aunt kate's

came in by the dock and sat inside to get out of the heat for awhile. big mistake. all the servers focused on the deck and those inside were ignored. shouldn't complain though, after getting the dried out fish and tough shrimp i kinda wished they had forgotten us.

good atmosphere but less than average fare. my sweet husband and i travel to st. augustine quite frequently and aunt kate's is often on our dining list. but after this trip, i think aunt kate's will have to be replaced. the view and service are always good but the food has been declining in quality and this time it was just wasn't good at all. the crab cakes had such large pieces of green pepper and onion in them that they just weren't edible and the bbq seemed like it was bought off the back of a food service truck and not fresh made. the sides of sweet potato casserole and mac and cheese were very plain and also lacked the home made touch. we were quite disappointed and will likely not be back on our next trip. sorry kate.

had lunch here today with my wife. i had a fried mahi sandwich with fries. it was very good. two nice pieces of fish on a bun. it came with a house made tartar sauce that was really tasty, i even used it for my fries.
my wife had a shrimp special, she said they were good but nothing special. they were small and one a little greasy.
the restaurant sits right on the inter coastal waterway so the view is really nice.
on a side note, i think my fish was wahoo not dolphin. the texture was more like a wahoo, which happens to be my favorite fish and usually a more expensive fish.
the service was good and the price was fair.

great way to start vacation. my fella and i ate here for the first night of our vacation. we were wanting something a little less touristy but with a great view, and the option to eat some gator (he was once a floridian and loves the stuff!) so when i came across kate's we knew it was the way to go. fantastic choice! it's nestled on an island with a stellar view of the bay. our server was super friendly and very fast and gave us a sampling of complimentary bread (pumpkin and corn bread, which was delicious). we sat on the patio and watched the sun set while we noshed on our gator, which was fried to perfection. i had delicious, freshly caught tilapia tacos, while my boyfriend enjoyed a combo plate of shrimp, scallops, tilapia and crab cakes. we were both very satisfied with our meals. the prices were also reasonable for the caliber of food you get. to save a little money, check out the magazines you get at rest stops. we found a coupon for 10% off of our entire ticket! so with appetizer, and two plates of seafood we spent less than $40! you can't beat the atmosphere here. i can't say enough good things!

great food, friendly staff. two blocks south of cap's and about the same distance west of the reef, aunt kate's is in a class with these other two great restaurants. we've had both lunch and dinner at aunt kate's and enjoyed both very much. they boast some very good seafood entrees, a nice sandwich selection, and they smoke their own barbeque. the location on the river with a deck under the trees is very similar to cap's. and note, prices here are very reasonable especially considering this terrific atmosphere and the excellent service.

i'm renting a place in the area and ate there tonight. very clean and what a view on the river. the service was good and the food was great. i had the grilled seafood combo, shrimp, crab cake, scallops and mahi mahi. the best collard greens i've had ever. lot's of sides to chose from. good entrees for the food conscious and some for who aren't. i'll stop by again.

i gotta say that this place is all about waterfront atmosphere. the food while being good, is not to die for especially if you are a diehard foodie. this place is about waterfront dining and a chance to catch a glimpse of some manatees swimming by. i had the crab cakes and they were on the bland side and my beautiful wife had the pulled pork that was nothing to write home about especially after experiencing mojo old city bbq last night. the crab cakes had very large chunks of onion and green bell pepper, you can't taste the crab. kraft style mac and cheese and a sweet potato casserole that was nothing more than mashed sweet potatoes. this was our last hoorah lunch before ending our weekend getaway and while the view was astonishing we wished we had ended on a higher note food wise.

aunt kate's. very disappointed! fish was tasteless, oysters tasteless, and shrimp/grits looked like it floated in an oil slick. i am not a really picky person, but the atmosphere is so great, you would expect great seafood. it tasted like mrs pauls from the freezer. i will not go back it is caps for me!

needs improvement.. when aunt kate's opened up, my wife and i were ecstatic. with cap's trying (rather unsuccessfully) to be both upscale and downscale at the same time, we were looking forward to a florida-style seafood place on the water. while it has all the hallmarks of greatness, we both use the same word to describe it: "miserable."

on the three occasions my wife and i have dined here, the food has been terrible and the service indifferent at best. there have been so many missteps here it's difficult to capture them all - from the waiter bringing a whole bottle of smirnoff vodka to the table instead of the ordered smirnoff ice, to tasteless minorcan chowder (a crime in st. augustine), to a fried combo that tasted more of breading than seafood...you get the hint.

perhaps this restaurant is fine for those not accustomed to the high quality of seafood we have available nor to the delicious quality that can be achieved by light breading and judicious frying. i think it's too bad that folks dine here and think they are getting a good taste of northeast florida.

hey, but the view's nice.

best fish tacos i have ever had. title says it all - i can't vouch for any of the other menu items but the fish tacos here are worth the drive from the old city. it's all i ever order. ambiance is spectacular and the service is attentive.

we had a saturday afternoon lunch here.  we sat inside, but we wished we had picked out side.  the view and the atmosphere were great.  i ordered a wrap with crab salad.  the order got screwed up, and i got a wrap with chicken salad instead.  it wasn't very good.  i also had a order of onion rings.  unfortunately, they were limp and soggy.  i gave the place four stars, but that was for the atmosphere.  the good was average at best.

nice patio with live music, have the fresh catch and a bowl of menorcan chowder or any of the sides; like the beans and rice. then watch the world go by.

the ahi tuna dish was subpar. mayo instead of good garlic aeoli and they left off the cucumber salsa. then they left the steamed broccoli off. server was sweet and live music was good. not nearly as good as caps so will try to go there first.

forgot to add comment about the cole slaw. best i have ever eaten. secret ingredient is pineapple juice, outstanding. just read some of the negative reviews, these people must be used to eating at fast food joints. go, you will enjoy. we were in rv in campground traveling south.


-----05 jan, 2015-----

great seafood. large portions. super atmosphere. aye outdoors on deck by intercostal waterway. nice views & great sunsets over water!

what has happened to this place? each time the food gets worse. our server, cierra, was good from the start and then brought a wrong dish because she heard him wrong. he ordered fried oysters and she brought the fried platter. there is a significant price difference in the 2 plates but so we wouldn't have to wait, we kept the fried platter. we asked if the tilapia could be replaced because we don't like tilapia. and we said with oysters since that's what he ordered, she said oh no can't do that because of the price. finally we got 2 oysters to replace a whole tilapia filet! she said well i didn't hear you say oysters so i cant give you a whole basket of oysters. even though that is what we ordered! she basically accused him of lying, at least that's what we all felt. the whole tables mouths dropped. we spoke with the manager he didn't seem to care a whole lot. he was talking about how the price of oysters has gone up and they need to change distributors. that isn't our problem. just fix it and don't charge us the $23 for something we didn't order when what we originally ordered was $12. it was eventually fixed , but no one there seemed to care too much. used to love this place, but the service might keep me away. we were pretty offended today.