Billy’s Stonecrab, Seafood & Steak

We had a great waiter, super attentive and friendly. Unfortunately his talents are wasted at a mediocre restaurant. Food was nothing special, grouper was over cooked. Nice location to view the sunset.

Bland overpriced food. The broiled scallops were inedible and were served with mashed potatoes from a box. The meal reminded me of hospital food. The service was fine.

Stopped in after visiting Ft. DeSoto beach for fresh seafood. Everything was delicious, atmosphere was fitting, and the waiter did a great job. Husband had the stuffed grouper, I had the coconut shrimp, and the kids shared a pound of crab legs. The key lime pie was fantastic. Will definitely go back if we get back to this area again.

My wife and I decided to stop in after a day at ft desoto on our wedding anniversary. Have heard good things, so we were both excited to try a new place. Our server Matt was very kind and efficient. The rooftop bartender was not in a good mood, or just not friendly in general. The prices were very reasonable. First off, the grouper sandwich and clam chowder I ordered was pretty good. However, within an hr of eating the fish tacos, my wife became very ill. Could’ve been an off Saturday evening for them, not sure, but we don’t plan on returning anytime soon.

Terrible service and mediocre food. Went there last Sunday with my mom and my husband. We sat at the bar on the top floor. We were ignored for a while and watched 2 bartenders walk by us several times. Finally we got their attention and beer. I had to ask for the menus. We ordered fish spread to split (it never arrived) and a grouper sandwich each. I guess we were lucky to sit right by the bar, because those who were facing the water were called by their orders. Like, «Peal and eat shrimp!!!» And if the people there didn’t hear the bartenders, they just kept calling out until we tapped them on the shoulder. We also helped passing the plates to them. Were we supposed to share tips too? Our grouper sandwiches were overcooked and just warm. Definitely say there for a while. Broiled grouper was pretty bland too. Would definitely come back for the amazing view, but probably not lunch/​dinner.

I’ve been coming here for years. The last few times have been extremely disappointing. Waited way too long, in an empty restaurant at 2pm for our food. The steak fries were beyond over cooked (re heated after lunch) This place needs a facelift and overhaul. With all the new great restaurants in St Pete It going to get left behind in a big way.

Good food and service. Shrimp and grouper were fresh and well prepared. Service was excellent. Nice waterfront views. Will be back.

Very fun bar upstairs with well above average food for a beach place. The snow crabs are fresh and prepared perfectly. The Cesar salad dressing must be made in house and is very good. The cereal crusted grouper sandwich is one of the best on the beach.

The service and management were incredible. They handled a sticky situation with tact and grace.
Food was awesome.
Great experience and we will be back!

I was very excited about the «fresh» stone crab! My friend and I shared the medium portion of stone crab and the shrimp scampi. Wow, what a disappointment. $ 30 for 6 small stone crab claws that had a funky odor to them and tasted even worse. There isn’t a chance in hell that the stone crab was fresh. The shrimp scampi wasn’t great either. Canned sundries tomatoes, picked ginger and dried herbs.
What a serious disappointment. Won’t be back again

It took forever to get our drinks. And get a second drink took forever. It took over an hour to get our dinner served on the table. Food was not up to standards. Overcooked Lobster. Dry grouper overcooked. They were extremely slow. They seem to have enough staff on hand. 3 people standing at the hostess station. Overall not a great experience. And we have family in town from out-​of-​state very disappointing. This was a Tuesday. Can’t imagine what goes on on a buzy night! Would NOT recommend this restaurant at all. But it was a great location!

