clark's fish camp

my favorite restaurant in duval.. i've avoided clark's for years in jacksonville believing it couldnt be as good as everybody said. i was wrong. my gf was visiting from out of town, and although the place is under construction and temporary toilets had been erected outside on the swamp that didnt dampen our evening, let me address this thing about service, our seating hostess and server were terrific. however, this place has the worst bartenders i have ever seen. they are aloof, redneck idiots and need to be replaced. we were the only people at the bar and asked the bartender to change the channel off the friggin michigan game to the auburn game, the bartender looked boored and said "the auburn game is on that tv" pointing across the bar.... so we moved. now to this place being "expensive"??? thats the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard. entrees here are cheap for what you get. i mean come on, they have a 3.5 lb, prime rib for $28 fer cryin out loud. i paid the same at the chart house the night before for a 16. oz cut, all other entrees were very very reasonably priced. my gf had the ahi tuna and it was perfectly seared and melted like butter in our mouths. likewise my filet was great. the selection of wild game is amazing from llama to python to ostrich to gator ribs, yes gator ribs. we got out the door with 2 rounds of drinks for less than $60, anybody that says this place is too expensive is a moron. the decor is so bizarre and rustic its hard to explain. imagine having dinner in the jungle surrounded by tigers, lions, leopards, and even a giraffe. they were everywhere, the collection of taxidermy and the way its displayed is beyond belief. the website doesnt do this place justice at all.

anyway, if you're visiting jacksonville you need to check this place out. ignore the negative reviews, these people are either out of it or are some kind of snob that just cant appreciate a place this unique. remember though, its under construction right now so if that kind of thing bothers you..... btw, the parking lot was overflowing when we got there but we only waited 20 minutes for a two top.greatplace.

great food. if you want agreatmeal at a fantastic place, check out this restaurant. there is something for everyone. i love to check out local places when i visit a new place.i'm very picky when it comes to restaurants and food. i can honestly say that the food is great, terrific service and beautiful decor with the taxidermy specimens. if you miss clark's while you are in jacksonville, you will regret it. whoever is saying they had bad service and poor food must have gone somewhere else , maybe long john silvers?

been going to clark's for years. they used to have some of the best food around. sadly that is no longer so. on my last visit, the creamed peas tasted like corn starch, the greasy spoon quality of the rest of the meal (steak baked potato and mystery veg ) was disappointing. my taste buds cried for the formerlygreatcuisine. regards to the the girl at the front counter, who,  was rude beyond belief. the table service was awful. 

oh! how the mighty have fallen...

a fish camp that does not offer fresh fish?! need i say more? we ate here on a saturday, no wait,greatwaitress, bad food. every single thing on their menu is frozen. i asked our waitress what their fresh catch was and she said we don't have one. very sad.

rude hostess. i have been to clarks fish camp on numerous occasions and on most visits they have been good , however today i went up to the hostess desk and i requested a table for four and she informed me that my other party members had to be present for her to honor this request. i explained that they were 5 minutes outs and that we would like to have the table and start ordering drinks , for some reason she stated that my entire party needed to be present. i have been to many restaurants throughout the state and country and they all let the table guest start ordering drinks and what ever appetizers to start while they wait on the remaining party. what a missed opportunity for clarks fish camp i did not let this ruin my evening but if the owners read this i am informing you that this was a loss of some added revenue , when guest come in they usually want to order some wine , beer etc, this gets everybody in agreatmood and sets the stage for a wonderful experience. this particular hostess just looked like someone pissed in her cornflakes , then when i returned to the hostess stand with my guest she asked me if i had signed up , i reminded her the she did not let us sign up due to our guest which arrived after the 5 minutes were up.. lady needs a personality , i know this sale wont make you or break you but eventually it adds up. i will probably not come back there are plenty of new places opening up everyday which will let you wait on your guest... so long....

good seafood.greatplace to eat. it's a bit eccentric with all the taxidermy however the food was great. i tried a few different dishes such as the gator which was very good. i also tried antelope, kangaroo, and shark. overall it was a good place to eat.

great decorgreatfood crappy service

i was having some boat issues on the st. john's river one day and my gf went inside to get help after we arrived on the clark's dock (our phones were dead).the owner gave usgreathelps and even a ride to where we needed to go and even followed us back .....i've also been eating here for years for affairs and the atmosphere and food is great. will definetly continue to be a customer here and is owned by very nice people. ....

