the grand marlin of pensacola beach

wonderful and delightful experience.. my husband and i decided to try thegrandmarlin, it was excellent. our food was hot and delicious; for an appetizer i had the calamari which included not only calamari but deep fried pickles and deep fried banana pepper rings, along with a delicious dill dipping sauce. my husband had the brussel sprouts with the bacon lardons; it was delicious as well. for our entrees i had the grouper piccata and my husband had the shrimp and grits. and if that wasn't enough we also had dessert: the praline basket with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, and fresh berries in a praline basket. it was to die for! our server jana did an excellent job. my husband and i would go back again.


-----11 may, 2015-----

calamari. in addition to the deep fried calamari there was also deep fried pickles deep fried banana peppers and a little bit of deep fried green peppers it came with a dill dipping sauce that was delicious .

great food and people. i am a regular customer at thegrandmarlin. my husband and i love going there for lunch, brunch and dinner. i think thegrandmarlin is one of the best restraurants in the area. i have never had a bad meal there and the servers are always super nice. i will say that we always go at odd times so we don't have to wait. there can be a long wait depending on the time you go. i think this alone shows you how popular the place is. i read one review that said they had a better meal at flounders. i guess if you are a tourist and don't know the difference between frozen food and mass market food and the real deal then yes, i guess it wouldn't matter. but, since we have lived here for over 40 years and we fish the area, i can tell you the food at thegrandmarlin is top notch! not frozen pre-battered junk thrown in a deep fryer!

service was unreal for p cola. i have been to thegrandmarlin several times and found the service hands down the best this town has to offer.
i used to go to the fish house but the food at thegrandmarlin and the fact that server tony remembered my entire tables first names gave me that comforatable feel good that the rest of pensacolas spots could not match.
a toast to pensacola...bout darn time!!!!

absolutely amazing!!!. if you live/visit the gulf breeze/pensacola area you must try thegrandmarlin. we shared a variety of appetizers and had 2 main entrees between 4 of us and literally everything we put in our mouth was fantastic!!!! we are planning a weekend trip just to eat there again!!! the wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable....definite must!!

new favorite. we dined atgrandmarlin tonight, an early mother's day, as we don't care to fight the crowds. beautiful view, attentive but not intrusive service and simply wonderful food. i love a good presentation, though i won't avoid a place if presentation is the only thing lacking.grandmarlin's food is as gorgeous as it is tasty. we had an all-seafood night - bbq'd shrimp and oyster rockefeller for appetizers, and four different kinds of fish, all cooked to perfection. while many restaurants use accompaniments to fill a plate, the sides here were a perfect compliment to the main dishes. i have a feeling i'll be dreaming about the grouper piccata - i must figure out how to do that to capers!

i'd heard great things about the praline basket, so we ordered one and four spoons. it wasn't the typical heavy praline (which i love), but a light, delicate thing, filled with berries and a fabulous vanilla ice cream. truly a revelation, and a perfect end to the meal. the waiter says the bread pudding is even better, so i guess we'll have to go back for that!

more a factory than a restaurant. thegrandmarlin is nothing if not "grand." the word only applies to the size of this restaurant. it certainly doesn't apply to customer service at all and only tangentially to the food.

when i asked to be seated outside, i wasn't prepared for the 20 knot wind that blew across my table constantly. the server tried to be helpful, but said the place couldn't close the wind screen and he couldn't move my table or offer me another table. the manager was of little more help. just trying to keep the silverware on the table was a chore, even as the hot food rapidly cooled.

as to the food, nothing special here. the kitchen just seems to churn out the overpriced entrees with little regard to presentation or taste.

you may want to try any of the smaller, much more genuine, seafood restaurants that abound nearby. thegrandmarlin is a factory or at best a mess hall. but a fine seafood restaurant it isn't.

delightful vacation dining!. thegrandmarlon is an outstanding seafood restaurant, offering a variety of fresh fish caught daily. our meals were beautifully presented, the service was outstanding, and we definitely would return. we recommend the red snapper, prepared with caper brown butter, as well as the maryland style crab cakes.

