Gulf Drive Cafe

We searched the menu before coming to this restaurant and came hungry. Parking is across the street, which isn’t obvious until you drive past and circle around to park. We were met with a friendly hostess, and were sat outside overlooking the water. Our waitress Holly wasn’t very friendly, and we noticed while she was taking other’s orders that it wasn’t just our table who would have issues throughout their dining experience. She had to apologize to a large family for saying something that had offended the dad (I didn’t hear what was said, but I heard her apologizing), and another table’s food was served cold; the customer was so hungry she said it was fine and ate as much as she could until the warm replacement arrived.
We asked for a high chair & was given one right away, but it had been sitting in direct sunlight; thank goodness I moved it before I sat my child on there. We ended up unable to use it because it never cooled down. We ordered the chicken nachos appetizer and dug right in; they were delicious! Our meal came out quickly and we didn’t eat the entire appetizer, we were planning on taking it back to our house. We ordered the scallop sandwich, grouper sandwich, kid’s chicken fingers and turkey club. All the food was great, but with the appetizer we were stuffed and asked for to go boxes. This is when our meal turned sour.
Upon scraping the nacho plate clean, I found a long curly black hair hiding in the nacho cheese. Immediately I let our waitress know, who walked away with the plate without saying anything. (She wasn’t too verbal the entire time.) Not knowing what that meant, we continued plating our to go containers and she returned saying «The managers are not going to refund the nachos because they are all gone. They’ll give you gelato instead.» I looked at her confused, but paid the bill and decided to find management afterward; the poor girl did not look like she was having a good day. She didn’t refill our drinks and her poor attitude resulted in $ 0 tip; I come from the hospitality industry so I am diligent in tipping but this was just horrible.
Upon going back into the main building to leave, the same nice hostess noticed us and asked if we wanted some dessert to go; I told her the management was giving us free gelato for finding a hair in our food. She looked confused and took our receipt, asking who our waitress was, and finding the management in the dining room inside. Thinking it was resolved, we were quickly mistaken when she arrived and her tone of voice changed to reflect that management refused a refund because we ate the food. «So if I found the hair as soon as the meal was brought, I would be considered for a refund but because I consumed the food it’s different? We got lucky we didn’t EAT the hair, I don’t understand. We couldn’t even finish our meals, I’m not wanting to stuff myself with gelato because of your mistake.» She refused the refund.
By then our waitress walked in carrying our receipts, perhaps upset because she noticed the lack of tip, maybe not. The hostess got her involved and she tried to argue with me again about eating the food then noticing the hair. I told her this is unacceptable and I wanted a refund; the prices of the meals were still considerable, it wasn’t like I was skipping the bill. The manager walked in at this time, waved her employees off, and got on the phone to talk to someone at the register.
Our waitress reluctantly gave us back the refund, and we left. I don’t blame the waitress at all for this situation; the management clearly doesn’t care for their patrons nor their employees. Holly, if you are reading this, I’m sorry I didn’t leave you a tip; the only tip I can give you is get out of that place and find a decent establishment to work for who depends on you and your personality to gain revenue.
I’m sorry this is so long, but I was really disappointed. This place is advertised as a great place for weddings, but if a lowly person like myself can’t even get a decent hair-​free meal, I’d hate to see what happens for those with higher expectations on their special day.

Came into town for a few days for work. Stopped in during the evenings and wasn’t disappointed. The views and sunset were amazing! Jeff, Johnny and James were excellent bartenders and gave awesome service. If/​when I come back to the island I will be sure to check in!

The only reason I give it 2 stars is because of the sunset.
Drinks were okay but the food was awful, I had a ceasar salad and somehow they ruined that. The romaine was limp and watery and the croutons were like styrofoam. The dressing was oily and tasteless.
Don’t waste your money, there are too many good places to have dinner on Anna Maria island.

You come for the view. The staff was working hard but seemed very stressed. I went for breakfast and mine was good. I got the skillet. The server had a had time taking the order on the I pad he had and everyone had to repeat it 4 – 5 times. He was flying around the place. Lots of guest were verbally upset about the wait time. I was in beach mode and just enjoying watching the boats on the water. When we were done we walked right out to the ocean to relax. Can’t beat good food and sand on your feet. Don’t come if you are in a hurry.

