Stopped by Bamboo Willie's with my wedding party since it was one of the last spots open on the Pensacola Boardwalk that Saturday night. Â The one positive thing I can say is that the drinks were cheap. Â Unfortunately, they tasted cheap. Â All of the frozen drinks are pre-made and taste like sickly sweet kool-aid. Â We ordered several different daiquries, rum runners and pina coladas, but I really couldn't tell the difference from one from another. Â Since the bar doesn't serve food we attempted to get some wings from Hooters next door, but unfortunately they stopped serving food. Â
I'm sure the atmosphere is 110% better during the day when you can overlook the water. Â I would skip visiting Bamboo Willie's at night.
Based on the great reviews this place got I feel kind of bad that I just wasn't so excited about it. I really wasn't impressed with the frozen drinks. My friend and I tried two different types, in which I had the Rum Runner and it tasted like metal or something. We actually both threw our daiquiris out. Maybe because I'm from the home of drive-thru daiquiris so my taste buds may be a little different so I wasn't too impressed. The bartender seemed very annoyed with my cousin as she decided on which frozen drink she wanted. She was not impressed to talk to the non-locals.
The only thing I liked about this place was the great view on the deck of the Quietwater Beach. Great to catch some sun and stare out into the water or even chill right on the beach and get some sand on your toes.
I came to Pensacola last summer and came to Bamboo Willie's everyday for a week straight. Â I loved the different frozen drinks that came in a thermos! Â There was also a variety of live music. Â I loved how I could go swimming in the ocean and then go back and enjoy a frozen drink on a bar stool over-looking the water. Â The bartender was so much fun and put up with the daily visits from my friend and I. Â I definite place to go if ever in Pensacola.
Review Source:We didn't get to Pensacola until after sunset...but after walking past every other bar on Quiet Water Beach...we saved the best for last by settling for the tiki hut out back of Bamboo Willie's.
We'd been staying in Nola, but my travel buddy had  never been to Florida. That meant, renting a car and hitting the interstate.
What I didn't know - since I had never been anywhere but South Florida, was that the north is pretty great as well.
As we rolled into town, we came upon Quiet Water Beach and knew we'd hit a gold mine.
We parked on the opposite end of Bamboo's then just started walking the beach. Most of the restaurants/bars were a bit crowded with a scene of club-like goers, and since we weren't dressed for it and since I was sun-burned from face to feet, I wanted to go somewhere opposite of "The place to be seen". Not that Bamboo Willie's wasn't jumping, but the tiki hut behind it was quiet...and that's just what I was looking for.
One grows up picturing white sand beaches in Florida, but I can attest that Clear Water beach doesn't have clear water and Miami isn't all white sand. That being said, Pensacola did not disappoint, because where our bar stools sat, our toes were pushed into white sand. We also were seated very close to the crashing waves - albeit small - of the ocean/bay, which puts off a very peaceful sound, especially while imbibing in fruity cocktails. Honestly, I can't remember if we ordered food since that wasn't what we were after. We let the bar-tender make us some tropical concoctions that were absolutely lovely. Had I known we'd run into such a gold mine, we would have brought our overnight bags and stayed here for the night, so we could experience brunch on the beach at Bamboo Willie's the next day. We definitely would have also taken advantage of some lounge chairs (instead of bar stools) and kicked it in the sun a few hours before headed back to our hotel in Louisiana.
All this said, I now know that Pensacola can measure up against the bigger cities in the south and that the Quiet Water Beach strip - especially Bamboo Willie's - is a must visit for anyone on a road trip.
This is one of the places on the beach that is fine during the day, but that I assiduously avoid at night. Â Matter of fact, after sundown, I view the boardwalk as a slum, with a danger level appropriate to the worst neighborhoods in Pcola. Â Young people seem to love it, but then again, the only fights that I've seen (and I've seen plenty) have involved drunk-as-hell punks and punkettes.
Good frozen drinks and a nice view and access to Quietwater Beach. Â If you're hungry, there are options within a minute or two walk on the boardwalk. Â I've seen wet t-shirt contests here and listened to some great bands. Â Your mileage may vary on enjoying the ambiance after dark, so don't take my word for it. Â I'm an incorrigible beach bum and prefer my regular haunts, where the bartenders and customers know my name.
