Water Oak is one of my favorite restaurants in Safety Harbor. The food, drinks, and service are consistently very good. They have a great happy hour with drinks and food. Their seasonal cocktails are always worth checking out. Their bottomless mimosas and bloody Mary's bar at brunch is a very fun time. I've never been disappointed with anything on their menu, but the dish that I kept coming back to again and again is the fried hogfish and Parmesan grits. It's sooooo good! read more

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We went there on a Monday for lunch. Despite it being a bit cold, we sat outside to accommodate our toddler and stroller. The restaurant was half-empty, yet our hot food arrived without utensils. The server promised to grab them right away, but 10 minutes later, I had to go inside and track them down myself. By the time we could actually eat, our food was cold. I also ordered a second beer that didn't arrive until I was almost finished eating. The food was average, and everything was overpriced. Gigglewaters down the street is way better. UPDATE: We decided to give them a second chance on a Sunday and sat inside. Big mistake. The salmon was, by far, the worst salmon I have ever had in my entire life. To top it off, the checkout process makes the place feel like a fast-food slop joint. They tack on a $3.39 card processing fee and completely rush you out. The server interrupted our conversation, handed over a portable machine, and said, "I'll wait right here for your card." They practically breathe down your neck while the screen prompts you for an 18%+ tip for terrible service. We won't be giving this place a third chance. Main Street is full of much better options! read more

This place is always packed and advertises a great looking happy house, so I thought it would be a great experience...I was wrong. Their mini old fashion at happy hour was simply a half-size drink at approximately half the cost, and really wasn't very good...that didn't make me feel very happy. I ordered several appetizers. Calling the food mediocre would be generous. It was bland and unappetizing. The server was attentive and pleasant which was the best thing about the entire experience and why I awarded 2 stars instead of 1. I usually give places at least 2 chances, but with so many other great options on the same block, I doubt that I'll go back. read more

Experience has gone downhill since my first visit. Food was not great. My Wagyu sliders were dry and overcooked. The short rib fries were soggy upon arrival like they had been sitting for a bit. After this experience, I won't be coming back or recommending unfortunately. read more

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We came for happy hour for my mom's birthday lunch and we are so glad we did! We shared the happy hour menu and everything was delicious. Pictured here were the sliders, ceviche, and pork bun. Not pictured was the brisket fries and the brisket goat cheese that were delicious ! We really enjoyed the food and service! read more

Water Oak Grill - Shrimp ceviche, fish and beef sliders, steamed pork bun - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

Stopped for Happy Hour while checking out Safety Harbor for the first time. We took a seat at the bar and were two of four customers at the time. Bartender sort of killed our vibe. Maybe it was his personality, but he didn't seem enthused to take orders or drinks. We ordered the short rib fries as a happy hour special. It was so good we ordered a second, but the 2nd order didn't have nearly as much short rib - it was mostly fries. We also tried the lobster and shrimp bisque. It had great flavor, but it was mostly "broth" and very little chunks of lobster or crab. We would come back to try for dinner - but bartender sort of ruined the vibe for us. read more

Water Oak Grill - Lobster and Shrimp Bisque - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

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I went to the water oak grill, after going to the beach. I was looking for seafood , when you have that seafood craving after all the day at the beach, like that, and I Iiked the place, the restaurant and the food was really good. It was a nice day, so we sat down outside , the outdoor seating, the Service was on point, our server Tyler took care of us, we had a questions about the menu and he was very patient and answered all our questions. W ordered Grouper bites as appetizer, daughter ordered the shrimp kids meal, also hogfish sandwich with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, and a grilled shrimp dinner with a side of yellow rice and veggies. Everything was delicious, service was fast, wasn't fast food but anythging was in and out quickly. Excellent, recommended. read more

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Disappointed. I was looking forward to dinner here because the menu looks great. Sadly, I was disappointed. These are the reasons. The lobster bisque had no bits of lobster in it at all. Not just mine, my friends also didn't have any in it. Also, it was quite thin for a bisque. The other item I had was the ahi tuna with Asian noodles. I am a big fan of ahi tuna and Asian food. The tuna was just ok. The noodles were not good, more like weird. You will get a better cold noodle at Fresh Kitchen. Reviews from my friends were mixed. Some dinners were good, some so so. Service was fine, especially since they were really busy. The ambiance is nice. If I were to go back I think I would try to go for happy hour. The happy hour menu looked good and is less expensive. read more