This place got a lot of bad reviews and we were hesitant to come here but it was right on the beach and we were just looking for a place to get breakfast or lunch. To my surprise, it was great! The server was extraordinarily friendly and helpful and the food was great. I’m sure the service is slower in the evenings when it is packed for sunset but I loved this place. I would definitely come back

Okay, you can’t beat the view when you want to stop for a drink. However, despite wanting this gulf drive roadside spot to be a way cooler– the service makes it a two. I’ve been here a few times and the breakfast on the beach restaurant staff was pretty good and the food was not bad. The bar though… has never been what it could be. Takes forever to get a drink and none of mine has ever come with a smile. It gets the extra star for the location! If you are coming for a bite to eat on the beach it’s worth a stop.

Great food, great service! If your complaining on a wait with the beach in front of you you should reassess your life! If your crying about drink prices you should find a better job! This place has the best ambiance around! A beach, a simple band and cute waitresses! Great experience and highly recommend it. I eat here weekly to relax and enjoy a great view with a great lunch!

I live here year round and the view is priceless but your better off packing your own lunch and eating it on the beach. The Hostess/​Manager «LUMP ON A LOG» is the rudest person I have ever came across. I thought maybe it was just because she was having a bad morning but upon more frequent visits this is just her normal personality. She all but ruined our Mothers day breakfast yesterday!!! I will not be returning just because of her attitude. Slamming silverware down on the table. She tried to sit us inside and got annoyed with us because we ask to sit outside. RUDE Rude and more rude. If you like to be treated rudely then go here!

Come for the fresh air and ocean views, stay because it takes 30 minutes to get a drink, they gave your food to someone else and you’re hungry and not willing to find a new place. Just kidding, don’t come here.
This place couldn’t care less about service. The bartender told us we had to order through our server, but we hadn’t gotten a server in the 20 minutes we had been there.
The manager didn’t apologize for giving away the food of my cousin to another table, just said that they’d rush their order. Oh, but he got a sweet $ 4.60 discount for it. It was the manager that made the mistake too, if that wasn’t clear. There were so many more issues (the food is incredibly bland), but I don’t want to spend any more time of my vacation thinking about our experience here.
This place needs more help than someone that thinks Donald Trump would make a good president.
I’m giving this place one more star than it deserves because the Unilocal app is nicer than I am.

Pretty views of beach. This is the only positive thing that this place has going for it. Very disappointed in food and service. We waited a VERY long time for our food. When it arrived, the person that delivered it (not our server) warned me that my plate might be very hot. Not only was it not hot, the food was barely warm. The grits did not melt the butter and the English muffin was so hard that all I could think of was a hockey puck. The server did not ever inquire if we needed anything and we had to ask another server for butter and salt and pepper. My husband’s omelet was not good and the omelet that I ordered had been overcooked and was hard. We were not happy the last time that we were here, but had hoped that things had improved. Very disappointed that they had not.

We had lunch here today and the view was the only positive we had to notice. The service was poor, and the grouper did not taste good. I would only re commend going for drinks/​view.

Just left the Kokonut Hut side of the Gulf Drive Café hungry and thirsty! ! After waiting at the bar too long watching the bartender serve the few other people around us, walking by a number of times without acknowledging us at all, it was when he started cutting up fruit instead of waiting on us that we decided to leave… There are too many friendly places on AMI that appreciate our business!
It’s a shame really, because we have also had very good service at the bar from Casey and others.
On the plus side, this is a great spot for relaxing and enjoying the sunset, either inside or out, as it’s all open air on the Kokonut Hut side.
Beware, however, that their good happy hour prices are only valid if one sits at the bar! Not on the chairs 3 feet away from the bar! Either offer a happy hour deal or don’t, but don’t segment where it’s valid, IMHO.

First time in today. The staff are friendly. Prices are comparable to others in the area. They were busy.
Breakfast was ok. Before I pass judgement I’ll go in for lunch.

