If I could give this zero stars I would. My family (7 adults and 6 kids) just had the WORST service at this restaurant. The prices are absolutely ridiculous for the portion size you get and the food. Having a large family we decided to split appetizers and such for meals. After our waiter took our order and saw we wouldn't have a huge bill he was nothing but rude to us. He proceeded to throw crackers at our table. When our orders came one of the kids was wrong and he argued with us and basically told us we couldn't read until we finally got our correct order. While at the restaurant one of our little ones became ill and vomitted. NO ONE came to assist. Once someone finally approached us they threw a rag to us and did not mop or clean up the vomit. Our family ate our overpriced meal with the smell of vomit as no one assisted us. Also as if this was not an atrocity in itself we were required to have an 18% gratuity for poor service, rudeness and lack of human decency. As tourists, no one cared of our dissatisfaction.
Review Source:My husband and I have been to AJ's 3 times (twice 2 years ago and once 2 days ago). Our last visit left something to be desired.  We went in with the intent of  getting some crab legs and instead got talked into the big steam pot that also includes shrimp and mussels (after telling our waiter neither of us really cared of mussels and being told it couldn't be substituted).  We also got drinks, my husband loved his while my cucumber martini tasted just like they poured it straight from the bottle and threw a lime wedge in there.  The crab and shrimp were great and the poor mussels were left uneaten on the plate.  When we told our waiter it was our anniversary we were offered a free pass into the club (I guess so we could buy some more drinks?)  It took probably 15-20 minutes for us to get out of there after we were done eating because our waiter was busy with a large table, which I can understand, but another waiter in the same area was always checking on his tables and not once came over to ours or even got our waiter for us.  I think AJ's will just be getting one visit during this Florida trip.
Review Source:Given that this it's a more touristy "French fries all over the menu" place, it was pretty good.
The food was good enough to make the experience nice. We Had the blue cheese burger & fish tacos.
Wait staff was nice& attentive.
The place is open air w plenty of fans. Great view of the Marina & all the activity there. But, it was a little bar-grungy, and definitely bar-smelly. The were at least 3 huge trash cans sitting w lids open from the entrance to my table. Not a good smell!
This place has a great location right on the ocean with great views. Â I would suggest indulging in this establishment as more of a bar than a restaurant as the food usually isn't their strongest point. Â This is definitely a volume tourist focused destination but lots of locals hang out here also. Â The bar usually has anywhere from a decent crowd to just being packed. Â They sometimes have drink specials but you've got to watch out for some tourist trap pricing. Â The security people here seem way over the top and like to throw their weight around. Â This is one of the better places for nightlife in the area with variable quality live music but be cautious with the food and the bouncers.
Review Source:Great view. Great location alongside the harbour. Great drinks. Just don't come for the food. It's expensive. Steamed veggies are soggy, not tasty or remotely crunchy. Fries are cold. Coleslaw spewing out over the tiny cup. Day-old bread on the shrimp po boy. Skip the restaurant. Stick to the bar upstairs.
Review Source:Been coming to Destin area for 20 years by far the worse experience I've had at this restaurant. Ordered the "fish of the day" and it was just like ordering a hockey puck. The waitress did replace it with another one which wasn't much better. Was then removed from the check. Â No sign of manager anywhere. The drinks were really weak and icy.. Â if you want to go eat near the docks. I suggest having the fish food they
have in the bubble gum machines.
This bar is pretty legit. I haven't been here during a meal service, so my review is purely a reflection of their late night bar/club atmosphere. The drinks are pretty strong, and the bartenders are friendly (I never have to wait too long for a drink). The music is usually live and always entertaining. The bar itself is nice, with great views of the harbor.
However, I'm not sure I understand why they charge a cover on some nights. My boyfriend, being military, gets in for free, but they still make me pay. Not cool, AJ's, not cool.
AJ's has two faces: By day, AJ's is a two-story bar and seafood restaurant on the harbor that puts out great scenery and mediocre seafood at touristy prices. Â At night, AJ's still sports the seafood restaurant downstairs, but the upstairs becomes Destin's largest club and sin bin. Â There you will enjoy hundreds of cheap, sunburned tourists, angst-filled Spring Breakers and overly-entitled locals jostling for position around the bars while the bands and DJs play music at about 150 decibels.
AJ's is the place to be seen in this town, if that's what you're about. Â You'll enjoy people bumping into you and accidentally ashing in your drink while you occasionally witness 4-5 members of their house security drag some poor drunken kid outside and then pummel him in the parking lot. Â But hey, you can drink and dance!
