Black Marlin Bayside Grill

Good choice for an early dinner for our group of three families (total of 7 adults) with two kids and a baby. Some pros and cons: We were seated outside which was a little crowded for my taste and the 5pm sun blinded almost everyone on one side of the long table. The umbrella(s) were of limited help. The servers were friendly, helpful, and relatively quick to fix a dish that was partly our fault in ordering. The food: - Grouper dish, I believe with a lemon polenta preparation was exceptional! Two of us ordered that. - Mediterranean seafood dish that was very good. I can’t vouch how good it was because I didn’t get to taste it! - Crab cakes were good but not as good as Hudson’s on Hilton Head. They had more filler/bread crumbs. - Seafood pasta was OK, but the presentation was non existent. - Chicken sandwich and fries were OK. - Shrimp burger was “beautiful” as per my son and was ordered with mushrooms. I didn’t get to taste this item. - Chicken strips and French fries were ordered for one of our picky kids. I didn’t taste them, but they ate the fries so we considered that a win. If I returned I would definitely get the grouper again and/or try the Mediterranean seafood dish.

Overall this place was pretty good. We sat at 2 high top tables in the bar so there was no wait for our party of 9 (we split up 4 and 5). The kids liked their fried shrimp and pasta, the fries were not as crispy or fresh tasting as we like, but it’s standard fare for kids. The crab cakes were okay. I would probably give them 4/5. This was our first time here and I always get crab cakes to see if I like them at seafood restaurants. My husband liked his Grouper Daufuskie and Bayside Chowder. He said he would order it again. The key lime pie was ok, maybe 2/5 stars but I wouldn’t get it again. It wouldn’t be worth the calories. Hush puppies were okay (4/5), I only ate 1. They were kind of hard/crusty. Overall, this place was above average, but if I had to choose between it and other places on the island for my vacation, it would not be on the “must go back every time I visit” list.

I rarely give a bad review. I will start off by saying the staff is great. They are friendly and attentive. The food and the cleanliness of the restaurant are the issue. The restaurant needs a sever DEEP cleaning. The floors are sticky all around for the most part. The food prices and what you receive do not match. The fries were COLD on three out of four plates. Basic buns on the sandwiches. Was not impressed by anything expect the staff.

The food was really good and the atmosphere is wonderful. You may need bug spray but they had it there for guests to use. They have an inside bar and restaurant and at least three bars in the back. They have live entertainment outside in the evenings. The drinks were wonderful if you can ever get the waiters attention. He was not very good. We were almost completely done with our meals before we got our drinks. I do recommend, this place, but I do hope you get a different waiter.

Arrived by boat. Went here to celebrate last day of work. Was perfect. our waiter name was Sam which happened to be my dad's name which made it even more special. Made it feel like it was my dad's way of saying he was there with me. Sam was very helpful and made alternative recommendations due to the shrimp fest they have going on. You can make reservations here. This is a good idea as they do get busy especially on the weekend. We went back for brunch. we had a low country omelet. one person's omelet had a few pieces of shrimp and the others had a lot. They enjoyed the omelet. The contents of the omelet were not consistent. My son ordered the fried egg sandwich. He assumed the eggs would be fried. However. both eggs on the sandwich were juice eggs. He said the sandwich was good but it is extremely messy.

We went for Father’s day brunch and ended up getting breakfast. The eggs benedict was good, especially the poached eggs. My fruit wasn’t good, very mushy. The crab cake in the eggs benedict was just alright. Not my favorite but we had a fun time. Waitress was very nice. Seems to be the best place to eat in Palmetto Bay.

Easy to find place. Right in a strip mall but close enough to see the water along with a boat yard. Parking was easy. No paid parking. There was street lights and appeared to have security cameras on them just not sure if there were operational at the time I give the food a 4 star. Food was good, I would say above bar food. The place is called black marlin bar and grill. Think of an Applebees with half a water front view. Again not trying to say anything bad just being honest. Everything was designed as ocean themed along with boats inside. Was a party of 2. I had the blackened chicken burrito bowl. My other party had a Cesar salad as a side with their smash burger. Attached to this review you will see photos of the menu which looks like they just had recently changed as of January 01,2025. There was a Full bar. Our server was Savanah. She worked really hard to tend to our needs and other patrons of the restaurant. No complaints at all. We ate for brunch. Food was within in timing of our order and no long wait. There was a total of six couples dining while we were there.

