Brought the family here while on vacation, as we have for the past ten years, and the service was awful, and the food quality has gone downhill. This has always been a highlight of every trip to Anna Maria, but we were very disappointed.
Our server, who may or may not have been the new owner, was inattentive, and when she accidentally brought another appetizer we did not order, she put it on our bill any way. The roast pork dish was very bland, and the jerked grouper, which I have had many times, was not good. While the atmosphere and general decor are the same, and are generally pleasant, the overall dining experience has been disappointing
This place has been consistently good over the years. We stopped in for lunch not long ago and I kind of like eating lunch there better. It is nice and quiet at lunch time. Our party ordered fish tacos, gator tacos, fried grouper sandwich, crab fries, and corn fritters. If I had to do it over again, I would order the macadamia nut encrusted fried grouper sandwich. It looked fantastic...and I managed to get a bite. It was amazing. The fish tacos were great. A word of warning you only get two tacos per taco order. And the the prices are a little pricey. My suggestion, stop in get the fried grouper sandwich and some crab fries. The crab fries are just french fires coated in old bay seasoning. Who knew? Old bay and french fries go together like a house on fire. Do yourself a favor when vacationing AMI, and stop in here. It is legit!
Review Source:Man, I'm still thinking about my meal here--3 weeks later. Spicy homemade tortilla chips with a killer salsa, great wine Margaritas and Limey Crab Cakes made with fresh grouper from the ocean right across the street (best ones I've ever had)
All around fantastic meal, great festive atmosphere and good service. Too bad these places only get busy during the tourist season. This place should have nightly waits. But they don't so all the more reason to try it out.... Not to mention, the frequenting live bands and beachfront territory.
My girl's brother is notroious for scoping random places out for the family to eat at and this is where we ended up. Â There is a decent view of the beach and the service was good. Â There was a total of six of us, which was good as I got to eat some of everyone's food. Â I ordered the Paella, which frankly I thought was good and bad. Â It was a little different take on the dish, but they added grilled pineapple to this. Â The problem, I hate pineapples. When I got done removing all the pineapples ( about a pound worth) my dish looked tiny. Â The taste and sauce were great, but what I paid for was not worth it. Â Everyone else's food was amazing, and the ribs here are amazing. If I could do it all over again I would go with the jerk ribs. Fall off the bone, huge portion, and not too thyme/clovey. Â All in all, it was a good experience. for 6 people and 2 yr old, my bill came to $190. Â Not too bad considering we had drinks. Â Also, the chef came out at the end and talked to us which is always nice
Review Source:Went here with a buddy because someone else had recommended it.
I have to say this place was pretty much a disappointment. Â Bottled beer was $4.50 a bottle, which is a little on the steep side. Â We tried the crab cakes on the waiter's suggestion and that they were "only" $5. Â The 3 crad cakes were not fully cooked, not even warm and was reminiscent of what I'd feed a cat. Â It was so insulting that he recommended it and they were by agreement of my buddy, the WORST crab cakes we've ever had.
The jerked chicken sandwich was just marginal. Â It was a large chicken breast with a little sauce slathered on it on a white hamburger bun. Â The french fries were good but it seemed like a half order that came with my sandwich.
The total came out to just over $40 for the both of us. Â Steep? Â I thought so too. Â I felt like that the experrience lacked and we paid a premium for it as well. Â The one thing was that the people who worked here were all very nice. Â I feel a little bad giving this a bad review because of that but this is about giving honest reviews.
I would not repeat coming here again nor would I recommend this to anyone else that I liked.
Dropped in for lunch on a Sunday afternoon, ended up ordering a feast! Everything on the menu looked good. I had the crab cake sandwich with a bowl of gator swamp chili, and my fiancee had the seafood sampler. We also got a basket of some great corn fritters. Everything was prepared great!
We sat at the bar, and everyone was very friendly. The owner was great, and it was a pleasure talking to him. He actually went outside to move his truck, just so we could have a place to park with our trailer! The restaurant appears to be going in a great direction, in my book!
I would definitely recommend giving this place a try!!
CHILL Chillin' fantasticness! Â Sunday I walked in to sheer chill time at the Cabana. Â I ordered the jerk and buffalo wings plus the crab fries. ( Old Bay seasoning). Â Add Stella and El Presidente beer and it was a wonderful, chill adventure with an awesome view. Â The chicken wings were well spiced and well done the way I prefer. Â
A lot of people have been talking about the new owners really making this place something else. Â The grouper is now grouper. The staff is fun and ready to talk about the menu and things to do around town.
it's ALL GOOD!
