Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar

This is my favorite seafood restaurant in Sarasota. It’s right on the water, you sit at picnic tables and there is a roll of paper towels at your table as napkins. It’s fun and relaxed.
The stuffed flounder is my favorite meal there. You get plenty of food!!!
Unfortunately this time, the service was not great. I have been there many times before when it is insanely crowded and I still managed to have great service. This time, we waited to get water 10 minutes after being seated and we had to ask for our server before our drinks got refilled. That part stinks, but the food is still my favorite and I will continue to stop here for dinner every time I visit Sarasota.

Tourist spot for sure. Hot, no tv’s at bar. Portions large but cater tourists with the menu wording and not taste (no thanks on the doggie bag). I live locally, been here twice and it is pedestrian at best. I should have known better with the «gimicky» wood «put your face in this funny thing and take a pic!» lame attraction thingy… and the other tourist «thingies» scattered about… including the Great White shark hanging at the entrance… gator statues also…
Even our bartender, when we asked, «any tv’s for sports watching?» stated «nah, we don’t need them as we get out of area customers from our „historical“ rep»…there are WAY too many cool «fish camps» in florida.(tip.search Unilocal for that) to even think of this place.
Options abound around this 5mile radius for ANY DELICIOUS FOOD! …lol…i think i will go to another with or without a «creek» view with houses to look at across the way (no music thanks to those residents”. This place even has… wait for it…“venetion gondola” rides on the CREEK (disclaimer…not sure if they run it, but it is there with a nice big sign.
If u are not from the area… do yourself a favor and head to Owens Fish Camp downtown or Walts Fish Market within a mile from this place! Better yet… do what the creek actually does, and meander your way a mile over Stickney Point bridge to the NUMBER 1 BEACH IN AMERICA… Siesta Key!!! Ahhhhh… relax and go to the «village» where restaurants are lined up, along with shops, happy you are there. You can even take the «free» taxis to go anywhere on the island for alternative drinks and food with a great local vibe! Trust me… you will not be dissapointed. Street parking allowed where no signs posted. wink wink…

Great food — ordered oysters and had all items to go with it
Snow claws were great
Did not rush us out but let us sit as long as we wanted !!! Accommodate — accommodate —-
Very flexible staff

Nice relaxing atmosphere on the creek. Food was very good and lots of it. Tasted alligator for the first time. Had the seared tuna and 6 oysters all very fresh and delicious.

We went to this restaurant looking to try out a new restaurant and maybe adding it to our places to visit while we are vacationing here in Siesta Key. We left extremely disappointed due to the poor service. Our waitress apologize for taking so long on everything because all of her tables were on the opposite side of where we were but being that we had two very small children with us, this was not acceptable. Water tasted terrible forcing me to order a drink to push down the super salty food. A complete waste of $ 70. Save your money. Don’t go here.

So sad loved this place –got seated right away and sat ignored for over 15 minutes. It wasn’t busy and we saw people who got seared after us get seated.

I love, love, LOVE this place! I won’t leave Sarasota without eating here at least once. Give me a dozen oysters on the half shell and a beer and I’m a happy girl. Great ambiance, great service… just great!

Oh no, don’t go!
My friend and I thought it would be fun to finally try the place with the giant shark hanging out front… and we had a great time taking pictures with the shark, and numerous other curiosities around the restaurant. The service was friendly, and the atmosphere was fun.
The menu was bad news — tons of options, most of them overpriced, none of them especially enticing (fried seafood and bad burgers). I joked that I would have food poisoning the next day… turns out it wasn’t a joke.
Go for a beer; stay clear of the menu.

The grouper sandwich and lobster slider are so fresh and delicious. I highly recommend this place. Great music and it’s not loud inside. Perfect place to grab something to eat and staff are friendly.

Oyster nachos were great as well as the crab cakes and peel and eat shrimp. The only reason I’m giving 4 instead of 5 star is because our waitress kept disappearing and we couldn’t find her

If I were from Sarasota, this would have been the spot to go with my Dad, right? Right! It’s got a classy, relaxing atmosphere, and of course, is right on the edge of a small lake. The server was particularly friendly and made the place very enjoyable. As far as the food; it was a hit — I had a few oysters, calamari and crab leg, all were fresh and delicious. The key lime pie was second to none — having a perfectly dense texture with the right balance of tartness and sweetness. And let’s not forget about the illuminated palms in the parking lot, as well as the giant fake great white shark. This is definitely a top spot for seafood in Sarasota.

