What a difference a couple years makes!!! I went to Margaritaville a couple years ago for my birthday. I returned last night for my birthday and it was awful!! My boyfriend and I both ordered chicken tortilla soup and it came out freezing cold. I would have complained, but I had already complained that there was sour cream and avocado when it when it did not indicate that on the menu. I get very sick from avocado and my boyfriend gets very sick from sour cream. Why on earth would they not indicate these two items were in the soup??? They gave us two new bowls without these items but the soup was icy cold. It went further downhill from there when I ordered the fish tacos. They were so greasy!!! I peeled off the breaded part because it was so disgusting. Our waiter was really nice, and I don't know why he's working here. Â He could certainly do a lot better somewhere else. Also, the bathrooms were disgusting. They were filthy and the trash cans were overflowing. Never again for Margaritaville!!!
Review Source:Hadn't been here in YEARS! My BF and I were in town and decided to eat here. Â The seating kind of sucked but I spoke up and got a better table. Â It wasn't too busy but our food took a while. Â When we got our appetizer it was GREAT nice and hot pricy but worth it. Â If you like shrimp get the sample platter . Â Coconut shrimp, bacon wrapped shrimp and calamari DELICIOUS!!! $19 worth it. Â Shrimp were GIANT!
I ordered the teriyaki chicken sandwich, it was great cooked to perfection smothered in sauce just the right amount.
My BF ordered the everything burger it was huge he's an eater and he only ate half of it, he liked it very much.
We are absolutely coming back. Â A bit pricy but food was great
What a horrible place. We had to tell him 3 times we wanted chips and salsa.. Everybody was just sitting around talking and messing around. Took us another 15 minutes to get our guacamole and chips, which tasted like watered down canned guac, on top of that, our silverware was dirty. Nasty place. Will never go to again.
Review Source:STAY AWAY from HERE!!!! Â I want to rate them a negative 4 stars, but I can't because 1 star is the lowest!!!! Dine any place but here please!!!
Okay I was there yesterday with a coworker and it was the most distasteful place to be at and I kicked myself for not listening to the other Yelpers on here about how horrible this place was.
Everything went wrong here starting with:
1. When seated we didn't get any napkins or utensils set for our table and when it was given to us the waiter  "Rolled" his eyes as if he was annoyed by us asking for them when the food had FINALLY arrived after decades of ordering them.  We had to say to him after the eye ball rolling happened, "How are we suppose to eat our food my friend, with our hands?" and when I did get them they were DIRTY!! Â
2. When our food (We ordered a steak dish with mash potatoes and veggies) came it was freaking cold!!!! There were only like 6 -8 cuts of steak which was a rip off and the mash potatoes tasted like day old "smashed potatoes" WTF people!! Honestly, I wouldn't even feed that to my dog because it was that gross. Â Â I asked for the steak to be cooked medium and they served it to me medium well done (you jackass cook can't cook) and the veggies tasted old. Â I should have taken a picture of it. I quote my friend "We could have gone to Walmart to get a better cut of steak" LoL True true!!
3. The waitress was a snob. She was not very helpful at all and when I asked for the check she shot me a dirty look. Â (I wanted to poke everyone's eye out that worked there) Anyways, she never came back to pick up the bill so we had to give it to some random waiter which had the "ball sack" to ask us do you know who your server is? Umm we had non-memorable people service us with shitty customer service just let us pay and leave already!!
4. The finally straw!! when we got back our change back from the bill they didn't give us back "all of our change" are you kidding me people!!! SO me and my buddy said screw  this they can keep the .44 cents for TIP!!!!
RIDICULOUSNESS!!! $40 buck for a shitty meal and service. I should have went to "Pizza my Heart" a few doors down for a better, cheaper, more satisfying meal
Taylor was a great server! He noticed that my family had not been helped yet (It was very busy in our section) and he went out of his way to make sure we were taken care of, even though we were not seated at a table in his section! Food and Drinks were awesome and my family and I had a great evening!
Review Source:I went in on a Saturday on a hot day and no one was even there. I stood around with my group for about ten minutes and not a single person even helped us or seated us even though there was employees standing around. We went out side giving this place hope , sat ourselves outside. The waitress was rude no smile didn't even greet us. Took forever to get anything we ordered. We planned on eating a meal but decided to just have a drink and split two appetizers to hold us off for a bit and then left.
