Goin’ Coastal

My husband and I had been to this place a few times when they served lunch but never able to make it back for dinner. After this trip, we will never return. I dislike posting less than stellar reviews about local business, but this place really put a bad taste in my mouth. I am more than willing to pay for good food but this was not good food. The service was even worse. My father in law asked for a certain kind of scotch and the employee told him he had never heard of it. No big deal. Then he asked for another kind of scotch and the waiter said very rudely «read the menu… that’s what we have!» Who talks to their guests like that? Secondly there were six people at the table, three of us were unable to get what we ordered. They ran out. Ok. You’re busy and ran out; however, if it were my business I would have went above and beyond to please the guests, especially since you were told we had two birthdays at the table. That was definitely not the case. I don’t expect to be treated differently because of a birthday but the fact that you didn’t have half the order taken, we waited an hour for grits that were cold and blackened salmon that had way too much seasoning (my order). I get its blackened but it made me cough every bite I took. Also, the table was served separately; because we waited so long my mother in law, who is very big on manners, insisted we eat even though they had not been served. I could honestly go into more detail about other mishaps but will spare you. It just wasn’t a good experience. For all of these reasons, we will not be back.

Not bad for a fish restaurant in the Atlanta suburbs. Steel Head was well prepared but stood on its own and did not need the blueberry compote as there was no heat or spice to this fish.
Service was good and the price makes it a bargain for the area. Recommend going for the extended well prepared fish offerings which your don’t necessarily see that often.

The best in Canton hands down. The staff stops to educate on the preparation process as well as gives advice on how to cook at home. The hush puppies and corn chowder are top notch.

Had diner at Goin’ Coastal on Friday evening. We arrived a few minutes early and sat at the bar. Service was quick and efficient and the drinks were delicious. Once we were seated our server explained that because this was the last seating on Saturday night and they are closed on Sunday that many of the fish selections were already sold out. This is a reflection of their policy of only serving fresh fish and not maintaining fish in storage for days. We ordered both fresh fish and shell fish and we were not disappointed. Being from Boston I grew up eating fresh fish and this restaurant knows how to prepare fish. Highly recommend and will return next time I am in Canton.

Oh Canton! How I love your little hidden spots. Unfortunately, this one could use a little help.
Goin Coastal is an upscale little joint in downtown Canton. The atmosphere is nice, but the food could use a little more zing!
We were a party of four. We ordered;
Shrimp & Grits
Rainbow Trout
Halibut
Ribeye Streak
Baked Oysters
All portions were extremely small for the price. The Halibut was priced the highest and was pretty much 3 bites. The trout was good, although I do wish it had a little more seasoning. The shrimp & grits did not compare to others that we have had.
The winner for this meal was the Baked Oysters. Fresh, large, and delicious.
Canton is such a great town in the burbs! I really hope that GC kicks it up a notch or two.

Great food and wonderful service! Definitely recommend this restaurant. Located in historic downtown Canton.

We love this restaurant for when we’re feeling fishy and fancy. Portions are good for the price, the staff works HARD front of house and back of house to make the dining experience enjoyable. Get the cheese grits as a side if you have shrimp, they’re delicious. The bar has some nice in house infused liquors and the drink specials are generally good.

(Lunch time) The service left much to be desired… There were 2 people greeting, seating, and serving the whole restaurant (1 additional person appeared as I was leaving and she was kind enough to thank me for coming and and have a great day) and one was on the phone when I came in which left me standing at the door looking awkward for the first few min. then sitting at the bar waiting to order for an additional 5−8min.
I ordered the gator tail and stuffed oysters with hush puppies… My food was hot and fresh and the gator was fried nicely. I found it odd that chunks of fried gator didn’t come with a dipping sauce… But they were the highlight of the meal and I really should have only ordered them.
My stuffed oysters came with cracked shells so I already knew where I’d find the missing pieces
I can only describe this dish as carelessly made. The only texture I could make out were the shrimp and the rest was a gummy mess of cheese, (I assume) crab meat, and oyster shell shards… Once I got 4 oysters in (you get about 6) I found a big chunk of cream cheese just sitting un-​mixed in the «mixture» after that I just gave up.
And the «hush puppies» were over-​fried and taste like deep fried jiffy mix… (The lngles around the corner sells hush puppy mix, I promise they do… It’s probably on the same isle as the jiffy mix)
The portions are very good and the pricing is fair but the food could use a little more care; seafood is hit or miss so one miss can spoil the whole experience.