We absolutely loved this restaurant. The service was great!! The food, oh my goodness....so fresh, flavorful and decent size portion!!! If I make it back to the area, I will definitely eat there again!!!!

Went there today as a party of 9. Got reservations made for the outside but due to the rain, we got to sit inside and the staff was very helpful. We went around 1pm and they hardly had any crowds. The ambiance is ok... not bad but nothing to write home about. BUT the cutest thing was the Santa hats on their fish wall. Loved it! Staff and service was ok. Our server would forget things again n again but nothing that bothered us too much. Food-wise, I must say that everything was soooooo fresh! Loved that!! Now I'll come to individual items .. that I remember though we ordered quite a variety. Calamari: 4/5... came out hot n tasted good. Was plenty as a shared starter but the accompanying sauce could've been a bit more. Mussels: 5/5... the cherry on top was the sauce! Southwest Salad: 5/5.. added grilled chicken to this Snow crab legs: 4/5 Primavera Pasta: 5/5... got shrimp added and quantity was enough for 2 people Mahi Mahi: 5/5 Strawberry n Pecan Salad: 5/5 Sweet Potato Fries: 2/5... most were burnt French fries: 4/5... were a bit over salty Bayside seafood roll: 5/5 Flounder: 5/5 Overall had a great day dining there.

We were in town for a conference and had a large group. It took awhile for the waitress to get everyone's drink orders. I had the Mixed Grill and house salad and my wife had the Crab cakes. On my order, the 4oz filet was supposed to be Medium rare. It looked like a hockey puck, was tough, well done, bland, and was no where near 4oz. The Sweet Heat Mahi Mahi was a little dry, but the fruit salsa on it was good. The bacon wrapped shrimp were large and had a decent flavor. The baked potato was still crunchy, definitely not done. My wife's crab crakes were overly greasy. Other complaints at our table were the bacon wrapped shrimp were tough. One of our group agreed with me that the Mahi Mahi was dry. It's sad that the highlights of my meal were the salad, the fruit salsa on the Mahi Mahi and the bacon wrapped shrimp. I would not eat here again and would not recommend. One of our worst meals in all the years we have come to Hilton Head.

Went for early dining expecting limited menu--- what a surprise!! Yes limited menu but great selection. Six of us and each with a different selection. NO ONE was disappointed, cod selections done to perfection, shrimp, pasta and even a hamburger, perfection. Dinner salads were full size and served cold, fresh, appealing. Service was very good, despite an influx of customers. Great place, great food, and relaxing experience

Food was just okay. The hush puppies were like a greasy / slimy bite whenever you eat into them. It's hard to describe, but definitely not something I'd order again. You can see the dark outside layer of grease from the picture. The crab cake and sushi nachos were good I was told. Calamari was okay, but the fry oil was upsetting to the gut later on one person said. Crab cakes were decent it seemed. Not too much filler, but are of course small as most places are. The baked shrimp and artichoke dip was very artichoke heavy. There wasn't much of a creamy mixture. Just seemed like it was artichoke, shredded cheese, and a few baby shrimps with some small peppers diced in. Not the typical cream cheese based spinach artichoke dip we were thinking of. Staff was fine and the atmosphere was cute.

Tucked away right over the bridge into Hilton head. Outdoor tiki bar is up and running. Simple is what I was looking for, an a relaxed environment too. Bottoms up!

Great food and service. We love the water views from the patio. We have been enjoying this restaurant for over 7 years. I typically get a salad and blackened Mahi. My wife typically gets salmon or crab cake. Great place for lunch before heading to the beach.