I loooove Bamboo Willies so Im upping my review... the weather here is finally nice enough to go hit the Boardwalk at night.. went back to my fave beach bar, had my usual Willie Wacker, my bf and friends had some Octane drink that they all like (I would never drink anything that sounds like they pour gasoline in) a few beers, AND the best thing I found out is that u CAN bring outside food in to Bamboo. There is a pizza joint across from here so we got a pizza and was able to bring it back over and continue our DRIIIIIINKING :-) Cool bartenders. Love this place will be here all summer
Review Source:Nothing like cold drinks in the hot sun to get the afternoon going. Â This place is similar to one of the drink places I went to in Vegas with the 10-20 slushie drinks that can be great.
Quick aside: Who wouldn't become a definite fan of this place when you and your friends transform an entire bar run during spring break? Â This place was great to get "white girl wasted", which we proudly did at 12 in the afternoon and only stopped to go back to the hotel and not get alcohol poisoning. Â The scenes there were great: a man with a teenage mutant ninja turtle onesie, another man who is the Jorts-man of the Year with a pair of jean shorts that you couldn't peel off, a bartender who wouldn't haggle with my friend over her turkey sandwich, and a couple of people who weren't too pleased that we were buying shots and giving them to their girlfriends. Â Spring break '12 was great!
Overall, great place and definitely worth going to if you are in the area.
Amazing. Â I'm so glad I arm wrestled my friends into this place, and so were they.
The drinks were all premade in bunches of big slush machines, basically it was the perfect place for adults whose parents would never let them have slushies. Â And it was awesome. Â
I had the Blue Angel, and it was exactly like those kiddie blue raspberry drinks only with a lot of alcohol in it. Â Awesome! Â Gal had the bushwhacker, friend had I can't remember what, but it was delicious.
Barkeep was great, talked with us, gave us samples before we ordered, altogether great! Â Will remember it as a good place to take friends when they come to visit!
Also, another note we learned after talking to the bartender, all their drinks are lactose and dairy free, which is why friend couldn't have the bushwhacker, or so we thought. Â Evidently the place didn't want the beach bums barfing all over the place ( booze + milk + sun = vom ) so they made everything dairy free! Â So, dairy sensitive people, rejoice! Â A lactose free bushwhacker!
Came here after a crazy night of Deluna Fest and a great band was playing. Â So many bars to choose from, and the bartenders are super attentive. Â I maybe had to wait 30 seconds for ... a water. Â :) Â and no attitude either. Â Cheap drinks for those that were drinking, and a nice deck / beachy atmosphere.
Review Source:If you've been to Wet Willie's this is a very similar concept. Â Frozen drinks like wet willies with an outdoor theme with TV's all around so you can catch the game while having a drink. Â They don't have food but there's a pizza place right next door so you can get some Za with your drink & watch a little TV.
Review Source:They don't serve food which kinda stinks, but the openly told me I was free to go get food and bring it back. Â There are TONS of places to sit where you can either take in the bar, the band playing, or grab a table that overlooks the water. Â As others have mentioned, they have a huge variety of frozen drinks to choose from which is what we stuck to. Â I liked the Bushwacker the best along with the Blue Angel which was pretty good.
We actually enjoyed the band a lot. Â Rehab was playing down the way at another bar which just wasn't the right vibe or group of people for us. Â According to the doorman at Willies, they're the only bar in that area which isn't 18 and up, so that may have helped as well.
Wide variety of frozen drink machines. Had the octane which was good and of course fruity. Added a shot of Bacardi 151 for only $1.50 more, what the hell, and really only needed one. I would recommend stopping by for a cold one, overlooking the quiet beach, day or night. Don't serve any food, however you can get food from hooters next door (which to mention has one of the best looking staff of girls i have seen, and I'm  from texas) or anywhere on the boardwalk and eat it here.
Stopped by at night and they had a pretty good band playing, not some old guy talking on stage or annoying karaoke. : )
Bamboo Willie's is a beach bar on the end of Quietwater Boardwalk. It is wide open with areas to sit all over, including overlooking the water. I came here a few times over the last two days for their lovely, frozen beverages. There is a wide variety of the typical frozen drinks. I went with the Bushwacker as this isn't something I can get in Phoenix. $6 a pop for a small was damn reasonable and after two, I had a healthy summertime buzz going. This place is definitely worth it if you are at the beach and want to have a drink while walking around/swimming.
Review Source:Thank you Bamboo Willie's for providing such great people watching. I sucked down a Bushwacker and the date went with the Pina Colada (extra shot? Yes, please!). Both excellent choices. We took a seat at the bar and proceeded to enjoy all the other bar guests. Great spot to enjoy a drink right on the beach!
Review Source:
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