Reef Restaurant Reviews

We stop at the Reef every time am in St Augustine for lunch.This time we had a large group. What a Great time we had. The soup was sooo good. My niece had to Order one. The food is so fresh. And delicious the service was fast with a smile the whole time. Trust me you will love it especially if you eat sea food. They have other items if you don t. Great place !!! I will be back.

Brunch is getting worse every time. Went there last Sunday. They run out of bacon, so no omelets allowed
Took forever get desserts out. Out of salmon at the table by the omelet maker...tweaked to speak to the manager, he came out, listened to complaints, turned around and left without saying a word. Which place this guy came from...I had heard before from about a hair in a plate. $80 worth of salty crab legs and 3 mimosas

This place is amazing for brunch! The mimosas flow freely and spread is diverse. Decor is tacky and dated. It's decorated like a vacation rental. Hahaha

This place was so refreshing. We came in for lunch and it was their inbetween time/happy hour. We had the crab cake, saffron mussels and the tuna that cane with ginger and sea weed salad. It was awesome. We sat outside and had great service. If we are ever back out this way The Reef will definitely be on our list of places to stop.

We ate here today for my mom s 83rd birthday. We were greeted by a nice young girl and our waitress promptly began serving us. We got there at 4:30 so they had drink and appetizer happy hour specials. My mother started off with the pate and I had the fried green tomatoes. Both were exceptional. The two of us decided on the same main course, the seafood trio. It was cooked perfectly and full of flavor. Because it was my moms birthday, the dessert was on the house...which was a very nice gesture! Along with the view, this has become one of our top 3 meals of the trip! We will definitely be coming back soon!

The food was great. However, the worst service! It took over 10 minutes to get drinks, a person walked all over the restaurant with our appetizers, our entrees came right after we finally received our appetizers. They forgot my salad and we were pretty much ignored the whole time. We came here for a special occasion with reservations. I was disappointed.

If you want a romantic and beautiful location for your wedding reception, this is the place! It's located right in front of Vilano Beach, with a beautiful view of the ocean. We had our wedding reception at the Reef this past 4th of July. I was very impressed by the service and accommodations that the Reef made for us. Amanda was a great host, and she made sure we had everything that we needed. The food was AWESOME, the service was EXCELLENT! The servers made sure that everyone was taken care of at all times! The fish, shrimp, and chicken were excellent. The room is lovely and the views from it are spectacular! It was the perfect place for my wedding reception! I highly recommend the Reef.

We ending here because the place we where going was closed for renovations, but im glad they was closed because we got to try the reef and love the food and the service amazing, if you in the mood for seafood this is the place.

The best brunch I've ever had. 74$ Per son but worth every penny. Fresh seafood (big peel and eat chilled shrimp, chilled&steamed snow crab, omelettes , chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, etc etc) great view was a little foggy when we went but that's mother nature and it was awesome. Will go back when I'm in that area.

My wife and I came here for our anniversary. We have lived in the area for 25+ years and finally tried it. It did not disappoint. We had the filet and seafood trio and it was very tasty.

We always have a great experience every time we come to St.Augustine. They make my absolute favorite seared tuna here only by request: Sesame Crusted tuna (rare). They also have a great crab cake sandwich which was my go to for a while when I lived here.

Great food and great views! Friendly staff ready to make it a memorable dinner for you. Everything is FRESH. WE KEEP ON COMING BACK! Jess Mallory

The food was excellent and our server was most attentive. We look forward to returning soon.

The Reef has outstanding views of the Atlantic ocean. The decor is comfortable with nice size tables. The food is well prepared and creative. The bar offerings is excellent
The service is attentive and friendly.
The minus is preparation time. It can be very inconsistent. Our drinks took an inordinate amount of time to arrive and required follow up by our server and the roving matre d. This seems to be the norm and occurs whenever we eat there. The time between appetizer and entree can also be excessively long. The Reef needs to work on these two shortfalls.

Jessica Green II chef service a beautiful flounder green beans and potatoes most excellent

My daughter and her husband had their rehearsal lunch at The Reef and it was perfect. The food and ambience was fantastic.

We enjoyed our meal & the ocean view at the reef. We had the Coconut shrimp app, it was perfectly cooked, Big, plump & fresh, the best we have had. My husband had the seafood chowder & the filet. The chowder was very good. The filet wasn t thick but was perfectly done. I had the Grilled Cauliflower with Creamy Vegetable risotto, red pepper vinaigrette. So very good & flavorful. We also had drinks & the chocolate chocolate cake. Our server Richard was attentive & caring. We will be back, loved our meal.

Good food with a great view! Good happy hour specials on drinks and appetizers.

Horrible. Simply horrible food. Fish overcooked. Very small portion. Service fair. Manager was arrogant and defensive when we discussed the poorly executed preparation and small portion size. Why does he have a job with this restaurant as he clearly has no people skills. None.

The service was really slow, but the server was friendly and the food was excellent!

The food is fairly good as is the service. The views are fantastic.

