Santa Maria Restaurant

I Am Going To Overlook This Restaurant's Flaws For It's Sheer Fun a great direct WATERFRONT Adventure. We were searching for a VIEW and this one by far was the most beautiful and entertaining therefore making up for some of the restaurants flaws. We read all of Tripadvisor reviews over the past few months while we were en-route to this place for lunch yesterday. Had we followed all of the negative, stay away from this place, too expensive advice we would have missed the ADVENTURE of this restaurant. I travel a lot and this is the first time I have had a restaurant offer tableside feedings to the birds and catfish while you dine. They give you a basket of bread and there are little windows that open to the outside and you toss the food out to the birds outside the windows. The 100's of catfish are below your table and you can also drop food down to them. It is a feeding frenzy. A blast for everyone. We ordered the fried sampler and it was good. We shared it. The floors were very sticky carpet it needs to be ripped out seriously. Management should take that piece of criticism to heart from several patrons and get rid of the carpet. The tables were sticky NOT because they were dirty but because of the FEEDING windows from outside constantly being opening with the salt air. The service as many put is is OUTSTANDING and FAST. We had Jessica. We will definitely go back with our two kids but only for Lunch we love watching the boating traffic in the daylight. In off season coming up the restaurant closes on Wednesday's for LUNCH service. Call ahead. more

I visited this restaurant when I was a small child and loved that it sat out over the water and obviously the ability to feed the fish from the table. I could not wait to share this experience with my children and the experience was still great. more

We've eaten here 3 or 4 times over the past 15 years and always enjoy the view. The tables are along the water with built in doors to feed the fish with. Instead of throwing away unused rolls, the servers bring a basket for you to feed the fish with - and they are looking for it, too. Great entertainment for the kids, and adults, too. We enjoyed a cup of the chowder,then shared a Mahi sandwich, both very tasty. Very nice servers. more

If you have little ones, this restaurant is a must. Ask to sit all the way in the back on the water. The ledge by your table has trap door that allows you to feed the fish. What a hoot!! Kids and adults alike really enjoyed it. Food was great too!! more

Restaurant sits on stilts on the water which was nice. The staff were excellent and atmosphere pleasant. Adult meal will run $18-$25 for entree for dinner. Ordered several things but blackened mahi mahi was the fav. more

Food was excellent. The view is amazing. The waiters were very nice. I definitely came back, when ever I go to st. Augustine again. more

This Restaurant has got the most amazing view in all of St. Augustine. I like it after dark the best because of the lights. It sits on the pier or dock and looks towards St. Aug. I really enjoyed there hamburger and fries and there black & blue burger. And the beer is the coldest!!! Everyone is very friendly and it was an enjoyable experience. Would go back and I do! more

My husband wanted to bring our children here cause he went here as a young boy 30+ years ago on a family trip to FL'! Happily our kids got a kick out of it too!! It is dated but adds to the charm. Food was good only real complaint would be service they were kinda surely. Hopefully our kids can relive a memory with their own kids one day. more

We were quite pleased with our experience as a whole not only was the view amazing but the fish tacos were great also! more

I love the fact that the restaurant actually sits out over the water. The view of St. Augustine is great from there. I have been around 7 or 8 times and have never had a problem with the service, quite the contrary, everyone is very friendly. The food has always been good and plenty. more

We visit this resturant every time we come to St. Augustine. It is a memorable experience every time. We love the view, and feeding the fish out the window right next to the table is a ""family-friendly,"" fun thing to do. I have always had good service and good food there. One of my favorite Florida resturants. more

My wife and I frequent Santa Maria often. We love to have lunch here as the view is outstanding. We have always left happy and satisfied, usually a little too full! I would definatly suggest trying this place out for yourself. I still can't fiquire out why this place has such a bad rap. It has always been good when we have been. more

My husband and I stumbled upon this place while walking around downtown. You can throw old bread out of the trap doors next to the tables. The artichoke dip was very good and so were the flounder sandwiches we had. I am glad we decided to try it. more

I love this place. The food is great and plenty. The service is fanastic, and the atmosphere is above all others. They make great drinks and have a huge selection of import beers and microbrews. My kids love being able to feed the fish and watch the dolphins play. We visit evry time we are in town more

We had dinner here on july 4th. It was the perfect place to watch the fireworks right from our table. We were a party of 8 and they were very accomodating. As packed as the place was we recieved excellent service and did not have to wait long for our food. Everything was very good and all 8 of us were happy with the quanity and quality of our food.\r Had I read some of these reviews before we ate here I might have second guessed going but I am glad that we went and will certainly go back again. more

This is a great place! I eat here everytime I go to St. Augustine. Great food and views of the water. It's fun to feed the fish. We got great service as well. And of course there are bird dropping on some of the windows, the restaurant is on a pier what do you expect? I will eat here again! more

We went during a rainstorm for lunch, shortly after taking a boat ride out of the next-door marina. Our daughter really enjoyed feeding the birds (fish weren't biting), and we thought the food was really good, especially the blackened alligator and mahi. In fact, it tasted better than the dinner we had at a downtown restaurant that was highly recommended by some locals! There was shrimp on the kids' menu (contrary to what one reviewer below indicated), my daughter had it. Price was not too bad in my opinion. As other reviewers have noted, I was surprised to see the bad ratings and reviews that some have posted here. The place IS a tourist trap, agreed - otherwise it wouldn't be sitting over the water on stilts, with holes for feeding fish. And yes, it is a little bit more expensive, and a little bit older, than some of the other places to eat in St. Augustine. And, yes, you can smell the salt water when you open the feeding holes - no big surprise there..... but we really liked it, and we plan to go back. It's a unique place, good St. Augustine tourist place to eat! Don't be deterred!! more

Each visit I take to St. Augustine I always have to stop at this restaurant! It has upheld its fantastic food and fun atmosphere even after all these years. We'll be back on our next trip up. more

We LOVED this place, they give you day-old bread to feed the fish with and offer a wide selection of food for any taste! The portions are HUGE for the price and the staff is nice. You will wait for a bit to eat here though (thats why I gave 4 out of 5 stars). You can watch huge pirate ships and sail boats dock right from your table! Wonderful experience! more

This was an excellent choice! Great food, great view and great service. We especially enjoyed feeding the catfish through the 'trap doors' by our table. I had the shrimp platter which had a dozen huge shrimp. My husband had the clam strips which were yummy too. We will definitely be back! more