We stopped after swimming with the manatees. Great location beautiful view if you get a table outside. I ordered crab and spinach stuffed chicken. When it came out immediately, it did not seem representative of the description. The dish was served over homemade mashed potatoes, which were not mashed well--props for using fresh mashed potatoes, though. Instead of a stuffed chicken breast, I received two skinny grilled chicken breasts, which they put a spinach and crab mixture in between. The spinach was chopped spinach straight out of the freezer. This would have been better had they used some fresh spinach and stuffed the chicken breast. This would require them to purchase better chicken than the standard small grilled chicken breast most restaurants use. The spinach and crab mixture wasn't warm between the two chicken breasts. A stuffed chicken breast must be cooked in an oven for a while to get everything to temperature. They simply took some short cuts that ruined this dish. My recommendation would be to remove this from the menu. read more

Landed in Tampa and stopped here for dinner on our way to Airbnb based off yelp reviews. We got crab cakes, poke bowl, a few cocktails and Cesar salad. poke was good, nothing too special but was light and flavorful. Avacado was not yet ripe so that was a downside. Would order crab cakes again! The outside seating was beautiful and our waitress Sabrina was very sweet and gave us great service! read more

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We had such a fun time at this place this last weekend! We made reservations for the evening, but then stopped in during the day for a cold beverage! The place rocks! It has a separate bar and diner out front on the water and then another restaurant next door on the water! Both places you can watch the boats go by and paddle boarders and kayaks! The food was really good and service was amazing both times! Highly recommend! read more

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The three stars are based on the other reviews - we had good expectations while traveling through and it comes up on Yelp as dog friendly . It isn't . It used to be but no longer - well 'so-called 'service ' dogs are ok. Not normal people with normal dogs . Went into the very dimly lit bar area to inquire about the no dogs signage . The young lady was a bit put upon to be bothered . Sorry to bother you put upon one ! We went somewhere close by and had a very nice lunch and tipped the delightful friendly waitress a bit over 40%. read more

The tiki bar is the place to be. The view is gorgeous, the bartenders are always so nice and friendly, and the food is far superior than anything you can get around here. read more

Waterfront Social - The beautiful view on the walk up to the tiki bar - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

The mahi mahi tacos are absolutely amazing the sauce that comes on them is amazing aswell

Stopped here for a bite after manatee viewing. Great drinks and appetizers! Service outstanding and a waterfront beautiful setting.

The view alone is worth it but you will keep coming back for the gourmet food. When we went there was a two piece band playing favorites. We got a grouper sandwich. I got a side of fries and my husband got salad. We didn't have a beer this time but there was a few good and local ones on draft. There is also Kayaking nearby. We did t check it out but next time I will. read more

Waterfront Social - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

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This place has zero integrity. I left valuable sunglasses there which was confirmed by the hostess when I called. I was already at the airport and she insisted they could mail them directly to me. I gave my address, name, and phone number and was told I'd be contacted for payment for shipment on Monday when the Post Office opened. Never heard back so called again and spoke to a supervisor. She refused to take payment which I should have realized was odd, but again insisted they would ship them. It's been over 30 days and I still do not have my sunglasses despite offering to pay for shipping and them confirming they have my property. While there the guests next to us had hair in their food. So I'd say their standards of care are pretty low. Take your money elsewhere. read more

We used to love this place. In our most recent visit the food was terrible. The service was terrible. The management was embarrassed as they should be. Ambiance is great, it's really a shame they are located near so much great fresh seafood suppliers but they're putting frozen salad shrimps in their dishes and don't know how to fry fish. The batter they're using is gross. They don't have tartar sauce? The only sauce they have is "remmy" and it's nasty unfortunately they put it on everything. I had the shrimp Alfredo and apparently they can't make an Alfredo sauce so they just put "remmy" sauce on the noodles and that's their Alfredo. We won't be going back there are better options in the area. read more