Calamari was great not over cooked like most places, prime rib sandwich was great and the chef seafood salad was fresh and delicious.

Went to the Reef for lunch wit friends. One friend had never been there. The other had only been there one other time. We all really enjoyed what we ate. I had the citrus salmon and fried spinach. One friend has seafood pasta. The other had sea scallops. Our server was great.

Food was very good and fresh the service was a tad bit slow the views of the ocean were incredible

Delicious food items, efficient wait staff, spectacular views of the ocean & $$$ only. You will not be disappointed!!

Excellent grouper dish. My husband had two appetizers for his main dish- the clams and scallops. Bother were delicious and uniquely prepared. Ocean view was great. We will definitely go back.

I m sorry to say that the food and the service have gone down at The Reef restaurant. If you are looking for a beautiful ocean view this might be your place if you order coffee. The prices on the menu seem reasonable but when the check arrives you may be surprised. Keep a close eye on ordering sides.

I had high hopes after seeing the menu but the food is just bad. The view is nice and the staff is friendly. Unfortunately it s just not any good at all. Very disappointing.

I highly recommend the Sunday brunch buffet! With a wide variety of delicious options, bottomless mimosas, and this amazing view, The Reef cannot be beat! I will definitely be back the next time I am in St. Augustine!

Best brunch anywhere. Period. Hands down, no questions asked. Best view at a local restaurant. I love this place!!!

The wait for our drinks was ridiculously long. And food even longer. The food was good. Ut not as good as what we paid for. The staff was nice and friendly just slow service.

Good food, but we had slow service. Not even sure why. The restaurant wasn't packed (we had an empty table beside us for nearly the whole time we were there). Our waiter, Rich, was very pleasant but would disappear for long periods of time. We ordered the calamari for an appetizer and loved it! I had the black and blue salad as my meal - extremely good. My wife ordered the shrimp and grits, and it was okay. It had a ball of grits in the middle of a lake of spicy gravy, surrounded by boiled shrimp she had to peel herself. It was different than what we typically get other places. If you like gravy and datil peppers, then you would probably like this dish.

Overall, if you love a great view of the beach, slow leisurely dinners, a wide selection of drinks, and good steak and seafood, you will probably like this place. But we don't drink alcohol, often found ourselves waiting for service, and despite picking two of the cheaper dinners found ourselves paying a $65 ticket. We can find equally good food at cheaper prices elsewhere (which is one of the strengths of the Jax/St. Augustine area) that also have plenty of atmosphere and/or views. We probably won't be back.

Very special place. First date with my wife was there. Always went back on the anniversary of that occasion.

1hr and 45 min wait . But food was good will definitely go back

I do not enjoy leaving bad reviews. Was not busy. We sat there for 10 minutes and no one greeting us at all. The party of 4 sitting next us was there before we sat and they still did it have drinks until we got up to leave. Oh boy ... they need to get their stuff together.

I droved from Maine to my home Miami I stopped in lots of ocean view restaurants some I like some I didn't.... But here is the PERFECT OCEAN VIEW AND ALSO DELICIOUS FOOD....!!!! I droved back from Miami to San Augustine to eat here ....And will continue to do so...

Fine restaurant by the sea. Man should reserve at the weekend. Food was delicious.

Awesome food you have the Option to sit on the deck overlooking the ocean and beach or you can sit inside good prices on the food as well

Loved it great place to get away from the busy part of St. Augustine

Great food but for the price I expected a bit better quality. You pay for the view more than you do the food. The service on the other hand was immaculate!

Excellent Food and View. My one star was taken from the lake of charm and decor of this place...the carpet is awful

So again I go back and I try the restaurant again and the food is cold again and nobody could care less. They don't read these reviews anyway. that tourist come in and eat and leave and that's what brings in their revenue for the local people they could care less.

Outstanding brunch, great variety of food and beautiful setting

We were staying nearby in St. Augustine and happened upon this seaside restaurant after a drive and walk along Vilano Beach. It is in a quiet residential beach area with no other restaurants near by. So, we were surprised to find it there. Ratings were excellent so we gave it a try for lunch. Although the lunch crowd was small, we had great service from an enthusiastic and attentive waiter. Their "award winning" spicy seafood chowder was the best chowder we've ever eaten. Our salads were fresh and grilled shrimp and local fish were well seasoned. I highly recommend this restaurant! Reservations are probably needed for the dinner hour.

This rating is based on only one visit, but my saffron sauce mahi was overcooked and bland. Not impressed for the prices they are charging. Appetizer was mediocre as well.

Asked for a salad with chicken strips, they were overcook, almost burnt. Mahi Mahi with Zofran rice, way too small the portion and hyper expensive. View was fantastic.

Food was good, service was ok, bar guy was in a bad mood...and then the host sat us outside at a dirty table without any thought of getting someone to clean it. We had to go back in and ask for that. I asked to sit at the cleaned table and was told it was for someone else....wth? The table next to us was extremely dirty when they did the same thing to another couple. For the prices on the menu, you would think it would be cleaner...

