Great place to eat, great service, and great food. There was not a long wait and got seated quickly.

Susan was our waitress today for lunch. She has been here with Dockside for ten years. Lovely personality and very knowledgeable about their excellent menu. Today I got my usual The Mango Crab stack. Hubbie got a fried grouper sandwich. Food is so good. We love this restaurant! Excellent service and food. Not to mention the view of the water and boats is so beautiful. Highly recommend! read more

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The ambience is excellent. The location is good. The service was good. The food? We had calamari appetizer. The calamari was nicely fried. The sauce? Eh. No real taste. Caesar salad with chicken. The chicken was ok, the Caesar dressing was tasteless. Also had shrimp quesadilla. Too much tasteless cheese. No spice at all. So, the quality of the food this evening was low. Also the Yelp waitlist or whatever was confusing and not much value. Will we return? Probably not. read more

Join the wait list... or really wait. It's open sir, little actual "dockside" view. The Cobb salad was nice, the blackened shrimp were cold with blackening season, quite disappointing. Conversely, my friends blackened shrimp was swimming in overly hot blackening seasoning. Drinks were good, service was attentive. It's slightly better than bar food, food. If you have to wait more than 10 minutes.. go somewhere else. read more

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This is the place for DOGS. They are on the beach and the breeze flows through the restaurant and the staff are so awesome. We went a little after the lunch rush, two large dogs and the four of us. The ambience was just like being in Aruba. So we started with the raw oysters, I think they were from the gulf because they were huge!! Decently priced. My husband and I shared a salad and we had the blackened fish tacos. My son had the fish entree, and my other son had a burger. Everything ws fantastic. The bathroom was clean, the service was great and we had enough room between the tables to lay our two 100 pound dogs on the ground comfortably without bothering the table next to us. Love this place. read more

Food was excellent. Service was excellent. Ambiance was marred by the smell of sewer gas coming up from the ground vents into the outdoor dining area. They had live music, and the performer was good. Enjoyed the meal, but the smell changed what would have been a great experience into one that was simply okay. read more

Dockside Waterfront Grill - Blackened scallops broccoli and asparagus. - Seafood Near Me - Venice, Florida

Not bad to have a 10 minute wait when you can sit by a beautiful harbor with yachts and pretty boats! We went for lunch on a beautiful Sunday and chose here because they have good GF options and a kids' menu. Fantastic server who helped deliver all necessary info and great food. She brought extra shark gummies for three little girls when she served my shark rum drink! The fish taco options were great! Blackened grouper bite appetizer with two spicy dippers was yummy. Kids' hot dogs were ginormous! The dockside fresh air breezes in through the tiki. Those sitting at the bar have the nice harbor view. A great casual and fun place in such a scenic spot! read more

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Tiffany was our awesome server today and I repeated my order from last year which was the Fish and Chips and swapped out the fries for their homemade chips and "ranch sauce" and it was just as amazing as last year! Terri order up the Blackened Chicken Alfredo this year and it was fantastic! The Fish was a very generous portion and flaky with just enough of a crunchy coating to make it perfect. Oh yeah..can't forget the Chowder Soup that was loaded with clam and potatoes...very good! The Blackened Chicken Alfredo had enough seasoning to give it a kick without being too much and the pasta and sauce were perfectly executed. While it reminds me of an old school Florida FishHouse I'd have to say that it's an upscale fish house yet retains a reasonable price level. I hope that we get a chance for a three-peat with Dockside Waterfront Grill it's definitely one of our favorite places. read more

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Excellent service; big place right on the water, and best grouper in the area. I came twice over the long weekend for a blackened grouper sandwich with the sweet chile sauce instead of tartar, which was excellent and the best cornbread crusted top salad out there. Love my trips to grandma's house with at least one mandatory trip to Dockside every visit. read more

Dockside Waterfront Grill - Loved the sweet chile sauce for my grouper and sandwich and best corn salad ever - Seafood Near Me - Venice, Florida

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We've eaten here twice and this visit. First time there were four of us we start out with drinks and the iced tea is excellent. Hubby's beer was nice and cold. Hubby and I started with a cup of their seafood chowder and it is incredible! He had blackened shrimp with their homemade potato chips and loved it. I had grilled shrimp with fries and corn salsa and it was very tasty. Friend had grouper with roasted red potatoes and broccoli. He enjoyed it. His wife had fish tacos and said they were great. It was a very pleasant evening and if you're not outside, they broadcast the sunset via a camera. We went today for lunch and were seated fairly quickly. We decided not to wait for a table on the patio, but ate inside. We started with a bowl of seafood chowder each, and then shared the fish of the day: red drum fish with a side of corn salsa, and their homemade chips. The waitress did an excellent job of describing the fish - - Flaky, mild flavor and tender. We really enjoyed it and that was enough food for us. read more