To start off with something positive., Debbie our waitress was great!!! Very prompt and attentive and took great care of us.. sadly my moms fish and chips she ordered lacked any seasoning and the batter that was way too heavy wasn't even fully cooked (we don't send food back because we've worked in a kitchen) anyway my fries and burger were palatable- sadly the Mayo that's out is not how I handle mayo so no thank you- I didn't care for the sauce that came with the burger so I tried to shake up some mustard for flavor but even when I squeezed that out it was still runny and clear.. fortunately they charred the bun quite a bit so there's my flavor to enjoy.. anyway it's a beautiful setting as it was for every other restaurant that has failed in that location.. I have to say we will not return.. which is disappointing because we live here and there aren't many great restaurants in the area moving on .. read more

Good burger and mahi salad, right on the water. Service was very good. They just reopened after the hurricane. We loved the manatee tour and our guides recommended this place. read more

I really enjoyed the view of King's Bay and thr seating atmosphere was beautiful and nice and breezy. I had the smash burger and my partner had the BALT and they both were delicious! The cheese curds were a nice little appetizer too. Will definitely be going back. read more

Great service! Great food! Server was on top of it and made great suggestions. Tuna Sashimi Bowl, Clam Chowder, Smash Burgers and an incredible view of Kings Bay! read more

Visiting Crystal River for a long weekend and didn't know where to go. We picked Waterfront Social and it did not disappoint. There are inside and outside seating options. The view is great. Our server was awesome and gave us some ideas about more local activities to try during our stay. The food was top notch. We started our meal with the coconut habanero shrimp. The shrimp were great but the sauce was as described, hot, which my husband loved. Our server quickly picked up that it was too hot for me and kindly brought me a sweet chili sauce. The entrees were the blackened grouper and mahi mahi tacos, both were some of the best. We went at 530 and the drinks were half price, this was a nice surprise on our check. We would definitely go back. If you sit outside there are a couple birds that may try to swoop in for a bite of the delicious food. Our server offered a water gun to fend them off but they weren't that bothersome. read more

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Review We were in the area and found this place which had good reviews on Yelp. Nice view of water, service good, ambience OK, although could use some professional decor. Unfortunately the food was disappointing and well overpriced. We ordered a simple lunch of fish and chips and a chicken sandwich. Total tab including a 3% convenience fee and excluding the tip was $40. Our lunches consisted mostly of 1 piece of overcooked fried fish and an undercooked grilled chicken sandwich. Both entrees came with a generous portion of french fries which were fine. Looking back, I assume we were paying for the view and not the food. There has to be much better selections on the menu, but the lack of chefs care and attention to our entrees would make me skittish to order full meals at dinner for example. Nice tiki bar for drinks, but food? Move on. read more

Brought my parents here because I had in mind it was the best restaurant anywhere around. Got the salmon poke bowl. Meh. It was covered in some sweet sauce that ruined the whole thing. Everyone else was happy with their food. It just didn't blow me away like the first time. read more

Waterfront Social - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

A local gushed on the place so we went after manatee encountering. Meh. Small town, I guess. Food was ordinary and overpriced. Chicken fingers, burgers, fries. Staff was very indifferent and barely acknowledged us. We were there in late afternoon between rushes with only a few people, but wow is it a loud space. Concrete floors and those cheap aluminum chairs. Warehouse -like. Can't imagine the din of a dinner crowd. Very hard pass. read more

Overall, a great casual restaurant on the water in Crystal River. I got the Cobb salad with shrimp and it was perfect, good portion. My husband got the Smashed burger along with onion rings and everything was super. Onion rings were spectacular. We also got a half pound of peel and eat shrimp to start, lavishly seasoned with Old Bay it was perfect and easy to peel. Service was friendly and accommodating to the pace we were eating. Also got two 6 oz. glass pours of Chardonnay and that was good too. Great place and will definitely return. read more

Waterfront Social - Burger with onion rings. - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

