Great food, staff acts like they're glad you came. Seafood chowder was like a meal Dave Lewis read more

Food was okay, limited fall menu which was disappointing. Our server was attentive. The place just lacked anything to write home about. Wouldn't come back. read more

Flounder and shrimp basket was excellent! Cheese grits - yummy for this northerner! Cocktail sauce was zesty and great!

On vacation (from Houston) and wanted to try out the local seafood. Sara J's did NOT disappoint. Amazing food and great service from Lindsey. read more

Sara J's - Sara J's Special - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

My husband saw the commercial showing the big thick steak and beautifully cooked scallops and decided to go to Sara J's for dinner. I wish I took a photo of what he was served. The dish looked nothing like the dish in the commercial. The steak was an embarrassment and scallops it browned. I ordered the Stuffed red snapper. My plate had a piece of fish with a tiny flattened bread filled crab cake mixture. We will not be returning to Sara J's. The stars are for the pleasant waitress. read more

Absolutely loved this place! They were very busy and we got seated fairly quickly. Our waitress was wonderful! The food was absolutely delicious! And it can out fairly quickly also, even though it was packed. read more

Food is always amazing and the service was great! Love sitting on the deck by the water.

The food was great, service prompt/friendly/helpful, ambiance great! I had the grilled shrimp and scallops. Go!

We used to go here a lot. No more. The last two times the food was poor - tasted spoiled after one bite. This last time we just left - it was that bad. We used to enjoy this place. Too many other choices to enjoy. read more

We took my parents here for their 50th wedding anniversary hoping to have a wonderful experience for their special occasion. The menu had good options but I wasn't too intrigued by it. We had ordered several shared appetizers so our table was pretty much covered with plates and beverages. While we were not even finished the entrees arrived and the waitress was attempting to make room on the table. This is one of my biggest pet peeves and think its a Restaurant etiquitte 101 no-no. We scrambled to help make room and were trying to finish any of the apps we could. The entrees were OK. My father ordered grouper and received flounder. My shrimp and scallops were overcooked and did not seem very fresh. They over charged us for two entrees so definetely check your bill if you do decide to dine here. And lastly, I will add their side of green beans is fresh out of the can and pretty darn gross. When the manager came around to ask how we were doing, we did voice that our entrees came out at the same time as our appetizers and we felt really rushed. She responded "We serve a ton of diners everyday and we need to get them in and get them out". That response is when I decided I won't be giving this place a second chance. Its obvious this place doesn't value quality service and dining experiences. Its clearly only about making the buck. This area is home to an abundance of amazing restaurents. Restaurants that host just as many diners, that can ensure a delicous meal, and a positive dining experience - all without making you feel rushed (even if there is a 45 minute wait). Bottom line , your better off going elsewhere. read more

I came down to visit my friends from Murrells Inlet and had dinner here with them. The seafood was incredible and the waitress was excellent. Highly recommend! read more

I have been going to Sara J's for years when vacationing in Surfside Beach. The food was always good, service as well and location was beautiful viewpoint on the inlet. I don't know what has happened, but the last 2 visits here have been terrible. I was hesitant to give it up because we've been going for years. But after being overcharge on an eat in experience and the last 2 pick ups were missing parts of the advertised meal, but not missing the overpricing. When I called, no remedy was offered except for me to drive back and pick up whatever was missing while my food grew cold. 3 strikes and I won't be back. We're looking for a new family restaurant to make future memories. read more

went there on a Friday,platter had one tiny piece of flounder half the size of a dollar bill,scallops tasted like chlorine,hush puppies should have been fed to the hounds to keep them quiet because they were the worst I have ever tasted $42.50 wasted read more

Local hole in the wall! We really enjoyed eating here. Lori the waitress was on her A-game. The food came out quickly, and everything tasted wonderful. The complimentary hush puppies with honey butter were delicious! We had the combination platter- which was great. Deviled crab, clams, shrimp, and fish. Only complaint was one single crab lump cake (as an appetizer) cost almost $15. But everything tasted great, and they were able to easily accommodate our party of 9. There's even a small gift shop! read more

Sara J's - Hush puppies with whipped honey butter - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

