Sharkys On The Pier Review

Beautiful spot on the beach. Great food and drinks. A little pricey but always worth it.

A little pricey but the food and the view were great!

I had a shrimp dish and the veins weren't even removed.

Great nachos and drinks great beach vibe and views live music

Excellent food, we had the fish and chips, excellent staff

A great place to visit have a drink eat and walk out on there 600foot peir.
Don't forget to walk on the beach to pick up prehistoric shark teeth as there are many to be found

It took an hour to be seated. The wait wasn't as much an issue as the lack of attentiveness that the staff exhibited. The service was below par to boot. The food was excellent so that was a plus.

I wouldn't take kids. It's a little pricey and they prob wouldn't appreciate the great food or the amazing view. Def worth going to!

No trip to Venice FL is complete without going to Sharon's on the pier.

Didn't care for the blackened shrimp and crab nachos. Weird taste.

Always great. They actually care about good dishes (unlike many of the beach front seafood places that just want to crank out pina coladas

Far too expensive for what they have to offer. Nice location though.

Awesome views of Venice Beach, great staff, and their drinks are on point. Get there early to get a seat.

Okay, great location but the food was only okay and overpriced. Plan on eating seafood.

Fun place to go! Food is good, but a little pricey. You pay for the view... it's worth it to have drinks, appetizers, or dinner then be able to walk out on the pier or walk the beach & watch sunset! A great place to take your out of town guests!!!

If you don t live in the Venice area, a trip to Sharky s on Venice Island is a bit of a haul, but definitely worth it for a pleasant beach-side atmosphere and great seafood. We came in late on a Friday night and spent our short wait for a table walking down the adjacent pier, which was a nice way to relax before a good meal. With the nearby area under construction, sometimes it s easy to get turned around if you ve never been there before, finding your way through the restaurant then out to the pier, but in moments we were enjoying the night breeze above the water. When we were seated, our table was beachside, and was not plagued with any of the problems you would imagine would come with the territory (bugs, sand). We were close to the reggae cover band, and while it was entertaining and a little loud, it added to the island-style atmosphere rather than diminished it, and tables further away or inside are always a possibility.

The Food

Our waiter was able to recommend a light frozen drink, the Mango Bango ($6 predictably loaded with rum and mango) that we both enjoyed while waiting for our food. Although we were tempted by the Brie and Apple pizza, we instead chose two appetizers that seemed to be Sharky s take on traditionals the Cabo Calamari ($11.50) and the Cheesy Beach Bread ($7.50).

The Cabo Calamari was good, with its pico de gallo and jalapeno vinaigrette topping of a traditionally crusted and fried calamari, and wasn t too spicy for most people. The bottom of the dish lost that breading from saturation with the other ingredients, but it was definitely good while it lasted. The Beach Bread was also tasty, as it featured a flavor of green onions and herbs rather than the standard butter and garlic.

For dinner, I chose the Macadamia Grouper and Coconut Shrimp ($21), and it was the best decision I could have made. Although the menu touts it as a petite fillet of Grouper, mine was enough to take home later, and was baked well-done with a crisp Macadamia crust that infused the nut flavor through the whole fish. The shrimp were butterflied large and were crisply breaded, and the whole dish was tied together with a tasty and sweet mango salsa that worked perfectly. My sidekick chose the Lobster Stuffed Flounder ($19), and it came as several small fillets stuffed with Sharky s lobster and artichoke dip.

The flavor was rich, and the fish was tender without being too overdone or soft. Her side of rice was creamy to the point of almost being a risotto, which was another pleasant change from the standard pilaf most restaurants dish out. Although the desserts weren t really featured on any of the menus or table cards of specials (aside from Key Lime Pie), our waiter was able to provide us with a variety of choices, from which we chose the Chocolate Double Trouble ($6), which was a dense chocolate mousse cake with a layer of hard chocolate in the middle and a crust that had almost a saltiness to it that complimented the sweet flavors very well.