My advice? Â If you're looking for Jersey Shore-esque hijinks, this is your place. Â If you're looking for seafood. Â Good seafood? Â Eh.
I am not a huge seafood fan. Maybe I am missing out, but to be safe I ordered a burger. How can you mess up a burger? By putting it on a hard, toasted ciabatta roll. This is not a malleable bun, you can't pick it up or bite into it easily, and your food ends up falling out and forcing you to eat the innards with a knife and fork like a goon. I'm sure someone will say I got what I deserved for not ordering seafood at a seafood place, but I was not impressed with the sandwich engineering.
Review Source:Pretty expensive for what you get, but the food was good. Nothing too exciting or original. I had ordered one of their specialty drinks and it tasted like ice. It was not good at all, but when I told the waiter he was very nice about getting me something I liked. The second drink was better but still over-rated.
The club part of the restaurant was fun, very chill and on the water. We didn't stay too long because we wanted to dance and the crowd wasn't really our age.
This place is definitely good for groups and a more relaxing evening.
Ever so slightly, trashy. Â Yet still, it's better than the Red Door. Â Some nights are more crowded than others. Â Dirty, girls dancing without shoes, creepy guys standing around ogling. Â But this is pretty much nightlife in Destin. Â That's why I'd rather stay in on Friday nights. Â Scrabble and a horror movie and stay the fuck home.
Review Source:I'm writing this review from a visit during my trip to Destin a few months ago.
I guess Destin isn't much of a foodie town, but this place was pretty darn bad. We were with a group and although our waiter was a nice guy, he got several parts of our order wrong. My pasta dish was waaay too salty. I haven't ever been served something so salty. Will not return.
This past summer, with a party of 7, we knew we'd have a long wait - about 2 hours. We also expected great food. The shrimp didn't peel easily from shell- a sign it had sat too long. The crab had no moisture in it- indicating it to had sat too long. The seafood platter, broiled, was swimming with butter. Needless to say- food wasn't close. Location very cool along with area. Recommend drinks there and eat elsewhere. Too many great places to settle.
Review Source:Food was just ok. I had the shrimp and oyster basket. My wife had the fish tacos. She enjoyed the fish tacos, mine was not bad but just bland. Not a lot of flavor. The reason I am giving it 3 stars is because for what we ordered, it was way overpriced. For what we had, it was $50. I thought the closer you got to the ocean, the cheaper the seafood should be. Man, not here. Maybe because it was a bit touristy on the main street and waterfront. We won't be going back anytime soon.
Review Source:YUMMY! Â Cool place with awesome view of the harbor upstairs. Â There is also a downstairs with a slightly different menu. Â We ate here twice it was so good. Â Good novelty frozen drinkies. Â Great french fries & hush puppies, ROLLING ROCK ON TAP!!! Â (pitcher o'beer only five dolla!) Â The creamy crab soup was oh so good. Â Oysters on the half shell only $7 during oyster HH!!! Â Fried clams were yummy, and my new favorite fish, triggerfish, blackened, was soooo good! Â We will most definitely be back next time we are in Destin, at least twice!
**question: why does every restaurant in Destin play 80's music??**
Pulling up to AJ's (a recommendation from a friend) I immediately sighed with frustration as I realized I had been duped into another touristy 3 hour wait before getting some overpriced subpar food.
I am so excited that I was wrong. We came in a waited behind a few people to put our names in. The told us it would be about 15-20 minutes, but the buzzer went off before we even got drinks at the bar.
Id like to start by saying that this place is absolutely huge. Im not sure if they have multiple kitchens or what, but I was absolutely shocked at the amount of people they were able to efficiently serve. I should also say that this was on a Saturday night of Labor Day weekend, so its not like we were there on some slow weeknight.
We ordered the snowcrab bucket. The waitress said this could feed "up to three" which meant "two hungry people" to us. Boy were we wrong. 5 crab (clusters later, we didnt even touch the mussels, corn, or shrimp. This really is enough food for three people.
If the service and speed of food is always on like this, I'd be happy to go back any time.
I would have preferred a 11/2 star rating.
My family of 5 adults visited AJ's for some fried shrimp and hush puppies. Initially the experience was fine. The waitress took our drink/app order promptly, but it was all down hill from there.
After waiting an hour for our entrees to  get to the table, we found them Luke warm and a tad squishy. No refills on drinks and no visits to check up.
