salt life food shack

this place can either be the best or worst... never been middle of the road for me here.,, i keep going back for the "best" part though..,

local food in chain restuarant clothing. salt life food shack is on the fence about whether it wants to be a local favorite or a big chain eatery. i am on the fence about them as well. some of the food is great - the fries and dipping sauce are awesome. some of the food is less than awesome - the shrimp roll is bland. the building itself is so beautifully decorated that it provides the perfect balance of beach shack and upscale bar/grill. salt life is jax beach concept, so you would think that salt life food shack would blow it out of the water, but they just don't. they really need to capitalize on local fare and streamline the fusion menu into something more focused. with everything from burgers to sushi, it's easy to get confused and to pick a loser off the menu. good start, but keep working.

i love that poke bowl, but the nachos were average. the wait staff is unnaturally attractive so make sure your inner high school student feels confident or you are in for a night of low self esteem!

forgot the food.... great looking place, good-looking people, tasty drinks, and what appeared to be much fun, til we got to the food.

as with many of the other reviews, the food was unimaginative and just plain boring to the tastebuds. the fish i ordered seemed fresh enough, no nasty fishy smell, but just generally lacked flavor. creativity did not seem like their speciality either, no specials to write home about.

really do wish this place had been better. cannot bring myself to go back until i get some word that they have revamped this menu of food that was just not good.

in the end probably geared to the tourists, much like joe's crab shack. bad food like joe's, but with no beach view on top of it.

buddy

pepper death. this place always has good reviews and the parking lot is usually packed. i thought those would be a foreshadow to a great meal but i was wrong.
the food was ok. and a lot of it was cold when it got to our table. the rum cake was really good tho. i would go back for lunch maybe, but not for dinner. too busy and not worth the wait.

ehhhh...ok. i was impressed with the choices on the menu, but not overly impressed with the food. it was bad, just not noteworthy! no gluten free menu, which surprised me. it seems as though they could make one since they have seafood and so many choices. it was very crowded, so we had to sit outside. i may still try it again to see if i like it better net time.

in a nutshell, salt life has great ambiance, but horribly mediocre food. for how popular it seems to be (25minute wait for two people on a tuesday night)... the food is not that great. i was disappointed.

great place. loved it here. drinks were excellent and food was top notch. will be back for sure.

we couldn't avoid it any longer. my husband and i have been skeptical about this place and avoided going there. alas, we won a gift card and decided to make a midweek date of it. they've really improved the layout and feel of it since it was harry's. its bright and clean, and the seating is comfortable. cheap drink specials got the night started off right. shrimp "chorizo" nachos for appetizer. monstrous portion but the chorizo was probably not chorizo (very bland). nevertheless they were generously topped and the flavors worked. i doused them in hot sauce. :)
husband and i shared the poke bowl, soft shell crab blt, and a side of tropical fried rice. this food made us want to come back! the tuna was beautiful and the amount you get for the price is generous. surprisingly, the crab sandwich was the star for us. the breading has great flavor, not your average bland fried seafood. highly recommend it!
for dessert, we had the blondie...grossly tooooo sweet and then add the caramel sauce on top of that. yuck. (cinnotti's always makes things way too sweet and that's where the blondie came from).
service was pretty average but nothing we could complain about. the bartenders were the most friendly people we encountered.
overall, i can now say that we will consider a return trip. i think next time we'll go with a group of people, maybe even the kiddos.

yummy!!!. great service and staff! overall a wonderful dining experience =)

the food was ok, not great. the atmosphere and service made the trip worthwhile. we had the ribs, good but a bit too much sauce. i had the hawaiian bowl, good but seemed like i could get.elsewhere. hubby had the roasted beer chicken, he ate the entire bird. good place to hang out at the beach

fav dish: shrimp bro chette. this "food shack" is the best place to go eat! the atmosphere is great and the whole place is lively! not to mention the food is delicious. i also enjoyed my pineapple mojito. can't wait to go back in a 15 days when i'm on vacation!

great place for a date or just with friends. went with friends. sat at the bar while i waited for my table and the bar staff was great! loved my drink, can't remember the name but it was fruity and sweet! also had the poke bowl, well they were right it was really good and very refreshing. alot of food for the money! try it!!! wish i had room to try desert...the rum cake or key lime bar???

second time at salt life food shack!. okay, this time, i went with some friends of mine before we started our beach barhopping night.

i got the hawaiian shrimp bowl with one of food shack's 'bloodies' on the side. last time i got their signature poke bowl and this one was fairly similar to that. shrimp and pineapple never tasted so good together though. the rice and avocado were still there like the poke bowl, but these two sweet n' salty flavors really mixed well with the rest of it. i was surprised how full i got from all that!

the bloody was also quite good. i had never had one before but thought i'd give it a shot and was pleasantly surprised.

my friends got the beer can chicken and fish basket respectively. i tried a bit of each and they were both good! they seemed to enjoy them too. it was about what you'd expect for standard fried fish, but the beer can chicken was huge! they give you the whole chicken, and it was really tender and pretty tasty from what i tried.

hopefully, that gives you all a bit of insight to those few dishes. i'm going back next time to try the shrimp bro chette or the woodgrilled salmon!


-----12 may, 2011-----

lunch munch at slfs. so, this is my second trip to salt life food shack, and just as the first time, i was quite impressed with the atmosphere and food!

i ordered their most popular dish: the poke bowl. it was delicious, to say the least. everything was fresh--the fish was flavorful and smooth, the rice was sticky and absorbed the flavors of the secret sauce quite nicely, and the avocado added a surprisingly good taste on the side (i'm usually not a fan of the stuff). the portion was great too!

needless to say, i'll be coming back for more of that and probably try a few more things along the way! if you love beachy, laid-back atmosphere, this is definitely the place to be! :)

poke bowl. awesome! fresh tuna over spinach and sticky rice with special caliche sauce - also topped with avocado - yummo and big portion!


-----21 apr, 2011-----

addicted. i love it. would eat the poke bowl everyday if i could. also love the new specials that heave each day - tuesdays has sushi specials (tuna rolls for $4) and $2 edamame - can't beat it!!!


-----11 nov, 2010-----

good stuff. love going to the place. just what this town needs - a cool place, laid back, great food and good prices. i have tried several different items on the menu - poke tuna (always awesome), sushi rolls, nachos, wings, fish sandwich, turkey burger and more.... always happy with the food and the atmosphere - best value for food in town!


-----16 aug, 2010-----

rollin. always good. love the spicy tuna roll - tried a new roll (app special they were trying out - shrimp roll, had carrot in it) - loved it. hope to see it soon on the menu.


-----13 jul, 2010-----

shack attack. had the fried fish basket - huge piece of fish... very good and even better price. loved the digs and will for sure will be going back... shack sauce is addictive. had other healthier options but i had the craving for fresh fried fish - not disappointed!