Overall Impressions

Sharky s was definitely worth the drive to the island, and the setting can t be beat long pier, quiet night-time beach, island music and decor and fantastic seafood that steps outside the box a little. Although we were there for dinner, they have a large lunch menu, and the idea of having a well-prepared sandwich waiting for you after a morning of fishing off the pier is certainly appealing. Don t let the nearby construction daunt you there is a great dinner waiting, and the setting will only get better as the weather cools off for the winter. And we don t know if they all do this, but our waiter adorned our to-go boxes with fun drawings of sea creatures, which was a funny and warming touch. Hope you get the same!

Beautiful setting right at the foot of the pier. Food was exceptional. Ambiance was fluid and very beach centric. Nice day

Not a seafood eater, but the burger was great and you can't beat the view.

It's a must stop place to see and have a bite to eat.

We had a nice day out finding sharks teeth found 48 teeth between 10am-1pm. The issue we had were with the food. We looked at both menus and let the kids pick and they wanted sharkys vs Fins. We now know that was a mistake. A large portion of the menu is fried so I asked for grilled or blackened like so many other restaurants around they said they would "try to grill" which was concerning but I figured ok how bad can you really grill shrimp and fish? Well the food came grilled for sure but zero I mean zero seasoning. Alittle salt or pepper would go along way. The shrimp and grouper were flavorless unless you count the chard black chunks left from the grill. On top of that the waiter was extremely pushy. We first sat down and ordered drinks and were asked if we knew what we wanted to eat. We literally just sat down and hadn't even opened a menu. Ordered drinks, she comes back 5 minutes later with dei is and, do you know what you want? Told her to give us a few minutes, 3 minutes later once again the waiter came asking what we wanted. We had not sat down for 10 minutes and been asked 3 times what we wanted to order. With my 3 kids all ordering pizza and me and the wife getting a seafood combo it still took almost and hour to get food afterwards. This was at now about 2:30pm and the place was maybe 1/4 to capacity. Our shrimp, scallops, and grouper were horrible tastes like someone took frozen seafood and just dropped it on a grill. Extremely bland and dry. The kids pizza were the best thing we had. So if you go to sharkys on the pier either to go the Fins resturant upstairs, order only kids meals, or dont eat there at all.

Samon came out RAW it was still swimming and when I complained to the GM not the manager the head person in charge she showed no concern at all was very displeased what's sad is the waitress cared more about the situation than the person that should've been worried about getting a customer sick and to top it off when she finally apologized it was with absolutely no sympathy or remorse it was just a plain sorry and walked away

The view was beautiful! The menu was not very exciting. Our server was nice but it took him a long time to come back to our table just to refill drinks. I would return but wouldn't go out of my way to go away.

Felt very welcome.. Food very, very good/ server was very efficient and helpful. .On another note.... I noticed tables not being cleaned/ sanitized between guests. A little scarey

Casual atmosphere, great views, good menu selection, reasonable prices.

beautiful views great food excellent service and all day sushi

Fun place to go if you are looking for outdoor seating by the beach.

Delicious food, great and friendly service, fun atmosphere and we actually saw a shark swimming around the pier!

This is a place you come to for the ambiance. The view is awesome! The food is great and the servers are always nice...but the view!!

Good drinks okay food. Amazing outside but we sat inside sooo....

Delicious seafood. And very good please to watch the sunset and if lucky some dolphins around.

We love it here. The food and service are great. It's our go to place with guests.

Great place for the world's best pina colada. an exciting beach restaurant with big waves most of the time. A pier that goes way out but be careful the waves can take you off of it. good food but not cheap. They also have a gourmet restaurant upstairs that he is just fabulous if you're willing to spend the bucks. I love Sharkey's.

When we first arrived, we walked up to a strange tiki booth with a rather rude older woman who asked if we were sitting inside or by the outside bar. When we said inside she got snippy, and informed us that if our clothes were wet we needed to sit outside. We were wearing dry street clothes, not swimwear.

