Bingo is the man, I went into his shop a few years ago. He saw that my heart was hurt and heavy. He stopped the conversation he was having and asked if he could pray for me. He and his buddy joined hands with me and they prayed in tongues over me. It lightened my load that day. Perfect strangers.....I'll never forget that day as long as I live. read more

My friend and I ended up at that shop/cafe because we were looking for an affordable place to eat. The food was decent, I had an avocado sandwich. Although the avocado was fresh, the mushrooms were raw, which was a bit surprising. The owner is a very nice and friendly man. My friend, him and I had a nice intense conversation about traveling, food and surfing. He even gave us advice on where to go to a secluded spot at the beach in surfside. The owner can seem a bit rash when talking to, but I think it's because that's how he expresses himself. The location seems like it could use some cleaning, it looked a bit dusty. The service was good. read more

Man I wish I would have read these reviews before my gf and I noticed the sign offering breakfast early Labor Day morning. The food was not fantastic. But we thought, "Ah well what did we expect from a mom and pop surf shop/cafe?" I've eaten at these types of cafes in surf spots in Costa Rica and Panama, even Galveston. Most times the people put love in their food, like you're eating in their home! Not here. The "migas" were canned refried beans on a tostada with a fried hard egg on top (I ordered over easy). The bacon, which was $2 extra was burned to a crisp. Completely unedible. Actually, I was amused. Back when I waited tables, there is no way I would have served that to a customer! I should have sent it back, but I figured I wouldn't make a big deal. Again, giving the benefit of the doubt. What were we expecting? My gfs avacado sandwich was left practically untouched. The avacado was grey/green with big slices of raw mushrooms. Just not appetizing at all. So, ok food wasn't great but what the hell, it was relatively cheap $17.23 so no problem. Well, then we went to pay. When I tried to hand the guy my debit card (who I now know was Bingo) he turned and left me standing there, arm outstretched. "You can't pay with that unless you buy at least $40." He jabbed a thumb at the corner, "There's an ATM over there." At first I thought he was joking. Who has an ATM when you take debit cards? But when I got to to the counter, there it was. A small sign taped on the inside of the glass case stating cards couldn't be used for under $40. Now I know there is a small fee (generally 5-7%) that the credit companies charge per transaction to use their services, which is why some small stores and gas stations will ask that you purchase at least $5 or so. This can be a bit annoying but I guess I can understand. But $40?! When I asked him why so much, he replies "The company charges me $5 to charge anything, even something that small. And then the bank charges me fees on top of that." An obvious lie. I tell him that it would be better if he put the sign on the front door so people would know before they sat down to eat. This seemed to rile him up. "There IS a sign out there", he sneered. "There are signs everywhere you just didn't notice them! If you stopped relying on credit and paid cash it would be a lot simpler. If surfers can come in here with rolls of $100 bills I don't see why you can't.' Wait, what? We wanted breakfast and got sarcastic financial advice? It's a debit card jackass. As we walked to the car, confused by the attitude and pissed at the ATM and bank fees, I looked for his sign. There isn't one. Another lie. For someone who is supposedly overly religious he lies pretty easily. Don't go there. Bingo is just rude, doesn't know how to treat paying customers and the food is ok if you're hungry and don't care how it tastes. We walked in feeling cheery, willing to give that crap shack the benefit of the doubt and left feeling insulted. Never again. read more

This place is bizarre. I'm pretty sure that it is a Pentecostal (AKA speaking in tongues) church that calls itself a surf shop and "restaurant" the other six days of the week. If you wander around you'll find an entrance to the church, complete with blankets that laud the alliance between the USA and Israel. Weird. The owner was very nice until it came time to pay when we got grief over using credit cards (which another reviewer complained about). The food was very bad; it's a greasy spoon without the charm and good food. The dining area is basically a shack in the back corner of the shop with exposed plywood boards for a ceiling and walls. There's a framed newspaper article the about owner vowing to rebuild after Hurricane Ike. Seems that he's still working on that. Oh, and they got our order wrong. read more