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We went up to Venice for the afternoon and thought this would be somewhere delicious to have dinner. It's tucked back off one of the bridges. They have abundance of parking. We ordered the Crab Mango Stack as an appetizer; it was well presented with fresh Mango. My wife and I both thought it was okay, for how nice it looked and the ingredients we thought it would have more flavor. We both had the Reuben sandwich, one with fried Grouper and one with the fish of the day, which was Red Snapper, which I had blackened. We both had the famous "chips" as a side. The one we got with the fried Grouper we substituted the bread for wheat instead of rye. The wait staff was, generally, friendly and helpful. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive. The restaurant has a large bar, patio dining along with "inside" and tiki dinning. All seemed nice, we sat in the covered area, but it was considered outside. So... now onto the main course review - the famous "chips" were unseasoned, several of them burned, and mostly just blah chips. The Reuben's had nice size pieces of fish. Neither sandwich seemed to be missing the Thousand Island dressing seemed. Overall, they were not very flavorful including the blackened seasoning. The prices are mid-to-high for the quality/taste of the food. read more

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If I can order one last meal before I leave this earth, it might just come from Dockside. This place has it all. Ambiance. Terrific service. Refreshing drinks. Tasty food. And Yelp waitlisting. You'll want to use that wait list option. Trust me. This place invites a crowd no matter the season. Once seated (wait list was right around an hour on a Thursday) we were promptly greeted by Tristian (sp?), a diligent server who offered some great, and honest, recommendations. We chose to be seated in the main dining room, although you can also eat at the bar or the tiki. The menu is seafood heavy, with many ways to have your seafood prepared. Apparently the grouper and lobster are the top dishes, available in many forms. We started with the crab and mango appetizer and oyster Rockefeller. For our main dishes we enjoyed the Lobster Lover, Two lobster Rolls, scallop Linguini with vegetables added, and grilled grouper. Everything was as advertised, tasted fresh, was presented well and came out fast, but only after we enjoyed our appetizers. Management was also present. Checking on the occasional table (but not ours this evening.) The young ladies working the hostess stand were not exactly nice, happy or friendly but they are young kids, so whatever. It wouldn't change my opinion about this place. If your find yourself in Venice and want a solid meal, this is your spot. read more

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I love that Dockside has the waitlist option because we'll join during the post beach - getting ready for dinner - time and by the time we make it to dockside we are close to 10th in line. Place is always busy but they are a well oiled machine with plenty of friendly staff. Highly recommend the fire coal marg (very spicy but you can request less so!) and ahi tuna nachos. read more

Dockside Waterfront Grill - Fire coal marg with tajin rim! - Seafood Near Me - Venice, Florida

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In town visiting family and we went here for dinner. I have to say, the food was a hit and miss but the misses definitely outweighed the hits. The service was also subpar. We got the calamari and I had a taste of the clam chowder, both delicious. However I ordered the crab cakes and seared tuna fish , both were verrrry... disappointing. Especially the crab cakes, which tasted more like a paste than a cake. The asparagus side we had with it was also a let down, chewy rather than crunchy. In fact, my entire family was disappointed with the vegetables at this place. I spent the entire night just munching on some coleslaw which wasn't bad. What made the night especially frustrating though wasn't even the food. It was the service, our waitress came to our table immediately when we sat down but we hadn't had a chance to peruse the menu so I asked for a few minutes. She disappeared and never came back, it took forever for us to even order drinks. That became a theme, she was a ghost the entire night except for times we spotted her chatting in the corner, which is fine but on multiple occasions we needed refills and my sister needed water. Overall, frustrating to get service. I added a star because the ambiance with the sunset and the live music was great. Also wanted to mention: we went here last year and came back because the food was amazing back then. Ordered the exact same crab cakes off the menu, they were just terrible this time. My entire family tried them, we all agreed. read more

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I didn't plan on being in Venice that Friday, but once I read the Yelp reviews for Dockside Waterfront Grill, I definitely planned on dining there. Oh, Yelp universe, you never disappoint. It's right there on the Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41). It's north of the historic downtown, west side of the road, near a small bridge. Look for the big tiki roof, the boats and the bright aqua building (nothing's ever sounded more Florida than that and I love it) I was there at lunchtime on a Friday, which made me nervous at first. But this is a big place... with lots of seating under the huge tiki roof, semi-inside-adjacent to the large bar and in the covered patio area. The latter two locations have views of the gorgeous marina. And despite being just off a busy road, you'd never know it. It's very chill and relaxing on the marina side--and I couldn't get the "Gilligan's Island" theme song out of my head. I could have easily done a three hour tour here, but I had to get back to Tampa. So I appreciated that the food came out quickly. My server was excited about their daily specials, but I had spied the grouper sandwich on the menu and in some Yelp photos-and my heart/stomach was sold. It was $25 for a blackened grouper sandwich and fries-which is more than I'd usually spend on a regular Friday lunch-but the setting was so nice and the quality so high-it was worth every penny. The grouper was cooked to perfection, excellent texture, the spices had just the right amount of heat-and the fries were tasty and right there on the crispy outside/soft inside scale. I devoured every crumb, from the cute metal tray. It more than made up for the disappointing margarita (just my take. Everyone has their own 'rita preferences). My server was very efficient. Parking was a breeze (either in the private lot or in the overflow area, under that aforementioned bridge) and I had zero wait to be seated. I will definitely come back, any/every time I'm in Venice. If I got shipwrecked here, it would be just fine. read more

