We were so disappointed with our food. I ordered the seafood casserole with shrimp, scallops and crab. I did see a few tiny shrimps and some crab--no scallops. According to the menu, it was covered with Swiss cheese. It didn't taste like Swiss to me. Someone else in our party ordered fried oysters. While the serving was bountifuly, they were bland. We will not return. read more

Called to ask what the wait was. They said 5-10 minutes. Proceeded to load up my 4 month old and 3 year old into the car and drive about 5 minutes up there. Parking lot was packed. I walk in, the lobby is packed, and the hostess takes my name and tells me 30-45 minutes. I say we just called and they told us 5-10 minutes. She says nothing. I leave. Completely unacceptable to give false wait times over the phone to trick families into driving in. read more

Not the worse experience a little trouble at first but they put us at the perfect very of the marsh would go back the manger is very polite and runs a very friend waiting staff I would go back read more

Don't waste your time or money. We had dinner here for the first time and we were so disappointed. The food is just ok. The hush puppy's although compliments of the house are really over fried pieces of bread not hush puppies at all. We order the shrimp and scallops, small boiled shrimp, no flavor and sandy, gritty scallops. What made the meal most disappointing was the $10.00 in "sharing" fees. In this area were the food choices are limitless this establishment needs to reevaluate its customer service. Yes, an extra bowl of bagged salad with a shared plate but when you can count the grains of rice on the plate somethings wrong. Prices were way out of proportion for what we were given. The staff was eating food from to go boxes right in front of us. We'll never go back. read more

Have eaten there many times in past years. Fried shrimp were good, hush puppies so-so, see capt d's for better ones. Baked potatoes were good and so was coleslaw. French fries not so good. Over all we were disappointed this year with food. Service was good but at 4:30 on Labor Day place was empty. Group of three. read more

The food was overpriced for the portions. The salads were just okay, no cheese and mostly just a bed of iceberg lettuce. The shrimp were bland. The best thing was the location overlooking the marsh. read more

Just finished taking my family to Sara J's. What a complete and utter disappointment. I was so disappointed that I signed up for Yelp to write a review about it. I have never been so moved to actually write a review before. I had been here once before, years ago. I had a steak. Don't remember it being particularly great or terrible. We decided to go again. Bad move. We started out by ordering my kid a cheeseburger off the kid's menu. The cheeseburger was huge, much too big for a child. Then he tasted it. It was so unbelievably salty that my kid (who eats everything, especially cheeseburgers) spit it out, repeatedly. I tasted it too. It was terrible. We sent it back (we never send food back). The server graciously said he'd remove it from our tab. We ordered salads, which was basically packaged lettuce thrown on a plate. Then our food came. I ordered the shrimp scampi. I should have known from the photo on the menu what I was getting. Frozen shrimp, over-seasoned yet bland at the same time. I love shrimp scampi. Couldn't finish it. Ended up with a plate of greasy butter. Just super disappointing. My mother ordered chicken. Over-seasoned, salty, took two bites and didn't finish it. She actually ate less of her chicken than my kid did his cheeseburger. We didn't send it back because we didn't want to embarrass the server, who seemed like he'd been through this before. My dad got the sirloin. I guess that was ok. Then I got the tab. $136!!! For what? Half our party didn't eat their meals, and one of the meals was comped. That's what pissed me off. I've had plenty of meals that cost way more than that, for two people. I don't mind paying for good food. In hindsight, I would have found a Long John Silvers or a Red Lobster and spent half the money. Or I would have just cooked scampi myself. Again, I never write reviews but this is easily one of the worst meals I've ever had, and I felt like I had to tell people about it. I've seen some other reviewers call this place a tourist trap. Possibly. I do think that the only reason it's been in business so long is simply because people eat here once, overpay for the terrible food and never come back. Rinse and repeat. If you've even seen Kitchen Nightmares, where Chef Gordon Ramsay goes to struggling restaurants to try and help them get back on their feet, this is the type of restaurant I could see him going ballistic on for the crappy food. Do yourself a favor and find someplace else. read more

Almost the same experience as a 1 month earlier post. I wish I had seen the review, but didn't think I needed to research this old standby. Oyster Rockefeller comprised of the teeniest oysters. Stuffed shrimped "specialty" couldn't compete with frozen food section of nearby Kroger. Service was mediocre for us, but other wait staff was hustling. We were especially disappointed because we've loved this place for many many years and always make a point to have a meal there on vacation. Whether under old or new ownership, those running the business are now maximizing the profit margin and skating on past reputation. That won't last forever. "Stuffed Shrimp": In years past there were 6 instead of 4 pieces. The shrimp were actually butterflied jumbo shrimp that were actually stuffed instead of small shrimp with an ice cream scoop of mostly bread "crab stuffing". "Oysters Rockefeller": In years past, made with good sized oysters with a good balance of other ingredients. Now the cheapest oysters and a taste of other ingredients. read more

