On a Thursday afternoon, we rode the water taxi over to this restaurant. Our waitress and food was delicious -- the grouper sandwich and hamburger. The fries and Cole slaw sides were also good. Our challenge was with the water taxi. We had two service dogs ‍n training (from an ADI accredited school) with us. Dave the taxi captain reluctantly let us in the taxi to the restaurant. On the way back, he yelled at us that we could never come back. They only allow emotional support dogs. We tried to explain the Florida Statute that our dogs have all the access a matched service dog has. He would have no part of this and accused us of bullying him. We did no such thing. My hope is that the business owners will review Chapter 413, Section 8 of the Florida Statute to know the law. read more

Take the water taxi over to Rum Bay restaurant. Great burgers, quick service, very much an American style restaurant - sandwiches, burgers, etc. Drinks were great! The real downside is you cannot walk around any part of the island when you come to the restaurant due to it being on the property of a private resort. We had a view of the property and partial ocean view from the dining room. They do have some outdoor seating. read more

Such a cool concept to take a water taxi to the island exclusively for this restaurant. The restaurant operates 2 water taxis continuously during their open hours. The dock brings you right to the hostess stand. The boat ride over was by far the highlight of our night. Jumping dolphins and a fun driver who let our daughter "drive" the boat. There was about a 25 minute wait before we had a table. The food took quite awhile and they felt bad enough to give us a free key lime pie to take home. The food was average at best but it's all part of the experience. The dining room is dated but it doesn't keep people away since it was packed. We had a fun night and would do it again. read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Caesar Salad - Seafood Near Me - Englewood, Florida

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3/8/2026 Food was fair. Maui Maui over cooked,cod almost burnt. Waitress not very good. Was a limited menu no explanation as to why.very disappointed. read more

Read about Rum Bay online and decided to try it out for lunch. You need to take a water taxi to this location since it's on an island. Water taxi is $6 round trip. You can take a barge with your car but you have to be a resident, so we were told. The water taxi runs about every 30 minutes. The boat is clean, has good seating and Captain Denis is very respectful of the waterways and possible manatees and dolphins in the water. Once we got to the restaurants, we found the establishment clean and comfortable. We ate at the bar. The bartender is friendly and helpful. My husband had a shrimp po'boy and I had a grilled grouper sandwich. They were very nicely prepared and delicious. Don't be put off by the need to take a water taxi. Be adventurous and try different places with patience and kindness. You'll enjoy the experience. read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Englewood, Florida

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Went for Valentines Special. Starts with a grumpy taxi ride and many people standing at the dock unaware of reservations to get first access to the taxi. Once seated we sat for sometime before anyone approached us for a drink order. Our waitress was awful. Long wait for water and a cocktail. Placed our order and had to call waitress back inquiring about our dinner salad dressings. She gave us no choices. Had to ask twice for the champagne that came complimentary with the meal. Said we got bread but she never asked or brought it. One of the well done steaks looked like the center never saw heat with blood oozing out. Never offered if anyone was interested in dessert before presenting the bill. Needless to say it was a very disappointing dinner with a waitress that had absolutely no business working in that position. Definitely not worth the $24 it cost to get there by taxi. read more

Service was slow but was somewhat crowded. There were two larger parties. Our server was good but just seemed over whelmed. We ordered egg rolls and coconut shrimp for appetizers. Both were tasty. Two of us ordered the wedge salad for our meal and the lettuce was so brown at the core, we threw half of them away. Not the experience we were hoping for read more

Updating my Yelp review after so many visits here over 7 years. I guess they are like our "Cheers" spot. All of the servers are great. After some struggles they have a new chef and a new menu, and everything has been great. Tried the new smash burger, really good. This is the only restaurant on the Island, accessible by ferry. But you can take the water taxi for a nice trip on the water! read more

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Terrible! Called to make a reservation, the recording said they don't take them and are open every day at 12PM. Drove from Port Charlotte with a bunch of friends last week to celebrate a friend's 65th birthday. A half hour later, we got to where the water taxi is and saw a sign that said the restaurant was closed!! Disappointed is an understatement! Ended up at the SandBar which was excellent! Great food and good band, lesson learned read more

The restaurant itself was a little outdated. The workers however were all very nice. The food was all very basic and bland though (except the over peppered vegis). The food came out somewhat Luke warm to cold. My Mahi was very dry and the mango salsa was full of basically peppers. My husband got a swamp burger that was supposed to have bacon, cheese and swamp sauce. It came out very dry and over cooked and had bo sauce on it. My sisters chicken pomadora was very cold and the sauce was very "dry". The best part of the meal was the conch fritter because you could taste the conch but even those were extreamly greasy. I hope they can step it up a bit because we have been here a bunch and it keeps going down hill. read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Dry Mahi, peppery vegi's, and very plain slaw. The waiter said the slaw had mango in it...it does not. - Seafood Near Me - Englewood, Florida

We have enjoyed Rum Bay over the years, but have to say the food has gradually been slipping. The service was decent and we love the ambiance of seeing the palm trees on Palm Island. read more

