the grand marlin of pensacola beach

service was unreal for p cola. i have been to the grand marlin several times and found theservicehands down the best this town has to offer.
i used to go to the fish house but the food at the grand marlin 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!!!!

new favorite. we dined at grand marlin tonight, an early mother's day, as we don't care to fight the crowds. beautiful view, attentive but not intrusiveserviceand simply wonderful food. i love a good presentation, though i won't avoid a place if presentation is the only thing lacking. grand marlin'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. the grand marlin is nothing if not "grand." the word only applies to the size of this restaurant. it certainly doesn't apply to customerserviceat 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. the grand marlin is a factory or at best a mess hall. but a fine seafood restaurant it isn't.

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

positives: drinks, main course,servicewas top notch.
negatives: appetizers were so-so, acoustics were terrible, and we were not big fans of the watery cajunesque chowder.

nice patio environment on the bay.

amazing location, great view and service.

we ordered the lobster fingers, gulf shrimp with creole mustard and fresh catch red snapper with caper sauce. all was fresh, soft and so good.
one thing i would consider is amount of salt added both to shrimps (probably ingredient of the spicy sauce but anyway) and smashed potatoes.

we also ordered lime moose with crunchy bottom (hope this sounds correct:)) and it was delicious apart from moose:) little too much butter i think or whatever keeps the whole moose in shape:)
i just shoot as have no idea about cooking. only idea i have is if i like something or not:) based on subjective taste and comparison.

to sum it up.serviceand food really great, location fantastic and without any doubts i would recommend to anyone. i'd rate 5 if there was more attention to salt.

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. theserviceis great most of the time. the restaurant is clean and so are the bathrooms. hemmingway's is good and was my favorite until i tried grand marlin. in my opinion it's the best restaurant on the island.

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

best ice cold oysters on the half shell in the panhandle! haven't had anything that wasn't delicious. best seafood restaurant in the area! greatserviceas well!

the food and theservicewere amazing. mark, our server, made sure we never needed anything and was very attentive. the restaurant clearly prides itself on using the best local ingredients available. the food was prepared perfectly; we had scottish salmon, oysters, scallops, and red snapper. delicious!

a grand dinner!. highly recommend!!! just had a terrific dinner at grand marlin! 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.serviceby ramon made it a delightful experience.

good brunch - as always. the plates are always pretty, and the brunch is a no brainer for a perfectly sunny day. the lobster "fingers" are worth the trip alone. the poached egg dishes are also tasty. no doubt this is one of the best local places for seafood.serviceseems to be typically spread pretty thin, but it's still a great sunday experience.


-----27 jun, 2012-----

inhale a burger!. today turned out to be a great day to head to the beach, the sky was so perfect it meant braving the heat and enjoying the fresh air. the deck was actually as cool as indoors, because of a steady breeze coming off the water. i was assured that can't be counted on all of the time, but for today i lucked out.

i've had their burger a good while back, and remember liking it a lot, and given that it received such high marks from the nwfl burger tour, i decided that it was time to go back and take notes. one of the biggest complaints from the group of judges was that they didn't have onions on their burger, but i had no such problem. i simply asked and my server happily complied.

the burger itself looked good, but didn't stretch out to the edge of the bun. once i took a bite i was in love, the meat was a very perfect med rare with great seasoning, the bun was toasted, and everything was pretty well in proportion. the condiments were also really high quality. they have homemade pickles too. all in all, this is now one of my favorite pub size burgers in town.

crispy lobster fingers. indulgent i wish there was a way to kick up the seasoning to include a spicy option.


-----05 oct, 2014-----

grilled lobster tail in a key lime butter sauce. flawless


-----05 oct, 2014-----

nice!. the grand marlin exceeded our expectations. lobster was cooked well and kale caesar was good. gam served the children's dinner on frisbees (to keep). the lobster finger appetizer was delicious also.servicewas above average.

favorite spot. the grand marlin is our of favorite spots to dine in the pensacola area. the location is great and views at sunset are second to none. theserviceis great, brunch, lunch, or dinner. we like that their menu changes often. we have tried a variety items on the menu and have liked almost all of them. i have come to find out that grouper is just not a fish that i like. their brunch is great, the french toast is huge and very tasty.

bottom line - perfect place for special occasions, come to beach and have a romantic dinner with your special someone.

not what i expected. the restaurant is on the bay and had amazing views. theserviceis also very good. the price of the food is way overpriced for the quality. started our meal with poke tuna, which was the highlight of the meal. also got steak and grilled grouper. steak was horribly chewy and the cut was largely grizzle. the grouper was just okay. for $30 a plate, i expected better taste/quality. again restaurant andserviceare great, food is not worth the price tag it carries.