Our Mom often said «I believe I could make the whole world happy with my food» and so she did. Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least the millions who dined at our family restaurants. After the family retired from the business, we searched and searched for the kind of food that would make us feel happy when we dined out. There was no such happiness. Then we found Goin’ Coastal. My sister Rose and I hoped for at least for an ordinary dinner last night, but found ourselves becoming happy. We soon became giddy with food chatter while we ate. It all started with something as simple as a Shrimp Cocktail. Using wild shrimp should be an ordinary practice for any seafood restaurant, but it is not. Usually when we ask a server if their fish is farmed or wild, we do not get a straight answer. It seems to be a mystery that there is something called wild fish or shrimp. Even chefs are confused with our question. Really, farmed fish is not real fish. The wild shrimp that was served at Goin’ Coastal was a delightful indication that someone there knew the difference. We were happy to see the shrimp was served directly over ice to prevent any dulling of flavors. That might sound unimportant to some, but knowing how to get the most out of each bite of your food is more than a skill, it is epicurean giftedness! A cold shrimp recipe calls for just that — cold shrimp. When we tasted the homemade cocktail sauce we really appreciated the fine culinary cooking evidenced in the attention give to the little things. In this case, the little thing was the freshness of the horseradish, not at all tasteless as it would have been had it been sitting in a bottle on a shelf somewhere. When we finally tasted our plump and fresh shrimp and found it was flavored delicately with the house special herb blend, we decided this was simply a sensation! By the way, you won’t see Shrimp Cocktail on the menu. So, how did I get it? Our astute server, Laurie knew it was what I wished was on the menu, and so, there it was, brilliantly prepared by Sous Chef Justin.
By the time the salad was served, we were feeling happy for no other reason then we finally had a great Shrimp Cocktail. My sister then began to identify the herbal and spice components of the salad dressing that was blended together as harmoniously as a fine symphony. It reminded her of her own dressing made at the Rose Cottage Restaurant in NY (now closed). Our main courses were vibrant, fresh, and true to our belief that purity and freshness is what REAL cooking is all about! My grilled scallops were served over a perfectly cooked creamy risotto full of delicate flavors that were not smothered by anything artificial or any pre-​cooking methods. Even the spinach was cooked to perfection with a hint if garlic, maintaining its bright green color and freshness. Everything is cooked to order. Enhancing the dinner was a good quality Malbec, full-​bodied with a smoky finish.
We were afraid to try the desserts, because we knew that we would love it — too much!
Happy Diners,
Joanne and Rose

Date night at Goin’ Coastal early on a Friday evening. We were one of the first people to arrive for the evening so we had excellent service! Our order was quite large for just the two of us and included–
Fried Clams– breading was thin and allowed you to taste the clam but very bland.
Crab and Shrimp Au Gratin– very tasty! The bread it was served with was warm and toasty. The dip was strong flavored but tasted fresh and robust!
House Salad– server family style. Very good– packed full of goodies… beets, beans, veggies, etc.
Miso Fish– they had grouper in fresh and one preparation we tried was the miso. Different then any miso prep we ever had but very good! Would have liked a rice or some starch to soak in all the yumminess of the miso broth.
Blackened Grouper– the dish got better as we ate more but there were two pieces of fish on the plate and one was over-​cooked and very dry. The second piece was much better due to being cooked properly. Wouldn’t get this dish again.
The best part of the meal was the bread and butter– the butter could have been eaten with a spoon. I think he said it was a bacon butter– can’t go wrong with Bacon!
This place is a nice fresh seafood joint in Canton and the environment is pleasant. The prices are high and I have had better fresh seafood in local areas but if you like something close to home/​Canton– this place is good.
Make a reservation!!!

The best seafood I’ve ever had! Anyone who complains about this wonderful place can’t be satisfied by any reasturant! Keep up the amazing work Goin Coastal!

