Nick’s On the Beach

Dined at Nick’s On The Beach over Labor Day weekend.
We made reservations since we had several people. We were seated immediately.
The Gumbo appetizer is excellent. In fact, it was the best part of the meal.
I ordered the Seafood Platter with fries and cheese grits. The fried shrimp, which they are known for, was excellent. (I should have just ordered the shrimp platter.) The rest of the seafood platter was disappointing. It wasn’t far from room temperature and was just OK. The cheese grits, while they were probably the best cheese grits I’ve had, came out cold also.
The wait staff was attentive and the beer was cold.
If I end up back here on another trip to Santa Rosa, I will definitely stick to what they do well and not the other stuff!

Food was just ok. The hush puppies were the best thing they had. The service was so unorganized.

The fried green tomatoes are «Iggy Threadgood» mouth-​watering crunch smackin’ good. Bonnie’s welcome & service with personality & smile was superior.

I just cannot imagine anybody in this area having better fried seafood. We eat here constantly and the onion rings, shrimp, fish are just off the charts. They have the best fried food in the area and their burgers are to die for. Do not miss this place. Ignore the less than fancy atmosphere and concentrate on the food.

Great staff. The prices were average for the beach. My daughter had bacon wrapped shrimp. Oh my gosh! They were fantastic! My wife and I both had the fried shrimp. The shrimp were huge. The hushpuppies were great! The food took longer than expected but our waitress brought us some hushpuppies some to tide is over. We’ll definitely be back.

There is nothing amazing about this local seafood joint… we got a table quickly but the food was very generic. The service was good, but I very seriously doubt the seafood was anything but frozen.

Very friendly staff and good food. It’s great for a casual night out. Stick with seafood when you go here. The hamburger isn’t fabulous. Good place for large groups and families with young kids. We liked the hush puppies were yummy!

Great shrimp and decent service. A little to pricey for such a simple menu. Really cool sports memorabilia on the inside, a lot of signed pictures by athletes and former coaches. Seems very kid friendly.

My nine year old son said, «I would give this place 100 stars, no 1000 stars if I could». The wait on a Friday night was about 15 – 20 minutes which is really good as far as we were concerned. The wait staff was attentive and polite. The live music probably won’t please everyone but for me it added to the laid back, beachy atmosphere. The food was brought out quickly and it was awesome! My son loved the fried shrimp and baked potato! My friend from Port Charlotte, Fl said she is glad it isn’t closer because she’d eat here every day! My wife and I shared the seafood platter and it was really tasty as well. The people that have given this place bad reviews must’ve come on an off night because it is way better than others have said!

I feel awkward in giving this restaurant a ‘just ok’ rating. It is my friends’s favorite restaurant in this area. The interior is nice, clean and fresh for a beach type restaurant. The service was very good and the staff was attentive. I had a disappointing rum runner. My hamburger was over cooked, I do understand the whole danger with under-​cooked beef thing. The cole slaw was great, I do like my cole slaw classic Florida style a bit sweet with a creamy base. The side salads are a bit on the plain side. The fish sandwich looked terrific. There were quite a few shrimp orders, it is difficult to mess up steamed shrimp. A better choice than fast food but not awesome.

Wow. Terrible experience. We made the mistake of going here on our last night. After waiting 45 minutes for a table, and over an hour for our food, we had to leave. We had three small children and they told us it would be another 20 minutes for even appetizers. No manager in sight. If you have 2 hours to waste and have to leave without feeding your children then try nicks on the beach. Otherwise do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.

Pretty typical beach fare. Great hush puppies (as you’ve probably already read), middle-​of-​the-​road pricing, somewhat bland but quality approach to the cooking. Nothing special but solid. I should mention that they do have some cool sides — cheese grits, southern-​style green beans. Not sorry we went, but I’m sure we can find better in SRB.
It was too early for us to tell — but the bar did look like it might be fun for the non-​23 year-​old crowd.

Way to high priced for so so fried food, not very good service. The dinning area looked like it hadn’t changed in years and the bar patrons were a little loud. Did have some of the best hush puppies I’ve ever had

Hush puppies!!! I’ve never in my life had hush puppies like this. They were sweet. Not too sweet, but just perfectly sweet. It was the crispy fried goodness of your normal hush puppy, but with a tinge of dessert. Amazing.
Beyond that, our service was fantastic. From the waitress to the gentleman taking our order, everyone was over the top nice.
If you’re a college football fan, you should check this place out. There’s a ton of memoribilia in a front waiting room area. Cool stuff.

Overpriced fried disappointment. Our friend raved about this place. As we waited for a table he commented how it’s usually much more crowded. That should have been our sign to run. Robert Irvine would have a field day with this place. Terrible service. Once the server brought our food we didn’t see him again until he brought the check. Never did bring our appetizer or my son’s drink. Staff sitting at the bar eating. Bus boy walked by our table smacking food. Save your time and money. Go to Captain D’s. Same food. Less $$. Better service.

Consistently and outrageously slow. If you literally want to wait an hour for something that came out of a fryer, then this is your place.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the lounge– sec football theme, friendly staff, several welcoming regulars. Not the typical beach restaurant touristy vibe. Try the shrimp sandwich, with Texas toast, and a bowl of gumbo.

Great service, but so-​so food. We got a table right away, and our waitress was right there.
The food wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great — but it was okay. I would go back in a pinch, which is how we ended up there in the first place.
FYI — their raw oysters are from Choctawhatchee Bay oyster beds, not Apalachacola oyster beds. There is a difference.

The act of deciding where to eat while driving on an unfamiliar road is always a challenge. As soon as you think you might want to eat somewhere, you’ve driven past it. And how do you even decide where’s good based on the building and the signage?
For me, Nick’s was a place I had wanted to check out while driving past here months ago. If for nothing else, the $ 1.95 margaritas lured me in. Cheap and alcoholic. I’m took the bait like the predictable prey that I am.
The margarita was okay, and for $ 2, it was great. But the menu was sticky, (EWWWW). I had to get up and wash me hands. I asked our waiter if the fried seafood platter was big enough to share. From the description, it sounded like a lot. He assured me that it was and when it came out, it was pretty disappointing. The seafood did not even fill up a moderately sized plate, with a bowl of green beans taking up a third of that plate. And the quality was nothing special.
The sides that came with the seafood platter were ABYSMAL. The «salad» was just stale lettuce and did not look appetizing and it came with crackers. The «green beans» were just fresh out of some old greasy can, swimming in oil and microwaved. I asked for ketchup and their «ketchup» was an OLD bottle that they REFRIGERATED. I know the place is empty and maybe not a lot of people asks for ketchup but what restaurant serves REFRIGERATED ketchup? And on top of that, it was so old it was discolored. Like the red was not even red, but more a raspberry pink. I left that bottle alone. And the «seafood platter» was $ 23.95. Keep driving past next time.

I like this place. It’s very similar to the way it was before many of the other restaurants in the area were ever built.
The food is very good southern seafood. If you’r e not looking for southern style seafood you might want to check out some of the red meat or chicken options which are also good.
My favorite dish is the grilled snapper when it’s available. The hush puppies are awesome, I believe they are an old family recipe. The margaritas are yummy, though for the price you gotta be careful you don’t get carried away and drink too many.
I will be back. I encourage anyone who loves simple and delicious seafood to do the same.