After chatting with the manager "Keith," he responded by blaming the "computer system" and then asked what I wanted him to do about it. Ultimately, we got 15% off our tab and a bad taste in our mouths. This is one repeat tourist Destin family that will not return to AJ's.
This place is okay. Â Due to its location, it's a good call if you're staying within walking distance. Â Food is pretty good, but not amazing. Â Service was pretty good, but sometimes a little slow, and it wasn't that busy. Â But we had a pretty big group, and our server was easy going and put up with us, which is good.
Overall, we had a fun time. Â In the very local context, it is perhaps 4-stars, but overall, I say 3.
If you don't eat much seafood you may like this place. Â If you are from seafood area, do not expect to be blown away. Â I eat on the harbor in Destin for one reason...the view! Â AJ's is no different from any seafood restaurant I have tried in Destin, passable food, GREAT ambience, music, & views. Â
I had the broiled platter. Â Food was just OK. Â Be prepared to drop a $100 bill for family of four, though.
I would advise getting there early enough on a Thursday to sit upstairs in bar area (families were up there, not lonely hearts club) and order before 6 for the full menu. Â Then sit back and enjoy the gulf breeze, great views, & great live music!
This is where you go if you want to truly feel like you're on vacation (or staycation, if you live there). Great place to sit outside with the pretty harbor view, get some fried crab claws (trust me! get them!) and rounds of beers. Such a casual, relaxing atmosphere, and great service.
At night it turns into a dance club with live music. Even more fun to be had... we ended up going twice in one day. Plus, they were cool about my overserved friend getting on stage and dancing (and being taken home shortly thereafter).
LOL @ the cup holders in the restroom stalls..... that's a great amenity right there.
AJ's, came here for the crawfish, but that is served on Sundays, so we missed out. Â On the plus side, a dozen oysters for only $8.99. Â Wow, heaven in a shell, spicy passion dipped in cocktail sauce, the courage of a man on a trip on a white sandy beach.. . Â Ooops.. sorry.. back to my review. :)
This week has been very cold and foggy and tonight was no exception. Â The lady I was with, only had a t-shirt on so we went to the gift store to see if we can find something to help. Â Very expensive, and no discounts, we did find a long sleeve shirt that worked just nice--I got a free post card out of the $60 deal. Â Note: Â from my 110 camera, I can take a better picture. Â
The band was great, the oysters were wonderful, company sweet, and finally the cost was worth it all. Â
Oh.. ummmm there was this lady, that thought she created a new dance called the fish dance. Â DON'T ever do a fish dance in public; if this makes Youtube, I know nothing... Nothing ok.. :)
Reviewed 10/30/10.IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, CHECK OUT THE HEALTH REPORT AT THE END OF THE REVIEW!
First, I'm local, not a tourist, but wanted to try this place in the off season. Call me nuts, but I have a few simple expectations after working in the F/B Industry for 20 years, such as....greet my table within five minutes, be friendly, tell the specials, etc.. This didn't happen, even on a sleepy Saturday off-season with nobody 'in the weeds' or any excuse for not being courteous. Our server Laura W. was snippy, unfriendly and had an overall bad attitude. On a beautiful day, with the fishing rodeo in the background, this woman's poor service and hostile attitude was enough to ruin our meal. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. Won't be back, nor sending anyone there anytime soon. Â Laura W, shame on you, your service mirrored the crapy and overpriced food.
The good news, this woman single handedly knocked Los Rancheros out of #1 seed for worst restaurant......If you want the 'water' view, there are much better places. The food @ AJ's was sub-par, shamefully bad for located at the hub of FRESH fish. Â Everyone ordered seafood and I honestly have found better fare at the Golden Corral.
Oh, I forgot to mention that AJ's was fined $500 due to the horrific findings from numerous health inspections. Â I didn't do my due diligence and research this before jamming a nasty, fish sandwich in my gullet! AJ's has a long history of CRITICAL violations, that when dealing with seafood, can kill ya. Â You can't say you weren't warned...
If you enjoy vomiting, peruse the health report below:
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdata.ocala.com%2Frestaurant-inspections%2Fokaloosa%2Fa-js-seafood-oyster-bar%2Fsea5601922%2F2206830%2F&s=eae34492a5708c830f28dcad4806758fab3a2ec134264bb6c3b2772822b28de6" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://data.ocala.com/re…</a>
This place is a staple for my fam when we take our Annual Destin Florida trip....and I must say, the multi-leveled patio with multiple bar tops and live music set up is pretty damn bad ass, but that's about where my enthusiasm ends.
