Love The Reef! It’s on the only ocean view restaurant on the magnificent Vilano Beach. I always sit outside with the ocean view to accent my meal. I usually eat here monthly, today for lunch we enjoyed a pretzel crusted fried chicken salad and their hamburger, then a romantic stroll on the beach. Fantastic as always. Pelicans regularly offer a fly over to add to the enchantment. All seafood offerings are top shelf!Parking: Free parking!
Tranquil meditative spot , ocean front . Will return with family & friendsVegetarian options: Salads & specialsParking: Parking lot adjacent to A1A
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Clay VanDoren
Had the jambalaya, really good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Johnny Valentin
I’m literally praying I don’t wake up with food poisoning in the middle of the night. I had to stop eating the muscles and the scallops that were so undercooked I’ve actually had oysters that weren’t as slimy. Lobster was actually overcooked but at least palatable. The shrimp weren’t bad other than having the appearance of being fully shelled only to find remnants of shell still attached. Waterfront dining is absolutely beautiful but the atmosphere isn’t enough to redeem the obviously rushed food. I really feel like in 46 years of life this is the most disappointing meal I’ve ever had.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Lisa Nowaczyk
The beautiful view while you eat is beautiful. The food was delicious. Our waiter Banyan was top notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary Romer
Went there for my granddaughter's birthday lunch. The food was good and our waitress was fantastic. I would definitely go back there again.
Ronda Raulerson
Definitely a 5 Star ⭐⭐ went to St Augustine for a birthday shopping spree and just stopped here for dinner, never being there before.. it was beautiful decor was elegant.. we were blessed to have gotten a table without reservations.. service was tremendous.. food was amazing and the view was gorgeous ❤️ one of my best birthday dinner ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shirley Streeter
What a beautiful setting with a view of the ocean. Complimentary fruit, muffin, and Mimosa was nice. The food took awhile but it was relaxing because of the view. I ordered Prime Rib Benedict, it was good . The caramelized onion made the dish. It was more of a sandwich than breakfast. My friend had sausage gravy and biscuit. It looked small compared to my breakfast but she was happy with it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John Nowaczyk
Our first time eating here and we had a spectacular experience from the atmosphere, the food, the hospitality and and let's not forget the view! Our waiter Banyen was outstanding, he made us feel welcome and at home. Our food was exceptional. Highly recommend you check this place out!
When I ordered the Jambalaya, I wasn't sure that cheddar cheese was going to be pleasing. Boy, was I surprised how good it tasted! We really enjoyed our lunches. We will certainly return for dinner in the future.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jambalaya, Seafood
A W
It was our first time visiting The Reef and had looked forward to trying it there. We have driven past it over the last few years on our way to dining at other restaurants. The hostess gave basic greeting and seated us with barely a smile. Our waitress (A) had the minimum politeness to offer us also. Basic greeting. Stared at the ocean water while she breezed through the specials - hardly understandable. Then moments later asked, "What do you want?". Gave much more gracious table-side manners to a group of men behind us with smiles and going out of her way for them and giving recommendations. When presenting the local flavor certificate she acted like Iit was such a great inconvenience for her - almost huffing. We couldn't believe it. We were not in a hurry, but she kept the phone for an extended time then it should have been additionally. She definitely did not make us feel welcome nor appreciated guests. Returned with the receipt and a "here you go". Based on this lackluster experience we definitely will keep driving past The Reef. If we bothered to try it here again, we'd be sure to get different waitstaff and consider a revision.As far as the food, it was fine, but nothing special that warrants the menu price or return.Upon looking at the other low star reviews, it is plausible that this restaurants manager allows waitstaff to be selective on how they treat guests since this is an ongoing complaint. The view is not much - just the rolling ocean. There is competition in the area who I know appreciate the guests and money that the Reef staff are less than enthused to accommodate.Parking: Parking is a small, adjacent lot and fills quickly for lunch and dinner. Many guests drive round and round waiting for a spot to open.