Review Source:Everything about my trip to this restaurant today way just plain BAD! Inside seemed dirty and almost run down! Also the hostess was too busy talking (possibly flirting) with the bartender to even bother to seat anybody! The group in front of us waited 10 + minutes just to be say! And it wasn't even busy! The service was really really SLOW! And I had to ask about 3+ times to get water refilled! As far as the food! MEDICOCRE at best! Just overall not good! Also my friends fish tacos looked absolutely terrible! And that's exactly what he said about them! Also another friend ordered a blue agave margarita drink and it had a big brown floating thing in it! Also the silverware and glasses and just everything seemed very dirty and old! Overall  I will not be returning!
Review Source:Sad place.
My friends and my family went there for lunch recently. Place was almost empty (first sign of disaster). Our kids wanted to sit outside - the place has a nice patio with beach view... and seagulls. Seagulls pooping on tables, chairs... everywhere.
Miserable waitress wasn't capable counting us right: she didn't bring enough plates and utensils.
Food was awful. It looked horrible and it tasted even worse. I asked our depressed waitress for ketchup - she said she got it, but we never saw her again. Another employee delivered it with the check after 10 minutes.
Our advice: stay away from this place.
While searching for venues to celebrate my birthday with some friends, I came across Margaritaville. Sadly they are not vegetarian friendly and so we had lunch at Dharma's. That said, I found the online photos depicted a quaintly decorated place with nice views. And so my friends and I ventured over to have drinks. The sangria I had was really good. My two friends enjoyed their margaritas. Service was very good. I will give it four stars not five due to the lack of vegetarian fare. Still, a wonderful way to celebrate.
Review Source:After spending an amazing day on the beach my boyfriend and I were super hungry for some tasty bites. Patio seating was no wait so we jumped on it. Margaritas were tasty and tri tip nachos were bomb azz. My club wasn't fantastic but I should have read that it wasn't prepared the traditional way, overall great view, fair price and pretty tasty food. Will come back!!
Review Source:I will start with the positive. Â The fajitas were tasty and the margarita was good. The wait staff worked very hard, but they couldn't keep up. Â Now the rest. Â We used to go to Margaritaville regularly and found the food and the service to be consistently good. Â Last year they made some changes away from a restaurant to more of a Pub. Â This was our first time back. Â We walked in at 7:00 and there was a sign that said seat yourself. Most of the empty tables had not been cleared, so we sat at a table with dirty dishes. Â
Our waitress brought a food menu and drink menu.  I ordered a glass of wine from the drink menu and was told that it was not available any more. After  asking about several wines on the menu I learned  that none of the wines listed on the drink menu were available any more.  It would have been nice to have been told that when they gave me the menu.  However, the Margarita I finally settled on was good.  We waited 40 minutes for our food, but it was tasty when it finally got there. Â
As the evening wore on the tables all filled up with dirty dishes.  I did not see a busboy all night.  Apparently the waitresses also are expected to bus tables and tend bar.  There were drinks spilled on the floor and food  spills throughout the restaurant.  It was a filthy mess by the time we left. I hope the management takes a look at where he has cut corners and turn it around before it is too late.
My parents and I stopped here one afternoon while they were in town visiting. We had already toured the beach area of Santa Cruz and just wanted to stop and have a drink. We decided on Margaritaville. We didn't know if it was an extension of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, but found out it was not, just has the same name.
We sat outside on the deck, which is kind of a smaller area, but was really nice! The weather was great, and there were birds, but they didn't bother us at all. The ducks and seagulls floated around in the little river next to the patio, and it was actually nice.
We ordered two premium beers, and asked for chips and salsa. We loved the salsa and ended up ordering a "large" guacamole. We enjoyed two more beers and then asked for our tab. The total was $12!! We were shocked. Apparently it was happy hour, we hadn't known, and our beers and guac were really cheap.
I haven't tried the food so I can't vouch for it, but the atmosphere and ambience was great! I would suggest it to anyone looking to just have a couple drinks and enjoy the weather!
Have you ever seen the movie birds? Then you know what the patio is like at Margaritaville. Its nice to be outside on the patio but every time someone leaves a table the seagulls are right there, attacking the table and knocking things over- breaking glasses etc. So keep your head low and be careful.