Water Oak Grill - Tuna ap - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

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We like Water Oak Grill, it sits right on the corner of Main Street in Safety Harbor and has a good menu selection (food and drinks). They have a nice patio for cooler days and parking is fairly easy to find. The chuck and Wagyu burger is my favorite, but they have a lot of seafood too. They have wine down Wednesday special with half price bottles and live music - and offer a Sunday Brunch menu. Service is always great and I've never had to wait more than a moment or two for a table, even when they are packed. read more

This place is awesome especially for happy hour! Free parking as well. I recommending coming here during happy hour and getting the white wine mussels along with the grouper nuggets. The wine and drinks on the happy hour are also a good pairing. The overall venue is very good as well. You just get more of a bang for your buck if you come during happy hour. The inside is a cool scratch kitchen type vibe, I recommend coming here if you in the area! read more

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Second time eating here. We live in town and don't visit the finer establishments as much as we should. Came here for a birthday dinner. Came on a Monday , made reservations but didn't really need to as Mondays are light days around here. The service is great. Appreciate how good the staff operates. Inside is very nice. It's dark but not too dark. They have lamps at the tables to add to the lighting. One very nice touch, as weird as it sounds, the water they serve is filtered and doesn't have that sulfur smell pinellas co is famous for. read more

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Most beautiful water oak bar. Simple pretty decor. Friendly neighborhood spot. Very welcoming. Excellent grouper bites at happy hour prices. We had fun! read more

Nice restaurant located in downtown safety harbor. Great service and the blackened Hogfish sandwich was delicious. Stella on draft too plus local draft beers. Would recommend for a nicer upscale dining choice. read more

Water Oak Grill - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

Great happy hour! I won't go any other time because is a little pricey but great experience, service and food! read more

Water Oak Grill - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

My husband and I stopped in two weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon and found the experience disappointing. We sat at the bar and ordered drinks that were quite good. The Mussels appetizer were bland and devoid of the flavorful broth that makes the dish enjoyable so we ate only a few and ordered entrees. I got the Wild Mushroom Sandwich and my husband ordered the Crab-cakes. Both dishes were very bland and lacking in flavor. We both decided we would pass on the food next time but enjoy a drink when next in Safely Harbor. read more

Water Oak Grill - Manhattan & Hugo Spritz - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

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Best food I've ate in over a year! I had the crab crusted grouper with Asian noodles & house salad with lemon vinaigrette. And excellent service by Hailey! Wow! If I'm ever in the area again I'll definitely come back!!! read more

Went for a girls "night" and I say that because we actually went at 4pm to better take advantage of their AMAZING happy hour specials! We almost ordered one of everything on the happy hour menu. I wish I took more pictures, but the convo was too good. The bites were all good but not the most flavorful or best I've had. But we were delighted by how affordable the bill was at the end of the night, even with us all drinking two drinks/glasses of wine! I would go again and try some things that I skipped. Would definitely go again! read more

Water Oak Grill - Happy hour single bao - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

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Amazing food every time ! I am extremely sensitive gluten free and have never gotten sick The filet was one thing of the best filets I have had. Usually get blackened salmon. read more

This place still holds up. Have gone here for a few big moments and the staff has always gone above and beyond. For our engagement shoot in safety harbor, they provided us a congrats piece of cake on the kitchen. Then recently came here for my mom's wedding reception and they treated us like royalty again. Thank you water oak for doing exactly what you are doing. Other restaurants should learn from you! read more

Came here for a work dinner and the food was delicious! We had a large group so there was a lot of people to wait on, but the wait staff was extremely attentive and our drinks next went empty. For food we ordered the grouper bites with fries, pita chips and fish dip, steak tips, calamari and everything was delicious! Smaller more intimate spot and would love to come back for a date night when we're in the area read more

Cute spot with traditional food done right. The menu offered the staples, seafood, beef, chicken, etc. All dishes were prepared well with tasty sides to match. The atmosphere was nice yet casual with seating indoors and out. We grabbed dinner before a show at Ruth Eckerd and it was the perfect spot for us. read more

Water Oak Grill - Crab cake and filet bites with blue cheese fondue were delicious - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

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Food and drink was delish. Service and atmosphere were wonderful, can dine indoors or outside! Definitely recommend. read more

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Excellent food & great selections on the drink and appetizer menu for Happy Hour; but pretty dismal service. Manager has to help us out a couple of times to get another drink order put in & to get our checks. They were likely understaffed & it (eventually) got a little busy for a weeknight, but we definitely didn't feel that we were a priority for our server. But it's a lovely restaurant with extremely fair prices and excellent quality on their food AND drinks, so I would not hesitate to visit again. read more

3 time's visiting and always good. The steaks are great and the ambience is lovely. Tyler is amazing behind the bar! Highly recommended.

