Island Grill At Mandalay

Friendly staff and one of the best locations. Right on the water! Food is ok. Live music and tropical drinks make for an enjoyable evening.

First of all the restaurant showed it was open in google maps. When we arrived it was closed. We are boaters and paddled our dinghy there to their dock. The woman that was there came out to the dock and told us we couldn’t tie up there. Dock was completely empty. She then told us closest place to tie up was 2 miles away which ended up not being true. That is not customer service. After finding two other boaters they showed us another place to tie up which was on opposite side of the restaurant. The woman saw us tie up there and gave us the evil eye. At that point I didn’t care anymore. I will never give this place any recommendations or any of my business. How can one like this even stay in business?

Given the reviews, The Island Grill was not as expected. The food was not terrible, but it was nothing remarkable. The mussels were good, but the seafood was sub par considering the area. The fried seafood had a lot of filler as well. The service was good, but overall the experience was just not what we were expecting.

Tuna nachos are completely magical. Pro tip: ask for extra wontons…
Fresh fish sandwiches are also delicious and view is wonderful. Pet friendly. Woof!

Best fish tacos I have EVER eaten. I had the Mahi Mahi blackened. They topped it with tomatoes, onion, and tomato. Lots of jicama and a very nicely spicy sauce. Great Conch Fritters, as well. There was a two person combo band called Lung and they were so good. I wanted to just stay all day and drink and listen to the band.

The worst place i’ve eaten down here. They will not allow you to purchase drinks during happy hour at the bar and bring them to the table, they do not offer happy hour for table seating. Had to wait 1 ½ hours for dinner to be served and it was cold when it finally arrived. Will not be back.

Well we stopped by here to have drinks and sit by the water. The drinks were strong so no complaints. My son ordered ice cream only rather then a sundae. We still got charged $ 8 for 2 scoops of ice cream. The manager who sat us was very nice! The waitress was MIA. Only quick when we asked for bill and paying. It was not busy when we came. We will not return. However, this place is on the water. Some might like.

As our Key Largo trip continued, my buddy Nick and I were looking for a tasty, authentic seafood dinner. After searching for a little we found this place.
Again, for mid November, it was quiet. Nick and I were two out of about 10 people in the whole place. Our service was quick and attentive. We were offered drinks but only has water after our long day. We both ordered one of the more expensive dishes on the menu, the Mahi-​mahi triumph. (I think. I forget the name.) Either way, it was a piece of mahi-​mahi, topped with a crab cake stuffed with lobster and scallops which was then topped with two jumbo shrimp. It was awesome. Way more than we needed. We both had to-​go boxes.
I would definitely go again.

Bartender cortney is the best bartender, food great! My favorite place in the Keys. Dog friendly and great view of the ocean.

Great location ocean front friendly staff fast service, amazing Tuna Nachos. It is Asian style and taste and had nothing to do with nachos. Super slice of key lime pie. Worth the drive from Fort Lauderdale.

I hardly ever leave a day in the keys without stopping by. Love love love the «tuna nachos.» Sounds gross on the sign but what an amazing thing! Fresh sashimi tuna layered on sesame seaweed salad and topped with tangy sracha sauce and Japanese chili mayo! All served on top 5 – 6 large toasted wontons, which make up the «nacho» component!
Have also tried the smoked fish dip, which was tastefully presented in a cheese ball fashion on a bed of greens, side of fresh tomatoes, with a basket of assorted crackers and cheese knife for serving. Very savory, not fishy tasting at all.
A friend of mine ordered the arugula salad, which was pricey but she said was good.
Great view of the sea, relaxed atmosphere, polite staff. Service isn’t fastest but hey, the whole point of the Keys is to relax.

I always like to start off on a positive. Atmosphere was great. Open, live music beautiful view.
However that being said the service left much to be desired. Slow, impatient with us (myself, wife and older kids)
We ordered tuna tacos for an app, which came out quickly and was Amazing!!!
We waited over 45 minutes and still no food. The restaurant was busy, however 2 couples who walked in before us received there apps and dinner. At almost 50 minutes and the waiter saying there was a delay after asking him (as opposed to him letting us know) we asked for the bill for the apps and drink and left.
So overall, good food, great atmosphere and everyone deserves a 2^nd chance, so maybe next time we will try during the day with the hopes of eating.

Our first time here in the keys so we did what the tourists do and got a guide. This place was hidden, but what a treasure! Amazing food, awesome views and the guy singing can really sing! We’d definitely come back!