I have personally never had a issue with Bingo but I do remember him liking cash rather than CC's. We go to Surfside almost every year and we always rent surfboards from Bingo Boards, that is until this year. We went in to get a board and Bingo has passed away. The lady at Breaker Sports (Surf Shop next to Bingo Boards) told us that he had a heart attack a week of so before. Bingo Boards was up for rent and she said his wife was closing it down. We rented our LB from her Breaker Sports and she was much cheaper and didn't require a deposit. Just 20.00 bucks for the board and we had it all day. You must stop in and see her if you are ever in Surfside. Super Nice lady. Bingo, hope your catch'n some bitch'n waves in the sky....So long Brah..... read more

A local landmark has been taken from Surfside Beach TX. After the passing of long time resident, champion surfer, preacher, and crusty character; the surf shop, restaurant, commercial ministry is now dark and closed down at Surfside Beach TX. Bingo was unique. Many loved him. He and his wife will be missed. read more

Way overpriced- they charge about twice as much as other surf shops, and they can get away with it since it's the only one in Surfside. My boyfriend had to rent a wetsuit for a couple of hours and was charged $40, which is outrageous. The velcro on the wetsuit was torn off, but he decided to try it anyway so we wouldn't waste a day of good surf. The wetsuit leaked the whole time and did not do its job of retaining body heat. Of course, we did not get our money back when we asked. This type of shady business is very typical with this shop. Save your money and go somewhere that doesn't swindle you! read more

My friends and I were down in surfside to do none other than surf... we had all our own gear but I had forgotten my rash guard so I decided to stop in this place to see if I could pick one up. For the only surf shop in the area I was surprised that I didn't find anything that was a good, quality, name brand. I tried on the off brand rash guards and they felt cheap and didn't fit well. On top of it, it was more expensive than some of my name brand gear that I own. I left without anything because I wasn't going to waste my money on something that was bad quality. I was grossed out by the smell of cooking grease when I went to the fitting rooms, but after reading the reviews and realizing that this is a restaurant too (?) it makes sense. Also, don't bring your boards here for repair. My friend who is new to the area, brought his board in on a separate occasion to have it repaired. The owner knew nothing about how to fix his board and after leaving it there for a few weeks, my friend ended up picking it up and taking it to a shop in Galveston to have it fixed properly. The owner seems friendly enough, I didn't have an encounter like some of the other reviews discuss. On the plus side he mentioned having some sort of surfboard museum or something in the back.... we were on a mission to surf, so didn't go check it out, but I imagine it could be cool. Overall- expensive, for low quality gear. read more

I arrived in Surfside, TX for a weekend fishing trip on Friday 10/2/15 around 2PM and stopped at Bingo Boards because I forgot to bring a hat. While there we decided to have lunch. The food was not bad (nothing amazing, but not bad either) a simple cheese burger and fries and the young lady who waited on us was very polite and attentive. Now onto the owner Bingo, first off VERY nice guy, I stress again very nice guy. He was nice enough to let us know what bait shops to visit while in Surfside. Sadly, he sold us a square bucket for live shrimp. Unbeknownst to me at the time of purchase, live shrimp have to be in a round bucket and putting them in a square bucket will kill them because they will hit their noses, which is bad. I think my inexperience may have been apparent and felt like this may have been capitalized on to a degree by the owner. I did buy a hat from here and some of the things may have been a little more expensive than at your local sporting good store, but hey you are at the beach, expect to pay more if you failed to plan ahead. Overall this place is not bad, the food is nothing to write home about, but was not bad and again the waitress was very attentive. This may have been because we were the only customers there, but regardless there is a lot to be said for good customer service. The fact that I was sold something that really would not work well for live shrimp and the higher prices for items is why I say this place is OK. If you want a surfboard go to Bingo Boards, if you need stuff for your live bait or fishing go somewhere else. read more

Stopped in at Bingo Boards out of curiosity. The store has good quality merchandise for those who may have forgotten beach toys or beach wear. The food smelled tasty, although we had already eaten. The surfing memorabilia is great, ESPECIALLY the vintage boards. If you need a rental, they have it. If you want to talk to the owners, who are friendly and personable, they are there to help. They also talk openly about their Christian faith, but not in an imposing way. Great place to feel at home with friends that you've never met! read more