We came here for a late lunch on Monday. 12÷7÷15. We ate here about 4 years ago and I remembered it as being okay but not memorable. That being said, it was hubby’s choice and he tends towards eating somewhere he’s been before rather than being adventurous. We got there at 1:20 and were seated right away, there were two other parties in our area — one attempting to leave (visiting family, lots of goodbyes) and the other party of 2 left about 45 minutes after we arrived. We ordered right away — he ordered the roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and I asked for the Anna Maria Salad. This was about 1:30.
We were in no hurry — just enjoying the view, which was a good thing for us as well as for them. The service was horrid. We didn’t complain because we were enjoying the view and relaxing and hubby was getting a migraine and didn’t need his blood pressure raised. It was better for him to just let it go and relax and we were not willing to get our panties in a twist while we were trying to relax.
A party of eight was seated next to us at 2:15 and ordered right away. A party of two was seated at 2:20 and ignored for 15 minutes.
Our food came at 2:30 — an hour wait. The party of eight got their food 10 minutes after ours and the party of two was served 5 minutes after the party of eight.
The food was just okay — I’d expect more for a $ 15 salad. I had the same salad at Disney and it was worth it. This wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, especially after the wait.
Edited to add: Not once did anyone approach our table to acknowledge that it was taking longer than normal.

Had brunch here today! Service was EXCELLENT! Bartender slow as molasses. Owner makes wait staff pay for credit card fees (Owner is Ebenezer Scrooge) what a jerk! Food was amazing!!! View to die for! Parking across the street ample

Update:
After writing my review on Unilocal,the app gave me a free dessert coupon, which the restaurant management honored.

There aren’t many places you can eat literally in the sand on the beach, so that’s definitely the main draw. They even boast a «Worlds Best Sunsets» sign that’s true every time!
As for the food/​drink; definitely pricey since its a prime location for any restaurant but not to outrageous.
The Belgium waffle is one of the main reasons I come here. They have a lengthy menu with plenty of offerings and all day breakfast. But the waffle is outstanding. Plus calories don’t count at the beach right? I don’t know of anywhere else that you can sit in the sand while eating a scrumptious Belgium waffle topped with fruit, ice cream and whipped cream (that’s under $ 10 I might add).
Worth noting, the chicken gyro, shepherds pie and calamari were also really good (pay the extra for the outstanding «cottage fries»). The grouper sandwich was actually very fresh, expertly seasoned and very fairly priced as well.

I rarely give two star reviews, but this place deserves it. In fact, it deserves only one star but the extra star is solely for the view. Awesome view right on the beach. Now for the food — disgusting. I ordered cheese sticks and a roast beef sandwich. The cheese sticks tasted like imitation cheese wrapped with greasy cardboard. I’ve had A LOT of cheese sticks in my time and these were by far the worst. Even worse than any store-​bought frozen sticks.
Now on to the roast beef sandwich. Atrocious. Easily the worst roast beef sandwich I’ve ever had. It was LOADED with fat. I couldn’t even eat half of the sandwich. It just tasted cheap and nasty. I also got a free dessert for checking in on Unilocal and ordered a hot fudge sundae. That, also, was nothing special.
What really agitated me was, when I showed the free offer to the server, the guy took my phone to go inside and show it to the manager. Worst move ever. You have the lazy manager come outside to the customer. You never, ever take a customer’s phone.
And the server said I just have to give them five stars on Unilocal in exchange for the free sundae. Right, guy. Not how it works. I don’t give high reviews for dog food. Come here, enjoy the drinks and view at the bar, but stay far away from the food. Far, far away.

Went back here with family for breakfast and they are definitely making updates and repairs. Portions are great, prices are reasonable and the staff doesn’t seem to change every year I go there. Recommend the omelettes, French toast or pancakes. Sit outside if you can and take in the amazing view of the beach.
Parking is still across the street and most people are good enough to stop for you as you make your way across the street. Be careful as some people will just blow by you without stopping even at the cross walk.

Views. Location. Views. Location. I mean, come on! Anything can taste pretty good, when it’s accompanied by these views. Breakfast on the beach. Peach bellinis on the sand. Breeze in your hair.
Breakfast here, is like breakfast at any regular breakfast joint. Nothing special, nothing spectacularly delectable, just regular breakfast menus with regular breakfast items (kid breakfast menu too, huge pancakes!) Service is pleasant, but location and views makes this place worth at least one visit. Breakfast and happy hour!