Not impressed. We had the crab cakes, shrimp and grits, catfish and fries flounder and shrimp. I the fried flounder was mostly breading and the shrimp was more of a calabash style popcorn shrimp. The catfish was ok, nothing special. It was cooked well and the fries were over cooked. At first I thought double fried but I think just over cooked. The crab cakes were way over cooked, there was a lot of meat in them and they were large. But the grease must have been old because they were fishy tasting. The shrimp and grits were good. Creamy grits great flavor, good presentation. Very heavy, with tons of butter, almost sickening and not local shrimp........ sitting on the marsh?? Why wouldn't you use fresh caught shrimp. The complementary hush puppies were bland and the salads were bagged salad mix and kens dressing. This just wasn't up to par with the price. I would never complain about paying for a good meal but for an over 20 dollar a plate restaurant I should have been much better read more

See all

I loved the hush puppies that they bring to your table as soon as you are seated! Wonderful southern/coastal tradition!. Our meal was okay - nothing spectacular but good. My hubby (who is not a fan of seafood) had a steak - which he said was cooked well and tasted great. I had the scallops which I had pan seared - they were cooked okay, but very blah, no sauce, no butter/oil, no seasoning. I would pass on the cole slaw - pretty dry and not much flavor. We sat on the patio and we had to fight gnats to eat - crazy. Good meal but I wouldn't go back. read more

Sara J's - Patio seating! - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

See all

Good but not great I feel like it's a tourist trap. The crab soup had no flavor, the half and half tea was just as sweet as the sweet tea was, the shrimp pasta had a inch of butter/sauce at the bottom of the bowl just wasn't good. I had the mahi with mango sauce and green beans.... Sadly the green beans were the best part of the meal. My mahi was just ok. The rest got seafood platter they liked it but what 70 and 90 year old women don't like fried seafood. read more

We are giving this place a 1 star and we haven't even been there. We had heard good things about the place and had signed up for their VIP newsletter prior to our visit the week of 10/16/23. We read on their website that they had a regular and early bird menu. We called to confirm that we could get Oysters Rockefeller if we came for the early menu. The staffer we spoke with said that the main menus were not in place at all and they had a "Customer Appreciation" menu in place. We looked it up and it's mostly fried stuff we can get at any Long John Silvers. We are still getting texts promoting their original menu. Regrettably, we do not appreciate their "Customer Appreciation" changes. Please get your act together. read more

Great service and great food! Chicken breast with teriyaki sauce was excellent! Mahi Mahi was also delicious! Hush puppies probably the best I've ever had! read more

This place used to be great all teenagers working our waiter didn't care.. ordered the teriyaki shrimp and scallops appeared. They just poured a bottle of teriyaki sauce across them no rice no nothing told the waiter. He shrugged his shoulders and never told the manager so if they need the money that bad they can have it and we won't be back sick the following night from it read more

Had dinner 9-10-23. Place was clean and food was excellent. The shrimp, scallops were cooked well and the salad was cold and fresh. Server was experienced but not welcoming. read more

Arrived just at 4:00 pm as they were opening the door. There were 3 of us and got seated right away. I ordered the grouper special which came with slaw and a side so I chose the baked potato. The food came out really fast and the baked potato was piping hot and very fresh. Was cooked perfectly. The grouper was so so. The texture was a little rubbery not as flakey as I would have liked. The house slaw was mixture of some type of greenery with a vinaigrette type dressing. Service was good but overall I wouldn't recommend for the price. The grouper special and tea with 20% tip was a few coins shy of $40. read more

Sara J's - Grouper special - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