after eyeing the pensacola beach location, i finally made it to thegrandmarlin. the greeting upon arrival is always warm and welcoming. the staff does everything they can to make your dining experience beyond exceptional.

once seated, my marvelous server ramon, helped me decide on several things and described the food and drinks with clear detail to help me find exactly what i was looking for. with so many tasty options to choose from, i finally decided on the blackberry mojito and bbq shrimp to start with. for the main course i just had to have the sunday special of prime rib with whipped potatoes and seasonal vegetables (string beans). everything was exceptional!

when visiting pensacola beach be sure to swing by thegrandmarlin for great customer service, wonderful wait staff, extremely tasty food, and a good drink!

*this is not a sponsored review.

had dinner with out of town friends yesterday. march`17.  i highly recommended the cracklin pork shank as i had ordered that several times in the past.  it was horrible.  not up to the high standards of thegrandmarlin.
it was so overcooked i could hardly distinguish bone from meat.  shame on the chef and management for letting this leave the kitchen.  very poor experience.

my wife and i went to eat at thegrandmarlin around 7:00 without reservations. we we seated quickly and received quick service. it was nov 3 but they had good crowd. the restaurant has a fantastic view on the bay and is a nice big restaurant. we both had a drink and shared an appetizer of smoked tuna dip. it was good. we both ordered one of the fish specials. the triple tail served covered in browned butter. this was a great piece of fish. it has a sweet flavor and the first time i have tried it. the whipped potatoes were good as was the vegetable. our waiter was helpful and did a great job, the manager came by and ask how we were doing. it was a great meal experience, well worthy the money.

on the recommendation of a co-worker, i made my first visit to thegrandmarlin with some colleagues. we sat on the open patio with a beautiful view of the bay. this would prove to be the best part of the night.

the menu was impressive - printed daily with lots of fresh fish and other seafood options. i started with the sautéed blue crab claws. they were good but - i must admit - not $20 good considering the portion was on the small side. given another opportunity, i would choose a different appetizer.

the meal kind of went downhill from the appetizer course. one of my colleagues ordered a salad that never arrived before our entrees did. i ordered the grilled cobia, which arrived pan-seated and not fully cooked. the whipped potatoes were so salty i couldn't eat them. the best part of the entree was the broccoli side.

for dessert, i chose the caramel macchiato creme brûlée. the flavor was good and the sugar was perfectly caramelized. however, the custard was loose and borderline runny, indicating that it was a bit undercooked.

overall, i was unimpressed with thegrandmarlin. i suppose everyone has a bad day but at these prices, you can't afford to have them. the ambience was nice but it wasn't enough to drag me back for another mediocre, high-priced meal.

this beautiful waterfront restaurant is the place to go for excellent fresh seafood and an even better view. while vacationing in pensacola beach, you must plan for a meal at thegrandmarlin, which offers the best coastal views in town. what could be better than enjoying fantastic seafood while gazing at the gorgeous views of the gulf coast?

i visit pensacola often, including frequent saturday beach trips, and we get a room and stay overnight just so we can et brunch at the grans marlin on sunday mornings. the brunch is awesome. the crab cakes benedict and shrimp and grits are excellent and flavorful. the chocolate croissant tastes just like the ones i had in paris, and they are baked fresh that morning too. the kids love it, and the blue marlin cocktail is now a tradition for every visit. the service is great most of the time. the restaurant is clean and so are the bathrooms. hemmingway's is good and was my favorite until i triedgrandmarlin. in my opinion it's the best restaurant on the island.

love thegrandmarlin! we come here on a regular basis and never have a bad meal. service is always excellent. the ahi poke and grouper piccata are two of my personal favorites.

agranddinner!. highly recommend!!! just had a terrific dinner atgrandmarlin! my friends tell me i'm a 'gourmet' coo and this is a meal i will try to recreate at home. the fresh flounder piccata was wonderful served with a browned butter caper sauce on a bed of creamy potatoes and sauteed spinach. and completed the enjoyment with a wonderfully fluffy key lime pie with a toasted macadamia nut crust and raspberry sauce all made in-house. service by ramon made it a delightful experience.