We wound up here at an odd hour (4pm) as we had just completed a 2+hr zodiac boat tour of the creeks, rivers and back-waters (just an epic excursion), so we didn't know what to expect from the "early dining" menu. Well, it had a lot of good options and portions are a bit smaller which was perfect. My wife started with the Bayside seafood chowder - OMG, this is soup I could literally eat every day for the rest of my life. It's just that good. It is absolutely loaded with fresh seafood and is a thick creamy delight! I tried the Ahi Tuna nachos which were also delicious and perfect. My wife had the stuffed flounder which had this incredible lobster sauce on it, and I had the Pecan brown butter Cod. It was perfectly cooked and flaky. This is a do not miss restaurant!

We went here for lunch had the blackened mahi mahi and fries. Others had the shrimp tacos and soup. Everything was good

Had a reservation and still had a to wait awhile to be seated. Even two servers commented on my wait. I was seated outside and the view was nice. It is definitely a family friendly restaurant. It's super close to a few other dining places. The food was okay. I originally got a White Russian but didn't love it so I went with an espresso martini which was good for dessert.

One of our favorite places to come when we are on Hilton hHead Island. I have to say, I always get the shrimp burger. It is consistently good. We visited in October and there wasn't much of a crowd. Service was great, our server, Jada was courteous kept our drinks full and shared with us a discount card for the sister restaurant on the island. we returned to Black Marlin on our last day at Hilton hlHead. Our food was delicious, Savannah was our server and was also very courteous and prompt with taking our order. We will definitely come back to the Black Marlin.

My family has gone here for 15 years or so and have always loved it. The service is consistently great (the last visit we had a server named Lindsay, who couldn't have been lovelier!) and the seafood is phenomenal. My favorite, which has been a staple of the menu, is sushi nachos. Outdoor seating has a lovely view. Highly recommend!

Cool vibes here. Plenty of seating indoors and outside. Interesting lighting on the inside of the restaurant and it really modern chairs. Love that. They have early bird specials which include a lot of really good choices including salmon. Avery was our server, and she was amazing. The service is really quick, and the food was perfectly cooked. Definitely ask for the bread and butter. Sourdough with whipped butter. Yum.

The service started good but went down pretty fast. The food was extremely slow to come out and we had to ask several times for refills on drinks. Drinks from the bar were super slow. We had reservations so we were seated pretty quickly. We had the ahi tuna nachos which was a bit disappointing - about six single chips with ahi tuna and wasabi and some teriyaki sauce (I think?). We also order the fish tacos. They were just ok. The rest of the people in our group had food ranging from just ok to a little better than ok. Best bite of the night??? The warm rolls that were brought to the table.

Inland cove side location on Hilton Head. Part of the Serg Group of restaurants. They are well run and they have great seafood here at the Black Marlin. Service is good. The kitchen cranks out some great food. Love their Muscles. Make sure you have bread to dip in the muscle sauce. All locations are well run and have great menus. Get to them early since they fill up quick. Parking at this location is plenty. Inside and outside dining.

Dinner options are one in a million on the Hilton Head island and it's predominantly seafood based and if you're out and about the island life there, you'll come across the Serg Group who owns this establishment. This place shares an outdoor patio with Carolina Crab but Black Marlin has a bigger interior which is well lit, spacious, yet offers a cozy element to the place which makes it pretty inviting but the outdoor is the place to be in terms of both live music entertainment and... well, decent weather if you like the humid ocean air mingled with summer heat. The service is basic. Professional. Courteous. Friendly so nothing to write home about. The food. It's lacking for the price you pay and this isn't even a notable "fine dining" place either. Just a local joint that kind of caters to the rich lifestyle of the Hilton Head old money establishment and the new money tourists. I had their Bayside stuffed trio. Which kind made me wonder why I got it. It tried its best to offer something decent but didn't. They stuffed the flounder with stuff which took away from the flounder's flavor and texture. They added this stuffing on an awkwardly split shrimp which again got in the way of the flavor of the shrimp, and the same stuffing was used to make crab cakes which I actually have no reference for in terms of good quality crab cakes so I can't say much but if it's the same stuff they used on the stuffing of the dish, then, pass. The veggie blend was lackluster. And then I made the mistake of going with the baked potato which definitely was a mistake considering we also ordered the potato skins which, let me say, they need to do a better job when Chili's skins are better than this place. They just took some small Idaho potatoes, hollowed it out just enough yet still had a fat layer of starch that wasn't even cooked out properly, stuff a bunch of burnt bacon then topped it with melted cheese and drizzled some sour cream to it. The only highlight was the side caeser salad. My mom got the pasta primavera which I should've gotten all things considered. The pasta was al dente. The veggies in the pasta was soft yet flavorful. The sauce they used was light yet seasoned beautifully. Finally, their fried chicken liver. Big mistake. Maybe it was that batch but something was off. First off, it was burnt to a crisp which left a bitter burnt after taste and with anything liver, a bad flavor compounds the strong iodine flavor of the liver. The sweet Thai chili sauce didn't help ease that burnt bitter taste and we had to bring it back. Thankfully, the server was able to comp the livers. Change the oil please because that was rank! All in all, for the price, it's not the greatest place to eat as my experience was a bit lackluster for the dish I got. It's on par with a higher end Chili's if Chili's focused on seafood. There definitely are other options.