We went there and ordered drinks and their liquor order didn't come in and they just had rot gut vodka so we left. The decor was very dated- looked like it catered to Senior citizens and I'm one but wouldn't eat there. I'm suspicious when most of the offerings were Sara J's special recipe with no further explanation- I wouldn't recommend it. read more

My family was very disappointed in the meal we had last night. This was our favorite restaurant at one time, but this summer we have not received good service or good food. Last night, my daughter ordered the deviled crab, as she always does, and it was full of pieces of shell and was sitting on a cracked up/pieced together crab shell. When the waitress reported it to the manager no one bothered to visit our table to see the issue. When reported the bad food no one bothered to speak with us. The food was not worth the money or any money for that matter. Looking for a new favorite seafood spot! I would suggest others do the same! :( NOT Recommended! read more

Great Place! Awesome food & view. Very friendly staff. Steak & Shrimp bangn. I'm a local. Gets busy, go early

The service was excellent, but the food was terrible. The seafood tasted old and was incredibly overpriced. The atmosphere is nice.

The food is pretty over priced for what you receive. For a place that prides themselves on service, our service was pretty poor. There are definitely much better restaurants in the area!! read more

We went to Sara J's and had a great meal. The seafood was fresh and the service was great. The prices were a little high but the freshness of the food was worth it.... read more

Amazing view. Excellent food. Friendly staff. Best place to get seafood in Garden City/Murells Inlet area. Try the Buffalo Shrimp.

Visitors to the area beware. This experience was an utter disappointment. I was at Sara J's restaurant yesterday with a wedding party for a dinner reception. They had a special menu picked out for the wedding group with about 4-5 different dinner options to choose from. The choices all sounded really good by the description, but everyone within my sphere of conversation at the table were all disappointed. I ordered the seafood combination plate consisting of fish and shrimp. This plate will come deep fried by default, although the menu didn't state that. They can do it broiled upon request. But hands down, this was the worst fish and shrimp I have ever eaten. It was an over/under meal. Over cooked, and under seasoned. The seafood did not taste fresh at all. Fish is normally flaky and fall apart, requiring little effort with a fork to pull off a bite. You should not have to turn a fork sideways and apply a lot of pressure to cut through a piece of fish, but that's how this filet was. I like to taste my food before adding any salt and pepper at the table because sometimes it isn't necessary. But there was absolutely no flavor on the fish on top of it being tough to cut through and chew. The shrimp was no different. Completely overcooked to a rubbery state, and not a grain of salt or seasoning to be found. I forced my way through the fish with enough added salt and pepper, but I couldn't finish the shrimp. It was so hard that bites of it felt like it still had some shell on it. It was just that over cooked. The mixed vegetables and the rice pilaf were decent in flavor. They were each served in their own separate small bowls and made the dish a little awkward to eat by not being cohesively plated. Another member of the wedding party got the seafood combo plate, but he unfortunately wasn't aware that it came fried by default and didn't think to ask. He assumed it was broiled or grilled. I did not taste any of it, but his opinion was that the breading was just crunchy and really had no flavor. Just greasy breading without much taste to it. For those who put ketchup on everything, I guess that's where your flavor will come from. My wife ordered the shrimp marinara over linguini pasta. She only had the same things to say about her shrimp. Over cooked and not seasoned. I suppose the marinara is supposed to make up for lack of seasoning, but she said that sauce was bland as well. Perhaps the kitchen just ran out of salt and herbs, I don't know. The "garlic bread" it came with was quite disappointing too. A piece of white bread toasted on maybe the "1" setting on a toaster with a modest amount of butter flavor oil spread on it. Not much else to say about it other than "underwhelming". The beer I ordered was good, but it came in a bottle so that was safe. It's a real shame the food was so awful because the place looks really cute from the outside with a nice outdoor patio overlooking a marsh and has an appealing sounding menu. The kitchen just embarrassingly strikes out when it comes to proper cooking of seafood and usage of ingredients to develop flavors. Your $20-25 is better spent elsewhere. read more

I loved the experience more than the food, to be honest. My wife and I had dinner here when we were dating. I just enjoyed being with her. The service was good. They do care about you as a customer. read more

We went with 3 very small children and they were immediately super accommodating, going out of their way to move things and make sure we were comfortable. Service was friendly and quick. My husband and I both had drinks and they were generous with the alcohol, and the prices were great. The food was very tasty. I had the snapper and my husband had the shrimp and scallops. We both were impressed. The only slight complaint is that the green beans were very salty, but I still ate them. Great place read more

