First, know you can get on the call ahead list within 20 minutes of your arrival. That changed our wait time from 40 minutes to less than 5 for an inside seat on a warm evening in August. It's a good seafood place, reliable food and good service. We ordered a salad (with chicken), grouper tacos, and grilled grouper. I'd be reaching to say it was outstanding, but was satisfied and will eat here again. The bathrooms are under construction so I had to use a trailer out front for the facilities. It was clean, but no towels to dry your hands . I told the hostess on my way back to my table, have zero confidence she did anything about it. We went early (5pm), when we came out from dinner there was quite a wait.

Good, service, atmosphere. Dockside has it all! One of my very favorite restaurants on the water.

Blackened scallops are the best...along with the corn salad, cole slaw or better yet....rice and beans.

Some days, you just need a seafood fix. For me that is every day. Unfortunately, I live in Punta Gorda where good seafood is no where to be found.I have lived in 9 states, all on the coast where I guess I was spoiled. This restaurant gives me what I need and I am willing to travel to get it. I love their sister restaurant in Longboat Key the best , Stick to the seafood period. No sides. Fried shrimp and heavenly grouper bites. In fact, I could live off of grouper bites. Ask for Matthew as your server! Nice and polite, Will be back soon!

I've come to this place now about 4 times in the last few months. You can't go wrong! The atmosphere is like a tiki hut but for meals. They're usually pretty busy on weekends but the wait to get a table is usually not very long. There's live music, and it's half inside half out, so nice breeze. I've tried the burger, wraps, salads, seafood, and all are pretty solid. Nothing to rave about but decent food. Great place to stop by and get a drink or have a meal.

Nice atmosphere and delicious food! The burger was one of the best I've ever had! My family all enjoyed their meals as well - shrimp, pasta w/ Alfredo, and chicken tacos.

5 stars for a nice dog friendly restaurant in Venice! We wanted to take our pup to the dog beach nearby so we're so glad the patio at Dockside Waterfront Grill is dog friendly. They offer a wait-list through Yelp so I added our name before we arrived since it had a bit of a wait. It was super easy and we were given a table right away when we got there. They offered my pup water right away, which was so appreciated since it was such a hot day. We wanted to eat a little light so we ordered the grouper sandwich blackened with fries for $23. And also got a cup of the chowder for $8. The chowder wasn't anything amazing but it was a little thing to go along with the sandwich. We enjoyed the grouper sandwich, it had a decent amount of fish and fries. Service was good, our food came out quickly and we left feeling satisfied. The view is really pretty with the dock too. Love the vibe of this place!

This is a quintessential waterfront restaurant with nice relaxing views of the bay. I had the seafood chowder, which was good, not great. Add some lemon pepper, chopped green onions and crispy bacon and I'd order again. I did love the crab mango stack. This was light and fresh and I loved the combo of crab with mango. The crispy wonton chips were perfectly fried and nicely salted. Service was good.

What a nice place, the service the live music, and the food all came together for a fantastic dinner. I started off with raw oysters, yellowfin tuna. The oysters were from Louisiana, they were not salty like the ones from the northeast, they did not take sweet like the north western ones, these had more of earthy taste, bland. Not the restaurants falt, they should try to offer more of a variety. On to the dinner the portion size was acceptable, the tuna was perfectly seared, my wife had fried scallops, they were mouth watering and huge! Everyone was happy with their food and portions. Great dinner, good price! I would definitely go again!

Great service, great location, fun atmosphere! Right on the water in the marina, great breeze outside keeping things cooler, too. Wonderful side salad - all the extras: cheese, shaved carrots, actually red tomatoes, and real bacon. Not typical around here AT ALL. Great fish and chips, exceptional tartar sauce, good Cole slaw, good fries(chips) (a little cool, but flavorful). Citrus Grouper was excellent, not as large as some of their other locations, but less expensive - so it balances. Good choices of tap beer, decent wine selection- need to ask about a wine list, unless going house. Always a great choice!