A new update to my review from 4 years ago. Quite a bit has changed. They refurbished the bar area and made it into 1 large square type bar. My wife and I were joined by local friends. They had a special 25% discount card. While we did make reservations, we started at the bar since they had happy hour. Some price guidance--- they do have $2 off drinks and $1 off beer and wine and $2 off appetizers. My wife ordered the Top Shelf Margarita. Net cost $12.25. She then ordered a House Margarita. Net cost $5.00. Do the math. I had a Bombay Sapphire martini with blue cheese olives. Net $7.50. Great deal. As a vegetarian, my wife stuck with salads and vegetables from the sides menu. Since we were there close to Christmas Eve, they offered as a special --"Feast of the Seven Fishes" for only $32. That was perfect. Not sure about all 7, but the linguine was covered with clams, calamari, shrimp, scallops, crab, cod and possibly salmon. Perfect size and delicious. We left there full, especially after having hush puppies as an appetizer to start.

Trash ass restaurant. My friends and I ate here on a beach trip and the food was ass. Would rather eat the lining out of a goats ass than yall's nasty ass stuffed grouper bullshit. Service was dog shit we were there a hot minute. I had some fish and it was ass also no chicken tender so figure your shit out black marlin. - Josh Sizemore

We came here twice. Once for lunch for their fried baskets. It was pretty good I would say you could use a few more shrimp for the price but it was nicely breaded. We came back for dinner fish was very good. We would definitely be back. The fresh fruit salad was good, there was some avocado in it and I'm not a fan of avocado but I have no complaints.

Decent sized interior seating and with similar amount of outdoor covered tables. Our server was slow to arrive and slow to come back around which detracted from the experience. Portion sizes were good but the food flavor (largely due to lack of seasoning) was disappointing. Better seafood on the island for a lesser price.

Always a solid seafood choice Caveat: Reservations are a must Both Inside and Outside dining merit consideration Perhaps menu is larger that possible We like the servers, and we like both inside and outside ambience Lots of free parking IF one plans ahead Grouper is always a great choice We highly recommend this experience

Nice outdoor seating with a laid back vibe and good seafood. Well situated after a kayaking trip.

Always great serve even for parties as large as 10-12 people Very wide menu for seafood to burgers and pasta. Great iced tea and bar drinks.

Very nice place for a men's group lunch. Parking is easy. Eat in nicely remodeled inside or on super big patio. Servers efficient, pleasant & knew the menu details. The star was the food. Neat offering of various lunch entrees with a choice of 2 or 3 sides. The hit was the hamburger slider with fries & great chowder soup. Egg salad sandwich was very good. The food was priced on the low side. Use a Palmetto co-op connections card for 10% off. They also offer full dinner menu. Give it a try - you will go back:).

I thought it was a pretty average experience compared to other HH and SERG places we've been to. Atmosphere inside was nice, no complaints. I had seared scallops and they were very good, it's pretty hard to screw up scallops unless they're overcooked; these were perfect. Pasta side was just OK, the sauce tasted like something out of a can. The spinach was less than OK, mainly because the stems were not removed and I'm not Popeye. Wifee had a salmon dish and thought it was good, but not exceptional in any way. Our wait person did the job but not too much of a talker. All in all, not a great value. I'd come back and have a sandwich next time.

