Rick’s Reef

Walked down the boulevard and stumbled upon this place with a group of colleagues in town for a convention. Heard music playing and decided to give it a try. All food is made fresh! Waiter recommended the lobster roll and it was AWESOME! Mostly meat and little mayonnaise! Fresh cut fries and amazingly fresh delicious cole slaw! If you are in town give it a try!

Nice buffalo shrimp ordered them plane with the hot sauce and blue cheese on the side good cocktail sauce and nice breading fish tacos were not the best I get on the three out of five bartender was pretty cool about talkative and the guest seem to be having a good time

I loved every bite of the delicious onion rings. My main meal was blakened mahi, every single bite was fish perfection. Mash potatoes were great and even the fries were great. I highly recommend this place. Good atmosphere and decent drink prices. The food was excellently priced at only $ 16 for mahi and 2 sides. Awesome experience.

Dynamite food! Excellent service. Get the Blackened Mahi. Everything is made fresh. Great selection of beers on tap too. Definitely would come back

My brother and I stopped off here randomly on the way home from the beach. The orders were simple and random. We ordered buffalo chicken strips (boneless — medium) for an appetizer and they were great; meaty, good sauce, and quick. The entrées were crab cakes in two variations (sandwich and a la carte) and they were good; plenty of meat but not as «lumped» as I would like. The «shark sauce» was tasty enough but I usually prefer to have my CC with a mango salsa or powerful equivalent to pair with the typically docile taste of the cakes. All in all, I’d come back here again!
P. S. The live music was a great addition!

Haven’t made a Unilocal review in a long time, but I had to say something about this place. Came here on a weeknight and sat inside. It was pretty quiet so we were able to enjoy each others company and music. Our waitress, Terry, took care of us like we were in her own home. Our food from start to finish was amazing. I highly recommend the blackened maji fish tacos! And they only have one desert item, their key lime pie which was probably the best of its kind I’ve ever had! Overall perfect night!

Was brought here from my cousin who we were visiting and the food was amazing or at least what we ordered. We usually don’t come to the same place twice on vacation but we ended up here twice.
We ordered the crab cake dinner and it was awesome, one of the best crab cakes we have ever had! The crab cakes were full of crab meat and very little breading. The flavor was on point definitely a great meal! We were told to get the deep fried corn on the cob for our side and since we get to do two sides we did two sides of the deep friend corn and for corn lovers out there it does not get any better than that. It was buttery and sweet, but at the same time so savory. It’s hard to describe but other than it was amazingly delicious.
The second time we came I got the fried shrimp and they were big shrimps with the perfect amount of breading. Flavored very well I didn’t even use the sauces that came with it. It was that good. Again we got the double deep fried corn but who could blame us the corn is that good!
For anyone who is coming for the first time get the crab cakes! They are delicious and you can tell the crab meat is super fresh! Also you got to get the deep fried corn on the cob!!! The wife loved it so much she talked about it for days on the trip. Definitely recommend coming here for a bite to eat.
The atmosphere is very relaxed they play a lot of country music (which I love) and they got plenty of TV’s for you to watch whatever game is going on at the time. Great place to go a must stop if you are in the St. Pete area.!!

Great beach location. Our server was fantastic! Both my husband and I had the burgers and they were very tasty! And the onion rings made the meal, real batter dipped onion rings that weren’t soggy and real thick cut onions! And stiff pour on our Bloody Mary’s with great mix! We will be back!

Horrible lunch special. 3 chicken or beef tacos, soft or hard shell with a draft beer $ 8.00
Soft tortillas were all hard to bite into.
Chicken was dry.
1 little bit of lettuce.
A line at the bottom of melted cheddar.
A small sample cup of diced tomatoes.
Cold draft beer and the price (that’s the 2 stars)
Seems like a taco you would get at a dive bar in Illinois, or at a hospital.
No flavor, no imagination.
Make your own topping, buy better tortillas, or something easy. Or don’t serve it. Yuck.
Hate traveling and depending on some of these reviews that don’t have any idea of what good food is.
Try Shrimpys,
I ate lunch there yesterday. Shrimp cocktail was great, not your average. And the waitress Ashley was great. Better than being served by some fat dude who asks customers «what do you want»? Not trying to be rude he was just unprofessional. Nice guy, must have been new. Wish I could gag myself so I could try Shells seafood, across the street almost. It was my original destination. Doh!

Great prices on beer if the bartender would tell you about them. A bill that should have been $ 5 turned out to be $ 16 because the bartender didn’t do his job.
Very poor when called on it they wouldn’t even correct it.
To bad for them, they have lost a couple of good customers

Update: the food is also delicious. Love the blackened fish tacos and the grouper sandwich! Both are available on the lunch, dinner, and late night (after 10 pm) menu.

