Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille St Pete Pier
Doc Ford is tropical adventurer who has spent a lot of time in the same far flung countries that I wrote about when I was a monthly columnist for places such as Cuba, Cambodia, South Africa, Australia, Vietnam, Borneo, and all over South and Central America. It was while traveling for Outside and other magazines I came to know and love the superb cuisine of the rural tropics.
I loved the sauces, the spices, and the passion that went into the food preparation. We hope that spirit is part of Doc Ford’s Sanibel Rum Bar and Grille, too.
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Menu
Food is excellent, staff was good but the restaurant feels like a Greek dinner.
With reservations we still had to wait. The menu item I wanted was listed as a newer item and was removed from menu and was replaced with shrimp and crab but there was no crab. Very bland. My husband's dish was missing items items and he was not happy. We were celebrating our Anniversary and it was a horrible experience and they told us if it 2as a birthday celebration we would've had free cake. We had to ask for dessert 3 times
The food was great, service by Trey was great, and the outdoor patio was perfect!
Doc Ford’s has a beautiful location right on the water on the St. Pete Pier. Ask to sit outside on the deck or under an umbrella outside next to the restaurant. Perfect family dinner spot plus kids can play on the nearby playground before/after dinner.
Grouper was cooked perfectly. Interesting and enjoyable rice and sauce. Wine was good and well chilled.
Everything was outstanding! Sit outside if possible, great staff and delicious food.
Visually the place is quite nice - great view and comfortable seating. Staff was pleasant. Unfortunately the food doesn’t do it justice. I had a pulled pork sandwich which was pretty tasty but paired with soggy unseasoned sweet potato fries. My husband had a soggy fish sandwich and nearly tasteless Caesar salad. Biggest disappointment of all was the mojito which tasted like rum and water. Expectations weren’t that high to begin with but this place totally underwhelmed.
Nice location but do not go there for the food. Very disappointed in the food. We had the Grouper Sandwich. It was like cafeteria food but expensive. Service was very good. Nice location but very noisy. Basically a TOURIST TRAP. We live in the area year-round so we will steer clear of Doc Ford’s in the future.
Great food. We split 3 dishes. Great service. Great fun atmosphere.
First time at this location. Have visited the Captive and Sanibel locations… food excellent… went on a Sunday afternoon…. Super busy.. but had a reservation and was seated in a reasonable time … would definitely eat here again
Excellent service and well staffed, food and drinks were delicious
This is a busy and noisy place. The wait staff could have fewer tables to cover. Food was generally good.
Were not acknowledged when we arrived to hostess desk. After acknowledging us we were seated outside. The music was so load we could not hear what the other person was saying. Not even the waiter was able to hear our requests. The food was great especially Yucatán Shrimp! Location and view was fabulous.
We went for our anniversary and were pleasantly surprised they gave us dessert. Top notch treatment and experience.
View of the water was nice! Acoustics inside make it nearly impossible to hear conversations. We were seated next to large, loud party adding to the inability to hear one another. Next visit we will sit outside - air conditioning was not working inside.
Gloria at the check in was amazing and sat us immediately, this open table app works. We Had fried shrimp ,oysters on the half shell, tuna, fish tacos and calamari everything was fantastic. The view is amazing and I would definitely go back
Crab cake appetizer had delicious sauce, but the two crab cakes were the smallest I've ever gotten in a Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater restaurant for the price. Calamari salad was excellent. Area at far end of restaurant by bar was unbelievably noisy for 3:30 in the afternoon. We asked to be moved and were accommodated nicely.
Overall the food was uninventive and overpriced for what served. The setting of the restaurant was great but all in all the experience was that of going to a tourist trap with expensive uninspired menu
Our server Jackie was amazing. She had everything timed so well that we switched from drinks to apps to entrees perfectly.
Isobella was very helpful and a delite as a server. Reservations were right on track, lovely table, yummy lunch special.
Great! Thanks for a lovely evening
Tourist trap. Nothing special. We were expecting something different.
First time going and it was amazing. Reservation made it a breeze, practically no waiting time. Drinks were cold and delicious. Food was amazing. Highly recommend.
Very good food, service and view! Get the Yucatan Shrimp, amazing.
Excellent offerings & all price ranges, loved the new crab cakes appetizer & like the consistency between visits of past favorites so highly recommend. Just be prepared for loud & need to talk over that, wish they could improve that, not as noisy when restaurant not at full capacity but they would get 5 stars in all categories with efforts to mitigate the noise for such a busy place when seated inside. So glad they take reservations & are so organized in their seating system when have made one & makes for a wonderful visit.
I am glad I ate there as I had heard a lot about it. However, it would not be my favorite. I would however everyone try it.
Maybe if we had been drinking we would have gotten better service. The serving size was small and not as much shrimp in our Penna shrimp. Only 5 shrimp in the buffalo shrimp. The view was wonderful sunset from upper deck. It was really windy. Glad we were outside. The staff were not wearing masks.
Crowded fun decent food w/ huge menu
Loved it. Great view from a high top on the deck.
Great service and delicious food….sat outside and had great water view too!
We just had a fabulous lunch at Doc Ford’s. Our server Ash was simply amazing. She was completely attentive to our needs and friendly as can be. How lucky they have her on staff. I also must say the hostess Alicia was also wonderful. There was quite the crowd at the door but, her and the rest of the host staff had everything under control.
On to the food and drinks. I had their bread appetizer which was delicious and my husband had the oysters in the half shell. He said they were huge and the horseradish was great. He also had their signature dish Yucatán Shrimp his words were to die for. I just had a wedge salad that was crispy and refreshing. I had a rum punch with banana rum you have to try it. The whole experience was perfect and thanks Cam for checking on us, we’ll be back.
Beautiful views, great food, friendly yet professional wait staff, choice of indoor or outdoor dining. Highly recommend it.
Food was fabulous, raw oysters, crab cakes and seared tuna over rice noodles. Atmosphere is fabulous. Views are fabulous. We will be back.
Great experience for lunch! The view was fabulous, the food was delicious and the service was excellent! We would return to Doc Ford's again! Our server, Diane, was very helpful, efficient and personable!
Great food and great service! Everything we tried was delicious and our server was outstanding. It’s a little loud but didn’t take away from the meal at all.
Great views and fresh food and cocktails
Went to celebrate bday & Mother’s Day
All good great fun to come by boat have a great lunch and watch dolphins swimming by!!!!!
The food was good. Picked the atmosphere since it was on the water.
Ambiance and service amazing. Cocktails are pure syrup. Food is just ok.
FAQs
Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille St Pete Pier offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (727) 857-8118.
Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille St Pete Pier is rated 4.5 stars by 252 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.
