Only 1 night in St Augustine so chose this restaurant to be on the ocean.. Delightful experience. Excellent waiter who made good recommendations including suggesting I sample two wines before deciding. The calamari is some of the best we have ever had. Very tender and not over breaded. Varied main course menu and we enjoyed the scallops and the seafood trio. Wonderful grits as a side dish! And oh the desserts! read more

Located on the Atlantic side of Vilano Beach. Creative chef makes fine Continental fare. Great atmosphere & service. I've been there twice.

Great food, great service, great place! Took our my new family there for dinner while in St. Augustine for Independence Day vacation. We all had delicious food! William Yates Walton and Ajla Kamber read more

The view is spectacular from the balcony. The portabello & roast beef mushroom appetizer was absolutely horrible and was the worst restaurant dish I have ever had (or seen), but the jumbo seared scallops in my entree made up for it. The scallops were cooked perfectly and were delicious. Hubby's lobster was excellent too. Food and wine are a bit pricey, and they seem to skimp on wine servings. The staff was friendly and helpful. The jazz band in the bar area was a pleasant surprise and the smooth jazz definitely mixed well with the light from the full moon. read more

Great service and food in a seaside restaurant with wonderful view from most anywhere in the restaurant. Well worth a trip from afar or nearby. We have had brunch there and it is well presented and very enjoyable. Our most recent visit was for lunch and we totally enjoyed the ambiance and the food. I would recommend The Reef to anyone wanting something a bit different and anyone who enjoys seafood and being on the water for a meal. read more

Awesome atmosphere and spectacular view of the Atlantic. Unfortunately thats where the tale ends...food was ok, but forgettable. I don't remember what I had...see, as I said forgettable. Beer was cold so along with the view...it was all good. read more

AMAZING!!! Great service! Great food! Great view!! From the calimari to the keylime pie and everything in between, the Reef was a great choice for an ocean front dining experience with wonderful seafood! read more

No one can doubt the location and view are worth the trip. The issue is that we went to dinner on a Saturday night in dead of winter so it was pitch black...no view so it was the meal that was center stage. I had the Datil Peppers with Scallops...nothing to write home about but acceptable; my wife had the soup de jour an enjoyed It. Where it went south for me is I had the Jambalaya which I should have read closer...when it says finished with cheddar cheese I did not know it meant covered with cheddar cheese and baked unit it formed a crust (Italian casserole style)....not traditional Jambalaya or what I was expecting. This cooking style left a pool of water in the botom of the dish and the shrimp, sausage, and chicken tasted the same. My wife's Duck was acceptable but un-impressive. So if you go, it is the view that is center stage and pick your menu items with care. read more

Recommended by hotel. Nice location on the beach. When you walk in there are numerous awards on the wall. Very disappointed with the experience. Had to ask waitress for a clean glass. Bread plates where also dirty. Windows looking out at ocean were filthy with bird droppings all over them. Appears that they haven't been cleaned in some time. The food wasn't very good for the prices we paid. My tuna was over cooked and the vegetables were also over cooked and mushy. Same for the saffron rice. The only positive was that the wait staff was very good. For all the hipe and prices you would have expected gormet food and clean dining room. I won't be going back anytime soon. The reef has a lot of potential if someone gave it the attention it needs, read more

Delicious food (Mahi Fresh Fish Sandwich and Tenderloin Stuffed Sweet Piquillo Peppers) and perfect service with lovely view. Worth the trip from Ormond Beach and definitely take the few minutes from Old St. Augustine. read more

Went to the Reef for Sunday brunch as my mother was in town. I live in St. Augustine and have been looking for a good brunch spot for the last year. The view is great - direct ocean front. The buffet has a limited selection of mediocre all you can eat buffet style food. They offer to prepare eggs benedict so I was hopeful as I love eggs benedict. The eggs were okay but they served it with ham rather than the traditional Canadian bacon, and the hollandaise was just plain lousy. Devoid of taste. I guess if you're into all you can eat of so-so food and want to do it looking at the ocean then it might work for you but I'll keep looking for someplace good. I won't return. read more

Brunch is great. Beach view is one of the best you will find!! Service is above average.

Please DO NOT eat here...at least not the Sunday brunch. Just went there today with dear friends and we were all looking forward to it. The view is stunning and if the food and service matched it, I would have given the place 4 stars. The plates were so dirty that after passing over two with food stuck to them, I picked up a plate that was coated with sticky syrup on the bottom. I had to find a waiter and ask him to take the plate so I would not put it down for some other unsuspecting diner to find. After washing my hands, I returned to the buffet area and could not believe how picked over the tables of food looked. I felt as if I had arrived at the end of a party, when all the food was nearly gone and the tables were trashed. The crab legs were okay, but the shrimp was DIRTY and undercooked. The fruit and cheese platters were destroyed. The potatoes were stale, dry, and flavorless. The waffles were cut in quarters and thrown into a bowl as if they were a pile of scraps. The mimosas and other champagne cocktails were watered down and flat. The fact that the waiter barely acknowledged our presence was dwarfed by the truly lousy food. The omelettes were the only protein that was decent enough to be part of a $35.00 a person brunch. I wish I had gone anywhere else. Even IHOP would have served me a better meal. read more

Went to The Reef for our anniversary dinner. We had never been before. We really enjoyed it. We sat out on the deck and our server was wonderful. We had a very peaceful dinner. The seafood chowder was so good. I'd highly recommend going, especially for a special occasion! read more

