERSON. The water taxi captain said he's talked to them before about the website but they haven't changed it. Also, the website advertised the Sunset Menu - however, the wait staff said they weren't responsible for the website, they had tried to get the owners to change the website, and they didn't have the Sunset menu. If they had their available menu on the website, I wouldn't have gone there, because there was little that I could actually eat with my dietary restrictions. The only thing I felt safe ordering with the Rum Bay grilled chicken salad. It was a small salad and overpriced for what it was. Overall the date night that I had planned for us was a huge disappointment read more

Great drinks But the best part was Pegin, our server. She was positive, pleasant and efficient. Went with a large group. Shrimp tacos and grouper sandwiches were the best read more

Horrible service, sub average food. We were told 1:35 and had to wait outside in the blistering heat for an extra 10 minutes even though they had plenty of tables open read more

Had the chicken parmesan. Would have preferred angel pasta or spaghetti rather than the spiral pasta. Others in party said food was average. Service was not good. I asked for a glass of water and it was never delivered. Then the waitress tried to tell me I had never asked for it. Very rude! Atmosphere inside is very noisy. Boat ride over and beach were nice. But the restaurant was just average. I would not go out of my way to return here. read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Entrance to restaurant. - Seafood Near Me - Cape Haze, Florida

The hostess at lunch on 3/11 was so rude we turned around and left immediately. We have been going to this restaurant for about six years. It's the only restaurant on the island, so it's disappointing that the quality of the food has been declining and is inconsistent from meal to meal. read more

I stay on Palm Island for a week every year, so I have to like this restaurant because, well it's the only one. It is pretty good though, I especially like the appetizers and smaller plates. I came once for the Christmas buffet--pretty big selection but nothing too incredible. Beware: sitting on the patio for too long during sunset can lead to a massive amount of bug bites! read more

Awesome place, I've been going there for years. The fish tacos are the best and the portions are super huge

For an Island restaurant it is surprising how creative and delicious the menu is. I've been here many times, had out wedding on the island too and never had a bad meal. read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Cape Haze, Florida

We came in as a family of 5 plus 2 small children on Friday evening the 9th around 7pm. we sat down very quickly, but the server who was an older woman did not introduce herself and acted as if we were a burden from the time we got there. She was rude, and obnoxious. Our app came 10 minutes after entree, No manager came to the table to apologize or take that off the bill. We simply were told "I rang it in at the same time". Food was mediocre, tasted like the coconut shrimp I buy from Sams club, and the fish made my dad sick. They did not have a kids menu, definitely not kid friendly by the looks and treatment we received from our server who looks as if she'd rather be smoking a pack cigarettes than serving us. Very uncomfortable dinner. At the end of dinner we waited 20 minutes to be brought the check, which our server who still did not introduce herself said "are y'all ready?", as if at that point we did not already have the kids outside listening to music due to the awful uncomfortable experience inside the restaurant. Our server was rude, the food was okay, and it ruined the one and only night our family went out to dinner. Over all, would never go again. read more

The food is average but the service is good. They can be busy or very empty depending on the time of the year. Nothing to write home about but it does the job when you do not want to cook on the island. read more

Took the water taxi there for $6. Very easy to find, you exit the water taxi and walk up the pier to the restaurant. Service could be a bit better. I ordered lobster bisque and grilled mahi with blue crab, it was delicious. My boyfriend ordered fresh fried grouper which was also delicious. Overall great experience, but service could be a bit more attentive, we did not get any water with our meal but the food made up for it. read more

This was a pleasant surprise recommended by our Airbnb hostess. After a short water taxi ride and walk on a tree canopied boardwalk, we found the restaurant. The setting is great - we sat outdoors on a nice veranda in March. The food was excellent. I had salmon and my wife had the tuna. Both dishes were cooked well and tasted wonderful. I can't find a reason not to give five stars! read more

Rude staff, food is mediocre at best. We did carry out every night. There was always something missing. Restaurant is dark and gloomy. "Outdoor seating" was never open. The only good thing is that it's not horribly priced. read more

Its ok. Nothing special. It is the only place to eat, so it looks like they have no need to do better. Wish they did cook better, though. Very bar-like food. Frozen, fried, etc.. read more