Update: WOW! TRIGGER WARNING! PLEASE READ RECENT REVIEWS. OWNER SPENDS MORE TIME MAKING EXCUSES INSTEAD OF IMPROVING FOOD QUALITY. Owner apparently doesn't want criticism nor know what properly cooked rare steak looks like. I did discuss the issues with the server and she took half off while we were there. I appreciate you responding, but wish it was an apology for the experience instead of blaming the customer. I am not the one putting fresh all over the menu. Multiple places on your menu you use the word fresh. Perhaps change it to freshly thawed or frozen while fresh. Your own opening statement on your website says you enjoy serving fresh quality seafood, yet you take to Google to debate the use of frozen seafood. I was simply stating it tasted frozen and rubbery. I did notice a trash can on my way out. Probably a good place for your excuses about the quality of your food. Makes one wonder if the young wait staff is also responding to online reviews. I hope so considering bashing those that pay for the subpar food isn't a good look. Wish that fire that obviously was lit by my review was also there for your food and the dining experience you charge people for. No problem about the shirt. Kind of embarrassed to think I wasted $100 at your restaurant. Best of luck and I do hope you can take a step back and truly reflect on those that have taken the time to describe their experience... good and bad to improve going forward. We were really disappointed in Sara J's. We've had great experiences here before, but this time seemed like going through the motions. Wouldn't mind it except the prices are quite high considering the product. Seafood is frozen despite being next to the coast. Steak wasn't cooked the way ordered, and wasn't that flavorful considering the price. Oysters were good, but had butter bacon and spinach on them. Shrimp was frozen and rubbery. Maybe fried would be better at hiding the frozen taste. We were told all restaurants use frozen shrimp, but managed to find fresh shrimp at the local grocery stores. Sara J's appears to be taking short cuts to save money, but hasn't reduced prices to reflect the cut in quality. Save yourself time and money and grab a t-shirt from here and find somewhere else to eat. read more

See all

The food is ok. We had fried seafood platter with flounder, shrimp, oysters, scallops, and deviled crab. There is always a wait during the summer. We said we would eat inside or outside- first available. Although it's very hot outside, on the creek there was a nice breeze & view I thought we would enjoy. The flies however took over and between swatting them away and watching them climb in and out of guest cocktail and tarter sauce bottles sitting on the table the meal was not enjoyable. I suggest Sarah J's keep the sauces inside until food comes out. It was nasty! The flies actually climb down into the squirt top and back out. The next guest wouldn't know there was a fly inside the bottle. Ugh. This could easily be prevented. read more

Sara J's - Flies crawling in and out of cocktail & tarter sauce on outside tables. Ugh! - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

Great location, but food is frozen and reheated tasting and mediocre at best. I was so sad.

Visited this restaurant for the first time this past week and it was fantastic. We were initially told 20-30 min wait which we expected since it's the busy 4th of July week. We were quickly seated less than 20 mins later. The service and food were fantastic. The portions were plentiful. Several of us even got dessert to go. The key lime pie was aaahmazing! Highly recommend! read more

Really good food with beautiful views! Fresh catch included Red Snapper, Grouper and MahiMahi. Hushpuppies soooooo good! Service was excellent, fast and pleasant. They get crowded so we went at 5 pm. Manager present and a great guy! Will absolutely be back! Only improvement I would make would be to put sour cream and butter in small dishes, but that is a small thing. read more

Over priced and food cold. Staff was nice but not worth the trip. Next time Go somewhere not so touristy. read more

Delicious as always. This is our favorite place to go on vacation. The teriyaki shrimp was amazing and there was something for everyone with a beautiful view. read more

Ordered carryout. Took 30 min longer than time that was emailed. Ordered calamari for my husbands main course and was given oysters on a half shell. Nothing offered in compensation even though all we asked for was an order of hush puppies. Poor service, poor communication! Will never eat there again! read more

The food was extremely overpriced for the level of food we had. I had the calamari for an appetizer it was extremely rubbery. For my main I had sauté shrimp and pan seared scallops. The scallops were great but the shrimp were overcooked. Service was outstanding read more

This restaurant was amazing! We came at the middle of the dinner rush so we were expecting a wait. We were given a table right by the water in 10 minutes! The food was incredible and came very quick. I would definitely come back. read more

Sara J's - Sautéed shrimp and scallops - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

See all

I wasn't going to write a review but after reading some.of the poor reviews given, I felt like I must chime in with my experience. Do not let the negative reviews stop you from visiting. This is a great restaurant and the food is wonderful. You must try the sea scallops! TL;DR: We loved this place so much we came twice during our week vacation. Service was great, food came out quickly, everything was delicious and the portions were huge. During our two visits my party had the fish and shrimp combo platter, shrimp and grits, crab cake, chicken fingers, and the scallops. The scallops are the beat I've ever had. They were cooked just right and the breading was perfection....didn't over power the sea scallop and the buttery, flakey flavor was to die for. The breading on the shrimp is unique, I've never had it quite like that before. It was very good! The hush puppies are served with butter and honey....they were warm and delicious and a great appetizer! The crab cake was good as well. The chicken fingers were absolutely delicious... the breading was the same breading as the sea scallops. I also loved the house cocktail sauce. It's a little on the sweeter side but the flavor is tangy. Too bad they don't make their own tartar sauce! The fries are great, too. Both times we had great service. The staff was friendly and attentive. Yes, the menu is pricey BUT we all felt we got a lot of food and we even took some home. In fact, our plates were so full of sea food, they served the fries in a separate plate both visits. I loved that! You will not leave hungry. read more