Appetizers and salads were great. Then things took a dive real quick. My wife had the worst shrimp and cheese grits. Grits were so hard and clumpy. I had the blacken scallops but had order white rice because I'm allergic to coconut. They had served it with coconut rice which made the dish so I could now eat it. The waiter didn't even check on until we were real to leave. Then, he asked if I want anything else. I was a little miffed at that point.

Great food (grouper and cod). Server was excellent. We like the laid back atmosphere.

Food was fantastic!! Service was incredible!! Ambiance was wonderful! We had a family of 12. Everything went smoothly from the time we sat down until we left. We had a beautiful table outside. The whole experience was exceptional!!

The food was excellent, we had the voodoo shrimp and the Shrimp and Grits and bread. Highly recommend. Then we had the brownie dessert, it was heavenly. Our server Savannah was wonderful, friendly, professional, attentive and made our dinner experience memorable. The ambience was fantastic, sat outside the weather was mild for February, rainy and the sound of the rain on the roof was romantic. We will be back again soon, I highly recommend this restaurant if visiting HiltonHead island.

Our experience was fantastic our server Fancy was amazing you must ask for her the sushi nachos were so tasty and the cilantro lime dressing on the salad was superb will be back

What a fabulous brunch! Terrific service, yummy food, great outdoor space. We came for the Sunday brunch because they took reservations, and the service was SO delightful. We would absolutely come again!

Okay there are too many places on this island to pay for this mediocre restaurant. We hadn't been here since 2021 and we shouldn't have come back. Let's start with the fact that two or three people we're serving our table. We didn't know how to ask for throughout the meal. One took drinks another the appetizer and the original the meal. My son never got his appetizer and shared with his grandmother. Then the meals came out and nobody had cleared the appetizer dishes. The waitstaff (another one) continued to hand us plates while we held our appetizer plates!! The meals themselves were nothing to come back for! Shrimp scampi had zero taste basically tasted like pasta and oil with shrimp. When we asked for grated cheese, we were handed a small disposable cup for three people. My husband's seafood taco was horribly overcooked and my sons stuffed Tilapia was ok. Too many restaurants in the vicinity to come back to Black Marlin.

We had a delicious dinner. Great service. Didn't think the chowder was great, nor the Caesar. Actually the Caesar was just blah. But the meals were fabulous and that's what we cared most about.

Below average quality and freshness. Had the flounder daufuskie style and had to remove the toppings as it was gross tasting. The crab was clearly old, out of a can or both. Not worth the trip as better quality seafood can be found elsewhere.

The 3 of us went a couple days ago for my husband's birthday, I called the day before hoping to get reservations for dinner but they had 4:00pm only, so I took it. We sat inside, it was 98 outside. Very friendly service, our waiter Sam was great, food was delicious, key lime pie was the best Will definitely go back, so far best restaurant on HH

Good food on HHI is so hard to find and you definitely won't find it at Black Marlin. Good service, but like many restaurants on the island the get away with below average food with higher than average prices. The sushi nachos are fine, and maybe the only thing worth calling out. I asked for grilled shrimp and vegetables, and what was served was anything but grilled - just microwaved, limp, and sad. Pack a PBJ - that will save you here.

Food was amazing, service was quick and Polite, The live band was amazing plenty of room to dance Is would deftly recommend this place for night on the time

Great little bayside restaurant. Variety of food choices at reasonable prices. Seafood options were plentiful. Hubby was a little disappointed he only got 2 tacos for his meal, but everything tasted good. Service was fast, too. I would recommend to someone visiting HH! Not a "5 star" restaurant but nice comfortable casual family friendly place.

