Dockside Dave’s

The good:
In the last few years I’ve traveled around the country for work, and had never been to Florida. I made a pitstop to see Mom and she recommended Dockside Dave’s for lunch. I’m from the North and had never even heard of grouper before. What a fantastic treat! With waffle fries! And the best key lime pie I had ever had in my life. By far, the best restaurant I had eaten in the St Pete area.
The bad:
The waitress seemed a bit distracted, but looking around, it appeared to be the lunch rush. There probably should have been at least one more waitress on staff though. This is not really a complaint — just an observation.
The ugly:
After having a slice of key lime pie, I wanted a whole pie to go. They just ran out. Not their fault at all, but it did disappoint me.
For those of you that have never read my reviews, I always format it as the good, the bad, and the ugly, even if I have no complaints.
This place rocks!

This might be the best seafood dive on the gulf coast. I’ve been here four times in the past three years on vacation, and it has impressed each time. I’ve had their grouper and their fried shrimp, all were amazing. By the way, it is the freshest seafood I’ve tasted, and some of the biggest shrimp I’ve eaten. While I don’t like them personally, my dad and sister assure me that their scallops are amazing. If you’re on vacation anywhere near this place, you need to come here. Best seafood ever!

This place is average at best, crab cakes made with imitation crab. Not terrible, just not good. Nothing special but we had s nice server.

Enjoy the seafood spread, the grilled or fried vegetable platter or the fact that I can get lots of different vegetable trays an option to feel like I can eat a little healthier with my seafood. Also the different ways you can ask for your seafood to be prepared. Grilled, blackened, lemon pepper or fried if you feel like being greasy. Just know that sometimes when you eat outside you have to deal with a little bit of traffic noise and a few cockroaches (or as some locals say, Palmetto bugs) buzzing by your table as you eat.
As a local I can say there is definitely a lot better quality seafood here than the choices you have down at John’s Pass Village but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t go at least 6 miles in either direction north or south even east and get something better

The best place to get grouper in Florida!!! Hands down. Any way you want it they have it here. Always take family to Daves. Make sure you get the key lime pie. They have a chocolate crust.

Great experience! The taste is in the food. Portions are huge. Enjoy a relaxing meal within view of the gulf.

My wife and I go to St. Pete Beach every year for vacation and we always make sure to have at least one meal at Dockside Dave’s. You will find no better grouper sandwich on the planet. It is beyond amazing and HUGE!!! On our last visit last week, we tried their key lime pie. I thought I didn’t like key lime pie until I had theirs. Absolutely outstanding! And the service is always fast and friendly.

A divvy beach bar that has a good amount of outside seating. There is only one thing you need to know, order the grouper sandwich. It’s fresh, it’s huge, it’s delicious and it’s the best in the bay!

Five stars because the food was flavorful and fresh, and service was great. This is a low-​brow dining experience, but if that’s what you’re looking for, Daves is great.
This area had found us in other restaurants that were less than stellar, including some with «fresh» grouper that tasted frozen and thawed, seriously lacking in flavor, and vegetable sides that were nearly inedible. Not the case here. I normally eat ¾ veggies with a meal, and Dockside Daves served a Ceasar salad with every component fresh and tasty. The grouper was great, and I had broccoli as a side. The ambiance was very casual (we were on the beach, yo). Our smoked fish appetizer arrived with our main course, but with no complaints from us, our app was complimentary because of the inconvenience. We’ll be back when in the area.

We went tonight and had a great time! I had the shrimp dinner cooked country style. My husband enjoyed the grouper fritters and they were amazing. They are spicy but great flavor! We had a wonderful waitress and it was obvious she liked her job. This place is not far and we will go back!!!
A great mix of people and very busy. Everyone was working hard and the positive energy was everywhere.
If your in town try this hidden gem!

My daughter and I wanted something low key and casual. This is the place exactly for that. We literally came from the beach and sat at a table on the porch.
We started off with huge peel-​n-​eat shrimp, cold. The shrimp were not as chilled as I like them, but the light seasoning and tangy cocktail sauce made up for it. Then we shared a grill chicken breast that was lightly blackened. The chicken was cooked perfectly, very juicy. My daughter picked waffle fries as one of the two side choices and I picked the vegetable medley. The vegetables were steamed and tasty.
Finally, the best part, key lime pie. Simply excellent.
If for some reason you’re entrees are not what you expected, save room for the key lime;)
Service was friendly.

Very good grouper sandwich and a side of onion rings. Many ways to have your grouper. My wife had the buffalo grouper and yes she liked.

Had a great meal here, the special was Hogfish and I gamely ordered it. I wasn’t disappointed. Had it blackened. Came out perfect, light and flaky fish.
You can’t go wrong.

