Ambiance was perfect for a dive bar. On the water and food was excellent! If you are in the area make a stop here for sure. read more

Wonderful summertime mule, oysters, and gator. Kids chicken tenders were a little overcooked but we had a great time!

food was okay, nothing to boast about, service was terrible I understand we were a party of 9 but we waited for over 15 minutes just to get a drink, wait for food was over 30 minutes, the restaurant was not that busy. Server was not very friendly. Prices were okay for what we got. Won't be back read more

NOTE: outside eating/bar area is dog-friendly (which I loved) and all pups were very well behaved Nice, laid-back atmosphere....felt like a good-ole boys/gals local hangout (in a very nice way). Extremely welcoming and felt like a place I could hang out everyday. Food was amazing...shrimp cooked perfectly & loved the light batter. Thoroughly enjoyed the grilled mahi-mahi fish tacos and fries were perfection! Healthy portions and priced well...highly recommend visiting The Salty Donkey. read more

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Stopped in here mid afternoon, mid week. It was really not busy so we had great service. We ordered drinks and 3 appetizers at the bar. Our bartender was great. Made some recommendations and was attentive but not hovering. The prices were fair and the food was good. We ordered shrimp skewers which were surprisingly sweet. Found out it is their signature Donkey sauce. Not my favorite but the rest of my party loved it! The fried pickles were tasty but a little limp. The peel and eat shrimp were seasoned nicely so I really liked them. It's a great atmosphere right on the water under a tiki thatched roof. I'll definitely try to come back! read more

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Four stars for the grits, I mean like the best ever grits, creamy and yummy. That's all we need and a couple of glasses of wine. The view is great and you can catch the breeze and leave the world behind for a moment or two. Service was A-OK read more

The Salty Donkey - Bars Near Me - Panacea, Florida

I want to address some of the negative reviews I've seen. This is not a paid review, just an honest and fair review. If it sucked, I just wouldn't put a review. *Slow service? Fast food ain't good and good food ain't fast! I mean, you're at a water front restaurant.... Where are you rushing to?!? I was going to call ahead and order, but I wanted to make sure I had time to enjoy the scenery and good folks. If you're in a rush and don't have time to take in the scenic views, good music and good people..... go somewhere else. *rude people? Idk, but everyone I encounter was friendly. I'm from Tallahassee but I live in Atlanta. In the south, we have something called "manners". I can't explain it, but if you come in and keep in mind you're a "guest", you'll probably have a good experience. I got a friendly greeting for everyone I gave. From the hostess, to the bar tender, to the guests. Really friendly people. If you feel like people should be friendly to you because you're paying them, that's not how hospitality works in the south. *racism? I saw that someone said that. Shamefully, I decided not to go to the Salty Donkey and, instead, I opted to go to The Seineyard Rock Landing. I'm glad I did, because when I got to Seineyard, I realized it the Salty Donkey. I'll admit, I was the only person of color there, but everyone was friendly. The guests, the staff... everyone. I didn't feel like a person of color there, I felt like a patron.... The same as everyone else that was there. *KT! My server was KT. She was really a wonderful person. Being there for the first time, she was very knowledgeable of the menu and a great bar tender. Food? I really enjoyed the food! Nice selection of oysters, I had a dozen raw. Gator tail was super good!! And I also had the blackened grouper.... Delicious . Come in prepared to be friendly and have a great time!! read more

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I feel like we've now been here enough to fairly give it a five across-the-board. The food is great I mean really, we haven't had anything bad here yet and this is saying something given the fact that we've ordered to go three times and each of those times it's also still been great food. Service at the bar is, really attentive and helpful and again just all around good. Can't recommend enough the hot wings, catfish meal with the baked potato and obviously the bushwhacker. Really love it here mid to late afternoon before the rush for a nice chill spot for a snack and great service. The bushwhacker really is to die for and if they recommend the little topper shot, I say go with it for sure! Delicious! read more

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Being our first time there, trying a new restaurant, I was very disappointed. I ordered the chicken fingers, mainly cause you can't mess them up, but I was wrong. They were as close to burnt as could be. The coleslaw is way too sweet they put pineapple in it. My partner had fried oysters supposed to be with the coleslaw, but they gave him fries, which are not good. They are breaded and gross. They finally gave him his cole slaw after we finally able to get a servers attention. Overall, not good food, not good service, but great place to sit and watch pelicans. If you do go, be ready to wait for seats and slow service. read more