We went after it was suggested by the staff at our hotel. We hoped for a nice atmosphere, with a great view and good food. We got mediocre, uninspired food, a view through plastic tarps, unknowledgeable staff, and every plate is close to or over $20. We are from New England and know good seafood but this misses the mark, especially at this price point. We ordered a seafood combo, scallops and chicken parm (bc one of us couldn't eat seafood). The seafood combo included a stuffed crab but the staff had no idea what type of crab it was before ordering and they admitted it was bought frozen premade. The chicken parm was supposed to be two chicken breasts and garlic bread, and it was two pieces about half the size of one chicken breast with a piece of ordinary white bread with garlic butter thrown on. We all agreed a visit to red lobster would have been better. read more

I had the stuffed shrimp. I have never had stuffed shrimp that were stuffed with some sort of bready tasteless stuffing (they should switch to Stove-Top, it would be an improvement.) I assumed they were stuffed with crabmeat. I should have asked. They were topped with some sort of mayonnaise/paprika which was so salty I couldn't eat it. I ended up scraping the stuffing and topping off and just eating the shrimp. Salad had been around for a while; the greens were limp. My daughter had the shrimp and grits. She ate only a small portion and stated she had never had shrimp and grits with so much tomato sauce in them. I would not recommend this restaurant. We both agreed that Micky D's would have been a better choice and a lot cheaper. Since moving to South Carolina from Maryland, I have to say that the seafood I have had so far has been disappointing. read more

Horrible seafood. The only good thing they have is a view of the marsh. Overpriced, overcooked, and not local seafood! I recommend almost any other place in the area! We had overcooked scallops, overcooked shrimp. The best meal we had out of a party of 9 was the kids burger. read more

This place has been here forever, since we have been coming to Garden City every summer. People always would say to eat at Sara J's because the seafood is fresh and local. The line is always hours long so we went at the very beginning of dinner service. It was 95 degrees and their air conditioning was broken. Everybody was grouchy and no one was having a good evening. The waitress was rude and the food was greasy and inedible. She refused to put ice in our tea because she said the ice machine could not keep up. We left our half eaten dinners on the table, paid the bill and left. The people at our condo complex said they ate there the week before and the food was terrible. read more

I went to dinner with our family. We had a large party and we got to sit by marsh outside it was a great view for dinner. Even as busy as it was they got us in very fast. You get his puppies when you sit down. They really needed to be seasoned. They dont need to be as big as they are and just need some more flavor without the honey butter they would be unedible. I had the shrimp and clams they were really good shrimp. I wish for the money there was a little more. I mean for 21.00 and the baked potato comes out in tinfoil for you to burn your hands open it and fix it yourself. I would just rather it be already buttered up opened so I don't have to burn my hands and do this for my elderly grandmother and my kids. The biggest miss is when my dad order the special the fried grouper. It was 24.99 with a salad and potato and the single smaller piece of fish I have seen. It would not be enough to make a sandwich with maybe half a sandwich on a regular piece of sliced bread. I do want to say my mom got the deviled crab and it was good and a good portion. And the pasta my cousin got was a good portion and had good flavor. read more

My family and I have been coming to Sara J's for 10+ years every Thursday or Friday- but this time totally had everyone blown away with our server Shayna- she was not only beautiful, but an amazing* server! She was on top of everything. We were a party of 14/15 and she was still slanging tables and being attentive to everyone! She was awesome. Thank you Shayna for making our last dinner of the trip smooth and tasty! ;) read more

At Sara J's, be prepared to pay for air. Yep, air. If you choose to have only water with your meal, you'll not be charged for it. But if you want sparkling water (not from a bottle, but from the bartender's dispenser), it'll cost you $2.79; most places don't charge for this, and when I ask whether I'm being charged for the water or the air, most of the ones who do remove the charge. Not Sara J's. They are not shy about admitting that they're charging you $2.79 for air. I go there at least once a year, because members of my family like it when we come on vacation. I have tried with the menu, but I'm allergic to some seafood, and I either haven't found other options to my liking or worth their rather high prices. Today I ordered the hamburger steak medium rare, but was told they will prepare it only well done or medium well. So, I ended up paying $25 (before tip) for mediocre chicken Parmesan and sparkling water. Service was ok, but no better than that. The family agrees that I can skip Sara J's next year read more

Six of us tried to have dinner here. Two of the shrimp dishes were absolutely inedible. The other four meals were barely average. We returned the meals and the manager ask what was wrong and what else we would like. We said there was nothing else they had that we would even be willing to try. Manager became very unruly about giving any concession. Offered to pay for all the sides that we did eat, but she absolutely refused. Was an extremely unpleasant experience and a lot of money for nothing. read more