My mom & sister were visiting us in Ball Ground and they love seafood so I went to Unilocal and found this to be close to us and had great ratings. It did not disappoint. The interior is pretty cool with some exposed ducts in the ceiling with old brick on the walls, warm wood floors. The service was great but let me get to the good stuff… the food. We had so much food oh my goodness. Ok so for appetizers we had gator tail, brie & mushroom baked oysters & a crab/​lobster cheese fondue dip type stuff. The gator tail to me tasted like chicken and was good. I’m not an oyster fan but I figured, while in Rome… it wasn’t bad at all. The fondue/dip…omg that was so good. They brought us out salad for the table and some mini corn muffins with a maple bacon butter. For main courses we had the lobster mac-​n-​cheese, seared ahi tuna, crab cakes and fried platter. I think the favorite of the table was the lobster mac & ahi tuna. Everything was great though. Perfectly seasoned. Then the desserts… yes we made room for dessert since they said it was all homemade. We split the crème brule, peanut butter pie & chocolate mousse cake. Everything was eyes roll back in your head good. My mom was sitting next to me and I promptly told the table «this pie

Wow, this place is amazing! My friends and I ended up going here for dinner Friday night, mainly because they had an opening on open table (not a lot of places in this area seem to use it) and my mom said she’d been here before. When we went to order drinks, we were going to order a bottle of wine but I was a little disappointed with the wine selection/​price. I know they jack up the prices of wine in restaurants, but $ 45 for a bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay that you can get for $ 15 in the store is ridiculous. I ended up ordering a bay breeze which was incorrectly made with grapefruit juice instead of pineapple juice (that’s a sea breeze). I sent it back and when I did get the correct drink it was very good and strong. Despite this hiccup, the rest of the night was great.
The cornbread muffins they gave us with some type of jalapeño honey butter were amazing. For appetizers we order the Oysters Rockefeller, mussels, and gator tail. The oysters Rockefeller were great. The gator tail was probably the best I’ve had and really flavorful. The mussels were good but didn’t thrill me, the sauce wasn’t anything special. For my entrée, I shared the king crab risotto with my mom which was incredible, definitely the highlight of the night. It was a special though so probably not always available to order. For desserts, we had the brown sugar oreo cheesecake and the pumpkin roll. Again, both were fabulous, especially the cheesecake. Honestly, everything we had here was amazing. It is pricey, but well worth the money. Service was great. Our waitress, I forget her name but she had red hair, was awesome. I would love to come her again.

Simply amazing. Everything we ordered was phenomenal. The king crab risotto was out of this world. Unfortunately it was a special so you won’t be able to order it all the time but that was my favorite. The gator tail was the best I ever had. The Oysters Rockefeller were delicious with lots of bacon. The mussels were good, although not the best I ever had. I thought the sauce was kind of bland. First time I didn’t want to dip bread in it.
The cornbread with honey butter that they gave us before or meal was delicious. Loved it. Our drinks were made to order and were very good.
Desserts were a MAY zing! We had the pumpkin roll and the brown sugar oreo cheesecake. So freaking good.
This is a great restaurant with a nice atmosphere. It is a little noisy but we were able to talk. This restaurant is on open table if you want to make a reservation.

Decided to finally stop in for lunch take-​out on the way home from traveling. I was a bit skeptical about the near perfect 5-​star rating for a seafood restaurant no where near the coast called Goin’ Coastal lol but so glad I tried it. I made sure to sample a few bites while everything was fresh before making an opinion of the food. First of all the location is really nice in downtown Canton, parking for lunch around 2pm wasn’t bad but challenging as its on a one way and the gps went nuts. Found it though, look for red tarpe near fire station off Main Street. Coming in I was pleased with the open kitchen concept and exposed bricks, walked to very back to discover a beautiful private dining room with tons of wine bottles. The staff were very prompt and pleasant and was greeted everywhere I went in the establishment. I ordered the crab/​shrimp dip, hush puppies, fries, slaw and chicken salad sandwich. The dip was unbelievably delicious and could tell it’s a proprietary blend courteous of the chef. The fries weren’t just fries, they were packed with truffle and curry flavoring, even the slaw was homemade! I know I ordered a non seafood item but many restaurants will slack on at least one thing that isn’t really their speciality and make excuses but not here. The chicken salad was out of this world with so much flavor and love poured into it. I can tell the chef really loves to cook and create master pieces. I can’t wait to come in for dinner sometime with a reservation of course as the waitress kindly recommended. I would have taken pics of the food but would not give it justice in presentation so I will save that for my next dine in experience :)