The food was fantastic! We had a shrimp and fried grit cake appetizer, octopus, and a crab and shrimp dip to start. The special was a filet, crab cake, risotto and brussel sprouts. That looked amazing. I had the crab crusted grouper with garlic mashed potatoes and the brussel sprouts. It was all very good. The ambiance inside is very nice and they even had a flute player. The server was also good. We will definitely be back! read more

We had a memorable dinner with family here, on our last night in Safety Harbor. We really did save the best for last. The atmosphere is a little more upscale than restaurants near it, but it still has a casual FL vibe. Watch for items that read "Market Price" because, as you would expect, they are pricey, but sure to be great quality food. The servers are delightful, and the decor is unique and artfully pleasing. Our server, Anna, was fabulous and took time to explain menu items and take care of a gluten-free diner at our table. The Build-Your-Own Bao (or lettuce wraps) were my favorite things I tasted. The bao was soft and lightly grilled. We ordered the pork belly, and the fresh noodles, carrots, cumbers, and Asian dipping sauces complimented the meat well. It made for a salty, sweet, cool, and flavor-filled experience with every bite. I ordered a white sangria and Cesar salad with grilled shrimp. Everyone's meal at our table was tasty and impressive. It was over $200 for dinners for 5, drinks, and 2 apps. I hear Zukie's desserts are incredible, but we were all too stuffed for dessert. read more

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Water Oak Grill has some hits and misses, but overall a great cozy place to eat. I would return. Menu is great, and inside on each table has a miniature lamp. Now, not sure how to explain it, but it made the table feel cozy and welcoming with the soft light that shines on the table , NOT in your eyes. Since the restaurant is very dark inside, if the the lamp was not on the table, you might be looking at a dark plate of food. Anyways, I had the blackened hogfish which was good but not to what I would call blackened. I even asked for extra seasoning and there was little on the fish much less any blackened char, or kind of slightly burnt blackened taste to the fish.( think of just sprinkling seasoned salt on a sautéed fish and that is what the dish looked like ) However, it was topped with a light sauce which enhanced the flavor and made the dish tasty to some degree. The shrimp lobster bisque was very good and I would call myself an expert on that subject since I will order that at ANY restaurant to try it, very good bisque. It would have been nice to have bread that would come with all meals ( they do not serve bread with olive oil herb dip or anything like that, only what is on the menu ), and the grit cake was like of bland even though they said it had parmesan flavor, it was fried, and different so not too bad, but after eating 50% of the grit cake, I lost interest, so 4 stars across the board they get with all of my thoughts. Make reservations, it looked like to me they had a big line of people at 630 pm that did not have them. read more

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Our server, Taylor, promptly greeted us and settled us in with drinks Well cut Stone Crab 1 lb Medium. Fresh. Watermelon &Arugula with Feta and pecans. The dressing - we mixed the Chipotle with a Lemon herb based - zesty and delicious. The atmosphere was casual and offers sitting inside and outside. Prepare for a little wait but overall we enjoyed the venue, it was lively especially at night and it is a great place to lunch at ( not as lively and loud). My Hubs and I both enjoyed the Watermelon $ Argula salad ( I have tried to make it at home). Delicious. Paul loved the Stone Crab. Great recommendation to take the family ( call ahead if you got a nice group or if you're looking to sit inside especially during dinner times). The area is in the heart of Safety Harbor which is growing like crazy, but there's plenty to see and walk around in that area. The food is fresh here and I love their Fries too. Now I am hungry again. They offer a good mix of a healthy bad with that fine dining class. read more

This is an excellent place to go even if you sit at the bar with your friends to eat! The food is distinctive and the drinks are unique. It's a lovely hotspot and safety Harbor! read more

Good eats! We missed brunch so can't comment on that but boy oh boy their happy hour is good! The strip here is large lots of options to choose from and we're happy we came to Water Oak! No wait and great outdoor seating. Ambiance and location is 10/10. Service was good they are knowledgeable and accommodating which is very appreciated in such a busy area. The food rating overall is 8/10 but again we only ordered off the happy hour menu. Good stop! read more

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Fantastic service by Savanna( hope we got the spelling correct). She explained the Happy hour menu and told us 10 minutes before it ended in case we wanted to order more food and drink. We ordered more grouper bites. They were delicious and a nice portion for $7 during happy hour. The beer choices were great and very enjoyable for $4/pint. We also had chicken and wild mushroom lettuce wraps. Also delicious. The outdoor seating was nice and not too hot for us. The inside seating was full. This place was hopping and rightfully so. We will be back. We hope to see Savanna again. read more