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I love Debby she's the best waiter will come back piña colada's are good as crap got one for free actually watch out for pregnant lady's at the bar the will hurt your feelings other than that it's a pretty good place the other lady at the bar she makes a damn good piña colada but warning pregnant lady is a meanie other than that lady service is amazing love it read more

The food and service is always excellent and the ride over in the duck boat is always great

We went for my birthday one afternoon. Had a fantastic time with my wife here. We took the $6/person water taxi over to Rum Bay Restaurant. It's a much more enjoyable experience then just rolling up into the parking lot. We decided to have a drink at the bar before lunch. CJ was the mixologist of the day and made a very refreshing Grey Goose and tonic! We never left the bar that afternoon. We haven't been back since hurricane Ian hit. We will return to have CJ pour us a few more for us.... read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Boat ride to Rum Bay - Seafood Near Me - Englewood, Florida

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So fun to take the water taxi! Food was perfect! Salad with shrimp was plentiful and delicious. Hubby has grouper basket and said best grouper fingers and again plentiful! Friendly staff all around! Will be back! read more

We were excited when we heard about this restaurant from a friend, but we we're very disappointed in the service and the food quality. We won't be going back. The drinks tasted awful - my wife's whiskey and water came on a regular tall plastic soda cup filled with mostly water. The specialty cocktails including their signature drink were also bad. After waiting a for an hour they brought us the wrong food - the waiter must have entered someone else's order twice. Fifteen minutes later our blackened grouper sandwiches came, and was tasteless and undercooked and they brought me fries instead of baked potato. read more

We had dinner and lunch here while on vacation. Both experiences were amazing. Food is on point. The grouper and mahi-mahi were my favorite. Service was on point. Rum smash was the go to drink with my entire family. We will be back next vacation! read more

Rum Bay Restaurant - Blackened grouper - Seafood Near Me - Englewood, Florida

Fish might as well have been aged from how long I waited for them to come out. Fly landed in my coke too wish wasn't ideal although it held me over while I waited for an eternity for my food to come out. read more

Had a fabulous lunch! Grilled Salmon BLT. Amanda our server was funny and very friendly. Highly recommend. We docked our pontoon and we're assisted by a friendly dock master. read more

The drinks were delicious! Did not order food. But the bar tender was a horrible and mean person. She yelled at our friends kids for asking her mom question since she was at the bar. The bar tender spoke very mean to our friends kids and wife. Very rude bar tender. Spoke very harshly to us and others at the restaurant read more

Long wait for food. Poor service. Never coming back. Did not honor our reservation. Appetizers did not come in a timely manner.

The Rum Bay Restaurant offers up a unique setting that requires taking a $6 per person water taxi to the island. The captain of the boat stands under a sign that reads "tips appreciated" - so, here are some tips for you. If you require passengers to book a reservation that leaves at a specific time - be timely. You are taking people to the only restaurant on the island and the only thing they may experience on the island, so, give thought to being part of their dining experience - talk to your passengers. You don't have to be an entertainer, but you should be conversational and friendly. Be engaging and inform your passengers of some interesting facts about the area, maybe about the island , the surrounding vegetation, or the sea life they might encounter. Work on your game. It will go a long way to creating a first impression for the restaurant and it just might make your tip sign more effective - though if I were you, I would try without the sign. The restaurant staff were friendly and we didn't wait long to be seated or served on the week night that we visited. Upon being seated we were told that the menu was limited, which had us guessing as to why. If food supplies are limited on account of being on an island, then having a "featured" menu might be a more positive approach. The food ordered - fish and chips, buffalo chicken wrap, short rib and grouper tacos were good. In fact, one in our party thought the fish and chips were exceptionally good. I had the described "award winning" ribs and thought that the contest they entered was either lacking any competition or the menu wording is long outdated. Maybe it was just a one off, but I would suggest removing the rib and coconut shrimp dinner item from the menu - the ribs were not tender as promised, they were cold, and the membrane on the back of the ribs was not removed, which added to the poor presentation when trying to cut the ribs with a knife. This restaurant has an opportunity to be a featured place serving good food at a unique location. At this time, however, they need to make some improvements to make this dining experience worthy of a better review or a second try. read more

Love this place Coconut Shrimp appetizer was excellent The best part is the boat ride over. read more

The horror! Everyone complaining and ill treated am still at this restaurant but can't help But extolling virtues of wait staff Debbie & can't begin to complain about the treatment we received from beginning to end of our experience here. All I can say I I spent years in hospitality & this was the worst -this place only game in town and man does the owner take advantage-tip: don't ever come on Fridays ever. From the 'hostess' saying she's too busy to set multitude of guests at empty outdoor tables to the wait time to the lack of service -our waitress actually took all her time gabbing to table behind us about her experiences in New Orleans etc /even pulled up a chair-never once attended to her station thank the gods for Debbie -we've been coming here for years and live on island - Debbie - thank you! Just a bad bad experience here -tip: just order pizza to go or make Pb&j at home - everyone maskless and this joint overcrowded with the irate insensitive clueless staff except for Willis and Debbie -I so wish they had competition! Just annoyed after a visit here-go anywhere else or stay home -do not waste money time or good humor attempting to enjoy a night out at rum bay!!! What a disaster-save yourself-go elsewhere or stay home- read more

Great food, atmosphere, staff and reasonable prices. Nice water taxi to and from.