We visited Sara J's on Thursday, October 18th at about 7pm with a party of three. There is ample parking in the stone lot at the restaurant. As you enter, we were greeted and seated in this casual seafood restaurant. We ate in the patio area, which was closed off this time of year. It overlooks the marshy area, with views towards the ocean. I am giving this a solid four stars, as the food was delicious; however, the service was questionable. Our server was very rushed, and kept talking over us the entire night. She certainly was overworked and it showed. The food on the other hand was fantastic. The meal started with a basket of hushpuppies with honey butter. They were cooked/fried to perfection. My main course the was the seafood casserolle, which was A LOT of seafood smothered in a delicious cream sauce and cheese. Man, it was awesome! I would definitely try to return to this restaurant again, with the hopes that the service would be better. read more

This place should have at least 4 stars on yelp. Our fresh catch market fish meals were delicious and large portions. Mahi was fresh. The complimentary hush puppies instead of bread were sweet and crispy. The cheesy grits side were some of the best I've ever had. We sat outside on the patio which was perfect with a slight breeze. The road was a bit loud with motorcycles but that was the only downfall. read more

Sara J's - Mahi w/ mango salsa - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

See all

I'm giving this 4 stars for the seafood and the view. We sat on the back deck overlooking the marsh - loved the ambience. I had the shrimp and scallops sautéed in a white wine sauce. It was the best seafood meal of my trip (my parents are locals and suggested this place). The portion was also great as I had some to take home. My stepmom doesn't love seafood, and she loved the terryaki chicken dish. The hush puppies they give you as an appetizer are great with the honey butter. However, it felt like they put no effort into the sides. Side salads came with the meal but were just bag lettuce with a few veggies on top- nothing special. I got the vegetable which was green beans - not bad but appeared to be previously frozen. My stepmom got a baked potato, and it was super dry and bland. All in all great seafood but doesn't seem they put much effort into the rest of the meal. read more

Sara J's - Sautéed shrimp and scallops - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

I have been a regular customer of Sara J's for decades. Love the people the service and the food. However, was pretty disappointed tonight with my take our order! I ordered cold boiled shrimp. Their cocktail sauce is not strong enough for my tastes so I ALWAYS ask for extra horseradish on the side. They forget it most of the time. So when I picked up, I asked to be sure there was extra horseradish and the guy said he put it in. Sure enough, there WAS extra horseradish, but NO cocktail sauce and NO butter or sour cream for my baked potato! Kinda ruined the meal. Lesson learned. I will ALWAYS check my bag before I leave. Small detail, but really impacted the meal. I had butter at home so the potato was not a total loss. read more

The restaurant is right on the water tucked away in Garden City, SC. As soon as you sit down, the waiter/waitress brings you hush puppies. Seriously some of the BEST hush puppies I've ever had. You have the option of dining inside or on their patio overlooking the water. This is your typical seafood restaurant. Combo options like fried shrimp, fish and scallops. Sides include items like coleslaw, green beans, French fries and onion rings. The restaurant seems a bit "dated" to me but overall everyone was very friendly and the food was delicious. read more

Sara J's - Hush puppies - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

Fabulous fried shrimp and flounder! Lightly breaded, NOT greasy and very tasty! Green beans were fresh, not some mushy steamtable beans. Key lime pie was excellent. My husband and our dinner partners raved about their food too. Server was friendly, knowledgeable and fast. We will be back. read more

Sara J's - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina

Delish!!! Had the shrimp salad and it didn't disappoint. Plenty of shrimp on a nice bed of greens. This restaurant will definitely have my repeat business. read more

Sara J's - Shrimp Salad - Seafood Near Me - Garden City, South Carolina