Fabulous view of the water. Dog friendly, to the point that one was glimpsed sitting on a bar stool next to its owner at one stage in the evening. Son and husband reported Imperial Mahi Mahi and Buffalo Shrimp were, respectively, «All right,» and «AMAZING.» Note my husband is english, and «All right,» to him is what delicious means to us. He’s an understated genteel type.
I don’t eat seafood, so I had a cuban, which was also pretty good. I would go with 3 stars because although the food was pretty good, the service was quite slow. But we sat and ate while 2 feet away, the ocean lapped at the deck, so I raised it up to 4. You cannot beat this place for views. Our dog didn’t even hope for scraps, he was too busy watching the colorful fish in the water. Plus — their key lime pie — delicious!

There famous Tuna nachos are amazing!!! I wish I lived in key largo so I could eat them all the time. The atmosphere is nice as well. I love eating outside with a breeze and watch the boats go by. The bartender/​server we had was great. She told us where to go and visit while we were in town. I can’t wait to go back! Maybe I’ll take a day trip to eat there since its only an hour and a half away.

We went in desiring a super casual place on the water with a great view. It met those standards, but the food was lacking. I ordered Mahi Mahi Tacos. I ate ½ only because I was so hungry from an activity filled day. Otherwise, I would’ve left them there. My husband got the Mahi Reuben. His words, «It’s, um, unique.» The service was very slow despite only having 3 couples in the whole place. We will not return for food, however, it’s a good, casual drinks-​on-​the-​water kind of place.

This is a great spot to stop and get some really good food. I had mussels which were very savory in a delicious sauce. Drinks were great and ambience was fun with live music playing. The staff is super friendly and the manager working 6÷5÷2015 fri nite was more than accommodating for our large group walking in 2 minutes before closing. Ohh delicious sea cakes and shrimp n grits. Will be back soon:))

Came on a windy day at late afternoon. The bar was full, not surprising being the Keys, but the restaurant was mostly empty. The tables weren’t so clean, and the service wasn’t deliciously attentive, but the experience was still pretty good. The view had a lot to do with it, because how can you go terribly wrong with any place on the water.
The tuna nachos were superb. They were heaping with good quality ahi, nice wakame, and a tasty sauce, and the wontons were thick and crispy. A little pricey at $ 18, but is was a very substantial portion that could have made an entire meal. I also had beer battered hogfish & chips; the batter was great, but I wish the pieces of fish had been a little more substantial. Fresh and tasty, though.
They also had a delicious iced tea. I judge a place on it’s ice tea! It was fresh and mango flavored. Sadly though, they didn’t come by to refill it.

Not to be missed!!! We had visited the Island Grill in islamorada a couple of times before, so when I happened upon the key largo location on an early morning run I was thrilled. We were NOT disappointed!!!
We didn’t have a full meal here — only ordered drinks at the bar and one entrée, which we ended up having to take to go. First: the service. Excellent! The bartender was busy as hell but didn’t let that stop her from being friendly and taking her time helping us decide what to order. She makes a mean dirty martini, too.
We ended up getting the blackened hogfish sandwich (no bread needed thank you) which was the single best thing we ate this trip. Finally, a chef that doesn’t overcook fish!!! I believe this might be a miracle. Perfectly cooked and the seasoning was just spicy enough. Even after the ten minute walk back to our hotel, this was a standout.
Of course I would be remiss if not to echo the observations about the glorious view and charming live music. Which, by the way, is supposed to be classic rock and folksy tunes. It’s the keys… Please don’t try to change it!!!
Bottom line: one of the few restaurants we intend to revisit next trip. #KeysWin

Go. There.
That’s really all I want to say…
OK, that’s not a real review haha so let me elaborate on this one;
* It has an ocean view. Can you picture yourself with a cocktail, good food, while staring into the beauty of the endless ocean & the sunset? Check out my photo… It speaks for itself.
* Food is good! The Tuna Nachos (seriously, I don’t make this up) is a sort of tuna tartare with wasabi & spices, which you just HAVE GOT TO TRY! American portion though, so I could only finish half. Which was brilliant, as I could take the rest home — then infamous ‘doggy-​bag’ — and enjoy it the next day for breakfast haha!
* Service was really good; I’ve noticed that in many places, the service is really fast. You come in, you order within 3 minutes, your food arrives 10 minutes later, when you state that «you don’t need anything else», the bill arrives within 5 minutes and then you’re off. Not really the slow-​dining-​enjoy-​the-​sunset-​dining. Nothing wrong with that, if you’re in a hurry, but I like to take a tad longer to enjoy my dining experience. We asked the waitress if it was OK to take some more time and she was totally understanding. She came over a few times or just let us be and we could wave if we needed anything.
When we were there, it was pretty quiet. Perhaps that made the impeccable service, so I can’t tell you how it is at a busy evening. Also, I’ve noticed disco lights hanging from the ceiling. The venue is really spacious (open venue) so I think some partying here could be awesomeness! Didn’t have the opportunity to stick around for it, BOOH.
Overall, a truly nice experience! Absolutely the thing I needed after a beach day!