We ordered house margaritas which were really quite good for $4. The free salsa and chips are also really good, not overly spicy but with good flavor. We made our mistake by getting guac which was bland; the chips that came with guac (different than the free salsa ones) were actually kinda terrible.
The service was super slow on the deck as well.
The fish and onion rings were good along with the bacon wrapped shrimp. The main problem is the waiter charged my credit card for the wrong bill we found out after returning to our room. We went back and they charged me for the right bill. I got home and checked my Account to find they charged me for 3 different bills :-( wife still trying to get them to correct it. Slow service sucked and definitely watch the bill. NO WE DIDN'T GO BACK.
Review Source:After reading many of the reviews I was a little apprehensive going to Margaritaville. Â My husband and I had a "got daily deal" to use and went to lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Â I was expecting bad service but had just the opposite. Â I was surprised by how many employees were working and all were being very attentive. Â They kept our water glasses filled and asked if we needed anything. Â I had the tri-tip sandwich which was fabulous. Â My husband had the tri-tip tacos and they were equally as good. Â Portion size was very substantial. Â We enjoyed one of their special mai tai drinks. Â I would not hesitate to go back.
Review Source:Dismal Service in spite of having plenty of staffing.
Margaritas made with an odd flavored mix that tasted of the refrigerator.
Burgers overseasoned with cumin and salt. Too greasy.
Out of a bag frozen onion rings and french fries.
Unattractive Atmosphere. Mismatched uncomfortable seating.
A big disappointment. Wish it still served Mexican food.
A Tacqueria in that location would do better.
Just had lunch here earlier today, and was greatly disappointed. Â They dropped the menus quickly, and then we had to wait 15 minutes for a drink order to be taken. Â As soon as we ordered the two margaritas our waitress walked away for another 15 minutes without taking our food order or even asking if we had questions. Â The drinks took forever to come out, and were only o.k. Â I expect a good drink if I pay 10 dollars for it, and was let down. Â
After looking at the menu, this is not a Mexican restaurant. Â There was an extremely limited Mexican section. Â They offer French fries as a side!!! Â They are really inflexible with substitutions and seemed almost rude about it. Â The entire menu was limited and a poor excuse for a mexican restaurant.
There is no excuse for the slow service when there are a total of 2 tables with people in the middle of the afternoon. Â There were more employees than customers and they couldn't give good service.
I paid 50$ for a lunch for two and had a meal worth maybe 25, even in this neighborhood. Â I will not be coming back and recommending friends avoid this restaurant.
Ordered a burger and it was bad...lets go through it.
1. Meat was not seasoned, why do people cook a plain hamburger without properly seasoning it???
2. Bun was stale.
3. Onions were cut way too thick to be enjoyable.
4. Ordered medium and it came out well done.
If this place stopped focusing on gimmicks and focused on quality food more locals would eat here.
Sorely disappointed with the service and lack of ability from the wait staff.
Excuses for cold food and lots of blaming of the day manager for lack of staff.
Sad as this is one of my local restaurants.
Staff did not know how to take the criticism and were rather aloof. In the end we just walked out. Huge huge disappointment.
Only plus is the beautiful view from the restaurant balcony.
My boyfriend got a groupon deal for this restaurant so we decided to try it out. Â The view of the bay from this place is quite nice in the patio area. Â The waiter that served us was very nice as well. Â
However, there was quite a few reasons why I gave this place a low rating. Â After my boyfriend and I ordered our food from their very limited menu, we waited for about 40 minutes for our food to arrive. Â We even noticed that a group of people that came after we came and ordered their food about 10 minutes after us, received their food before us. Â It was at least decent that the waiter apologized for our long wait. Â
I requested a cup of clam chowder as an appetizer. Â But it appeared that the soup was forgotten. Â After I got my entree, I had to ask about my soup. Â It was not even in a cup but instead a bowl. Â It was not exactly what I ordered nor was I expecting to get it along with my entree. Â The soup itself was okay but I have had better clam chowder. Â
My main entree was a Hawaiian chicken sandwich. Â It supposed to have had barbecue/ teriyaki sauce on it but I hardly tasted it. Â Maybe the sauce was cooked in the chicken but I was expecting more flavor. Â The chicken was dry as well. Â
There are not too many entrees or sides that are healthy. Â Most food here are fried and greasy. Â Almost all of their entrees are hamburgers and sandwiches. Â This surprised me as Margaritaville looks like a very nice high end restaurant, but most of their entrees are of casual ordinary fare. Â
Also, I was surprised to find out that each additional soda refill at this restaurant costs 50 cents! Most restaurants I have been to would never even consider charging for refills. Â It was not even mentioned on the menu that soda refills cost 50 cents each.