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We were in safety harbor and wanted to try something new. The menu sounded delectable, so we chose Water Oak Grill. The kids loved their chicken tenders and fries with ranch. My husband and I were underwhelmed with our meals. We started with the ahi tuna which was fishy and not super tender, had a bit of a chewy consistency. We usually love ahi tuna, but we would not recommend it here. We did however enjoy our side Caesar salads. For entrees we had grouper and crab cakes. The grouper was fine but the crab cake was also on the fishy side. The garlic mashed potatoes were fine as well. We ended the evening with blackberry lemonade pie--our favorite dish of the evening--and a slice of chocolate cake--which tasted like it was bought at a supermarket. Unfortunately we won't be back, it cost far too much for subpar food. read more

Water Oak Grill - Rum punch - Seafood Near Me - Safety Harbor, Florida

we made a reservation and were seated outside, with the claim from the hostess that it was the only available table. it was in full sun and along the curb of the street. The parked cars were about 18" from our table. mcDonalds has better seating than that. To their credit we were reseated when we requested it. Food was nothing special, but our server was excellent. Highly unlikely that we will be back to this restaurant. read more

Decided to try this out for date night after a friend gave us the recommendation. We are so glad we tried it! It was just my husband and I out for a much needed escape from the kids... we love them but iykyk. We were greeted right away and opted for indoor seating as the storms have been a little rough lately. We cozied up in a booth in the back of the restaurant and although it was pretty loud, it still felt intimate. We ordered way too much food because it sounded so delicious. Started with the Seared Ahi Tuna which was light, refreshing and the cold noodle salad hit the spot. Then, we shared the Walt's Crab Cake dinner (good but not our favorite of what we got) along with several appetizers. The Blackened Steak bites were cooked perfectly and although I usually hate bleu cheese but the fondue was great. The jalapeño poppers were incredible and a unique take with crab and goat cheese. And our eyes were bigger than our stomachs because we could only try a bite of the Short rib fries. However, we brought them home and put an over easy egg on top and they made a great breakfast. On top of the great food, our server, Jade, was sweet and attentive and both managers on the floor came by to check on us. Overall, a great experience and we hope to visit soon for happy hour! read more

We had reservations but they did not have a table for us. We waited and were finally seated. It was an unfortunate dining experience. Our waiter never took our drink order and we finally ordered at the bar. Then our salad, appetizer and main course were all delivered at the same time. The table wasn't big enough to accommodate all the plates so it was awkward. The waiter apologize throughout the evening. He eventually forgot about us and we had to ask several times for our bill. We ordered the mussels and about half the were unopened and we could not pry them open. The food was okay but not worth the poor service...we won't be going back. read more

Ceased salad & a fish slider & Burger slider very nice ,Joan had a short rib sandwich with fries . We each had a Happy hour Ale . Service was great. read more

Great vibes, quaint little restaurant in Safety Harbor. The food and presentation were on point! Great change of pace from you normal restaurants. read more

we had a fantastic meal of creative appetizers at Water Oak. Grouper bites were lightly breaded and fresh! octopus was prepared very creative with great flavor! Thanks for the great service Tyler read more

Decisions... Decisions.... there are so many cute places in the downtown area of Safety Harbor. This gem of a place I walked past a lady enjoying her salad and that salad looked so great! I knew this was my lunch spot. As usual I sat at the bar and had a smokey old fashioned.... mmmm . Hey... don't judge me ... yes it was in the middle of a weekday...it was my day-off!! I had an arugula salad with spiced pecans, feta, strawberries and a spicy chipotle lime vinaigrette dressing... Robby , the bartender suggested a protein so I had a piece of cod on top. It was perfectly cooked, the cod was tender and juicy. Robby the bartender was great.... except when he mentioned Key Lime Pie..... of course I had to try it!!! And BTW.... yes those are photos of the restroom... loved the tile! I always check out the restrooms some are very unique! read more

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Before I go into the detail about the overall experience at Water Oak Grill, I want to first say that the food here is always delicious, so if you want an amazing meal, Water Oak is a place for you. If you also want amazing service and the great fortune of being surrounded by a team of uniquely exceptional human beings who truly care about your experience, Water Oak should be your first choice. Somehow this establishment walks the fine line of professionalism and enthusiasm; delivering a flawless dining experience enhanced by a memorable personal encounter. The team; the hosts, the waitstaff, the bartenders, the kitchen and the management, demonstrate from the moment you walk in until the moment you leave, that you are important. The experience is consistent, delightful and memorable. It is worthy of your weekly date night, your special event, your remedy for a bad day. It is absolutely fantastic and we are so lucky to have found it! read more