Great food at a great price! Excellent service! Will make sure to come back if we are in the area! Some of the biggest crab claws I've ever eaten! read more

Delicious food! The grouper sandwich and fried shrimp basket was incredibly good ~ Amy, our server, went above and beyond to make our dinner extra special!! Five Stars definitely!! read more

The good: Service was *very* friendly and attentive. Our waitress checked on us multiple times and was pleasant and responsive. Oyster City Hooter Brown ale served was really nice. The not so good: The priciest item we ordered--blackened grouper with scallops--seemed overcooked. Fish was dry, scallops weren't tender. I'm from the area and Gulf seafood is a highlight for me when I return for a visit. And our party actually ordered two of this dish as a birthday treat for someone, so it was noticeably off to a few of us. We talked to the waitress about our feedback, and she listened, but we felt she didn't really understand the complaint (when we'd asked her for a seafood rec earlier in the night she said she didn't really eat seafood). Some attention to other detail was a little lacking: three of the chairs at our table were covered with water or someone's drink, and we had to dry them off ourselves before we could sit. Some silverware and one of the food items were omitted and we needed to ask our server for them. Again, attitude was friendly and responsive, and these were minor items, but kinda added up when considering the overcooked seafood and the total bill. I *would* come back here for one more try in the future if I was in the area, but next time I would stick with something fried or a sandwich off the lunch menu... basically just manage budget and expectations a little differently. read more

I would love to give this place kudos due to its great location and views. Unfortunately, though, the service is horrendous (tons of mistakes with orders, staff operating on island time, staff complaining to each other, many items on the menu are never available, etc) and it's overpriced. 2 stars off for virtually non-existent service and, unfortunately, Yelp doesn't offer a half star option. It's a 2.5 star joint but I can't give the benefit of the doubt and round it up - so 2 stars it is. If they fixed the service it would be a great, but overpriced, place on the water. read more

The food is nothing to write home about. The grease is dirty & they must fry fish & shrimp in same grease the fry French fries etc in. A grouper sandwich, with inedible fry's & a bottled beer was $40. The cleanliness is was less than ideal. The view is great but not worth the money, the dirty grease or the grime. read more

I'm from Alabama and my Aunt lives close to Salty Donkey she took me and WOW the servers went above and beyond what other servers do which made the experience very nice the food was AWESOME we had fried and raw oysters they tasted like they just brought them in I enjoyed watching the different kinds of dogs which all were minding their manners the tables chairs floor utensils plates and cups were all sqeeky clean (I started my work life as a server so I'm a little picky) my Husband Aunt and I went to celebrate our second honeymoon and everything was the same other than it being busier but the one thing that got my attention that even though it was busy the servers came together and made sure everyone had what they needed etc and they were calm and collected I suggest you give Salty Donkey a try I believe you will be surprised at the atmosphere the service and the tasty seafood read more

The restaurant was super busy but the hostess got us to a table pretty quickly. You could tell the servers were working their butts off! I ordered the grilled shrimp with cole slaw and baked potato salad as sides. Tge sides were great but the shrimp desperately needed seasoning as it was quite bland. My wife ordered raw oysters. They were good size, but the shucker had failed to run the shucking knife under the oysters to cut the membrane so they all tore to bits as she tried to put them in sauce. Shockers should be trained to do this so that the customer has a better oyster eating experience. Otherwise all was good. read more

What a terrific spot this is! We had an informal family gathering here last month and it was the perfect spot. Lovely breezy day, fun music, attentive waitstaff, really delicious food, generous drinks. What more could you want? read more

Great food Great service and can't help but love the ambiance of this place. Even in the summer a good breeze blows from the water.