Would have given more stars, but the place was filthy! Dirty carpet, dirty windows, black dirt caked on the white ceiling fans, and dead plants scattered around the restaurant. The food was very good, and our server was great, but it was difficult to enjoy our meal in those surroundings. The Dining Room Managers need to open their eyes and start paying attention to detail. read more

After a long boat trip we stopped here for an early dinner. There were four of us and everyone was happy with their choice. From the dock captain to the wait staff everyone was friendly and very helpful. read more

Food is average at best. Costs to take a water taxi, and then you aren't even allowed to look at their "private" beach without being turned away. Go elsewhere, not worth the trip. read more

'Ok' food, terrible service. Waiter and other staff made my group feel like we're imposing on them, trying to get dinner at 6pm. Management dosent care or dosent want your business, beware. Our orders were screwed up, one of my party literally didn't get his food at all and when we asked for a manager there "wasn't one available" read more

Loved visiting this restaurant! Beautiful scenery! The water, the board walk, and the trees. Food and drinks were good, I ate out on the deck, with the warm sun and nice breeze being a decent touch! Overall a great experience, I'd definitely go back! read more

Hard to believe that this place is affiliated with Leverock, which is by and large a great restaurant. We took some family who were visiting for Easter and had stayed the week. Went on a weekday night, and the place was still packed with snow-birds. Service was so-so but I'll cut the waitress some slack, because if I was dealing with their cooking staff, I would probably be surly too. Appetizers (peel and eat shrimp, and seared tuna) were actually good. Main courses ranged from mediocre to poor. The first thing that was obviously wrong was that the baked potatoes were hard as rocks. I pointed this out to the waitress, who didn't seem terribly surprised. She then brought us out three or four more *exactly like the first*. Basically they seemed like they had been sitting under heat lamps since lunch (and it was now 7 p.m.). You could tell this just by looking at their shriveled and shrunken skins, and once you cut them open they were a solid, dark grey color. Was the chef off-duty that day? How anyone could let those leave the kitchen - twice! - is beyond me. So after the second try, our waitress informs us (for the first time, I might add) that we could have chosen sweet potatoes. I prefer sweet potatoes over Idaho potatoes any chance I get and would have appreciated being told that before, since it is not on the menu anywhere (others in the party prefer Idaho baked potatoes over sweets). The sweet potatoes also seemed like they had been left out for a bit too long, but were okay. The steamed vegetables, on the other hand, were cold and under-cooked (carrots were tough, broccoli belonged on a salad as it was nearly raw). As far as the main course, I'll summarize like this: those who ordered meat dishes (one steak, one order of ribs) were pretty content, while those of us who ordered fish were pretty unimpressed. I had the special of the day, grilled swordfish with chimi churi sauce. It was extremely overcooked and dry. They brought the plate out to me without the chimichurri sauce and then brought it out on the side. I'm not sure if they normally serve it on the side, but when I cook things in chimichurri at home, I use it as a marinade more than a topping. The other fish dishes seemed similarly bland. This was our final night together before our company drove back north, so nobody wanted to make a big deal about the quality of the food. But when "the boat ride is fun" is the best thing you can say about a place like this, you have a problem. It should be noted that my parents, who recommended this place, had eaten here for lunch and enjoyed it a lot. They were also present for this meal and said it seemed like a whole different place, just hugely uninteresting food. Sadly this seems to be a pattern in the area - there are a handful of restaurants here where I've had a perfectly fine lunch, only to return on another day or a dinner and been shocked by the contrast. Maybe the management assumes everyone is home in bed by 7 pm around here? (Incidentally, the schedule for the ferry, which is owned and operated by Rum Bay, is sort of silly. The "last boat" is officially 45 minutes before the restaurant closes. However they will still arrange to get you back to the mainland if you miss it. This is still a pain in the butt, though: when you get there are 6:30 pm and are told it will be a 1 hour wait for a table, and the last ferry is at 8:15 p.m., well.. it causes a bit of panic. We almost turned around and went back until the hostess assured us we would not be stranded. In 20/20 hindsight, we would have had a much better dining experience at Leverock. In any case, why not avoid the confusion and just have the last ferry departure 10 minutes after the restaurant closes? Seems like it would be easier for everyone involved.) read more

Don't waste your time. Other than the nice boat ride to the restaurant the food is terrible. I had the chicken club that had to be sent back the chicken was so tough and sinewy. The drink was overly sugary. The crab and avocado quesadilla was gross. Tasted fishy and mushy. My 7 year old said the kids hamburger was good. read more