So I was cleaning out my suitcase from the last vacation, as I get ready for the next one, and I found some receipts that jogged my memory. We had a fantastic meal at Dockside Dave’s back on January 29^th. We had flown in to Orlando (because we were ending our trip in Orlando) then drove to Tampa in that lovely I-​4 traffic which moves so slowly getting out of Orlando that hitchhikers don’t even bother to stick their thumb out. They can walk faster than the traffic for about 15 miles. It was a Friday evening and it took forever. But we got to the hotel in Clearwater, dumped our bags, and I searched Unilocal for a place to get seafood near the beach. Since Philthy Phil’s closed, I’ve had to try other places.
Dockside Dave’s was perfect. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by the employees and felt like part of the group. They were giving each other a hard time, and soon enough they were giving us a hard time too, wondering how we can stand living in Arizona where there’s no beach. Sometimes I wonder that too.
We had a massive meal and a few Yuenglings to wash it all down. On the drive over I was thinking about conch fritters… oh who am I kidding… I had been thinking about conch fritters for a month, and we ordered those right away. They were nicely fried and full of fresh conch meat. Then we had the batter-​fried grouper sandwich, no bun, with onion rings, and a combo dinner with shrimp, scallops, and waffle fries. So much fried food! LOL And we really don’t eat that much fried food, but this was amazing. They have mastered their batter recipe and it’s light and perfectly seasoned. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to kick off our vacation. I would definitely stop in again when we come back.

Food is always great, good size portions and great service. We have ate here on a number of occasions and it is always good. The ½ pound grouper is just that — a big, wonderful and fresh slab of local perfection. Blackened or Beer battered are best. My wide loves the pasta also — lots of fresh shrimp and garlic. The last time I was there had the hogfish; a hard choice with grouper but it was a great change of pace and wonderfully fresh also. On the appetizer side the onion rings are huge and tasty; a half order is six huge ones — more than the two of us could eat. I love the rice with tomatoes (really good) as the side, my wife swears by the waffle fries; they are all good.

One of our favorite spots in the area. Crab cakes, mushrooms, and fish spread are awesome! Fresh fish right off the boat.

We came back on 03−25−16. The food was great as in the past. We enjoyed Buffalo shrimp and grouper nuggets. I would say both were 10 out of 10. Cooked perfectly and served hot. Absolutely outstanding place to go to. We will return in the future.
The out side seating is nice except for the idiots on their motorcycles driving past and making noise because they thing that it is cool. Actually it is annoying and these people should grow up. Really? You are 40+ act like it. This is not Dockside Dave’s fault, just keep this in mind if you done outside.

Stopped in here for lunch while I was exploring my new city. The bar is cozy, I can imagine it gets packed in the evening.
I started off with a bud light draft, I know it’s not a craft beer, but it was cheap and cold and hit the spot. Started my food with the buffalo shrimp, I’ve had this dish everywhere and it has to be one of the top recipes I have had. They were spicy, with just enough of a kick. They didn’t last long.
My main dish was the hamburger, I asked for it medium well and that’s how it came out. The bun was excellent and the burger hot and juicy.
I will have to return here for the grouper sandwich.

I was craving some fresh Florida Grouper while visiting, so my brother suggested Dockside Dave’s and I am glad he did! When we got there, indoor seating was full– so we quickly snagged a table on the patio. The fans made the heat bearable. The restaurant quickly filled up after we sat and there was a wait.
EVERYTHING on the menu looked amazing and I had trouble choosing what I wanted to eat, so we over ordered. It’s vacation, why not?! We started with the Krab Cakes and they were amazing. You get three large crab cakes for only $ 7. It was an amazing (and delicious) deal. We also ordered the fried calamari which was a bug portion of large sized crash calamari. Highly recommended.
Since we went a little overboard with the appetizers, we decided to do the smaller dishes with no sides (rather than an entrée). The grouper tacos were a must have. The sandwich came with a half a pound of grouper. Needless to say, we had leftovers.
I will be back!

3.5 to a 4.0
A light rain had just started and found a parking lot directly in front Madeira Beach and Dockside Dave’s was directly across the street and bookmarked ha it was time to cross it off !
Walking in found it to be a Very Casual place locals and visitors all come here for food and drinks.
The beer is cheap and the Smoked Amber jack spread is fantastic, after having a taste got a full order this will come with tomatoes, pepperoncini’s, half sweet pickles and club crackers. If you want a bit more flavor add a few drops of your favorite spicy sauce and dig in.
* Joanna C has a really good photo of the Smoked Amber jack plate But it must be requested Gluten Free to get all of the veggies, totally jealous had I known would have ordered it that way.