Just moved to the area and had dinner for the first time at Goin Coastal. It was awesome. Had the lobster mac & cheese with the crab cakes. both delicious. My husband had a steak and scallops. Said the scallops were some of the best he ever had. Our waitress, Jessica was amazing! Loved everything. This will be our new favorite spot.
Kim Brown

I was pleasantly surprised to find such a good seafood place in downtown Canton. Who knew? Anyway, this place only buys certified sustainable seafood which is good to know. The fish seemed super fresh and very well prepared. The server was very friendly and informative on all of the dishes and at the end of the meal let us know that the owner’s mother even prepares the desserts from scratch. How could you resist that? Um, you can’t. So we even ordered dessert and it did not disappoint. This is going on my list of favorites.

As a Floridian traveling in Georgia, I am unfamiliar with local restaurants here. When I mentioned to the woman checking me into my hotel that I planned to get a lobster dinner at Red Lobster, she said, «I heard that Goin’ Coastal is better.» Having not been to RL in over 15 years and assuming it has not changed much, I liked being able to check out a local place instead of a chain.
First off: rock star parking — right in front of the place. That put me in a good mood. Seated right away (just me) and started looking over the menu. I noticed a couple items with lobster, but not a simple baked lobster that I kinda had my mind set on.
Next, Laura, my server, came and I ordered a single malt scotch that I had not tried in a long time (Edradour). Nice to have a server who knows the scotch selection without running to the bar to check. I mentioned my lobster desire and Laura then informs me of a Baked-​Stuffed Lobster Special offered that night. She could check if there were any left. Fortunately, there was one left — for me. I ordered the sides, salad and sautéed spinach and enjoyed my scotch while I waited. Which was not long.
The lobster came stuffed with yummy bits of seafood like scallops, oysters, and such, and was cooked perfectly (if just a touch on the lightly underdone side). The sautéed spinach was fine and when I was finished, the passing bartender (Larry?) heard me mention the word scotch and jumped in, «I’ve got a great scotch you should try!» He brought me a sample of a very fine scotch which was much appreciated, although this was not the night for me to have another full drink.
I walked out happy, satisfied, and eager to return with some friends.
(I’ll see if I can share a photo of my meal.)

My Husband and I were both looking forward to an awesome meal. This did not occur. Let me start with the very very slow service, had to wait long times to get to order, even drinks. I ordered Oysters Rockefeller and Lobster Bisque to start. The Oysters, while big were not an accepted way of doing this classic. Large pieces of bacon on them without the creaminess of a good sauce. I have had these all over and I sent them back, Small cornbread muffins were served with the apps and they were cold. The waitress brought more that were slightly warm. Next the Bisque had to much wine in it and a distinct tomato flavor that overshadowed the dish. The Scallop Risotto had large perfectly cooked Scallops, but the pesto Risotto was much to acidic.
This was 70.00 for two
Not worth the time, Travel or money. Put a real damper on our evening.

My family and I came here the night after Thanksgiving to mainly get out of the house and to be honest, we had been prepping for Thanksgiving for weeks. We made a reservation and we were promptly seated when we arrived. I am currently on crutches and the hostess made sure I was comfortable and my crutches were stored away properly which is much appreciated.
We each ordered a drink and my dad was automatically drawn to the steak tartar. We received an order of that and then asked our waitress what would be a good dish for sharing between the 5 of us. Aliysis (spelling?), ourtheir waitress, recommended the Dip which is Wild American shrimp & blue crab baked with a trio of cheeses & served with toasted French bread. If you read that description you would know its amazingly cheesy. That steak tartar though… yum. SO delicious.
While we discussed what were were going to eat for dinner, Aliysis approached us and asked if we had any questions. My mother and sister had some questions about their fresh fish preparations and which fish would go best with which preparation. Alysis explained every one with great detail and was very helpful. I ended up ordering the Coastal Bowl which everyone agreed was amazing. The Coastal Bowl consists of Wild American shrimp, PEI mussels, scallops, oysters & seasonal fresh fish simmered in a tomato fish stock with andouille sausage, new potatoes & corn. Needless to say it was very filling and appetizing.
The food and service were excellent and I will definitely return and recommend this restaurant to anyone interested in seafood. I hope I spelled our waitresses name right because she was awesome and I would not like for her to go unaccredited!