Nantucket Bucket

Mahi Fish Spread, Portuguese Fish Stew, Grouper Sandwich, Sausage, Shrimp & Grits, and Lobster Salad! Over two visits and bringing my Sis here, (She thrives on Maryland Seafood!) we tasted all of these dishes. My first review was filled with raves. This one just adds one more star! I’ve been fortunate to have great experiences here and will continue to frequent Nantucket Bucket! I’m a big fan… oh, and I have mastered a New England Boil Dinner in the past. This place just takes it to another higher level!

The hubby and I went through my Unilocal bookmarks on a Friday night to decide which new restaurant we wanted to try.
We were in the mood for Safety Harbor-​not too far from westchase and a walkable community.
We decided upon Nantucket Bucket for some New England style seafood.
Upon entering the old refurbished home, you are instantly invited to a warm and cozy environment. Their beer selection is quite extensive and unique for a smaller type of restaurant. Most of the beers were local-​Rapp brewery, 7^th sun etc.
I decided upon the grouper nuggets and waffle fries special and Patrick ordered the grilled mahi mahi with their blue cheese cole slaw.
My special was fantastic. The nuggets were lightly battered and fried. I asked for a side of roumalade sauce to dip them in. My husband liked his fish (although it was a little on the small side) and he enjoyed stealing a few of my nuggets.
All in all, it was a solid Safety Harbor choice for a low key dinner.

The owner catered my sisters wedding a few years ago and we are all huge fans of Nantucket Bucket. We built a bucket of shrimp, crab and sausage. It was so yummy and so much food! Staff was a little slow but they were packed so understandable. Will def be back!!!

Today, my wife and I stopped in for lunch. Exceptional warm, personal and knowledgable service by Kim, our waitress/​bartender.
I had a cup of the Portuguese stew. It was a Tomato based seafood stew with lots of seafood, potatoes etc. Thick enough to eat with fork. Nicely spiced and tasty. More to come.

After living in Safety Harbor for a solid 10 months and constantly passing by this place, we finally decided to give it a go on Valentine’s Day and have been back one more time since.
First of all, the name alone is fun. Say it with me: Nan-​tucket Buck-​et! I love rhyming and I love their buckets!
Both times I’ve been we have had a steamer bucket of some sort and the lobster and crab legs have been cooked perfectly and come right out of their little exoskeletons (sorry buddies). The buckets come with the veggie/​potato accoutrements and are in a delicious broth used for bread dipping.
If you aren’t into the steamers, their bacon wrapped shrimp with feta and spinach is outstanding. It’s on the app menu but worth getting as your meal with a side of crispy delicious waffle fries.
We have had awesome service both times and love their specials. I cannot wait to go back and enjoy the all you can eat snow crab and that mahi sandwich that looks super tasty.

Alright, I have update my rating for The Bucket. Me and La Chica have been back a fistful of times since our initial visit almost one year ago, and the food is consistent, fresh and tasty. The service also remains consistent, attentive and friendly. In fact, they have a new GM named Jeff, and this guy is on the ball. He’s made some great changes in the kitchen, so go check out some of the new specials they’re toying around with.
I just want to add that I did recently try their grouper sammich alongside Frenchy’s and the Palm Pavilion, and The Bucket still holds the crown!

I found this lovely Restaurant on a whim. A local pointed me in the right direction after I inquired about who had the best seafood in town. The Restaurant is actually an early century Sears catalog house. It has ample indoor dining space and a nice bar. The outside dining/​porch is very desirable weather permitting. Now for the good part. While it’s fairly easy to find good seafood in Florida, it’s a treat when you find exceptional seafood! We had the steamers (clams) for an appetizer, Key lime pie martinis and the Maine steam bake for dinner (see picture) the seafood was perfectly steamed, the lobster was fresh/​cooked right. The clams/​vegetables had perfect flavor and texture. I enjoy it when a dinner is exceptional and I hope your experience is as good as ours! Enjoy!

Visited this great New England restaurant with the family on a cold day and sat outside to get the full effect of Nantucket .
We ordered a few buckets of seafood as well as a very delicious Mahi sandwich.
While sitting outside the waitress/​bartender lit up the outdoor heater– since it was getting chillier as the sun hid behind the clouds, needed to order a spicy Bloody Mary — oh so spicy and tasty!
The 1924 house is decorated with actual antiques from Nantucket — cool to look at while u eat seafood.

