I've passed by Schooner's dozens of times over the years, but never went in. I've read seafood reviews about it many times, and felt that there were better options in the area. I happened to be on Nextdoor and people were having a conversation about the best fried chicken in the county - Schooner's Wednesday special was called out as having great fried chicken. We stopped by this Wednesday evening around 5:00 p.m. Despite it being relatively early, the place was starting to fill up, and many of the customers were ordering fried chicken. It takes a little extra time to prepare, but it's well worth the wait. I got four pieces of dark meat chicken with two sides for the low price of $14.99. everything was cooked to a perfect temperature and crunch. The special is quite a value, noting that it's only available on Wednesdays. Service from Hunter G was among the best service I've had in a long time, from a polite young man with amazing energy. The logistics supporting the restaurant are excellent - the parking lot is huge, and there's even a secondary overflow lot since the restaurant does seem to get crowded at prime dinner hour. There are plenty of places to sit once inside, there's a bar area off to the right, a very large dining room to the left, and a covered patio. While I can't comment on the seafood, that chicken is worth a midweek visit. I'll look forward to returning for some seafood in the future. read more

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We had passed by this restaurant dozens of times over the years and finally decided to give it a try today for dinner. My husband had heard their fried chicken was really good so that's why we picked a Wednesday to give it a try. He even let me have one piece of his chicken and it was very good, as was his cole slaw and pickled beets. I had the fried fish of the day, which was trigger fish. It was a little thin, but tasted good. The green bean casserole was delicious, though. The menu offers plenty of seafood entrees, as well as a few nonseafood items. I also got a salad and two sides. The amount of food is very generous for the price. The star of the visit was Hunter, though. He was so friendly, respectful, polite and quick. read more

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We have intending to try Schooner's for a long time, and we finally did it. We should have done it sooner!! We split the fried seafood platter for two and it was more than we expected. Delicious, a lot of food, and a great price! read more

Schooner's Seafood House - Seafood platter for two. - Seafood Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

We had fun eating at Schooners this time. Half of the fun was from our server, Jojo who made suggestions on the menu and said to trust her, because "Fat girls love food". I did not think she was fat, but she was so funny and engaging. Here is my take on the food: Ranch - homemade and delicious, ask for some on the side no matter what you get. Blue Cheese - not homemade, but decent. Tarter - they do it right. Roumelaud - I like their roumelaud. Salad - fresh, tasty but fairly plain. New England Clam Chowder - award winning and it is pretty terrific, Onion Rings - large, crispy Black Eyed Peas - just not my think, they were too soft. Broccoli Casserole - always good, do good that sometimes they sell out. But this time, it was awful, not edible so it got sent back. Cheese Grits - cheesy and gritty Hush Puppy - sweet finish, delightful. Fried Oysters - nice and crispy. Fried Shrimp - I think this is the way to go, they do such a good job of lightly frying the shrimp, and the coating is subtle so give it a try. read more

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A Place We Always Come Back To Schooner's is a St. Augustine staple. But it's also more than that - it's a place that holds a piece of my heart and some very sweet memories. My Grandma, Bobbie Russell, passed away in June, and this was her favorite place. When family came to town from Georgia, South Carolina, or Arkansas, she took them to Schooner's. If anyone wanted to treat Grandma to her favorite shrimp dinner, you picked her up and brought her here. Tonight wasn't a planned stop, but it was exactly what my heart needed. The shrimp -- perfect, as always. You start with your choice of salad or coleslaw, then get two sides and hushpuppies. I ordered collard greens and a baked potato. Honestly, the portions are great for the price -- I was full just from my starter salad and shrimp and brought my potato, hushpuppies, and collards home for lunch tomorrow . We finished the night sharing a piece of carrot cake. The atmosphere was poppin'. This place was BUSY. We had just driven through St. Augustine's Nights of Lights and thought everyone was downtown , so I was genuinely surprised at how packed Schooner's was. Even so, the staff was on point and excellent. We waited about 20 minutes for the first available seating and ended up on the porch with a live musician -- an extra treat. He wasn't too loud (which I appreciated), so we could still enjoy conversation. Parking deserves a mention because even with crowds waiting outside and filling the large lobby, we had no issue. We parked in the dirt lot behind the restaurant without trouble. Party of three -- and yes, all of us ordered the shrimp dinners. I'm telling you, this place is consistent. Same shrimp, same quality, every time. Best shrimp in the state, hands down. The fried shrimp dinner (9 shrimp, salad, two sides, and hushpuppies) was $16.99, which feels like a steal these days. This is a family-friendly, kid-friendly, group-friendly place with a happy, energetic vibe. It's not trying to be low-lighting or romantic date-night material -- but it's perfect for all the other times. Bonus: it's north of downtown, away from the worst of the Nights of Lights chaos and traffic. One last thing I'll note -- while we were waiting, I saw multiple people picking up large takeout orders (bags full of to-go containers), which says a lot about how loved this place is. For me, it's more than a restaurant. It's comfort, tradition, and a place full of memories -- and I'm grateful it still feels exactly the same. read more