We used to like coming here 4-5 times a year. We live year round in Englewood. We took our daughter and grand son over last month. Boat ride was nice. They wanted to go down and take a five minute walk on the beach but were halted by a couple rent a cops and spun around like some kind of refugees stating "beach is private". Fine we left without buying as much as a cocktail. read more

Rude wait staff. My fish was over cooked. 1/2 the people at our table said their food was far less than stellar. I will not pay for the water taxi again. Stay at the Marina and go to Leverocks. read more

Had lunch here 1pm mid-week off-season. The wings were superb. Grouper sandwich was excellent. Lobster salad was also excellent. Service was very good. Typical "beach bar" ambiance. A bit run down and you don't want to look to close in the corners but overall the quality of the food was excellent. read more

Staying on the island during the slow season equals no crowds. The server/bartender seemed a bit put out that people were there, and it took awhile to get our food. But with that being said, the food was great. Surf&turf and mahi/w blue crab. It was a little bit pricey for the portions, but as stated, very good quality. And I guess being on an island you will pay a little more. Just got a pizza for the football games and it smells great. As its the only open restaurant on the island at this time, we will be going back, and that's not a bad thing. The island itself is amazing,, and the hostess and rest of staff were all very friendly read more

Service was really good and the food was great. Went for an early dinner around 5pm. Parchment salmon was good, the vegetables are cooked just right and the service was really helpful. read more

Let me be clear; I downloaded this app for this review. This is how infuriating my experience was... This was easily the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. My friends and I had dined here two nights on our stay on Palm Island. My boyfriend ate here last year and said his experience was great but that was not the case this year. The first night the waiter was disrespectful. Having worked in the food industry, I understand when a restaurant is busy; slow check times and entree presentations are expected. However, the blatant disrespect and uncaring attitude this waiter had towards our group was obvious and very frustrating. It seemed as though we were always an inconvenience, even with no alterations or requests for our meal. The second night we hoped for a better waiter, but was disappointed again when our checks took over 45 minutes to get to our table, the checks were wrong, and my boyfriends food took an extra 20 minutes to get there because the server had given his food to another table, but we were still charged the full amount without even the slightest apology. We also never received any refills on water. The lady was nice but didn't apologize for any of the problems that came up. Not that we expect a formal apology or compensation, there was no intent to right the wrongs that came during our dining experience. It is clear that because this is the only restaurant on the island that service can be compromised, but we expected a better restaurant for the money we spent. Not just for food but also beverages. Despite the decent quality of the food, I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone and suggest a cheaper alternative if possible. read more

We came to Rum Bay Restaurant during the off season at the end of August... our experience was absolutely amazing! The service was on point and the staff was very friendly. Our dinner was so incredibly delicious and the prices were very affordable! I would highly recommend the signature cocktail and the surf and turf. You get a 8oz sirloin and lobster tail with a baked potato and veggies and a side salad for $27!!! You seriously will not be disappointed! We will definite be going back! read more

Please note this review is from someone vacationing on the south end of the island for a week and not from someone on the mainland. This is the only restaurant on the island. The menu is what you would expect from a restaurant in Florida. Crab legs were on special and good. My wife had the blackened grouper and was happy. Key lime pie was very good but I'm not a key lime pie connoisseur. There was a large party which made it very loud. There were only two other tables in our room so I can't imagine the noise if the place was packed. I would recommend if you want a nice sit down meal without leaving the island and are ok with paying a little more. There are better places on the mainland but you have to figure in the price of the ferry. I highly recommend walking to the dock from the restaurant. It was a nice stroll through the magnolias where we saw crabs and dolphins. read more

Seriously? They charge way too much to have generic condiments. It shows poor taste by the chefs to pass off $20 entrees with "house recipe" ketchup. Gross. That's really cheap for such an expensive place. read more

I have to say, Rum Bay was just OK..... What makes Rum Bay awesome is the ride to the restaurant and the view. We ate here for Easter and i have to say that their Easter buffet wasn't great.... I wish they would've indicated on their website that they were only going to serving the buffet. You couldn't even order off the menu if you wanted to. That I didn't like. All the buffet items were your usual buffet selections. Prime rib, a chicken, a white fish, a couple different cold salads, etc.... Nothing out of this world great. I would like to go back and eat off their menu because it seems like they have a lot of great seafood items to choose from. read more