My wife and I decided to try Nantucket Bucket last night since we had a ½ off the second entrée coupon. It took a little searching to find the restaurant. We were greeted by a very nice hostess and seated immediately. The restaurant consists of several small dining rooms and a patio out front. We were seated in a small dining room and were the only people in the room thru our entire meal. Jason, our server did a good job.
The wine list by the glass was ample and well priced. The corn chowder was very good.
I had the clam bellies which were excellent. My wife had the coconut shrimp which she said were average.
The lobster mac and cheese side was very good and creamy. The corn on the cob was the frozen variety.
Overall the meal was good and the service very good. We will try this restaurant again.

My wife and i visited this restaurant for the first time, nice place, nice atmosphere… Food was good… The only bad thing was that our waitress was the bartender and we were not sited in the bar area… We had to ask other waitress for service and they will call her at the bar… We even have to go to the bar to paid our will… Bartenders should not be waitressing out side they area and if that was part of the area, they will provided a slow and bad customer experience… I don’t thing we will visit this restaurant again…

One hour later… still no food. No kidding, it took an hour and 15 minutes to get food. I’m certain it was the fault of the server because people who arrived after us were getting their food whilst we sat, hungry and hopeful that eventually out hunger would be sated. The server went about his business as though we couldn’t tell that everyone else was eating, it was a bit rude.
The people around me raved about the corn/​lobster chowder. The portabello sandwich was boring.
It’s a really cute place so it may get a second visit if I’m nearby and get hungry but I won’t make it a destination.

Wow!!! What a delight!!! Great casual atmosphere with comfortable outdoor seating.
Waitress was incredibly friendly and helpful with tasty suggestions, and even a sample when we weren’t sure what to order! Would come back for such attentive service alone!
Food was phenomenal. Light, healthy and delicious. Start with the a cup of the fish stew – filled with chunks of fresh seafood. Definitely order the bucket – with your choice of seafood. Comes with hearty vegetables (potato, celery, onions and garlic), a side of freshly toasted bread and extra butter for dipping! Yummy!!!
Oh! I almost forgot! Finish up your meal with a fabulous slice of homemade key lime pie. Rich, creamy and full of like flavor.

My review really rates at a 2.5. I really wanted to love this place. It has every element of what I like. Independent, old bungalow, big trees, coastal fun & seafood.
The menu looked very well rounded. We arrived to eat before a concert. I had bookmarked the Bucket on Unilocal as a place to try after seeing a friends raving review on here.
The pro’s — Great Beer & Wine selection
Lot’s of choices on the menu & a fun décor
The con’s — What looked like a nice cocktail menu, turned out to sound better than taste better. I ordered a cocktail with all elements that I usually like: Gin, fresh juice, rosemary, etc… What came out tasted like over salted cough medicine unfortunately. They were super wonderful and took it back and I ordered a glass of wine.
Dinner: I had Blackened Grouper, Lobster Mac N’ Cheese and Broccoli.
My husband had signature bucket of crawfish.
My grouper was the dinner portion but it was the same size as sandwich. If I put a bun with it, it would have covered it. Not complaining, but usually dinner size is larger since you are paying so much more. My issue with my dinner was — it was overcooked bit. Blackened fish can’t be dry. It ruins it. It was a nice thick piece but it would have been much better 2 mins less on the grill. Same with the Mac N Cheese — Totally dry. It felt like it was made at 8am that morning and was reheated over and over. It was a total let down. No creaminess like I was hoping for.
Sadly, the broccoli was the best part.
My husbands bucket — he said it tasted very good but there weren’t many crawfish in there. For the price, he had to eat all of the potatoes & corn to get full vs having seafood getting him full.
What we did see come out of the kitchen were a lot of fried platters that did look amazing. Maybe that is the kicker for this place, Good fried seafood. Also — the lobster roll looked amazing.
So all in all — while it was a disappointment for our first time, I will absolutely go back to give it another try. I in no way think this is a bust but it wasn’t all that I had hoped for on that evening.
I will update the review next time I return as I love downtown Safety Harbor and all of it’s charm.

I like the bucket option that can be ordered without sausage or seafood although it’s kick ass with all that in there as well. The service at the bar with Kelly is so awesome that I’ve never sat at any other seat before. Last time I visited I tried the portabella sammich, and reconfirmed my carnivore roots once again. It was really good… but where’s the beef? My consort got the grouper, which is great if you absolutely insist on cooking your seafood. Of course I’ll be Bach.