The bad first: At the time of this writing they have been open less than three weeks and the number of customers has obviously exceeded their expectations. The servers, which are working as hard as they can, are swamped. For a while service is going to be a bit slow. The good: ohmygod the food is wonderful. The fried shrimp is as good as I've ever had. It's not overly breaded and it's almost like tempura: the shrimp inside the breading is steamy and so very tender. You'll probably never experience fried shrimp this good anywhere. I love French fries. These are as good as any anywhere. They seem to have a very light breading and are so crisp on the outside and steamy on the inside. Also, the Cole slaw is excellent. In short, it was a wonderful meal. I highly recommend the Salty Donkey. read more

Food was delicious. Zero complaints. Momma J was the best server! LOVED her!!! Zero complaints. Didn't love the old male employee with grey hair and glasses who VERY LOUDLY accused me of parking my vehicle in the boat ramp when it was someone else who drove the same style and color vehicle as me. He was rude as hell and didn't even bother to apologize. Husband says we ain't going back. Dude totally ruined the atmosphere with his cranky ass. Maybe he should verify before he accuses a customer of something they didn't do. read more

Fried shrimp platter was fantastic, hush puppies were amazing, and the caesar salad was very good. Waitress was on her own in a restaurant full of people but still provided excellent, friendly service. Loved the view but it was incredibly hot and there aren't enough fans to make it comfortable, and there is no indoor seating. Will definitely visit again once the temperatures start to cool down. read more

My favorite place to eat in Wakulla County! Love the Panacea Painkiller, grilled grouper, fried shrimp, cheese grits. CANNOT beat the atmosphere. Sunset is the best time, gorgeous views read more

I have to admit that the place has not lived up to the former owners. I would have great difficulty going back even if someone else paid. But 3 hurricanes and a brand new staff, hopefully they'll get better because theirs not much down here. read more

We were very pleased with our visit to The Salty Donkey. The restaurant had been updated and cleaned up from the last proprietor and it had a welcoming, cozy atmosphere. The view goes without saying and the bar had ample room, so we sat there. Our experience overall was excellent. Kenzi (sp?) at the bar was very courteous and accommodating. She approached us almost immediately and had our drink orders (Jim Beam and Coke and a Painkiller) ready quickly...and they were very good. We ordered a dozen raw oysters which came to our seat in about 5 minutes. They were a little small which isn't necessarily the restaurant's fault, but market price was $24.99. We felt that was a bit steep for the size of the oysters but again, most likely not the restaurant's fault given prices today of just about everything, and that didn't take away from our overall experience. We were given plenty of crackers, cocktail sauce, horseradish and hot sauce for our order and they were fresh and yummy. For our entree's, my wife ordered the shrimp and grits, and I ordered the lobster mac and cheese. Three words...OH...MY...GOD! Both dishes were plentiful and very tasty, and came to our seats in about 10 minutes, very good timing. We highly recommend those two dishes. The only thing we would say about the shrimp and grits is maybe taking the tails off of the shrimp to make it a little easier to eat, but the size, taste and quality of the shrimp was excellent. And the lobster mac and cheese had fresh lobster in just about every bite. As note, we truly enjoyed our experience, and it was really nice to see the "old" tiki hut spruced up and fresh. Bravo Salty Donkey's, and thank you to the staff, excellent all around, we will be back for more. read more

The Food and Service was very good, we arrived 45 minutes before they closed and the food was still Fresh. I recommend getting here during the day as the restaurant is located on the water. read more

Cute atmosphere Food frozen not fresh very dried out and extra fishy, for the money drive down to road to Angelo's read more

My grouper was spot on and came cookedd to perfection. The house salad was the best I have had in the region.. their blue cheese is legendary read more

The food was super delicious and totally awesome. Scrumptious and very cutesy! Def go again and def recommend.

1.5 hrs later and no appetizers. they ran out and didn't tell us. cancelled those. still no dinner.

I have 2 great couple visits at the Tiki bar! First time sitting down was on point! We had drinks right away (calming) Second visit on another day, drinks where full. The hamburger with waffle fries is best for me. While thee other part of the order was blue crab claws and Beef philly.. The BF was reported as awesome! I was also able bring my New Puppy and have dinner by Sea Side! read more

Crazy slow service, bad food, expensive. Had to go ask for silverware 10 minutes after the food came, waited 10 minutes after that for a drink refill. Food arrived lukewarm. Fish tacos had obviously been microwaved. Chicken strips were the same as any local gas station chicken strips. Those two entrees, plus one beer & one Pepsi, were $52 ($62 after tip). We won't ever go back. read more

I had a cheeseburger and waffle fries and a cold beer by the water in a tiki hut. It was priced right. Everything was clean... service was good for just opening up the restaurant.. read more

Bad food and worst service!. If you get Savanna at the bar you will get a bad attitude and worse service she will blame on the owner!