Salt Life Food Shack Review

On our recent trip to Fernandina Beach, Florida, we chose to have an early dinner at Salt Life Food Shack. The restaurant is only a block off the beach with a park in between, giving it great views of the Atlantic Ocean from the rooftop deck. Unfortunately, the day we were there, the weather was not conducive to outdoor dining.

Immediately inside the door, I was thrilled to find a giant aquarium filled with beautiful fish. We chose to sit at a high-top table in the bar area. Once we settled in, we ordered drinks, Oyster Shooters, and Fried Calamari. The Painkiller I ordered was a lovely drink, evoking memories of our trip to St. John. While I was impressed with the large size of the oysters in the shooters, they turned out to not be my thing. Chris, however, enjoyed them immensely, even ordering another later in the meal.

The Fried Calamari was excellent. I couldn’t get over the size of the perfectly cooked calamari. They were the biggest I have ever had in a restaurant. I anticipated they would be tough with the size, but they were delicious with a great texture. I enjoyed the Shack dipping sauce served with them as well.

There were so many good choices on the menu we had trouble deciding what to order. Ultimately, we decided to split the Boca Style Grouper Sandwich and the Mix & Match Street Tacos. The sandwich, perfectly sauteed grouper, topped with avocado, lettuce, and tomato, and finished with a key lime drizzle, was fantastic. The avocado and key lime drizzle complimented the light flavor of the fish wonderfully.

Chris picked a Woodgrilled Mahi Taco for the tacos, and I chose the Poke Tuna Taco. While the Mahi was drier than the grouper had been, the avocado rescued the taco. With raw tuna tossed in sesame soy dressing, avocado, and wasabi cream, my taco was spectacular. The tacos were all finished with Ensenada slaw, pico de gallo, and Mexican cheese, adding flavor and crunch.

Chris ordered a cup of Bahamian Fish Chowder, an island-style chowder loaded with white fish, fire-roasted tomatoes, and potatoes. While the soup tasted good, it was primarily potatoes. We only found three tiny fish pieces. When we pointed this out to our server, she was happy to take it back and remove it from the check.

To top off the meal, I ordered the Pineapple Upside-down Cake, a warm, rum-soaked yellow cake infused with crushed pineapple, served with vanilla ice cream, and drizzled with caramel. The cake was a bit drier than I expected, but it was delectable when paired with the ice cream and caramel.

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Salt Life Food Shack. The food was delicious, and the service was better than average. The cost for a beer, a cocktail, a shot of mezcal, three oyster shooters, an appetizer, two entrees, and a dessert was $91.97.