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Outstanding meal of shrimp & scallops. The corn salad side dish was excellent. The red-skin potatoes were just OK. Shrimp Bisque & Caesar Salad were also good, though the salad was a little watery. We had some good cocktails while we waited and my Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand, of course) was excellent. Beautiful view of the marina and the setting sun. The only drawback to this place is the VERY long wait times. You can put your name on a list, but they don't take reservations. But it was worth it. read more

Dockside Waterfront Grill - Shrimp and Scallop dinner with corn salad and red-skin potatoes. - Seafood Near Me - Venice, Florida

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Food is good. Service is good. And it's a beautiful place to watch the boats and water right from your seat.

Tops ! Food, service, location! Dockside friendly staff! Tops! And they're reliable. read more

My son could not stop talking how good the food was. Great service and ambiance. Perfect place to bring a date or someone to impress the Fla lifestyle. read more

Went here with the in-laws and was so delighted with the food and service! They were able to bring their pup in as we sat outside in the tiki / bar area where it is well covered and they even have up netting on the "walls" to prevent bugs and wind. We had, Tiki Chicken, Fish Tacos and the Chicken quesadilla which all were super delish! Can't wait to add this to the rotation! read more

Wonderful food and service. We had Kiley as a service person and she was the greatest read more

Dockside Waterfront Grill - Mark - Seafood Near Me - Venice, Florida

We really had a nice visit here at Dockside. We enjoyed the wine list and variety of fish options. Everything was served promptly and with a smile. The entrees were delicious. There were 4 of us who each had something different. I don't think you can go wrong. read more

Service was exceptional! Food was excellent, 6 people everyone loved their food! 10 minute wait on a Saturday

We frequent Dockside and usually enjoy it. I hope today wasn't a sign that things are declining but it felt that way. Check in via yelp was a disaster - we waited 40 minutes when they said the wait would be 20. When I inquired at the hostess stand they told me I hadn't checked in upon arrival even though I did it at their kiosk! Then our server took 10 minutes to even ask for our drink order. Food took forever. One meal (cheeseburger) was cold like it was ready first and then waited on the side for other entrees to be ready. I hope today wasn't an off day and not a sign of things to come. read more

So good we ate here for lunch and then again for dinner because other family members joined us in the evening. For lunch my husband and I had the tacos: one mahi (blackened) and one grouper (fried). We thought the grouper was better but both were excellent. For dinner family mostly got the grouper tacos again but I got the "lobster combo". The lobster combo had 1 lobster roll (half serving) and a lobster bisque. You choose side. It was really delicious. My husband said my lobster bisque was his favorite thing he had. I'm pretty picky when it comes to lobster rolls (cold is usually not my favorite rendition) but this was genuinely excellent. Might get it again tomorrow! ;) It's right off the water and a nice view. Servers were kid friendly which we appreciated. Thank you for a nice time! read more

Food and service was amazing and fast. The fish (Corvina) was very fresh. We sat at the bar but waiting for a table was only 10 minutes! Highly recommend for atmosphere, food, and fast friendly service. read more

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Dockside is my go to place. The food is consistently good, wait staff is excellent and bar staff is phenomenal. I bring all my visitors there! read more

Food is always awesome! Comfortable setting and atmosphere. You get a perfect feel of Florida!

I'm not sure how I feel about this place. I like the fact that it was in a harbor but it's not easy to access if you're unfamiliar with the area. It was nice to be able to add ourselves to a waitlist. Upon arrival we were able to get real time updates on our position in line. We waited at the bar which was ok. Plenty of fun cocktails on the menu. However, they're expensive and the pour was mid at best. Our server was great. She was fun to talk with a plenty of energy. I had the blackened grouper and it was good. No different than any other restaurants. The sunset view of the sunset was pretty. The patio is a great place to sit since it's bright from the sunlight. The tiki area is darker and reminded me of sitting in a cave. Overall, in a land of so many seafood restaurants, Im glad I tried Dockside to say I've been here. read more