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Waterfront Social Once in a while, when we have a day with nothing to do, we drive to somewhere nearby to enjoy Florida around us. Because of the time, we headed to Crystal River. We knew it was hit by storm surge from Idalia, and it showed as we drove past closed businesses and flooded out rentals. We like to give business to our neighbors in need of it so we picked a place and headed out. Once we got there, the place we picked to eat at was closed for vacation, so we did a quick plan B and headed to Waterfront Social. Walked in past an employee in a (STAFF) bright pink T-shirt, sitting on his cell phone, oblivious. Walked in to a hostess on hers. It was only 12:30, they just opened at 11. We asked to sit outside. Quickly, ordered a bowl of chowder and grilled grouper sandwich with a couple of beers. After we got our drinks, my husband commented how lucky we were to get our order in, because people were starting to sit down. We are both veterans of the restaurant business. The prices were double of the other place, but we were there and it was a plan B. After a while my husband commented that 4 of the tables that sat down after us had been served their food. He said he mentioned something to the waiter, and then we noticed every time someone delivered food near us they commented that our food would be coming NEXT. Eventually the cook brought our food out, taking the hit somehow, explaining since my fish was so thick it took a long time to cook. Six tables that sat down AFTER we ordered got food before us and my small piece of sandwich fish's extra thickness was the whole reason. Sorry, essentially a local. We have grouper where I live 2 hours south. No one else ever said anything to us. Not able to tip bad...karma. We don't know whose fault...but honesty would have gone a long way. Could have been great. When we left, the door girl was still on her phone. Would never recommend. Too many other great places to go, to expensive for crappy service. These employees don't work for the house, the house must not care enough to make them want to. Notice on our tab, they don't even want to take the hit For us to use a credit card. Check out 'convenience fee'. Guess they were unable to raise prices for that, too high already. Tacky in such an expensive place. read more

Waterfront Social - Convenience fee for their ability to take your money by charging on card. Tacky at these prices. Really. - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

Waterfront Social is set in/on the Port Hotel property. The hotel is older and in need of some care, that transcends to the restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I love older restaurants/bar & grills that and I would put Waterfront Social in that category. It is still improved from the old Margarita Breeze, which was a little bit more "dive-ish." Going to start out with the common observation: This place is a tad expensive as far a CR is concerned, although some items not by much. Observations: Beer is $6.25 a pint Coco Shrimp - 4 @ $3.15 each and they were good. Wings $1.80 ea and not even close to being worth it as they are just standard (fried) wings. Don't bother. Smoked fish dip - nope, nuh uh, no way. the stuff literally melted on the plate, went to soup in no time. while it was tasty it quickly lost its visual appeal. We will be back and may try an entree or two but it is not on our must do soon list. What is though, is the tiki bar. This a quintessential waterfront bar, and with the boat traffic in the area it is good people/boat watching. So yeah, I guess that sums it up for us. Great place for an afternoon beverage, not on top of our local list for dinner. Other notes: The outdoor dining is dog friendly, there is plenty of parking. read more

Waterfront Social - Our appetizers - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

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Fun place. All the waitresses and staff were friendly. Food was good and timely. Indoor and outdoor seating options with views of the water.

Live music with The Mudds, a local favorite known for their soulful, spirited sound. Waterfront Social provides a gathering place for good food and attentive service in a comfortable setting on the waters of Crystal River. Southern Coastal Dining on Kings Bay. Sit back, relax, and enjoy their toe-tapping traditional jazzy blues style that will return you to the days of Louisiana speak-easy lounges and cool cats. The Mudds consist of Sam Mudd singer, songwriter & guitarist,​ and wife Betsy on bass. 352-795-3113 read more

Waterfront Social - Live music with The Mudds, a local favorite known for their soulful, spirited sound. At Waterfront Social Crystal River! - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

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I came here on Father's Day, expecting it to be packed, but it was surprisingly low key for a seafood place on a holiday. We sat on the spacious patio and were greeted by a friendly server who was especially kind to our toddler, offering stickers and pens. The Mahi mahi Cobb salad was excellent, but the cut of fish was a bit lacking in size. My husband enjoyed his entree, but when he requested coconut rice, he got plain, unseasoned white rice. The view is wonderful, but the area itself is bit more run down than other sections of Crystal River. However, we didn't find it took away from the experience. With so many other great options in the area, I doubt we'll return, but we are glad we tried it once! read more