Came here after golf and between bars for a quick bite around 3 PM on a Tuesday and we had the place to ourselves. I ordered Stella on tap of course and browsing through their menu, I decided on a lobster roll and a lobster mac n cheese for an extra $ 2. The roll was nice & fresh, portion was big and fresh. The mac n cheese was great too.
I understand that this place is packed on weekends so make sure you get there early or plan for extra waiting time.

First of all, the address is a bit misleading. If you go by the street count down, you THINK this is going to be down near Crispers & Starbucks, but NO! It’s actually just behind Renaissance Realty, off of 5^th in Safety Harbor.
Once you find the place though, you’re not going to be disappointed. And this comes from me, someone who does not generally LIKE seafood. We met up with some friends and found this little converted house and made a foursome for dinner. Making with the appetizers, we had their bacon and cheese waffle fries and calamari for starters. I wasn’t too keen on the fries as the cheese sauce was more like queso dip vs real cheese, but the calamari. OH MY GOD! tender, light and not a bit rubbery at all. Someone finally got it perfect!
Dinner for us came in the form of a Scallop plate for my friend’s husband, Mahi Mahi for me, and our respective spouses got their specialties: the buckets, a flavorful blend of vegetables and broth with seafood added in. The husbeast opted for a half pound of Shrimp (I think he got more) and our dear friend got snow crab. There was enough food on our table to feed a small kingdom.
This leads us to dessert. We sampled both that were on the menu, the Rum Cake and the home made Key Lime pie. Both were fantastic and the portions were HUGE. I swear I am not kidding when I say they gave us almost a quarter of the key lime pie, and the rum cake HAD to have been soaked with a good ounce or two of quality dark rum.
I’ll certainly go back, the Mahi Mahi was perfect!

My husband and I were in Safety Harbor for a running event and set out on foot to find a place for dinner. We settler on Nantucket, as the converted house atmosphere caught our eye. We were told 20 minutes for a table (no problem, it was a busy Saturday night) and after confusion at the host want, we were seared after about ten minutes.
The menu had many options that all seemed inviting, though I guess I was expecting a little more of a New England theme (my husband I originally from New England). I ordered the fish tacos. Good, but a little bland. Service was good considering how busy the restaurant was. It was a nice atmosphere and I’d return, anxious to find something else in the menu with more of a wow factor.

Visit time/​day: Lunch on a weekday
Atmosphere: Cute comfortable outdoor patio with picnic tables, casual nautical theme
I ordered the Mahi sandwich — blackened. I received a nice size portion of Mahi that was cooked perfectly, served on a bun with lettuce, tomato, onion with kettle chips, pickle, coleslaw, and tartar sauce. Nothing phenomenal about the sandwich but the Mahi was well prepared and seasoned.
Service was a bit slow (maybe took ½ hour for a group of 7 to get our meals and it didn’t seem super busy) — they might still be working out the kinks because they are relatively new.
Will definitely go back!

First, let me say I love supporting small, locally owned businesses. Often, you find GREAT food, excellent service, and a local flavor that is simply not available at any of the larger restaurants. This restaurant is such a place. Thought the theme was sufficiently nautical, ‘boathouse’ is a bit of a stretch as this place is nowhere near the water.
Unfortunately the food was prepared so poorly that not only would I not go back, I would recommend others to stay away. The ‘bucket for two’ we ordered seemed promising, a New England Clam Bake type deal with corn, potatoes, toasted bread for a small fee and your pick of several different types of seafood a la carte style.
Apparently the seafood was supposed to be prepared in a court bouillon type liquid and served in a bucket. Why someone thought receiving boiled down spent celery and heaping hunks of onion with our bucket I can’t imagine. The ‘hearty stock’ was essentially tap water, and just as bland. The seafood was so drastically overcooked, I immediately could tell by the look of it. (Note to cooks: When shrimp completely curl in on themselves they are useful only for Ramen noodles and treading shoes).
The replacement shrimp were almost as bad, and tasteless. The oysters, which there were few, were badly overcooked as well. The crab, which was the unfortunate highlight of the meal WAS sorta fresh until someone in the kitchen cooked it to death.
Unfortunately because of the snowbird population of Safety Harbor which this restaurant is apparently very popular with, it will probably be around for a very long time. I call this the KIssimmee effect. Locals will know why.
When a place like Hooter’s does better seafood than your seafood joint, it’s time to throw in the dishrag.

Good stuff! We had a bucket first time here when the menu was rather limited during grand opening. My wife’s not crazy about this type food, but being from NE, I don’t mind coming by myself at all! Smoked fish spread, lobster corn chowder and bacon and blue cole slaw hit the spot! Grew mix and match of appetizers, sides!