Schooner's Seafood House - Shrimp, collard greens, baked potato, and hush puppies (my daughter threw an extra one on my plate - comes with 2.) - Seafood Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

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An old time favorite, Schooners never disappoints. My favorite dish is the Italian breaded pork chop. It's a moist chop surrounded encased in a golden brown breading. The side choices are always fresh and reminds me of grandma's comfort food. My DIL had the trigger fish and she raved on how tasty and delicious it was. Thanks to our wonderful waitress who gave us all we needed. The vintage fishing photos and fishing decor give this place a local St Augustine feel. It's always good and I'm definitely returning! read more

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Friendly staff n waitress! The food was good, hot and presented so nice!! We had a seafood platter for 2, all was good didn't care for the crab cake, too much bell peppers for my taste. We would have had a wait but we took 2 seats at the bar. It was lunchtime n it was packed. The home style dishes sound really good, have to try that another time! read more

Nice little seafood restaurant. More a family and little old folks type place. Food was solid decor was what you would expect. Service was prompt and efficient. My glass was kept full. I had the conch fritters and the fried seafood platter as well as the keylime pie... currently trying to remember which side arm pain indicates a heart attack but not their fault I'm on a seafood bender. Price was as expected for seafood in a beach town. No complaints. read more

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We drove in from Virginia and we were starving so we stopped here. Everyone was super friendly and the place was clean. The starter salad was GREAT and that was the beginning and end of greatness. We had the fried seafood platter. I had beets which were out of the can. They highly recommended the spinach side which seemed to be canned spinach with noodles... no thanks. The scallops were good. The rest of the meal lacked seasoning. I wish we had checked Yelp before going because honestly I would have preferred McDonalds more. read more

Schooner's Seafood House - Seafood platter with the spinach surprise. - Seafood Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

We came here on a Friday evening and it was very busy, but the wait was only 10 minutes. We were seated at a large booth that was adequate for our party of 5 adults. We ordered drinks and our waitress was very nice. She came back a few minutes and took our order. My sister and brother in law ordered the seafood platter for 2, my wife and I split the chicken strips and my mother had the vegetable platter of 4 veggies. They all came with hush puppies. My chicken and fries were delicious, my sister loved the Cole slaw with her seafood. My brother in law said the seafood was the best he had ever had. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures this trip but I will be returning soon and look forward to delicious food again. read more

The food is great and all fresh I love the sides service is great and pretty fast. The ambiance is pretty casual but clean and nice. read more

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5/5 Stars - Exceptional Birthday Dinner Thanks to Jenna M & Eva! We had an absolutely wonderful time celebrating my birthday at Schooners Seafood House! Even with a full house--which makes total sense since people drive for miles for their amazing food--the service was flawless and we had a great celebration! We were seated in the back area, sharing the birthday energy with another lady celebrating her special day too. Our servers, Jenna M and Eva, were fantastic. They were prompt, incredibly friendly, and gave all excellent, informative menu suggestions that made the celebration feel even more special. Everything we ordered was perfect. The main seafood courses were freshly cooked and delicious, the salads were wonderful, and they have a great selection of sides with perfectly prepared fresh vegetables. Schooners truly delivers it all: a great atmosphere, excellent food, fair prices, and top-notch service. It is easy to see why so many of our friends keep coming back here. Thank you, Jenna M and Eva, for making my birthday celebration even happier! We will definitely be back. Debra & Dennis Strickland Jacksonville, FL read more

First visit and it was tasty. First the service was impeccable. Friendly from the moment you walked in. Lovely waitress. Had the broiled fish trio. Mahi mahi was perfection. Scallops were good. I like more of a sear. Shrimp was watery and squishy...not pleasing to the palate. Coleslaw and red potato sides were quite yummy. Hush puppies were just not good. Couldn't really pinpoint what was wrong. Overall a delightful seafood experience. Ambiance was clean and respectful. You'll need a jacket as the AC works extremely well. read more