My boyfriend and I very unlikely will go back there again. Unless you like casual food that is bland and high in calories, I would not recommend going here.
I had the most horrible service there,out of any place I've been too. Brian is the waiters name Horrible.He charged my friends card twice and brought back mine saying it was declined so i paid cash and i just checked my statement and he charged me.Plus there was a hair in my GF margarita and the server barely served us drink we had to get up and literally goto the bar and pay cash.
I live in San Jose and now I have to drive out there with my friend to fight with management to get my money back. I am not paying double for Shitty service. I ask a local before in the past about that place and they even said not Togo there.
***Not to be confused with Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville***
Ok, so we only had margaritas, chips and guacamole. Â Therefore, I can't comment on the food. Â But the margaritas were tasty and strong. Â Chips were warm and fresh. Â Guacamole was also good. Â We sat on the patio on the right side and enjoyed the view. Â There were 2 heaters close by and it will chilly outside... we asked the server if they could turn one on, but (unfortunately) it wasn't working for some reason, so no such luck.
Overall, though, a nice place to chill, have a margarita, and visit with friends!
It goes without saying that the location here is great, but man did it take forever to get served. Â I understand it's a laid-back environment, and the servers are likely told not to rush people, but come on. Â
And that's just the upstairs dining area.
The downstairs bar reminded me of a sweaty, dark Tijuana nightclub. Â I won't be returning.
Every August, we have 4-5 families who stay in the Venetian for 4 days to celebrate summer and have fun at the beach before school starts up again in the Fall. Every year, we eat our first night's dinner at Margaritaville, but this will definitely be the last year we do that. Â Each year, the food, service and experience has gone downhill, but this year was HORRIBLE! Â We were seated and finally had to flag down a waiter to just bring us chips and water and take our drink orders after 35 minutes at the table without any acknowledgement. Â We were finally greeted with a rude "sorry, but I'm slammed". Â After taking our drink orders, it was another 30 minutes before the drinks came. Â The entire evening was just like that - extremely slow service, rude waiter and the food has gone downhill, too!
I wish they would either improve the food and service or put something else in that fabulous location . . . what a waste of a great view!
Took the family to Margaritaville for lunch on a nice summer day.  We sat out on the deck and the view was great.  We got some drinks  that were good.  The food was not great.  We got guacamole that was bland.  My kids got chicken fingers that were overcooked.  I got some clam chowder that was congealed and also was bland.  I have had much better out of a can.  We also got the Hawaiian chicken sandwich was pretty good.  Overall, the food we ordered was not great.  Maybe we ordered the wrong things...
Pros-
 - Great view and location
Cons-
 - Bland food
My friends and I were in the area and wanted to grab a bite and something to drink.
Cons:
-Our server (Brian?), not the friendliest waiter I've come across. He seemed a bit annoyed with us as we ordered. Didn't check on us to see if we needed a refill on water or if everything was okay. He also handed us our bill while we were in the middle of eating our meal.
-Food overall was bland and a tad overpriced.
Pros:
-We were acknowledged and seated immediately by a friendly hostess.
-The view from our table was really nice -- could see water and a dock.
I've been coming here for a few years now, but never reviewed. My boyfriend and I usually drive up on the weekends when its crowded but we know that since we work during the week. I think I have only been to one happy hour which if I remember was pretty cheap.
I/we come here because of the patio. I love the patio, however to be honest I haven't tried any other patios on esplanade and when we were walking by, I eyed a tropical restaruant next door that look pretty inviting. Next time.
Anyhoo, I come here for the margaritas, they're pretty good, the food is so-so but the service is great. We did the tequila tasting which I have done before and I could have sworn the tastings were bigger last time, not a small sip...anyways I also want to say over the years I've noticed the lagoon area getting pretty dirty; dead birds, newspapers, umbrellas and just garbage are in the lagoon. Not so nice when your trying to eat. I'll always come back to this spot but if they got rid of their patio prob not. :)