My husband and I love this place! We have been a couple of times now and find the staff highly professional and very friendly. I have several food allergies and they made a wonderful tuna taco for me that was outstanding in flavor and taste!

Good seafood, comfortable atmosphere, great Atlantic view.

Slightly overpriced, but on vacation, so worth it. Great view and seating on the deck.

We stumbled upon this restaurant in February after searching online for a Sunday brunch that included mimosas in the price....the view is EXCELLENT. The first time we went, we sat in a window seat with the most spectacular views ever. The food was pretty, good, though most of it was out because we were in the last wave of Sunday Brunchers.

But, I thought, this would be a great place to bring my mom for Mother's Day. So, I made reservations for 8 for Mother's Day. I made the reservations more than a month in advance, and NO WHERE did they tell me that A. it was more expensive on Mother's Day or B. that the eggs Benedict were not available. It sort of put a damper on our day when instead of $32.99 each we were charged $37.99 each. It was unexpected, and sobering (not what you want when you just had champagne trying to celebrate a fun day.)

We'll find a different Sunday Brunch place from now on.

Had to take this restaurant OFF MY LIST. 2 drinks and dinner for 100 dollars. The fish was a perfect square just like frozen fish at costco. The garnish was dry and wilted. The view has changed as well because of beach erosion. SAD TO SEE THIS PLACE BECOME LESS THAN OK

Lovely night sitting outside on the ocean...good service

Meh. Food was good. Felt the value wasn't there. Kept thinking... "what would Gordon Ramsay do with this place."

Went in for a pre-Valentine appetizer and drinks. The service was spotty but the appetizers were right on. We had the classical shrimp cocktail, the duck pate and the Gravlax. All three were very good and the only "want" I could ask for was that the shrimp cocktail have a briny taste to them.

Drove by last evening, the parking lot was full. Came here for lunch and the food was great. Reasonable price, great service, very clean. We will be back.

Hubby and I are visiting St. Augustine as a pseudo 2nd honeymoon (though with laptops in hand, it hardly qualifies as such.) Anyway, the information we read boasted "Casual dining." It may have been naivity, but we were expecting like Applebee's-ish casual dining -- not so! If you're going here, don't wear jeans. It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, so if you find yourself in the MON, you're in the right spot. To your east side will be nothing but water. We arrived around sunset and were impressed with the view (though the sun set on the opposite side of the restaurant's view) and casual elegance of the restaurant. Our server, Douglas, was friendly and knowledgable about the menu. The man that appeared to be the owner went around greeting people and ensuring they were satisfied -- and boy, were we! I'm not kidding - THE best key lime pie you will EVER taste -- incredible. We split a bottle of wine and had an appetizer, 2 mains (lobster tail & combo with mahi-mahi, shrimp, and scallops), and 1 dessert, and the bill was only $80 (wine was $30, mind you.) The food was presented beautifully on the plate that made you want to savor every bite (and we did!) We only have one more night here, and we may spend it going back to this charming restaurant. We highly reccomend it! Quick tip - if you get the local coupon books (you know, the kind you find in the slots at hotels) there is a 10% off coupon in one of them. Enjoy!!

The food was ok, Its always packed so i suggest calling in.the service is excellent i would reccomend it.

Excellent food, wonderful view of the ocean and Scott provided excellent service!!!

The crab stuffed flounder. Excellent! Chowder, excellent! Scallops, good. Wait staff terrific.

Incredable meal at a fair price. They were slammed and short handed, but pulled it off like pros. Jambalaya was top notch. We will return.

Pretty restaurant overlooking the beach. Repairs to the sea wall were going on and detracted from the experience. Couldn't be helped. Nice outside seating available. We arrived at happy hour and we could only order drinks and appetizers. A bit pricy for what you get. Wait staff was very friendly but the hostess seemed to be bothered by customers coming in.

Upscale seafood restaurant. Food was OK. Nice atmosphere.

Food mediocre - waiter was good but unable to hear him - the noise is horrible - had headache when I left - huge private party sat above us

Beautiful views! One of only a few restaurants right on the beach.

The Reef, located on the beach front in Saint Augustine, Florida, was a pleasant experience. I've eaten here on a previous visit to the area and dined in the outdoor area. This trip we enjoyed Sunday brunch I the indoor dining room. Theybalso have a nice, full service bar. The food was delicious and the wait staff friendly and attentive. Give them a try!

We had a great evening here! We had liver pate as appetizer, and the Duck and Prime Rib as our entrees. Our waiter was what made our evening. Scott was very personable and knowledgable about our choices. Also, the prices are very reasonable considering the quality and service. AND wonderful ocean views.

Tropical drinks, beach view, great food and staff, price matched quality

Excellent restaurant week features. Ocean was rough tonight. Salmon appetizer was great. Tomato appetizer was out of this world delicious

Great beach front restaurant right on the A1A. They take reservations for inside seating and also have open seating on the deck. Yummy food and a great happy hour. Perfect place to eat at sunset.

Stopped in for lunch. The blackened mahi and grilled grouper were excellent. Great atmosphere and view.