We were seven people - family and friends - enjoying a night out on our vacation and wanted seafood. Overall, the quality of the food is excellent (with one or two exceptions), but the experience could have been better. It must have been peak time as two dishes were sold out, long wait time and the server kept forgetting to bring our bread. Nothing dramatic and we had a wonderful dinner. read more

Atmosphere was great - it's on the beach. Service was good. Food - a bit over priced. The shrimp and grits and the jambalaya are VERY spicy. Portions of other entrees were small. read more

When we arrived we were told there would be a forty five minute wait. We told them we would wait in the bar (which is not an uncommon occurance) so we could get a table on the deck. The drinks, appetizer and soup were wonderful, but we had to remind the girls at the reception podium three times that we still had not been seated on the deck. The attitudes and lack of concern of the staff were disappointing. Finally, when three empty tables sat un-cleared for 15 minutes on the deck, we had to chase down our very non-attentive waiter and insist that we be accomodated. I don't know if they were short staffed or just had poor quality workers, but I can at least say that the food almost made the ordeal worth it. read more

My wife and I are St Augustine locals and tonight was our fourth try to like this restaurant. Once again we were disappointed. They try to be an upscale restaurant but the only part of this place that meets that criteria is the prices. Although the service is normally acceptable tonight it was as bad as the food. The calamari was greasy and the seafood trio of mahi, shrimp and scallops was bland. The only thing keeping this restaurant alive is the fact that it is only restaurant in the area that is on the ocean. It is way over priced for the quality of the restaurant (very old) and the quality of the food and service. Don't let them lure you in. Head in downtown and spend your money where you get what you pay for. There are much better places to eat. read more

My wife and I stopped by after church today [ Sunday ] Though the view is very scenic, we found the rest of the stay, quite forgettable. The hostess had a ' take it, or, leave it ' attitude. The waitress was equally unconcerned about refilling my wifes coffee, or, my soft drink. Very pricey, for very ordinary food. Do not see us ever coming back to this restaurant again !!! Walter W. read more

Views/Location are great. Food extremely disappointing. Had dinner (party of 4) on 8/19. Two ordered a NY Strip and two ordered scallops. Both steaks ordered medium and one was sent back because it was served blood rare, the other sent back because of excessive grizzle. Scallops were insufficiently cooked, no flavor and left half eaten on the plate. I believe the steaks and scallops that was prepared were previously frozen. Skip the crab cake appetizer, mostly bread, some shredded crab and one pc. of lump crab. Service was barely acceptable . read more

If you are looking for a unique dining experience with fantastic ocean views and exceptional food look no further. Jeremy and his staff provide a warm and inviting atmosphere with excellent fare. Highly recommended! read more

I have had two experiences with this restaurant, both were bad. The first was my wife's birthday and our meal took over 45 minutes. The other was an event that we booked and although the food was very high priced it was seriously overcooked. Some of our guests even had to wait until everyone else was finished to eat. Service was fair but management did nothing to address our issues. Save yourself the bad experience and do NOT use this restaurant for anything. Not worth the headache. read more

Went to The Reef last Sunday 6:00-6:30. We arrived, the parking lot was not full, no wait, empty tables everywhere. Long story short, there were 7 of us. We ordered appetizers and drinks. Ordered 3 entrees, prime rib, med rare, lamb, med, ahi tuna salad. Got our appts in a timely manner. 2 of our party wanted dessert and coffee. They only had 2 brownies and a key lime pie. And they were out of ranch. We didn't receive our 3 entrees for almost 90 min. One person got up to talk to the manager, he was rude and unaccomadating. The two tables sitting beside us, walked out. We received our entrees, all were overcooked. The manager eventually came to our table by request of someone else in our party. This person along w a few others are in the service industry. The manager was short and rolled his eyes. Come to find out, it was the GM, Jeremy Ticehurst. Applebee's w an ocean view. Including our table, 13 people walked out while we were there. Will not be back. read more

Let me start by saying that I have eaten at this restaurant twice. The first time was for lunch and I thought it was quite good. I ordered a simple Mahi fillet and it was very fresh tasting. That is why I returned a second time. However, last Friday I returned for dinner and ordered shrimp and lobster risotto - big mistake. It was not risotto, but some mushy thick glob with cheese wiz (at least tasted and looked like it). The lobster tail was on top and was fine, and the shrimp was in the glob of alleged risotto. I had also asked the waiter if they served Mayport shrimp, which he assured me was correct. It was not. And last, I didn't discover it until later, but the waiter did not return my credit card when bringing back the bill. Don't know where it went so I canceled it right away. The lesson learned is that when at a fish place, order a cleanly prepared piece of fish. That is probably your best choice. Avoid shellfish and any attempt to prepare food in another style of cooking (such as risotto). Our dinner for two with everything was about $100, so not an inexpensive lesson. read more

It has been over one year since I have dined at the Reef and will never dine their again. The service was absolutely AWFUL...AWFUL...AWFUL!!! I was hosting a birthday dinner for my niece, our server brought us our first drink order and then was never to be seen again. After waiting 20 min I had to go the bar and ask the bartender if he would take our second drink order. Light years later when our server finally reappeared, she attributed her absence to the need to catch up with friends she had not seen in a long time...can you imagine saying this to your customers. When our food was finally served the miniscule portions were the same as "Jet Blue" and placed in dishes with partitions similar to an airline meal. The mashed potatoes looked like they were dumped on the plate with an ice cream scoop. Word of advice to the Reef's owner's and management...there is more to a good dining experience than an ocean view....so sad. read more