Craving seafood. You have been on the beach all day and you simply crave the briny delicious taste of seafood. The stage is set and so we searched for the perfect seafood experience. Based on previous ratings, I was excited about Dockside Dave's and shared my excitement with the family. (You see where this is going...) Service: 3.5 stars; greeting was fine, the first person to visit us was a little scattered (forgot our appetizer order), yet our server was attentive. Food: 2 stars. My bad for not truly following the reviews, I can't speak to the grouper. In hindsight, should have gone that route. Instead, I tried the hog fish: fish well cooked flaky sweetness and tasty, country breading good seasoning nice crunch, the combination of the fish and breading...the breading was stronger than the fish. Muscles: cooked well, yet drenched in butter and too much garlic, could not taste the sweetness of the muscles; shrimp scappi: shrimp overcooked, rice swimming in butter; scallops: very good not over cooked and sweet and perfect. Conch fritters: breading was burnt oil tasted like it had not been changed and the inside was undercooked with no flavor. If you are looking for a laid back, fish house with average service and average seafood experience (perhaps except for the grouper sandwich), then you won't be disappointed. If you like your seafood, then I would just keep driving. read more

4 stars, only because I reserve 5s for more upscale places. My third visit. This is the best casual beach fish place in the area, because they know how to buy fish! E.g., they get the black grouper, the best kind, not the lesser red grouper you might get elsewhere. The portions are large: each sandwich is overflowing with fish, and the basket of outstanding waffle fries is too much for 2 people. So expect to pay about $50 for two. Last time I had a battered hogfish sandwich, because I like mild fish (no fishy taste) and this fish is delightfully delicate (I added lemon, so it was like eating a lemon-dashed cloud! yum!), while husband had spicy gumbo which was delicious and a fried shrimp dinner which was also excellent. Today, Sunday afternoon, the outdoor seating is a bit loud with the Golf Blvd traffic, but the early Feb weather is very comfortable for northerners like us, so we're very happy. Today we're having blackened red snapper and batter fried grouper sandwiches. Absolutely delicious! Service is southern friendly and southern paced, so don't get riled by a short wait for service -- relax, you're on vacation! Highly recommend and will definitely return. read more

first time my wife finished her meal before me. blackened grouped sandwhich was so great.

We had dinner here last night. I had the grouper dinner lightly blackened and grilled with veggies and tomatoes. The grouper was fresh and a huge portion. My husband had the grouper sandwich. Huge as well. Will definitely come back again when we are in the area. Service was great as well. read more

The Grouper & Grouper sandwich here is the best! Have it your way in addition to the fast and excellent service. A positive atmosphere with classic style. Comfortable dining area inside in addition to be able to eat outside on the nice patio. Good prices and fresh food. See you soon Dockside Dave's! read more

Dockside Dave's has the best grouper sandwich around! It's HUGE and you can get it fried, blackened, grilled, ect. It's always fresh and delicious- half the time I have to ditch the bun and just eat the fish to be able to finish it. I have to say, it is VERY easy to go overboarded on the fried stuff here though- the first time I went I got calamari for an appetizer, the fried grouper sandwich and some onion rings and I was hurting later! Lately I stick to only one fried item- either the sandwich or the onion rings and that works out much better. I have been to both locations and I like the one by St Pete Beach better- the one that's further north is sort of dimly it and sort of smells funny. It does have a nice looking patio area but I've only gone at night so I've always sat inside. But, if you want good grouper, this is definitely the place to go! read more

Great place to just relax and eat some good food. The grouper was excellent. Very friendly staff.