After finding our own way through the outdoor bar and passed the kitchen we were seated at a table that was less than an arms length from the people next to us. To say the dining room was cramped would be a bit of an understatement. The decor in the dinning room includee out of place decorations, shark's teeth, and dusty vents making it that much more uncomfortable.

The waiter took our orders in a timely fashion, and soon returned with the drinks. Given that there weren't many options for those who don't drink soda or alcohol, I had water. A choice I soon regretted. The first sip revealed that Sharky's simply serves unfiltered tap water to their customers.



Looking at the Calamari appatizer your eyes are first drawn to the fact that it seems like they put as much as they can on the plate. However, it had random spatterings of a strange avocado sauce and marinara. The Calamari itself included rings and tentacles, but it had no flavor and was the texture of old shoe leather and had to be chewed much like jerky to be swallowed.

Also ordered was the Grouper wrap, which was perhaps more disappointing because of the taste of clearly frozen Grouper used in the wrap. Sharky's is in a coastal city, and could be using fresh never frozen fish, but it seems that they buy bulk and freeze the fish. Even the veggies in the wrap tasted wilted like they were cut during morning prep and plopped in a bin for the days use.

Personally, after tasting the Calamari and a couple bites of the Grouper wrap I couldn't even bring myself to try the fish and chips ordered by my fried. I can say that they were hardly touched either, and after leaving 90% of the food untouched we paid and left.

With the prices this restaurant charges you'd expect at least fresh ingredients. Sharky's seems to be making it on the funds of locals and those who have read the misleading reviews. Overall it was a terrible experience, and a lesson learned.

So much fun and on the beach. Love food. Go to place with visitors.

Beautiful view of the ocean, and some creative entree options. Some of the menu options seem a bit expensive for portion size, but I guess that's okay given the awesome view.

Great location. Good enough service, but the menu & food leaves much to be desired.

Quaint restaurant overlooking the river. Great seafood and bbq.

You could not ask for a more perfect location a more perfect environment and two restaurants directly on the Gulf of Mexico! The food is fantastic the service is fantastic and this is a place we bring guess every time they come to town and as locals frequent often!

Beautiful and great view ..Awesome food and great service.

We like a lot going out. Yesterday we found this magnificent place which friends told us about. We spent a lovely experience there with superb cooking and a courteous stuff and a distinguished cook. We added this fine restaurant in our list and we shall surely come back very soon. We highly recommend.

Great restaurant on the gulf! Food, service, and food was awesome! Recommend the grouper wrap and sweet potato fries. Lots of seating and parking. Spent day on beach, dinner at Sharkey's, and then watched the sunset! Perfect day! Highly recommend!

Wonderful atmosphere and great food! Service was excellent.

Great hangout spot, the food was surprisingly good for bar food. Beach is nice. Fun place to spend an afternoon/evening

Perfect Vacation atmosphere. Cheeseburger in Paradise kind of place. Live music and frozen drinks.

Awesome, Delicious, Great Service, Loved the view and over all atmosphere. Are New Best Place to dine and bring friends.

Great place!! Must visit! Found my 1st sharks tooth on this beach (Venice Beach)

Atmosphere is great. Service was very good. Establishments like this should change policy regarding pets. We sat on the outdoor patio to enjoy the sun and breeze. When patrons at the next table left, their dog got up and shook; dog hairs blew right onto my plate and glass!

My food was good, the service started great considering we had two tables, adults and children tables, then shift change happened and we where informed that $25 limit drink rule the second sever was rude and short , and getting the tip , she didn't do the work for, all tabs where over 100.....will not be coming back and telling folks, the manger wasn't nice either...

The view of the beach is breath taking, and the food is subperb!

Food was delicious, our mango bango frozen drink was oh so good & our server was fabulous

Nice atmosphere, but the food and drinks are overpriced. $11.00 for a wrap that the waiter admitted wasn't that good. Nice scenery on the water though. Just wish they had a better menu.