Have eaten there many times and food has been very good. However, we ate there tonight and the oysters were about the size of a nickel or quarter and were very overly fried and tough. The shrimp didn't even taste like shrimp. Was very disappointed. Service was good. read more

Went their last year, oyster Rockefeller tasted like oysters with cheese wiz. So none memorable. Will not be back. View is great food. At least for us, not so much. Sorry. read more

Had dinner at Sara J's Monday night for the first time. Good view but food not so great. The hush puppies were dry - had to put lots of honey butter on them to eat. I ordered fried shrimp and they were so chewy, I could only eat about 6 of them. Just didn't taste like fresh shrimp. My husband got the blackened Grouper and said it was good. Very overpriced. Service was slow. Will not go back. read more

This is probably my favorite seafood restaurant in Garden City. The service is great, and the food is even better! Will be coming here every time I am in town. read more

The food was really good. However they do not have as wide of a selection as they used to and the prices have certainly increased since the last visit. Oyster stew was amazing and the stuffed shrimp were awesome! read more

Was expecting higher things. Waited 45 minutes for food, steak was undercooked and tasted too much like the grill. Didn't want to send Steak back because I didn't want to wait about her thirty minutes for an okay steak. Shrimp was okay. Service was scarce and slow. The view was good though. read more

Do not waste a vacation meal here. The hush puppies are pure grease. The honey butter is country crock. The service was less than desirable. The meals were DEFINITELY not worth their price. Red snapper was cooked satisfactorily but only grilled on filet side. Skin was not even cooked. Grits were extremely bland. $10 crab cake was tiny. Shrimp salad was over cooked cold boiled shrimp on iceberg. Grilled chicken was an excellent frisbee as left over. Rice pilaf was comparable to Rice a Roni--I have suspicion that it actually was. The "key lime mustard" sauce for the fish was like a salad dressing. Highlight of the visit was the view. Just poor, poor, poor. So disappointed. read more

There is a new chef at Sara J's and the food is better than ever! Had a special appetizer grit cake with shrimp tomato gravy and we ate every bite, 2 grit cakes, plenty to share. Was in the mood for some fried shrimp and it did not disappoint! Lightly breaded and cooked just right, very delicious! Our waitress, Hannah, was great, the view was beautiful, the breeze on the deck made it comfortable and it was a great evening. Being a local sometimes we forget to check out the places the tourists love as well but we will be back to Sara J's soon! Prices were very good as well. read more

We ate there a lot. We love it . The shrimp is great. The scenery is good.the shrimp and grits. Awsome.

Waitress was AMAZING! Steak good. Seafood lacking. Sorry to say their specialty seafood casserole was only stuffing from stuffed crabs placed in a casserole bowl. Way too salty too. Probably will not return. There are too many other choices in the area. Give the waitress a raise! She was awesome!! read more

we stopped at 7:45 on a monday. We wanted to have a drink and then dinner. Asked the hostess when they stopped serving because I hate to be the pain that sits down at 5 minutes to close. She said they had no set time, when it slows down they stop. So in we went ordered a drink but went to our table after 10 minutes, we just couldn't relax at the bar. Well, the server was nice enough, but we ordered, were served and on our way out in less than 30 minutes. they were clearing tables with such gusto that I'm surprised dishes didn't break. rush. rush. the food was ok but the feeling of getting rushed was overpowering - my husband got the seafood platter, which he said was soggy, not crisp. I got the crab soup and shrimp salad. We were offered dessert but, the staff was really in high clean up and close by then. i wish they had said, we are not serving after 8 and we would have moved on. We'll give it another shot, but much earlier. read more

Great seafood with good portions. Prices are comparable to other seafood restaurants in area. We eat there every year and have never been disappointed with anything ordered. Service has always been good. If you don't like to wait be there when the doors open at 4:00 for dinner. read more

We arrived at 6:30 on a April Saturday evening and were seated right away. The waiter answered questions and fulfilled requests for extra napkins and drink refills, but seemed preoccupied and didn't go the extra mile. The menu was limited - mostly fried seafood with only a couple of choices for grilled. The fried seafood was not crisp, and the cocktail sauce was more like sweet ketchup. One bite of the hush puppies was enough for me. They leave the tarter sauce and cocktail sauce on the table in squeeze bottles which is a health risk. For $36 for 2 meals and iced tea (including tax), it rates as a poor experience. We'll try someplace else next time. read more

The seafood was bought in a bag frozen from the grocery store. It was terrible. You would think a restaurant on the coast would know better. I could not even eat a salad with shrimp. $50 wasted read more