The only place i would go for a real florida style fish dinner besides my house...I am gonna cry now that i went by your st pete beach location seeing that its closed broke my heart...Your onion rings are the best and all your styles of grouper are perfectly executed and delicious. Small shack with big local flavor.. read more

Started with gator bites and seafood bisque...both were delish. Scallop dinner was a bit greasy, but still delish. Reasonably priced, outside seating was a bit cramped. Would recommend to anyone looking for great seafood! read more

Onion rings and shrimp tacos were ok hogfish was blah. Needs a good cleaning and updating. Asked my waitress do you have specials " we do but I don't sell them". One and done read more

One place I always want to stop at when we come to town. I have to have the blackened grouper sandwich. I don't eat the bun, but the fish is wonderful and large!!! Hubby had a burger and said it was great. Daughter has the spicy tacos. She liked them and said they weren't too spicy-more of a bang bang shrimp type thing. Owner is always around and usually waits on us. Great service and great food! We always eat outside-inside is a bit dark and dreary and has a smell to it. read more

Freshest and most delicious fish on the beach. Known for their Black grouper, which is delectable, tonight I went with the Hogfish platter which included a huge portion of blackened hogfish - perfectly cooked, and two sides, I had the waffle fries and veggies. My husband went with the blackened grouper sandwich - you just cannot go wrong here. Bar seating if you want to watch the game, indoor and outdoor seating. Really great, welcoming place, food is out fast and the fish is super fresh! read more

Crab cakes were the best I've had in Florida. Conch fritters and hogfish sandwich was outstanding. Definitely come back to this place.

Small place but great food. The grouper and waffle fries are the best. Our kids loved the shrimp. Wife had Mahi sandwich and it was good too. read more

Easily the best grouper sandwich in all of Tampa Bay. Do not miss it, blackened. Fried mushrooms. Cold beer or onions rings on side. Keep up the good work! read more

Great grouper prepared 6 different ways and Giant Onion that are some of the best I've had!

My last night in St Pete, we were at the beach and decided to get some sea food. I found this place on Yelp and one of the locals recommended it as well. It must have been an off night for them. I got the grouper dinner. The fish itself was the best thing on the plate and was perfectly cooked although it was severely lacking in salt, it was obvious the fish itself was not seasoned before breading and there wasn't much in the breading itself. I chose Cole slaw and "sautéed veggies" for my sides. The slaw was nice and fresh but didn't have much flavor, definitely needed an acid and salt. The veggies were in no way sautéed as they were mushy and floating in what I assume was the water they were cooked in, and again, no seasoning at all. We had ordered the conk fritters to start, they were raw in the middle and over done on the outside, they also had some rubbery bits inside that were inedible, the staff recognized that we did not like them and without having to ask they took them off of our bill. Overall the beer was good and cold and the fish was cooked perfectly, and the staff was very attentive. read more

Went there tonight with my family. The grilled grouper was AMAZING so was our server Ashley. So good she was hospitable and in awesome spirits! Go Ashley read more

Onion rings are very good. Definitely has a local flavor to it. My husband had the blackened grouper. I had the shrimp and scallops. Both were very good. I wasn't a fan of their cole slaw, but the fresh tomato slices were the best I have had in a while. read more

My friend and I stopped in here on a Sunday afternoon for lunch. I ordered a chicken caeser salad and she ordered shrimp tacos. We both enjoyed our food very much. The service was quick and friendly. We sat outside on the patio under an umbrella. I will definitely return next time I'm in the area. read more

All of the food was great. The lightly blackened grouper was awesome. Nice size portions.

A very disappointing dinner. After reading reviews I was very excited to take my kids for a nice seafood dinner. My son ordered their specially Grouper dinner which cost $20. He got a thinly sliced fillet that was under seasoned and over cooked with 2 side dishes. I got the shrimp & scallop dinner for $18.99 which comes with 4 at best medium sized shrimp & scallops. The taste was mediocre. My 15 year old said he would not want to come back. Frenchy's was better! read more

Great food! Wonderful grouper, only thing I would change is the bun - too bready and it takes away from the grouper - fabulous blackened. The onion rings are fantastic too! read more

Good grouper. It's a hole in the wall that has a long history here. Don't expect gourmet but the fish is generous and tasty. Note: gluten-free requests are accommodated for certain items but it may be a bit of a struggle to find which ones. There is no gluten-free menu nor any notes on the main menu for GF items. read more

Dockside Dave's was recommended by the downtown hot dog vendor, we absolutely loved it.