Two people from our vacation resort recommend this place. Â I would have not given this place a chance based on shack type decor from the outside. Â Also caribbean food in anna maria island fl? Â
Warning-Prices are expensive all over Anna Maria Island. Â We ordered fried plantains $7.00 appetizer, I had the grouper special stuffed with crab and glazed with mango sauce served with corn fritters and scoop of carribean rice. Â It was good but I think my fish was filet of sole not grouper. I'm not sure what the price of the special was, but we also ordered a grouper sandwich..aka filet of sole and two cocktails. Total cost $62.60? Â
Yep that's pretty much what I've been spending on dinner on this island. Â The food was good, nothing outstanding.. I find it expensive.
Have driven past this seedy-looking place several times, and last month finally decided to go in. It was just as dumpy inside as it is outside, and I don't mean that in a nice way. It simply does not look clean, and that is unappetizing. The plastic tablecloth was so sticky, my hands and arms kept getting stuck to it, which appeared somewhat comical. That kind of funny I can do without. The silverware was not totally clean, I just didn't use the knife. The drinks are served in tall plastic glasses, which I dislike, since they never get fully de-greased. Sure enough, the outside of my glass was greasy. None of the bar chairs match, which is intentional, but somehow the general dirty feeling of the place made that mismatching seem less than charming. The kitchen was closed off behind sliding translucent panels, probably because you don't want to see it. Â Honestly, this place needs a serious cleaning, renovation and brightening. I don't think that would detract from it's 'island character' pretense.
The food was rather overpriced and pretty under exciting. They use a jerk sauce that not much different from what is available in a supermarket.
I had rice pilaf and it was interesting because it had a vague spearmint taste that seemed almost artificial, as if the cook had dropped his chewing gum in the pot. I requested 'corn fritters' but got 5 teeny, hard globs of greasy, taste-free over-fried corn dough with corn niblets inside; they're definitely worth avoiding.
Both my b/f and I had a 'jerk chicken' dish. Mine came with the aforementioned rice mix and sorta-fritters; he had the sandwich version. I did not taste his, but he raved about the bread. It was 'grainy and sweet'. The owner came over and a discussion arose about the bread. Apparently the restaurant has it custom baked.
We won't go back there, not even on a dare.
What a great find. Â It's small, not sure I liked the guy singing because of his off humor comment. Â The crab cakes were good and so was the wine. Â We were doing some restaurant hopping and will come back when we have more time. Â The servers were super friendly! Â I can't wait to go back.
Review Source:Our family took a trip to the Banana Cabana Grill last night, it was the best food we've had on our stay! It's a small space in a small strip across from the ocean fronted by a parking lot ... a bit unassuming from the outside, cute decor, warm service on the inside!
For Entree had the macadamia nut encrusted grouper with mandarin sauce (the server said that it is Denzel Washington's favorite when he comes to town ... ) It was AMAZING. My entire family chanted the words "it's so good, it's so good" several times throughout the meal. Also recommend the ribs (FALL off the bone), the Mike Curry (my sister said it's the best meal she's ever had), and the macadamia nut banana for desert.
Will be back!
Laaaaaaaaaaame. Pretty much everything that isn't seafood tastes like it came from Sam's.
Fries? Definitely frozen.
Beans? Straight out of a can.
Jerk chicken? Like shoe leather, only seasoned.
Rice? Bordering on crunchy.
The ribs are pretty good, I'll give them that. The kind of tender that you can just pull the rib clean out of the meat... mmmmm. But they're very saucy, so dry rub fans beware.
The food isn't necessarily bad, but at $18.95 a plate I feel like SOMETHING should taste homemade.
I've been spending time at my family beach house on Anna Maria Island for several years now. One essential stop on our vacation rotation is Banana Cabana, a small, tropical eatery in Bradenton Beach. You'll dine in casual, beachy style, surrounded by brightly colored tropical decor (which is all for sale, by the way).
The food is delicious! Anything jerked is spicy and fabulous - grouper, of course, being the specialty. The house special is the Mango Macadamia Grouper and it is sweet and indulgent. The ribs are a tender treat.
The service is a bit slow, but hey, they're on "island time."
They do accept reservations, though it's not always needed - this is a great little alternative to the over-priced, over-crowded beach spots nearby. I believe they are only open for dinner.
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