Camila Ceballos
We came here for Easter to get a quick lunch. They were really busy and only had space outside which we didn’t mind cause we wanted to enjoy the view. We ordered our food and while waiting I started to get really itchy, then my mom started to get itchy too. We noticed that there were these white bugs flying around so since our waitress hadn’t appeared for a while we just moved tables thinking the issue was just there. Then we all started to get itchy and by now 45 minutes had passed and our burgers still hadn’t appeared. At this point not only were we starving but extremely itchy from what seemed to be sea lice. Then we noticed that the girls that got sat in the table where we were originally asked for some Off and we told them we were itchy too and that’s when our waitress says oh yeah, we have this bug out here, I don’t know if you noticed but when I was getting your order I was scratching my face. I was extremely upset - it took an hour to get our food but on top of that we got sat in the middle of a plague of lice with the staff knowing that. The burgers were ok, kinda cold so I don’t recommend this place at all!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Russell Smith
Nice place at the beach. Great food and atmosphere. A little fancy not a place for bathing suits.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Natalie Castro
Absolutely delicious! We always come by when we are in town.This past visit I had to Grilled Seafood Trio, the scallops were so good buttery soft.Fried Shrimp and Fish and chips are delicious too.The rice and mashed potatoes are amazingLove the datil pepper sauces!!Everything time we come, we always have a great time and delicious food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jambalaya, Fish and Chips, Grilled Seafood Trio, Fried Calamari, Fried Shrimp
Love The Reef! It’s on the only ocean view restaurant on the magnificent Vilano Beach. I always sit outside with the ocean view to accent my meal. I usually eat here monthly, today for lunch we enjoyed a pretzel crusted fried chicken salad and their hamburger, then a romantic stroll on the beach. Fantastic as always. Pelicans regularly offer a fly over to add to the enchantment. All seafood offerings are top shelf!Parking: Free parking!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Grilled Seafood Trio, Salad, Lobster, Fried Shrimp, Seafood
Tranquil meditative spot , ocean front . Will return with family & friendsVegetarian options: Salads & specialsParking: Parking lot adjacent to A1A
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Had the jambalaya, really good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Seafood
I’m literally praying I don’t wake up with food poisoning in the middle of the night. I had to stop eating the muscles and the scallops that were so undercooked I’ve actually had oysters that weren’t as slimy. Lobster was actually overcooked but at least palatable. The shrimp weren’t bad other than having the appearance of being fully shelled only to find remnants of shell still attached. Waterfront dining is absolutely beautiful but the atmosphere isn’t enough to redeem the obviously rushed food. I really feel like in 46 years of life this is the most disappointing meal I’ve ever had.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
The beautiful view while you eat is beautiful. The food was delicious. Our waiter Banyan was top notch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Went there for my granddaughter's birthday lunch. The food was good and our waitress was fantastic. I would definitely go back there again.
Definitely a 5 Star ⭐⭐ went to St Augustine for a birthday shopping spree and just stopped here for dinner, never being there before.. it was beautiful decor was elegant.. we were blessed to have gotten a table without reservations.. service was tremendous.. food was amazing and the view was gorgeous ❤️ one of my best birthday dinner ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
What a beautiful setting with a view of the ocean. Complimentary fruit, muffin, and Mimosa was nice. The food took awhile but it was relaxing because of the view. I ordered Prime Rib Benedict, it was good . The caramelized onion made the dish. It was more of a sandwich than breakfast. My friend had sausage gravy and biscuit. It looked small compared to my breakfast but she was happy with it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our first time eating here and we had a spectacular experience from the atmosphere, the food, the hospitality and and let's not forget the view! Our waiter Banyen was outstanding, he made us feel welcome and at home. Our food was exceptional. Highly recommend you check this place out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food n service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
When I ordered the Jambalaya, I wasn't sure that cheddar cheese was going to be pleasing. Boy, was I surprised how good it tasted! We really enjoyed our lunches. We will certainly return for dinner in the future.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jambalaya, Seafood
It was our first time visiting The Reef and had looked forward to trying it there. We have driven past it over the last few years on our way to dining at other restaurants. The hostess gave basic greeting and seated us with barely a smile. Our waitress (A) had the minimum politeness to offer us also. Basic greeting. Stared at the ocean water while she breezed through the specials - hardly understandable. Then moments later asked, "What do you want?". Gave much more gracious table-side manners to a group of men behind us with smiles and going out of her way for them and giving recommendations. When presenting the local flavor certificate she acted like Iit was such a great inconvenience for her - almost huffing. We couldn't believe it. We were not in a hurry, but she kept the phone for an extended time then it should have been additionally. She definitely did not make us feel welcome nor appreciated guests. Returned with the receipt and a "here you go". Based on this lackluster experience we definitely will keep driving past The Reef. If we bothered to try it here again, we'd be sure to get different waitstaff and consider a revision.As far as the food, it was fine, but nothing special that warrants the menu price or return.Upon looking at the other low star reviews, it is plausible that this restaurants manager allows waitstaff to be selective on how they treat guests since this is an ongoing complaint. The view is not much - just the rolling ocean. There is competition in the area who I know appreciate the guests and money that the Reef staff are less than enthused to accommodate.Parking: Parking is a small, adjacent lot and fills quickly for lunch and dinner. Many guests drive round and round waiting for a spot to open.
We came here for Easter to get a quick lunch. They were really busy and only had space outside which we didn’t mind cause we wanted to enjoy the view. We ordered our food and while waiting I started to get really itchy, then my mom started to get itchy too. We noticed that there were these white bugs flying around so since our waitress hadn’t appeared for a while we just moved tables thinking the issue was just there. Then we all started to get itchy and by now 45 minutes had passed and our burgers still hadn’t appeared. At this point not only were we starving but extremely itchy from what seemed to be sea lice. Then we noticed that the girls that got sat in the table where we were originally asked for some Off and we told them we were itchy too and that’s when our waitress says oh yeah, we have this bug out here, I don’t know if you noticed but when I was getting your order I was scratching my face. I was extremely upset - it took an hour to get our food but on top of that we got sat in the middle of a plague of lice with the staff knowing that. The burgers were ok, kinda cold so I don’t recommend this place at all!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Nice place at the beach. Great food and atmosphere. A little fancy not a place for bathing suits.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Seafood
Absolutely delicious! We always come by when we are in town.This past visit I had to Grilled Seafood Trio, the scallops were so good buttery soft.Fried Shrimp and Fish and chips are delicious too.The rice and mashed potatoes are amazingLove the datil pepper sauces!!Everything time we come, we always have a great time and delicious food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jambalaya, Fish and Chips, Grilled Seafood Trio, Fried Calamari, Fried Shrimp