I want to say that I expected to absolutely LOVE this place. In fact, we cancelled a reservation at one of our favorite restaurants to give this one a try because the menu and reviews looked so good. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well as I had expected. When we arrived, there was an hour wait to sit outside and immediate availability for the inside. However, we were able to grab a first-come first-served high bar table outside right away. There was live music playing and the weather was beautiful. Throughout our stay, we had two servers attending to us. Sean (Shawn?) was definitely the stand-out though! He was pleasant and thorough. We started with the mussels appetizer, which was delicious. Partially through we asked for some bread to go with it, which took over 10 minutes because they were baking a fresh batch. We slowed down on our appetizer so that we could finish it with bread. Our entrees arrived very quickly. However, as seen in the photo, my crab cake was very overcooked on one side. I asked for a new one and Sean quickly brought two more that were cooked much better. I also had to ask for both butter and sour cream for my baked potato. My husband's came with butter on it. Overall, the food was just lacking though. There was no seasoning on the vegetables. Nothing was horrible but it just wasn't great either. When I spend that much on a meal, I am expecting greatness. Unfortunately, it just missed the mark for me.

Our bartender friendly and knowledgeable.... Got a table for10... our server was magnificent. Timing and personality top notch . Food was excellent. Buffalo shrimp...spinach n shrimp dip .. great..and of course pimento cheese dip was good (when in Rome....) The only dish that wasn't great was pasta primavera.. who orders that anyways... 100% recommend

Wondeful place for a late lunch we sat on the patio and enjoyed happy hour calamari and drinks... say yes to the watermelon mojito! The atmosphere was relaxed and they also has a live band. I ordered the pecan brown butter cod with sides sooo tasty just needed a little more spice but the crab bisque was excellent! We will be back!

Fun place and great food. Separate GF menu with many options. Server was very knowledgeable. We ate outside and enjoyed the live music. Drinks were also good. Large seafood selection was such that it was difficult to choose! Would definitely go back!

I love Serg Brand restaurants and was eager to try this one. Service was great- friendly and fast. The bar next door was extremely loud. We actually went for the early dining menu. The bread rolls were amazing! I could eat them for dinner and be happy. I had the stuffed flounder and husband had the stuffed filet. I had to use my knife to cut the flounder which was very dry however the stuffing was great. Husband liked his meal. Prefer other restaurants in the chain.

This is a nice place with outdoor seating overlooking the bridge coming onto the island. It has a more up-scale ambiance and a decent menu with seafood/fish options. I chose the Grouper, Provençal style which is topped with tomatoes and capers. It was cooked and seasoned well. The sides are black beans and rice, which was also very tasty, plus a vegetable medley which was my favorite part! I was impressed. My hubby had the Mahi and enjoyed it. Our son had fried shrimp and flounder, which he loved. They offer a GF menu, which I appreciate, with good selections. We sat outside, and it was very hot even with the many fans. Our server was super slow, but he was polite and helpful. Overall, it was worth the price for the good food and ambiance. There is nothing there to push me to return, but I liked it good enough and would recommend.

Black Marlin was great. The food was delicious and the service was excellent! We will definitely dine there again.

Went to Marlin for couple drinks. Our Bartender, Cooper was very accommodating and friendly. Great hospitality, good see him!!

Ben was such a cutie patootie!! He made us the best mocktail and gave great service, we enjoyed sitting at the bar with him:)

Service was great. As well as the outside vibe no complaints. Food wasn't bad I enjoyed the tacos and biscuit. Dog friendly as well!

Food was barely average and for the price it was really disappointing. There's too much competition in the area for them to be below average maybe people like the restaurant because of the outdoor patio area.

Went for a later lunch on a Friday. The inside was so very COLD, we sat outside. 2 other tables were sat after us. We waited 10 mins for someone to acknowledge us out there. Savannah our server was darling! We ordered drinks, app & meal at the same time. We both had the fried shrimp basket which was tasty, but no coleslaw & we got them before our drinks. It was piping hot though. My husband had to ask for his soup, which was lukewarm & just meh. He didn't send it back which I would've done. I asked for some coleslaw. Savannah was apologetic when we asked for the bill. Not her fault! Management needs to look at the issues. 2nd Serg property we've had issues at this summer. We are part of the Community Strong program & have never had issues at their restaurants until this year. I wonder what is going on?