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We did a call ahead for a table for my sisters Birthday weekend. The bartender we had was great while we waited to be seated . The waitress we had was not , she never came back after the food runner came with our food . Never asked how our meal was or if we needed anything. I went to the server station to retrieve ketchup. Never asked if we wanted anything to drink besides water or dessert . The food was overpriced and not worth the money . We had to stop the waitress while she was doing side work for the checks . Very disappointing for my sister and all of us . When we come down from Riverview, Fl in the future , we will choose more wisely . read more

We are only visit Venice for a week each year. We love this place. The food. The service. The ambiance. Great job, folks. read more

I'm on a lifelong mission seeking a grouper sandwich which can rival that of the Lazy Flamingo on Captiva. While no one has duplicated the Flamingos mesquite grilled grouper sandwich, Dockside makes a serious run at it. The three criteria for entry to this elite status of worthiness to be compared are the following: 1. Does the grouper overhang the bun? (For the price of a grouper sandwich today...this is a must. 2. Is the grouper tender ( can be rubbery if over cooked or cooked too fast) 3. Is it free from that fishy taste? (Red v Black grouper, old v new) The dockside version exceeded all three criteria officially putting it into the competition. While again no one has met the mesquite grilled plateau, I have placed this sandwich in the top five... and believe me, I have tried many! Other than the food our wait staff was extremely pleasant and the restaurant clean and comfortable with great views! I'm glad I'm only filling the pontoon with gas and not some of the beagles in that marina! Enjoy your grouper! read more

Usually, our go-to pick at Dockside is the haddock fish & chips. Today, the fish was limp rather than crisp as we had come to expect. Also, the French fries were not hot but had probably sat under a warming lamp. There too many other good seafood places in the area to put up with mediocre. read more

My husband, and I have been coming to Dockside Waterfront Grill for about a year now, and it's truly become one of our favorite spots. Not only is the atmosphere beautiful and relaxing right on the water, but the staff consistently goes above and beyond to make every visit enjoyable. One thing I especially appreciate is how thoughtful they are about gluten-free options. As someone with celiac disease, dining out can be stressful, but they do such a great job accommodating and making me feel safe and confident in what I'm eating. It really means a lot. Just wanted to give a big shoutout to Dockside for their care, consistency, and delicious food--and to let others in the celiac community know this is a place you can feel good about visiting. Highly recommend! read more

Love, love, love Dockside! Lunch there today (Mother'sDay) was spot on as always. Tuna nachos, crab cakes, grouper reuben, grouper sandwich, salmon, seafood chowder, shrimp linguine and for apps, the calamari and grouper bites were all cooked to perfection. Our server Matthew was the best!! Personable, attentive and great. Thank you for a wonderful dining experience Dockside! read more

Excellent fish tacos - service and scenery was perfect! The cocktails were delicious and so good we had two!!!

Patience and Reward. I am excited to have this restaurant as my debut review on Yelp. I am not a foodie. I do not get excited about food, I don't treat myself, and I don't find food. Dockside Waterfront Grill had my curiosity at a chokehold when I realized my waitlist line position was at 83rd. I tried two consecutive days and that's when I knew something was worth waiting for. The tiki bar while you wait is rather an exceptional treat with a beautiful view of the boat docks. I am not a local. I know what to order that isn't safe from a restaurant. I know what is safe. The food here from looks and photos were eye catching. I sat down and ordered a corona to gain back a neutral citrus taste. The first course was raw oysters. Adventures but safe. The plate decor was basic, as oysters are mostly all the same prepared. The main course, Shrimp Linguini. You could make this, you could order it from Olive Garden, you could have eaten this from your grandma. But what you COULDN'T have experienced was the powerful garlic wine pasta unless you were there at Dockside Waterfront Grill. The shrimp, noodle, sauce ratio was superb and satisfying even for my two hour wait. I found this shrimp pasta to be different character than the ones served on common dishes. I hope you find the same reward as I did with this restaurant. I have no photos, as I live in the moment. Each dish is different no matter how many times you make it with the same ingredients. read more

Tuna nachos absolutely the best! Seafood pasta with the garlic butter sauce ‍ The water views and sunsets are so pretty here! We've been coming back here for YEARS! read more

Had friends from Connecticut visiting. Asked about a good sea food place. Here we are! Summer took good care of us. I had the tuna... to die for! They loved the sunset. A great bar, great service and a damn nice sunset. Thank you! read more

We just moved to the area and have been trying different places in the area. Today we decided to go and check out their Happy Hour as we have with other restaurants in the area. The bartender Mary was not very welcoming and we felt like we were an inconvenience to her. I guess because we were just having drinks she didn't seem she wanted to be bothered. When asked for the check, she tossed it at us, no thank you, nothing! We do Happy Hour almost everyday and would of liked to find a new place, but it won't be here! read more