Came here for lunch last week, as it was a nice but not so humid day on the beach. I was craving some seafood and a beer. The place was relatively steady when we arrived and we were seated promptly. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. Bars inside and outside. Very old Florida vibe. Waitress was very friendly. However, when we placed our order, we waited over ;0 minutes for our food. The place slowly started to clear out as time went on, but no sign of our food for such a long time. I got the blackened grouper sandwich with fries. It was cooked very well-​fresh and flavorful. But again, the wait time almost made it not worth it. It seemed the staff were stretched too thin. I’d be willing to try the place again if they get some more hands on deck.

Rick’s Reef: A Haiku
This place smelled like smoke
The cobb salad was ok
Service was lacking
Fin.

Great place, we’ll be back this week! I had the fried grouper sandwich for lunch, my wife had the blackened fish tacos — sooo good, $ 3 wells and domestics special during the week. The kids meal chicken fingers were HUGE and delicious. Don’t go to some other place, go here!

As locals, we’ve been twice. Each time we’ve been fortunate enough to have had Amanda as our waitress/​server. Basically, this is a review for her; she is kind and thoughtful, and attentive.
Also, the fries and salads are pretty delicious
…lots of flavored vodka and beers on draft as well.

This place was delicious! Noticed this restaurant had great reviews on Unilocal,so I thought it would be a good place to have lunch. We shared the crab stuffed grouper, mixed veggies, and tator tots. The grouper arrived with a delicious remoulade drizzled nicely over the overly-​stuffed grouper. I absolutely loved this dish. The mixed veggies were cooked in a nice garlic butter with a great seasoning. The tator tots were spot-​on, not greasy, not overcooked, but perfect. I would recommend anyone try this gem. The food is delicious!

While most of the small, hole in the wall, sketchy looking restaurants along this strip are over rated, Rick’s bucks that trend. Located a block from The Gulf, eating on the patio at Rick’s brings the ocean breeze to your table, even if the sand is a block away. You’ll find a mix of locals and tourists here, but fortunately will be able to avoid tourist food.
Rick’s is the rare local spot that prides itself on dishing out quality, made from scratch meals and isn’t shy about slicing up large portions. You’ll find fresh, affordable meals, plenty of booze and better than your typical beach town service. When in St Pete’s Beach Rick’s is going to be one of your better options. Come with an appetite — you’re going to need it.

HOLY SH! T – this place is awesome!
I’ll be honest, when I first came here with my GF and her parents, I was wondering, «Where the hell are we eating on our vacation?» The place has a real beach/​tiki vibe to it and it seems like somewhere you would get some average food, like chicken tenders and Bud Light, and call it a day.
Nope, I was wrong in my assumption. The service, booze and food here is 5-​star. We started with the gator bites, which were excellent and the sauce they come with makes you salivate. It’s that good. They have IPA’s, APA’s and your routine domestic beers on tap, too. Also have liquor and wine.
As for the entrees, man, it is deeeeelicious. I ordered two crab cakes with loaded mashed potatoes and yellow rice (you choose your sides) and it was great. The potatoes were especially fresh and did not taste like anything you’d find out of a box at the grocery store. The rice was quite good as well and mixed well with the crab cakes. I will go on record by saying the crab cakes were in the top two or three I have ever had… the sauce they provide with them is unbelievably tasty, and the crab is real and it is spectacular.
The prices are good, the food is great and the scene is relaxing. Don’t underestimate Rick’s Reef or you will regret it!

Try the boneless garlic parmesan wings, absolutely delicious. Also their top shelf margarita is one of the best I’ve ever had. The staff is friendly, but I’m from Seattle, it seems like everywhere I go out side of the Northwest people are friendlier. ;)
Update: 2 days later, we are back for more.
The chef salad was very nice! Coffee is great. This is our favorite place in St. Pete. I’m changing my review to 5 stars. It just so good for pub food.

I accidentally came across Rick’s Reef while looking for parking on a Sunday afternoon beach day. My friend noticed the «$ 2 Bloody Mary» sign and we immediately decided to stop here. What a fantastic decision that turned into! Rick’s Reef is an amazing, laid back beach bar right on Gulf Blvd. There is outdoor and indoor seating, but I must say that the best spot is at the bar. The bartender was extremely friendly and watching the locals come in and out is amazing (this is a true beach bar).
The Bloody Marys were strong and very tasty. We ordered an appetizer of potato skins for $ 8…which turned out to be gigantic and fully loaded with cheeses and bacon. The menu was priced really reasonably and all of the food looked amazing as I saw it being served around the bar. The draft beer selection is notable… both local craft and domestics. But really… those $ 2 Bloody Marys will keep me coming back! A great little discovery on Gulf Blvd!!!