Oh my, where do I even begin. First off, we came with a party of four and were told it was a twenty minute wait. I noticed there were numerous seats presently available, but I didn’t question it, thinking another party had reserved. I specifically asked to sit at the window if possible. Flash forward twenty minutes, we stood around waiting, and we were up. Ok. Great. Walking up I see an available table right at the window. She walks right by it, and seats us at the table I saw open when we came in. So we literally waited twenty minutes to sit at a table that was open the entire time. And it was right by the bar. And there was live music.
Now, I LOVE live music. Really. But, someone was wailing an Adelle ballad so off key, it literally sounded like nails on a chalk board. As dinner went on, it was apparent it was amateur night… the music droned on incessantly, agonizingly, one terrible singer after another. I’m not exaggerating. I said «oh boy, is it karaōke night?» Dad replied, «more like ruin your dinner night”-Real talk.
Getting to the food now. We ordered the Florida fresh crab legs appetizer. It came out fast, and was good. But the waitress forgot to get us appetizer plates. (As a prior server, I get that during busy times, mistakes happen, so I team aimed patient and understanding). But, when the bread came out and we still didn’t have appetizer plates, I started getting impatient. Bread crumbs and crab chunks littered the table, and my entrée hadn’t even come out! At $ 20, it was pricey, but, I admit tasty and fresh. For entrée, I ordered the grouper combo with shrimp and scallops. The grouper was good. The scallops were tasty. The shrimp however, tasted strongly of ammonia, a clear indication of spoilage. I had just read on my placemat how they only use fresh caught wild shrimp for alleged superior quality. Pfft. It came with a side. I ordered mashed potatoes. How can you go wrong with mashed potatoes? I’ll tell you how. Boxed mashed potatoes with brown gravy from a packet, reminiscent of grade school cafeteria fare. At $ 29.99, the serving was scant. My son got the pound of snow crab. It tasted distinctly not fresh. Clearly it was previously frozen and thawed, and possibly more than once, judging by flavor. At $ 24.99, it was totally over priced. The drawn butter was in fact drawn margarine. Which in my opinion was absolutely inferior. I never eat margarine. It’s disgusting and unhealthy! My other son order prime rib, medium. It came out well done. He didn’t complain, bless his heart. But about a third was fat and gristle. Literally. And he ordered it with French fries. But, the server, (who was a frumpy middle aged woman that spoke in a rapid high pitched tone that immediately irritated me to high heaven as I could barely make out what she said-​I assume she pounded a red bull or snorted a line of meth before shift) brought out collard greens. I LOVE collards! So I was happy, until I tried them. And let me just say, they were for sure canned. Collards are extremely cheap. I feel there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for cutting corners on fresh greens. It came with chopped canned green beans, smelled extremely foul, and tasted atrocious. Very off-​putting. At $ 19.99. Dad got some kind of combo seafood platter with peel and eat shrimp, scallops and cod, fried. He seemed to enjoy it, but I could tell he was getting severely impatient with the horrific «live music». His was $ 19.99 as well.
So, I guess you could say dinner didn’t blow my hair back. It was sub-​par, at best. Like I described, exactly. No exaggeration at all.
I am a true foodie, and I travel various places with an open mind and a distinguished palate. I LOVE trying new foods. I enjoy eating out. I am a stickler for quality, however. I really feel dinner could have been so much better. Simply using fresh mashed potatoes, real butter and fresh collard greens would have vastly improved the quality. And I was irritated by the use of plastic cups for the tartar and cocktail sauce. For our meal alone, I counted 8 plastic cups, all to be thrown away. That amounts for a phenomenal amount of plastic waste which takes hundreds of years to decompose for a single use item. Not cool. That alone really grinds my gears, as an Eco friendly consumer. Imagine the hundreds of guests, and the thousands of plastic cups! Disgusting.
I had read the Unilocal reviews left by other customers. I read that the food was eh. But my dad had recommended the place, so I figured we could try it. Holy cow. The meal was $ 150 after tip. Wtf. It was horrible. I feel sick. Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom now. My stomach is churning. Holy fk.

We were the 1^st customers in at open and slowly watched locals full the place up. That’s always a good sign. The wife and I wanted stone crab claws. We got our fix on those which were great. She ordered the grouper Reuben which was great as well. In addition I ordered the clam chowder which was good but like warm. The only point which prevented me from giving up the 5^th star.

The Short: The food was ok, their service was great, the view of the sunset was phenomenal.
The Long: The clam chowder was pretty good. Thick, hearty, rich. Everything you expect from a good bowl of clam chowder. The Cesar salad was also made right and was tasty.
My 8oz Prime Rib was good but nothing special. The portion was huge, so happy I didn’t order the 12oz. The horseradish sauce was tasty, not too spicy, a nice compliment to the prime rib.
My wife and another friend had the grouper with green beans. Both were not that impressed. Said the fish was ok, but the green beans were not very good at all. Just didn’t taste fresh.
3 Stars because my wife just plain didn’t enjoy her meal, she even said «I might have ordered the wrong thing»