Food was decent but not great. You don't have any other choice on the island. The tuna steak was prob the only above average item we (party of 6) ordered. Drinks were decent too. read more

Eight of us arrived by boat for lunch. A great maritime atmosphere despite not being on the water. All meals were correct and tasty! A unique restaurant in a special Florida setting (walking in thru mangroves was special! read more

Me & my wife went there for lunch, service was excellent, staff was very professional, thorough & attentive. The grouper sandwich had large portion, bartender made drinks with heavy hand, overall we had great experience, we highly recommend. read more

We stop here when we're out with the boat. It's not spectacular food, but we've never had a bad experience with any aspect of any meal we've had here. The food is always well prepared and the wait staff prompt and friendly. The local seafood is always cooked right. Never over done. I love a good grouper sandwich and they always come through. I hope they continue to put out good food so we can enjoy coming here. read more

Definitely could be better. The food is pretty sub par, however, the fried food is excellent! Highly recommend the rum bay smash as a cocktail. It is sweet and fruity and hits the spot after a long day at the beach. The swamp sauce is also excellent on ribs and burgers. The staff is very friendly and genuinely cares about your experience. read more

Waitress was snippy to us. Should not work in a restaurant if you don't like people. But the food and drinks were good. Ferry ride was fun and informative. Unique experience. read more

Not good service or food. Blackened grouper was not cooked all the way and was jelly like. Appetizers came out the same time as the entree. Stuffy in the restaurant and overall not very fun. Restaurant was not busy at all. read more

Loved this place. Have to get there by boat and dock there. Walk through the mangroves and you are welcomed at a beautiful restaurant. Food was very decently priced and drinks were amazing! read more

The food was excellent! The wait was right on time. The host remembered my name and was very gracious. Dido was an excellent server. The grouper, the tuna and the fish tacos were delicious and the bartenders are awesome. read more

Existing on location. Food is sub par. Been there on numerous occasions as it is a fun take. Now I only get a drink when we go. Our visitors like the experience of taking a boat to a restaurant. After that it gets a 3 star for location alone. read more

Reserve your transport to the island (boat) and catch it on the dock behind Leverocks on Placida. When I called the restaurant beforehand, I was told they have happy hour between 3-6; a friend who called was told 4-6....in any case, our waiter was unable to enlighten us as to just what the Happy Hour was about, so I would say there is no happy hour, per se. our waiter was pretty rude, ignored polite questions, got snarky when we asked about happy hour, left our table before taking all of our drink orders. We spent a few minutes after he just walked away questioning wtf happened. After 5 minutes, he came back and said he forgot to get all (5 of us total) drink orders. After drinks, we all ordered food. A chicken quesadilla: normal portion, good taste, tuna: very small portion for the money, a bit slimy (2had that), coconut shrimp ( it was ok), and California rolls ( it was ok). All in all, I'm glad we went and we saw...most likely will not go back. I can make better food at home or have it closer to home, and service with a smile does count. read more

went for the easter "brunch". we have been here several times before and it met with an ok result. this time however, it was terrible. my primary interest was the fact that they advertised that they were serving lamb. it was dry, overdone and tasteless. does anyone in the kitchen know how to cook? the rest of the buffet was ok but not anywhere near the quality i would want. especially to pay $25.00 and then have to pay 2.75 per soft drink and 2.75 per coffee. i was told on the phone that the whole thing was $25.00 and i certainly did not expect to pay another 11.00 for 2 sodas and two coffees. so very disappointing. and to top it off, we paid $6.00 per person to be ferried there. so, it became a rather pricy lunch. ugh!!!!! read more

After a long boat trip we stopped here for an early dinner. From the dock captain to the wait staff everyone was very friendly and helpful. There were four of us and everyone was happy with their choice. I had one of the specials and it was excellent. read more

This place was suggested by our Air Bnb so we decided to go. You have to take a water taxi to get there, which is a fun experience. However, the menu was not great. I ordered the Rum Bay Smash, their signature drink, and it tasted watered down. My husband got the Mahi with Crab in scampi sauce and it was flavorless. I got the grouper which wasn't awful but was definitely not worth the price. The food is not worth the prices. We will not be going back and I would not recommend it. There are plenty of other places in Englewood to go for good food, including Zeke's and Sandbar Tiki and grille. read more

Unique Place! Get there by water taxi, for $6. Per person return. The ride is worth it! You go by lots of beautiful wild areas, Osprey nests, and pelicans. We also got a dolphin show on the trip to the restaurant. Once there, the service and food was excellent. We ate outside, as the weather was perfect. The decor is classic Florida. They also have a souvenir shop, with some unique items, including high end cigars. Prices are very reasonable! An average lunch is under $10. A salad (Large) with a Lobster tail was $18. And Buffalo chicken salad $12. Both way too much for 1 person. Also just great for a cocktail on a lazy afternoon! They also serve specially meals such as glutten free. read more