Best burger in Alabama. Staff is incredibly kind. One of the few places I recommend to everyone.read more

I called a buddy before dinner and told him I wanted something amazing. Not just food--something…read morethat had clearly been thought through and executed well. He rattled off a bunch of options, but none of them sounded right. I found this place on Yelp, saw the reviews, and decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. The menu is stripped down to the essentials: three burgers and three side options. Fries, onion rings, or frings. That's it. No giant menu trying to be everything to everyone. Just a team that has clearly decided to focus on doing a few things exceptionally well. The burger was outstanding. The smash patties had an incredible sear. The pickles were sliced paper thin. The lettuce was chopped instead of being a giant leaf hanging out of the bun. The sauce had a familiar Big Mac-style vibe but was clearly their own thing. Every ingredient was there for a reason. What really impressed me was the attention to detail. The temperature contrast between the hot burger and the cool toppings was perfect. The texture and layering of flavors were exactly what they should be. Somebody has spent a lot of time thinking about every component of this burger. The onion rings were hot and crispy. The fries were crispy, salty, and exactly what you want them to be. Nothing felt like an afterthought. The atmosphere fits the food. Simple, confident, and authentic. The staff had their own vibe, the place had personality, and nobody seemed interested in following trends for the sake of trends. They just make great burgers. I've already decided I'm coming back to work my way through the other two burgers on the menu. That's probably the highest compliment I can give a restaurant. If you appreciate craftsmanship and people who have truly studied their craft, this place is worth a visit.

I was excited to try this new restaurant. They began by asking the public's opinions on some of…read moretheir food offerings which I thought was a great idea and a great way to have the locals feel invested in your restaurant. The decor is nice and fits the local area well. Now for the negative unfortunately. We were not greeted upon entering. We sat ourselves at a table and after waiting for 15 minutes I went and got menus for the table. After waiting another 10 minutes we were able to flag someone down to get our drink order. We ordered a Bayou Dog meal and the lunch special (chopped steak). We waited another 30 minutes for our food. The "Bayou Dog" was lukewarm at best and was really just not good. It sounded great on the menu but the whole thing was a letdown and I believe the only sauerkraut was the one little piece of cabbage you see in the picture. My dining partner said the chopped steak was in small little pieces. Just weird. We gave up on drink refills or getting our check at the table and went to the counter to pay so we could leave. I have heard good things about breakfast so I will give that a try. The good news is this is a new business and they will hopefully learn a lot and make some improvements as they go along.

Great food, excellent service and hospitality. I went with a group of friends. Most of us had the…read moresmash burger. It was juicy with all the right toppings to make it a delicious, drippy delight! The meat was cooked perfectly. The crinkle fries were hot and as good as frozen fries can be. One friend got the banana milkshake and raved at how much banana taste it had. Several also indulged with dessert. The Hot Fudge Sundae was a hit. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. Can't wait to return as I hear their chicken tenders are great but I have to try the shrimp poboy.

Tried The Hammered Cow inside The Insider in Mobile and really enjoyed it! Everything is made to…read moreorder, so the food was fresh and well-seasoned. The Hammer Sauce was so good I didn't need any other condiments on my burger. The onion rings were perfectly battered and seasoned too. Seating is cafeteria-style inside The Insider, so it's open seating. Would definitely go back!

One of the best burgers I've had in a long time. Coleslaw was also made with care. It has an…read moreamazing body to its flavor profile.

The architecture is cool, the restaurant is huge with 2 levels plus a pool area (which has a stage…read morefor music sometimes) and from our experience this is the best sit-down restaurant on Dauphin Island (admittedly a low bar). Seafood definitely seems fresh and local, my wife loved her grilled shrimp po-boy and I got a seafood platter with fried shrimp, fish, and oysters that were perfectly seasoned and tasty. We were very happy with everything, and liked that the shrimp were peeled & deveined which we prefer but was unusual to find when we lived in New Orleans. Service was good, drink options sufficient, and the top level has a pretty good view even if you're not seated on the window. We typically cook on Dauphin Island for various reasons including usually travelling with a dog, but Pirates is a gem definitely worth visiting on any visit to Dauphin Island. Bravo!

Likely our last visit for a while as we move our boat up to Fairhope next week. We arrived on a…read morefriday at 5:45, the wait was 35 minutes. Imho, they were seating faster than each waitress could keep up and it affected our service for sure. They were slammed, so I left the 4th star. We ordered eveything at once as we were there a while before our waitress Tanya made it over. Beer / wine, gumbo, fried fish dinner with baked potato and fried okra, she had the ahi tuna with sauteed spinach. We finished with cheesecake and a berry sauce. Everything was tasty, I had a fish filet and enough okra for another meal. The view, makes this place, the building architecture, if you like that, I do, and the food is consistently tasty. When we visit the island going forward, this will be our first pick.

I'm not going to lie, pulling up out front I was nervous. However, the food and the service was…read moregreat! We love to find local restaurants while on vacation instead of chains and this is one we will return to if ever staying on dauphin island or the surrounding area again.

We hear about this place through mutual friends who also frequent Dauphin Island every year. He…read moreordered the softshell crab, BLT, baked potato, sweet potato, popcorn, shrimp, and fries for the little one, grouper with dressing, onion rings, and softshell crab claws. All in all the food was pretty good. The soft shell crab BLT was pretty creative and tasty. We wouldn't order the dressing again for the fish, it was $10 for a half dollar sized amount. Staff was friendly, nice environment for kids. The sweet potato was surprisingly pretty delish. Would go back again.