I guess if you order the lower priced menu items, you won’t be disappointed-​mediocre food for a mediocre price.
It aggravates me when you go to a restaurant, and they charge extra for a baked potato or salad. Most entrees come with ONE side per entrée choice.
BONUS– waiter let hubby substitute the fries that came with his blackened Cod for another side, GOOD FORM, BOB!
However, insult added to injury when the green beans one-​side-​choice (vegetable of the night) was overcooked and tasteless. NOT TO MENTION that the baked potato we paid an extra $ 3.00 for was possibly cooked the day before, small and shrivelly, AND even got smaller as I had to cut off one end that was an obvious bad spot.
My mild white fish entrée, which had the same seasoned topping as hubby’s higher priced blackened cod, tasted absolutely the same — and, again, mediocre.
Free (fairly tasty) baked bread for table, which was delivered before the meal, but ALAS! no small plates on our table to serve ourselves on — kind of embarrassing to place your bread slice on your place mat as you are waiting for your food– perhaps it is meant to be served with the up charged salad that we did not order.
UPDATE
I just wanna say I did not write this review, but the person who did is such a tool that I found it to be hilarious so I’m leaving it up. but i am changing it to 5 stars just because i feel bad that billy’s stone crab seafood and steak had to experience this– clearly, authoritative– turd in person. Apparently Unilocal has a glitch that is putting other people’s reviews on my page.
UPDATE 4÷11÷16− the «authoritative turd» i’m insulting is my mom :(apparently i logged in on her iphone once and she decided this place she went to in florida sucks (and i’m sure she’s right so i’m changing it back to 2 stars) look what the internet has made me do. smh.

Very cool place. Plenty of room for guests we stopped by for lunch in a Wednesday at noon; no waiting. I had a fried cod sandwich which I found to be rather bland but edible, seasoned fries & slaw for around $ 11. Hubs had conch fritters for $ 9.85. They came with some sort of dipping sauce. They had a mushy texture but he liked them. Club soda, 2 beers & meal was $ 31. Not too bad.

We were traveling with 2 adults, 2 kids and a baby. We were seated right away on a Saturday night which was great. It was right after sunset so I can’t comment on the view, but I’m imagining it’s great. Wish they had some outdoor seating.
My husband and I each ordered a cocktail. They tasted pretty good and were reasonably priced.
My husband ordered scallop scampi with a Cesar salad. The salad was very tasty and came with a warm, crusty bread. His dish was fine, but was obviously not freshly made. Nothing to write home about. My crab stuffed mahi was a little bland, but was nicely cooked. It has been sitting under a heat lamp for a while.
My kids’ meals were fine, but didn’t come with a drink and we were up charged bc my son got cheese on his burger? Really? The kids were charged full price drinks and were only refilled (small glasses) once.
The waiter brought our drinks quickly but didn’t return to refill them until our meals came nearly 40 minutes later. Considering the restaurant was only at about half capacity, this seemed extreme.
We finished with peanut butter pie which was delicious.
Our bill was over $ 80 which was staggering
Overall, it was fine, but the lack of outdoor seating (even though it’s right on the water) mixed with the unimpressive food, will not bring me back here.

Love this place! Great restaurant right on the water. Such a great vibe.
Definitely coming back.
The food is awesome
Tamiko & Debbie rock! Thank you ladies!

GREAT FOOD! Snow Crab is a bit pricey but very good! We got the jumbo — but they also have Colosso which are much bigger. Can you leave the lobsters were only $ 9.95!!? Great price! Good drink prices also. Must try.

I LOVE BILLYS
I’ve been to St Pete Beach about 8 times now and every time Billy’s has been the destination restaurant. It never disappoints.
The grouper is great no matter how you order it and the ambiance is even better.
Billy’s is a 3 story seafood establishment off the beaten path on a lagoon. If you’re coming with the family you can sit quietly outdoors or indoors and get friendly service. If you’re looking to get rowdy, you can sit at the rooftop bar and listen to accoustic covers or you can join the senior citizens on the first floor and bump and grind on the dance floor to live covers of Bruno Mars and Robin Thicke.
The views are incredible. Great views of the water and sunset. There’s also boat tours and a few docks where you can see some exotic birds and catch a glimpse of the manatees.
If you’re visiting Florida or looking to entertain guests, Billy’s is the go to