Waterfront Social - Bloody Mary - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

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The vibe of this restaurant is a bit interesting IMO. Sitting inside would be awkward. Just the feel of it was a no for me. We sat outside. It felt amazing out and you're right on the water. I got the poke bowl with mushrooms and a house salad. The house salad was actually good. The poke bowl was super bland and the rice had too much water so it was mushy. I asked the waitress if they had any sauce for it and she mentioned usually they cook the meat in this sesame sauce. I didn't have meat so they didn't put the sauce on it. She brought it out to me and then it made the bowl so much better! Just wish the rice wasn't mushy. My stepdad got the tacos and mahi bites, he said his food was decent and he enjoyed it. Just a tad bit over priced for the quality of food. Not a terrible place to go to though! read more

Waterfront Social - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

Our server Amanda was amazing. Cobb salad had maybe 2 cups of lettuce at best quite possibly 1 & 1/2 cups. Very expensive & very small serving. The shrimp pasta was very good and had alot of shrimp but once again serving was small and dish was expensive. Salmon was very good & decent size. It is much cleaner than it was the last time we were there. The bathrooms used to be disgusting and they were redone and are clean. read more

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After a boat ride to look for manatees we spotted Waterfront Social's location from the boat and decided to stop in for an early dinner. There really is no curbside appeal - and walking in was just as underwhelming. Because a sunny day was turning chilly and windy, our group decided to eat inside, where unfortunately was not a good view of the water. Our waitress was absolutely great, taking our orders and constantly checking to see if we were satisfied with the food and drinks. Refills were brought without a request quickly and efficiently. Food was average in taste, nothing outstanding. My husband ordered wings and I had fried shrimp with onion rings. Our friends also had wings and a burger, which was average. Not sure if we will return. read more

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Went to the tiki bar for lunch after kayaking. Amazing view, but super expensive (over $22 for just a poke bowl). A domestic beer was $8 (ouch). I have wanted to go for their live music nights (especially to see JoJo Jones) but unless there is a dining table open, and you order food, you cant see the live music. That was a bummer Overall, it's a nice place for scenery, but don't expect them to let you enjoy it unless you pay lots of $$$ to eat/drink there. read more

Service was the best Brandi amazing, clam chowder also awesome. Calamari over breaded and over cooked. Of course being able to sit outside and have a great drink with friends was great. read more

Wow! The new owners have dramatically improved this place! The waterfront atmosphere has always been the big draw, but now the food is worth the trip by itself. I started with the petit side salad. It was fantastic. The mixed greens were extremely fresh; two types of heirloom tomatos, radishes and cucumber added complimentary flavors. Feta cheese brought a little salty zest and the house lemon viniagrette was light and added a perfect finishing touch. The fish of the day was grouper and I got it served blackened with chips. This was the best grouper I've had in years. The grouper was firm and moist, lightly blackened, just enough to enhance the flavor of the fish rather than overpower it. It was a Saturday night and there was a solo musician playing a guitar and singing on the dock. The music and sunset combined to create a wonderful ambiance. The staff was attentive. The inside seems brighter and cleaner. The only drawback was the chairs. They are extremely small and uncomfortable. I felt like I had been relegated to the kids table at Thanksgiving. We might have stayed a while longer to enjoy another glass of wine, but the chairs were so uncomfortable that our legs were falling asleep. I've been going to this place for years with my Dad ~ always for the water view, but not for the mediocre food, service and overall cleanliness. I can't wait to see what the new owners do with this place next, hopefully starting with grown-up sized chairs! read more

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This place is now called something else...unfortunately I can't remember now but it's the tiki bar/restaurant for the Port Hotel & Marina. The view, ambiance, & food were superb. Very old Florida (Although unfortunately I hear they are sprucing it up to be some Marriott type place). We had the peel and eat shrimp & gator bites and they were some of the best we've ever had. We also had the poke, grouper sandwich, duck wings, chicken waffle sandwich, and herb potatoes. Everything was excellent. Service was a tad slow but who cares...beautiful view, great food, and friendly waiters! read more

