Friendly Fisherman Waterfront Seafood Restaurant

This is a tough one to write.  The Friendly Fisherman is nestled in one of the areas biggest tourist traps, John's Pass.

The outside fascade is nifty.  Reminds you of Cedar Key or a long-ago fishing village.

Step inside and see bright red, sunburned crunchy tourists.  

The menu is Meh.  Not horrible but definitely nothing to rave home about.

The two ladies I went with both had a seafood pasta dish that they raved about.  I ordered the grouper which was thin and the edges way over cooked.  Luckily they had a barrel of tarter sauce to help.  But with all the beautiful grouper on tons of menus around town, there is zero reason to overcook it.  

The service was also a bit sad. A very frazzled young waitress who we had to ask for the most obvious of things.  i.e, appetizer comes out.. no plates or silverware. By the time those come out, the app is getting cold.  Common sense things to me to being a server.

I asked about wines as there wasn't a list.  White wines:  House chard & Reisling.  That's it folks. So I passed and we ordered a pitched of sangria.  It was tasty and hit the spot.

I wouldn't go out of my way to go here but it wouldn't be the worst meal you ever had if you stopped in.

We ate here on the 4th of July night about seven. Only place on the beach without a crazy wait--although they stuffed four of us into a booth for two. I guess that's the price one pays for trying to get in somewhere on a holiday weekend without a wait. We also got there right before it started pouring, which was also a plus.

Anyway, the waitress was frazzled, but nice enough. She got our orders right. I ordered the broiled mahi-mahi. Nothing special--no seasoning or anything on it, although it came with rice. My stepdad got a hamburger, my mom got a salad, and my fiance got a tuna steak sandwich blackened. Didn't order any appetizers--maybe we should have, since it seemed like a rather long wait for our food. The corn fritters were just okay. Not sure what all the fuss is about there.

This place must be doing something right, since it's been there for a long time. Or it relies on tourists only coming in once. My mom and stepdad are locals, and I'm a former local, and I know none of us had ever been there. Not sure if I would go there again. We were grateful for not having to wait to be seated at a most busy time.

Looking at previous reviews I guess you can't make everyone happy. Our experience was ok. I wish they had less fried and more grilled or baked on their menu. But it's a boardwalk restaurant that's starting to show age. We didn't have to wait and while the waitress seemed a bit annoyed at first she came through at the end. The portions were more than enough. Pretty but nothing mind blowing. Yay! it was OK.