try somewhere else. simply not worth the money and time. i heard all about clark's from some of my coworkers in jacksonville. driving up to the place, i felt like i had chosen the right place for dinner. the parking lot was packed and i could see a line of people outside waiting. walking into the place i saw a small gator in the marsh right outside....very cool to me, as i am from south texas and don't see gators often. walking inside was overwhelming. lots of stuff inside. fish tanks with baby gators and cool looking fish...lots of stuffed exotic animals...too many. very tacky decor, but almost charming. the wait for a table is 30 min, which to me wasgreatfor as many people that were there. i had a good feeling early into my dining experience. when we are seated i immediately notice that there are many empty tables. i almost couldn't believe it, as there were so many people waiting for seats in the bar area and outside.
our waiter came by and got our drink orders, but when i tried to ask him about an appetizer on the menu, he acted uncomfortable, as if he was in a hurry to get back to something else. i realized he was slammed. i knew why so many people were waiting. they were completely under staffed. he finally made it back and i asked him to tell me about their crawfish. he said,"what do you wanna know about 'em"? i almost laughed and asked,"are they frozen or fresh"? he says they are frozen (bad sign). i order the raw oysters. my buddy asks how the stuffed flounder is. he says its not very good. says it comes pre-stuffed and frozen (another bad sign). i then ask how the jambalaya is. says its ok but i want something like that, i should go for the gumbo (bad sign). i order blackened jumbo shrimp.
the oysters come and are great. small but tasty and seem fresh. the shrimp come out and are nowhere near jumbo. and the were rubber. obviously frozen and terrible. my buddy ordered mahi mahi and i tried it.....dry and awful.

this restaurant looks like its a tourist trap. it's such a good location and seems like its had better days. i would have been embarrassed to serve that junk if i was our waiter. i wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

awesome place to take the kids! tons of animals ngreatfood and i was really happy to hear all the taxidermy animals weren't hunted they died of natural causes at zoo's, exhibits, farms n such n were purchases stuffed and the $ went to helping the animal facilities they came from. the place was surprisedly very clean no dust anywhere! didnt kill our wallets either. i give this place a a+!!!

“unique; must try it once. i have found my favorite restaurant of all time. very rustic building and interior. for our appetizer i ordered brinda's seafood bake that is very tasty. shrimp, scallops in a cheesy wine sauce. in word i can say "excellent". thanks for quarteroff.com to provide me a wonderful deal andgreatexperience.

never ceases to please!. i've returned to clark's just about every time that i'm in the jacksonville area. my last time through, we saw that they'd added new exotic meats to their menu. we always try the kangaroo, which is a favorite of ours... but we also opted for the llama. their entrees are certainly amazing, and have never disappointed, but the exotic meat appetizers are always the stars of the show. we've experienced the alligator, crocodile, turtle, python, kangaroo, and llama... i love the taste of reptile meat, but the kangaroo and llama are my favorites.

we also tried some of their oysters on the half shell... well, full shell, really, since one cracks them open oneself. very good, very clean and fresh tasting.

if you've not tried clark's then you need to. their entrees are awesome, and are made with more traditional meats, for those with nervous or unadventurous palates. you won't be disappointed!


-----08 feb, 2009-----

what can i say, but "wow!". amazing food! lots ofgreatentrees, and agreatselection of exotic meats for those with an adventurous palate. i only wish i lived closer!

hello prime rib. earlier this week a friend dined here and posted a photo of the prime rib on the facebook. i couldn't stop thinking about it, so i headed in this afternoon to check it out. i was seated quickly and when the waiter asked me what i wanted to eat, i told him i was ready to order. jack's cut prime rib and water to drink. the waiter was really friendly and the opposite of pretentious. within a few minutes i had a cup and pitcher of ice water sitting on my table. within 10 minutes the prime rib arrived. this is a flintstone size serving, my understanding is that it is 3 lbs, but it looked a hell of a lot bigger than that. it was good, real good. i've been looking for a high quality gigantic serving of prime rib for years, and i have finally found it.

i will probably try to limit my intake to one or two prime ribs a year, but the menu is huge so there are a lot of other things to try. as i was eating, a very very large family of four was seated directly in front of me. their first topic of conversation was regarding howgreatthe "large" booths were. "you have to be an anorexic to eat at friday's" one of the ladies said. her 400 lb husband then went on to describe in detail how hard of a time he had sitting in the booth at friday's, saying, "my stomach was all up on the table and i could hardly breathe. good prime rib, good entertainment.

fun place.greatfried pickles.greatto bring out of town guests to eat along the water and marvel at the taxidermy collection. a local 'spot' of ours.

i've been to clark's twice. i love the gator tail. the decor is interesting to say the least. we hadgreatservice. it's definitely not your typical restaurant. i just might try the ostrich our kangaroo next.