Schooner's Seafood House - Seafood Broiled Trio - Seafood Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

Great service from Savannah. Closer to a 4 for overall experience but food was a little lacking. Fries were perfectly crispy but they use a generic ketchup which is a downer. We really liked their hush puppies as they were light and fluffy. Beyond that, food is fairly mid and I agree with others about being under-seasoned. They rely on sauces for flavor which I guess is ok as long as you understand that going in. Makes it easier to be neutral to accommodate different people's tastebuds. Our platter for 2 was enough for 3 and quite possibly 4. It included 2 portions of fish, about 6 each of shrimp, scallops, and oysters along with clam strips. It also included 2 coleslaws OR 2 salads plus 4 individual sides. All that for $35!! Portions are huge and a great value overall. read more

Schooner's Seafood House - Captain's Platter For 2. Includes 2 coleslaws plus 4 individual sides. Enough for 3 people, possibly 4. - Seafood Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

We've been coming to Schooner's for decades. As prices go up this has become one of the most affordable places to dine in St. Augustine. The early bird deal on 12 fried shrimp that ends at 6 p.m. is a bargain and it's our favorite item on the menu. For this visit three of us had that, a fourth the blackened shrimp and the fifth chicken strips. Service was prompt and attentive. The fried shrimp was great as always, chicken strips extra crispy as requested and the blackened shrimp I sampled was so good I might get it next time. Who am I kidding? I will always get the fried shrimp. read more

Schooner's Seafood House - This is a sign you need fried shrimp and pink sauce. - Seafood Near Me - Saint Augustine, Florida

Schooner Seafood House missed the mark but it is aquaint family style restaurant with affordable prices. I am sure the locals love it. Schooners has a diner feel with a bar, front, rear and patio seating. We were greeted warmly at the door but waited for a booth. I got the seafood platter that came with fried fish half done, fried oysters which was not my cup of tea, one crab cake, and shrimps and 2 sides. My butter beans were ice cold so I had the waitress heat them up. My other side was the baked potato accomopanied with sour cream and cold butter and of course hush puppies which were frigid. Wifey had fried shrimp with cole slaw, butter beans she never got and a baked potato that she never ordered Schooners is on my one and done list. I did not dislike it but it is not a winner to me:( read more

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Server was nice but was not on her best game that night! Forgot my salad served me the wrong order and did not make it right! read more

We are big fans of Osteens, came here to try something similar, but it was meh. We had to before and it was delicious but this time just average food. Will give it a try next time in town. read more

The hotel desk clerk recommended the restaurant to us. As we arrived to restaurant there were a lot of cars and we waited around 10 minutes to get seated. It is a family run restaurant. Megan, our Server was very friendly and fun. We ordered from the lunch special. The food definitely tasted like home cooked. Great restaurant to visit if you are in Saint Augustine. read more

This place has been here forever and is extremely consistent. They always have kind and attentive employees, fresh, local and delicious seafood made with reasonable prices and they keep the place extremely clean. I've been coming here my whole life and plan on doing it for the rest of it! read more

The food is excellent not just quantity but quality. Love this place definitely would recommend to anyone wanting an excellent meal.

Reasonably priced local seafood, service was great! We ordered the fried platter that came with shrimp, fish, oysters, clams, crab cakes. The portions were large and the hush puppies were the best! Very light and fluffy. The food could have been a little more seasoned to provide extra flavor, as the breading was a little bland. Restaurant was clean and had a large outdoor patio. read more

I ordered takeout with my co-workers and all of our food was a mess and gross. I ordered 7 shrimp with sweet potato casserole and broccoli casserole. The shrimp batter was bland, sweet potato casserole was salty and watery, broccoli casserole was watery, bland me tasted old. I'm pretty sure my box was thrown across the kitchen at some point because the shrimp and both casseroles were all mashed together. read more

Good fast service and great waiter. Noise factor was tolerable. Most importantly the food was delicious!