Fried Grouper Sandwich and Waffle Fries are as good as it gets! Love this place - great atmosphere, very fun and relaxed and the food is delish! read more

At 5:30, the place appeared to be a hole in the wall but hands down one of the best fried grouper I have had and my husband says the most tender melt-in-your-mouth fried scallops ever with just a light powdering of batter, (I can back him up). The yellow rice was pretty bland but we both had ample side salads with fresh and crispy lettuce, veges. Brenda took care of us all the way, very professional with the food choices, to the point on service. Looking for a down-home version of mouth-watering fish and scallops, check out this place! read more

Go somewhere else. 3 out of 4 of us were sick after eating here. Not a pretty sight when there is only two toilets at the condo. On the good side, the onion rings were good and the beer was cold. The frustrating thing is we know better. If you smell bad fish when you walk in turn around. read more

Great Grouper sandwich, Onion Rings, and Grouper Fritters were awesome. Great atmosphere and service. The food was fresh.

Fabulous! I had the Grouper sandwich (lightly traded) and small onion rings - perfection. Note, not near water at all, but that's ok as the simplicity of the environment allowed focus on the food. Highly recommended! read more

Been here three times. Solid grouper sandwiches. Great fries and onion rings. Never ordered anything else, maybe will try fried shrimp next time. Beer batter at this place seems to be amazing. read more

The food is good but service is terrible. The older lady behind the bar was incompetent to take a phone order so she gave me to a guy who explained everything and I ordered. When I got there the lady that was incompetent rolled her eyes and laughed when they figured out what order I was picking up. Just absolutely rude. I would never go back there. read more

Cute place to grab a bite near Mad beach. I love the grouper. Although it is a limited menu what is on there is great.

best seafood in st Pete. super casual spot. great for families. incredibly fresh seafood. onion rings are insane. can't figure out how they make them so big. friendly staff. way more seating options than obvious from driving by. read more

Cute little place with nice patio. The crab and shrimp soup (soup of the day) was very good. We ordered the small onion rings which were tasty but too much for only 3 people. Our food came out immediately after the onion rings which was a bummer since we didn't get to enjoy them. I had a side salad with their homemade blue cheese. The salad was better than most for just a side salad. There were lots of fresh veggies and homemade croutons. They could spare some more dressing especially since they charge you extra for the blue cheese. My husband had a regular sized salad with grilled chicken. The chicken was bland and didn't seem fresh. My daughter had the kids shrimp and fries which she enjoyed. The service was fine. Not sure if I would go back. Good prices and the meal had some positives. The menus were sticky and my lime on my drink was brown. If you don't mind stuff like that, then check it out. read more

I moved to Madeira almost a year ago and this is one of my favorite places. It's a beach restaurant..nothing fancy. .GREAT food. Wait staff are razor sharp and on point. If you want perky giggles ..?? Not so much! The Grouper is phenomenal. .the Seafood Bisque..yes it's pink from wine..TO DIE FOR! I have it every time thinking there will be some fluctuation..NOPE always consistently good. If it's busy season..be patient. .chill...its worth it! I've always had excellent food, service and am a happy "irregular " regular! read more

We both had the slightly blackened grouper sandwich which was phenomenal. My only issue was with the waitress. Very cold and unfriendly. Must have been having a bad day. read more

We stopped at Dockside Dave's last week on a windy day around 4:30 p.m. nothing else looked like it was open and we hadn't had any lunch so we decided on an early dinner. It didn't look like fine dining and we were right. It is a local beach dive. We sat inside since it was windy. We saw some great looking onion rings pass by so we ordered them and the special of the day, Fish and Chips. The food was outstanding and cheap. The onlon rings were some of the best I've ever had, cooked to perfection. The waitress was fun and quick along with all the staff that works together to make our visit welcoming. This is a great place for the TV show "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives". As the TV guy would say....."This place is off the hook" Don't miss it and come early since when we left the line to get in was out the door. read more

Terrible grouper sandwich. Waiter could see I had not eaten it but never asked how is the food.

It had been 5 yrs since my last visit to the old location and I was vacationing with family and suggested we go. Let me tell you new location but same Great Grouper sandwiches. everybody raved about the food. I wished I lived there would be a weekly meal. Thanks guys! read more