One word… AMAZING. We came here years ago for the standard pub grub fried grouper sandwhich which had been good but WOW the menu is totally changed. FRESH FLAVORFUL AND DELICIOUS. We shared the fried group Cobb salad with an orange vinegarette YUM and also the trio of Snapper fish tacos. I’m from CA and haven’t found fish tacos to compare in 4 year until these. Guacamole queso fresco pineapple infused slaw and omg real corn tortilla shells blue corn even! (not the sad limp flour ones offered everywhere else).
And all this set in a beautiful water inlet view under umbrellas and tiki thatch décor.
2 Fists Up for this place. Our new favorite for sure.

No top of the line for seafood but pretty acceptable quality and prices. Had fried smelt and calamari for an appetizer. And a pot for two — steamed oysters and shrimps with corn and garlic bread. You definitely would not feel like you overate after having this meal: lots of work to open those oysters :) Shimps were slightly ovecooked. I do not think I would order that next time but we will be back to explore the menu more.
Most of the evening I liked the Phillipi Creek water view and the building itself.

my favorite «vacation» restaurant. Went here the night before I got married with all my girl friends and then again the day we got married with our parents. Love the oysters and the atmosphere. Can’t beat it! Always great service and I will never visit Sarasota without stopping here for oysters and drinks.

One of our fave seafood places and the restaurant our northern family insists on going to when they visit.
Picnic tables, big rolls of paper towels, and buckets to throw your discarded shells in as you eat… PERFECTION. High quality seafood cooked any way you like it. Their steam pots are fabulous, I always get the crab legs and they are cooked perfectly, I steal everyone’s hushpuppies, and also like their blackened grouper. We have tried almost everything here and have been back over and over for more than 10 years. Never disappoints.

We’ve drove by many times and it always seemed to be crowded, day time nice view on the creek, night time with lights all lit and fun. Today we finally made it there! White shells on parking lot, so relaxing sitting by water, Gondola/​boats come and go~
Great quality seafood, slightly pricy so we only ordered steamed Clams and seafood platters, both were very good!
Love it here, casual outdoor seating and yummy seafood, definitely come back!

This place is really fun. I love how it’s right on the water. It’s so pretty. When you pull up this place looks like a legit tiki hut, it’s cool!
The service was friendly, very relaxed. Dogs are even welcomed.
The calamari is the best I’ve ever had. I ordered the coconut shrimp, so tasty. I loved the dipping sauce. I recommend the potato salad also!
If your feeling adventurous the onion rings are also great!

Even better than I remembered. I got the same thing, of course– the stuffed grouper (stuffed with shrimp, crab, and scallops). The hushpuppies were better than before. Such an enjoyable meal. So much food, but we managed to share a slice of homemade key lime pie amongst 4 people. So yummy!

I am really surprised reading some of the reviews. A few of them are older so maybe they made some adjustments recently because I had a fantastic experience!
My sister, who is a local, recommended this place since we had a taste for seafood and we all went for a late dinner. We splurged on every sort of legged sea creature — the King Crab Legs, Snow Crab Legs and the local Stone Crab.
I have never had Stone Crab. I live in Boston so I have eaten my fair share of King and Snow so I was happy to try something new and local. The waitress was SO helpful and suggested that I try them cold which I was REALLY uneasy about. I love hot crab legs! But she said they are immediately cooked when caught and warming them up would make them a little tough.
Her suggestion was perfect. I tried them cold and wow they were good! The King and Snow Crab legs were good too. The portions were a good size and I even enjoyed the baked potato and cole slaw which I usually don’t give a second glacé to when eating lots of seafood.
The atmosphere at night was cool and I didn’t feel like it was SUPER touristy like some of the other reviews said. I mean hello, places will be touristy and you yourself are probably a tourist right? Sometimes you just need to do a little touristy things people so relax have a drink and quit being so uptight :)

Thanks to Cathy J for the recommendation. We met my husbands aunts here on a Sunday afternoon around 1pm. This is a total divey seafood restaurant, no frills but definitely delivers on the food.
We sat outside on the intercostal on a picnic table and were handed the menus which were on a folded up newspaper. The menu was quite extensive with both broiled, steamed and fried seafood.
I went with the daily lunch special of fish tacos. By far, my choice was the best. They were topped with slaw, feta and fresh guacamole. I also ordered a side of hush puppies and these too were great.
My husband ordered the blackened mahi. His came with slaw and red potatoes. His was tasty too but mine was the stand out meal.
If we are ever in this area of town again, we would definitely stop by again.