This place was good... You got a lot of food for a very inexpensive price and it is good. Fried foods lack any seasoning and hush puppies blah This place runs like a clock. It is really tightly run and everything moves smoothly as this place gets packed daily fried shrimp scallops were good broil platter was good. Service was excellent read more

The best seafood I've had in a while. The shrimp and oysters were lightly breaded and fried to perfection. Very busy place but our server, Madison (who was also the bartender), did a fantastic job. Definitely recommend this quaint, homey restaurant. read more

The seafood was very fresh and the restaurant was busy on a Wednesday night at 7 PM. You could tell that it is a local favorite. The fried chicken looked amazing! So many people were getting the shrimp platter... I got the fisherman's platter so I got to try the shrimp, the oysters, scallops, and the mahi-mahi... It was so good, fresh and delicious... Not quite as big a fan of the deviled crab. But everything was very fresh and lightly fried and really really good. My partner got The fish sandwich blackened, and it was amazing! It was Trigger fish; we weren't familiar with it, but it was awesome read more

Un-necessary hassle on the outside patio. we brought 2 small dogs as the website says pets welcome the owner decided to interrupt our meal and tell us that dogs were not allowed there. she asked us to leave. terrible read more

FYI.. this place closes at 8:30 pm not 9:00pm like advertised. I'll usually never go here because the food and service is mediocre at best, but it's close to my house and I didn't want to drive. Another reason to skip it in the future. read more

Service was good food was great but waiting to check out was ridiculous, they took our credit card and then added it to a pile of credit cards and made us sit there for a little over 15 minutes until I went up and asked where is my card I'd like to leave lol don't go there if you're in a hurry to leave read more

I occasionally work in St Augustine and Schooners has been on my radar. I decided today was the day to stop in and see why their parking lot was forever full. I left scratching my head in wonder! I arrived about 3pm and since I was a party of one sat at the bar. The bartender saw me seated but continued with her cleaning duties for an extended time before greeting me. There were employees seated at the end of the bar eating and having very loud conversation. Then the party got larger as it was obviously shift change so gathering grew and their conversations became louder and louder. I ordered a an IPA from Ancient City Brewery. It was served in a mason jar. I was offered an early bird special 12 fried shrimp with 2 sides and hushpuppies. The salad was modest iceberg lettuce grated carrot and a tomato quarter. Nothing special. The meal served the shrimp were butter fly, fries were crinkle. Now let's talk shrimp. Those things were not fresh nor were they crisp. The plate came with some red creamy sauce- tasteless. Now the shrimp were not golden and kinda mushy. I honestly think they were pre cooked dipped and flash fried. So weird. I ate my meal learning things a person should never know about strangers. The conversations were intimate and loud. I never saw anyone that appeared to be in charge. Now I know and will wave the next time I pass. read more

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This place should be rated much higher! Great portions, great service, too much food to eat. My only complaint is that it could have been a little bit cooler. When we return to this area, we will definitely eat here again! read more

We could tell when we got to Schooner's that it was going to be good- at 5:30 on a weeknight, it was already crowded, but everyone was very cheerful. Everyone was calm and we were seated fairly quickly. We had the conch fritters, a first for us, and then an array of fried and broiled fresh seafood that knocked our socks off. When I tell you the portions shocked us and we are from Texas!! This was incredible, fresh seafood prepared on the spot. The atmosphere is kind of diner-like, very casual, and the sides change depending on what is available locally, so we will definitely be making another visit if we come back to St. Augustine. Highly recommended! read more

Home town cooking at its finest. No alcohol served but it was OK because the sweet tea was great. Yummy fritters and fried shrimp Waitress was beyond fantastic! read more

Food is fairly typical. Mostly fried food dishes. We ate at the bar. Server was attentive. Food was served hot and well presented. There was folk music in the bar area. read more

Everything was great! The quick service, the green salad was fresh, the shrimp were fried just right and the hush puppy was tasty. Since I'm a single I enjoy sitting at the bar which always has friendly folks. read more

Good food depending on what you get and decent service. Very sticky tables like using old rags to clean.

This place was recommended by a local for family style seafood. The food itself was extremely lacking. Fish was overcooked, prime rib was also over cooked and cold, spinach casserole was watery and collards had no seasoning (not even salt). For the place being so crowded I can't understand why. The redeeming factor was that the hostess and our waiter were very nice. Unfortunately for the price we paid we expected more than just a friendly waiter. read more

I love this place! I was in the area and this was nearby. It was like a cute little seafood diner with a bar top that had about 10-12 seats at it. Service was good and the food came out quickly once we ordered. I got the stuffed shrimp and it was 10/10 I would order again. The prices were very reasonable as well. Definitely returning here when I'm back in the area! read more

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Shrimp was pretty good as were the butter peas ( butter beans). Fries were cold as was the side casserole. Cold as in not microwaved all the way through. Waitress would just stop by to quickly drop things, but didn't come back to learn of the problems. Looks like they cater to a very geriatric crowd ( like lots of places ) by the looks of things when we were there, but you'd think they'd be more attentive. read more