Got a couple of burgers and fries for lunch a few days ago. I waited in the car while my mother…read morestayed inside. It took a hot minute, but everything was cooked to order and so hot that I burned my fingers stealing a crinkle fry! Yum! Crinkle fries are the best! The burgers were really good! And had fresh veggies on them (ie. iceberg lettuce, tomato, onions, and b&b pickles). They just needed a little salt. Prices were pretty high, but it IS the Island, so it's to be expected. All in all, I'd give the food a 9/10! And, sorry there's no picture, but I was hangry!

I mean, it's a decent gas station (they offer Ethanol-free gas which is a nice option for boaters…read moreand those who want better gas for their cars) and the convenience store hot food is above average. For a gas station. It's probably a statement on the Dauphin Island food options that so many people rave about the pizza and breakfast sandwiches - which are fine, sometimes pretty good. Service is usually vaguely friendly and convenience store retail & food/drink options are fairly standard. The Chevron has a prime location on Dauphin Island which is more convenient than the other gas station, but when the closest McDonald's is 20-30 minutes away I guess that makes this the best breakfast sandwich around. C'est la vie.

The burgers here are so freakin good. No special "gourmet ingredients" - just the perfect blend of…read moremayo, ketchup, mustard lettuce, tomatoes and red onions. This is our absolute favorite burger place. Go there and you will be hooked. I had the opportunity to visit two days in a row, this week. So, I decided to try something different from the menu. I got the Shrimp Poboy. It was very good and pretty big, with lots of shrimp. (See pic). But, I won't get it again. It just doesn't compare with that perfect burger. Lesson learned. Still 5 stars - absolutely nothing wrong with the poboy - it just wasn't as good as the cheeseburgers! Someone in another review said they had "hand dipped" shakes. That is NOT TRUE. They have soft serve and it is excellent! They have make shakes, floats, sundaes, cones and even nanner splits. The soft serve is that icy kind that is SO GOOD. The CRINKLE CUT Fries are great dipped in ranch. Young, clean cut, super friendly staff are very helpful. Atmosphere- kind of a clean, diner-looking hole-in-the-wall. It is at exit 4 (4 miles from Mississippi line) from I-10 head north just a couple of miles - you can't miss it. Worth the trip EVERY TIME!!

It's really upsetting to see the quality of food go down. Sam's really used to have a great burger,…read moreI would stop by when I passed through. The visit tonight was terrible. Fries had little to no seasoning. The burger was bland, no structure. Aside from the food I was told the kids combo didn't come with fries, even though the menu clearly stated that it did. It's depressing that Sam's has declined to the level it is currently at.

Went to Dority's for the first time even though we live in the area and loved it! Tonight was the…read moreperfect weather for being outside enjoying good music by The Free Radicals and awesome food from Doritys. The service was great when we ordered and the young girl was able to make some great suggestions. My husband got the crab fried rice and I got the pad-woo-sen. it was delicious! Will be back for sure!

We ordered food to go and the wait time was short. The bar area was busy with live music but the…read moreinside area was empty. We tried the fried rice, chicken curry, pork egg rolls and crab Rangoon. The portions were big and the food was delicious; the best food we had on the island.

Stopped by to grab some ice cream. The service was quick and pleasant staff. On a hot day the…read moreseating area under the deck will keep you cool and comfortable. The view is limited, but does have a small deck on upper level with a nice view. By the way caramel sea salt Sunday was amazing

Stood at the window for over 10 minutes. No acknowledgement what so ever. Yes, they were making…read moreothers drinks but to ask if I've been helped or if I had been taken care of would have been just fine. Or the acknowledgement would have been fine. We just wanted quick bottled drinks and finally gave up. And the lady clearly noticed me as she looked out the window. Repeat visitors of the island and wanted to go to less congested place. Fail.

We went and saw the Christmas lights at Bellingrath and were looking for a place to eat after…read more Looked this place up and it was on our way back to Florida so we decided to stop. Around 730 and they don't close till 9. We were seated really quickly and hosts were really nice. We had to wait about 10 mins for a server and asked a guy that was bussing table and he got a lady to come take drink orders. My wife said she noticed our server was working on the bigger party. When we finally got a drink order we put in appetizers and meals cause we weren't sure if we were gonna see the server again. We prob waiting another 15 mins for chicken tenders and fried mushrooms. They had to bring us silverware at that time as well. But I did notice there was a larger table outside that had just got their food. So that might have been the delay. About 10mins after that we got our food. The crispy fried green tom with fried crab sandwich. I asked for more remolaude cause it look like the portion was an 1/8. The remolaude needs some work it taste like 1000 island dressing def not remolaude. The sandwich was amazing though. Wife got the stuff crab and said they were amazing too. After the chicken tenders the waitress cleared the plates and mentioned something about a chocolate cake. That took about 10 mins and when we asked someone else about it cause we were ready to go she said oh she is probally heating up the choc bomb in the microwave. The food was amazing the service was not great at all. As we were walking out I could see out waitress in a back area making plates of salad. Since we left after 9 and the only ones there I would assume she was doing side work for tomorrows lunch. Kitchen did a great job executing. The management or shift leaders need to tighten up a bit for better service. Great service goes a long way.

Tried Pelican Reef for a seafood lunch after reading some good reviews. It's a local spot in…read moreTheodore known for its seafood, so we were looking forward to it. The view from the dining room was great against the backdrop of the water. We ordered the shrimp platter and the appetizer combination plate. The appetizer combo only comes fried and included shrimp, clams, fish, and oysters. Everything was cooked well, but the flavors were a bit too similar across the board. The fish had a slightly fishy taste, and the hushpuppies were a bit overcooked. On the bright side, the shrimp was very good--crispy and flavorful. Overall, it may have just been an off day. The restaurant was decent, but with so many seafood options in the area, it's not somewhere I'd go out of my way to visit again