Waterfront Social - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

Tiki bar is inexpensive AND world class. A VERY rare combination!! Great views. Gary at the bar was kind and attentive and trusted us to come back and pay later - overall just a beautiful view / experience. read more

Waterfront Social - Tiki Bar area - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida

Absolutely fantastic experience here. Their view is gorgeous from their outdoor seating. We came here on a Tuesday night for dinner with the family and enjoyed the sunset, soft breeze and fabulous food. Our waitress, Victoria, was an absolute doll and was very attentive. She made some wonderful recommendations. We ordered their Gator Bites and Coconut Fried Shrimp along with a side salad to start. I could go on about each of these but will spare you. I'd definitely point out that the sauce with the shrimp carry's some serious heat. However, it was all incredible and fresh. For dinner we had their Blackened Grouper, Salmon, and Chicken Tenders for the kiddo. Also very fresh and delicious. The Salmon was the real star here. It was a large portion and was cooked to perfection. I could order this over and over again. To send us along our way we ordered their Chocolate Cake to go. It was so decadent and rich and just perfect. I think she mentioned that they order these from a local baker so they are fresh and never frozen. And, for all of this wonderful and fresh food, I think their prices are incredibly reasonable. I will be back here anytime I'm in the area. read more

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A great stop on our way to the beach! We were headed to the Clearwater area and decided to stop in Crystal River for lunch and just happened to randomly pick this spot. I looked up best waterfront restaurants and we picked this one off the list and I'm so glad we did! Situated right on the water, you can watch all the boats and divers headed off on their manatee tours, which was cool. I ordered the shrimp poke bowl and was so pleasantly surprised! It had at least 10 shrimp in it, which was a great deal for just $18, along with so many other delicious ingredients. The rest of my family got clam chowder, gator bites, and peel and eat shrimp, and everyone said how delicious theirs was! The service was just average, but our food came out quickly. On our way out we even got to see a couple of manatees hanging out around the docks. Overall, if you're looking for a great and delicious waterfront restaurant, this is the spot for you and if you're lucky you may even spot some manatees! read more

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We were definitely over dressed. The photos on line made it look like it was nicer than it was. Def shorts T shirt kind of place. The food was pretty good. Awesome gator tail, my husband loved the pork wings and I got the salmon poke bowl. Service was great too. The tables and chairs outside were very uncomfortable. I doubt we are going back but if your in the area and just want to sit and eat on the water it's a decent place with good service. read more

The location of this place is weird and it looks almost like it's connected to a hotel but it is separate. The patio area is beautiful on the water. I ordered the garlic Parmesan wings and sweet potato fries. They were AMAZING! I loved them and you get a lot for the price. I had to take leftovers home because I couldn't finish it all but I was definitely happy to have some later. The poke bowl was okay- said by my accompanying mother. The staff are super nice. Would definitely recommend this hidden gem! read more

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Sub par ingredients prepared with total disregard. It's like they don't even care if you would come back. Definitely a place for tourist to go once. Also bring your wallet read more

The food was excellent, the service was great and the ambiance was excellent. I would definitely recommend

I have made two attempts to dine at this location and have had no luck. A couple weeks back I called to make reservations for a party of 4. I was told they do not take reservations but to "common over" and that they would be able to seat us. We arrived about two hours later only to find the restaurant closed due to weather. Today it was just two of us. We arrived and told they us it would be a 20-25 minute wait. As we were waiting, a party of 7 walked in and asked if they had seating available. They immediately took the 7 people and sat them. We inquired as to why we were bypassed and were told "oh well that was a party of seven". At this point out of frustration, we chose to leave. Don't know how the food is but the greeters are awful. read more

Really enjoyed the view and food. Poke Bowl, grouper bites and fried shrimp were great! read more

Waterfront Social - Outside dining view - Bars Near Me - Crystal River, Florida