The patio overlooks the bay. You can sit while sipping on your fruity drink, listen to live music and watch all the boats come in. During the day you can watch the charters come in and hang up their catch....while hundeds of seagulls and pelicans mosey around hoping to get a piece of fish. This is what I love about AJs....and they make a damn good pina colada!
BUT....I suggest you go there for a drink or two, relax, listen to music...then continue on your journey down the dock...the food I've had there had been less than par, and majorly overpriced. I mean, you can't hold it against them, it's a typical tourist hot spot, equipt with gift shop and souvenir glasses to take home....so use it for just that. Get your glass, your shirt, some good boat watching and a couple of cocktails, then go out for a good meal :)
You're welcome.
There's a three-per-person limit on the Bimini Bash, a five-rum blend of sweet-tasting poison served by the collectible glass at this Panhandle tourist trap. Â
I don't know about you, but when I hear "three-per-person limit," I think that is a blatant lie and I must have four or even five since no one, NO ONE, has Claire-level tolerance.
I drank two. Â I don't remember half the night. Â Yes, Bimini Bash, you showed me...
What did not show me, hence the three stars, was the gumbo and clam chowder we ordered at the bar. Â I am hoping they ran out earlier and thus had to go buy some spare cans from the 99-cent store, but I don't think that was the case. Â But who cares about the food -- go for the Bimimi Bash and be a cheap (and potentially unconscious) date.
AJ's is a crazy place. Â I've never been for the food, but it's one of the few nightlife spots in the Destin area so we almost always visit when we're in town. Â
The good: The place gets really busy over holiday weekends with serious partiers, and if you want to go out and get ripped, AJ's is a fun place to do it. Â There's always a live band and the music is great for dancing and embarrassing yourself and your friends. Â The views of the harbor are also fantastic.
The bad: I've paid a cover every time I've visited AJ's. Â I hate covers. Â What makes it worse is that they don't charge people with Florida licenses a cover, only out-of-staters. Â I understand there's live music so a cover is semi-acceptable, but $15? Â C'mon. Â Also, the bartenders start to suck at the end of the evening. Â During my last visit to AJ's everyone at my table had incredibly weak drinks that had to be sent back for more booze. Â We all may have been drunk, but we were sober enough to know our drinks were 99% mix and 1% booze. Â Not cool.
Overall I'd send anyone looking for a good time over to AJ's. Â Partly because there's not much else to chose from, and partly because it's always a good time. Â Cheers!
This place was really really good. I have to thank Chris W. for recommending it to me, not sure we would have thought to go here as it does look a bit "touristy" with it's whole "World Famous AJ's" sign and all. But it was really really good.
The prices were a bit higher than what you would pay for seafood in ohhhh....Atlanta, but come on people - this stuff is fresh from the water good. And the portions are plentiful. My sister and I split one of their fried shrimp plates at $21. It had 12 shrimp that were so large it was more like 24 shrimp. The shrimp had the lightest, fluffiest batter that didn't feel greasy or overcooked. The plate also included french fries with more than enough for two people, cole slaw and the best hush puppies I've ever had in my entire life. They are a bit sweet and have corn in them, and are perfectly cooked. Most places burn the hush puppies. These were so good that we asked for an extra side order of them and we got six for an extra $2.50. If you're cheap, you could make a meal out of these, I swear!
My mom had the firecracker shrimp and it was great - sweet with a bit of a spicy kick. She didn't want much to eat so she ordered off of the appetizer menu and the portion was ridiculously large on that as well.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is really great. You have your waterfront dining portion with a bar outside, and then on the inside we sat near the large bar and I witnessed two of the most entertaining bartenders do their thing. It was like the movie "Cocktails" but without the cheese. Wait....is that possible? I'll just say, they were funny, skilled, and knew how to keep the customers sitting at the bar. They earned every tip they got.
I will definitely revisit this place to try other dishes, everything the waitresses were bringing out to the tables looked like a must try.
This place is a highly overrated, over-hyped tourist trap. The hostess took several minutes to acknowledge us when there was no one else waiting (and several more minutes to seat us). Our waiter (Scott?) was very friendly and brought us our food quickly, but the hostess never brought us silverware and our waiter dumped our food on our table and ran and it took us 15 minutes after our food arrived to get his attention. It was a little busy, but come on.
We had a calamari which had good flavor but was a bit rubbery, a crabcake with nice, large chunks of crab but doused in crappy sauce and the rest was completely unmemorable.
We had plans to go check out the bar upstairs, but the electricity went out at the place (just for a split second) and we were not up for that.
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