Frenchy's South Beach Cafe

We started with the Frenchy’s garlic crab fries; they were a delicious, perfect appetizer. I ordered the Cajun grouper sandwich with a side of Mexican street corn. The grouper was juicy and well-seasoned; paired with the tar sauce, a Frenchy’s hot sauce, it was perfect. The Mexican street corn was ok, it needed more cheese and Mexican mayo on it, but the corn was sweet. My boyfriend ordered the shrimp basket and he enjoyed it and said it was well seasoned. The service was ok. The people who were sitting behind us, got seated after us but their server got to their table before ours and received their food before us. The server was nice. The atmosphere was giving a cute shack. It was cramped and we chose to sit upstairs and then it was a bit chilly, but we opened the window to let the air out and it helped. Overall, I highly recommend coming here and trying the grouper sandwich! I would def come back to try the grouper sandwich in a different flavor/ style.

Great location! The restaurant is located directly across the street from the beach. We sat outside and the breeze felt great. Stacey was our server and she was very friendly and helpful with suggestions. We tried fried pickles, crab fries, fried grouper sandwich, conch fritters and hush puppies. The fried pickles were good but I wish the batter had more seasoning. The crab fries were hot and seasoned well with large chucks of crab meat. The cheese was also very good. I would order these again. The hush puppies were hot and both sweet and savory. The fried grouper sandwich was a large portion and seasoned really well. My husband truly enjoyed it. I wanted to try the snapper but I didn’t want to eat too heavily before the beach. I saw someone else order it and I would have definitely tried it. I most definitely would return.

I don’t go places twice on vacation, but after having a less than ideal experience at a nearby competitor, I decided to come back for the drinks and the Grouper sandwich! Courtney was my waitress, and even when slammed, she never forgot me. She was professional and did an outstanding job both times I ate with her. As for the food, it was the best I had in Clearwater. I prefer Diner and Dive local eats compared to overpriced and pretentious restaurants. I had the seafood platter and the Grouper sandwich, and both were outstanding and grilled to perfection. I enjoyed my seafood scallops and grouper with green beans on the platter, but I LOVED my sandwich and fries! This was also my FIRST stop on the Cocktail Challenge (four stops for four signature drinks at four locations), and I enjoyed my drink on a humid day and, if I’m being honest, loved my Dockside Lemonade the best of all the drinks on the challenge. I had the Banana Hammock and, of course, the Rum Runner, which was outstanding, but this Dockside Lemonade was cool and refreshing and welcomed. Little sweet as a heads up, but really a nice summer drink! At the end of the day, this was a great way to start my challenge and Clearwater vacation. It can get busy with its proximity to the beach, so beware! ***For the record, if you are interested in the challenge. Go South Beach, Rockaway, Saltwater (for the views and true on-the-beach dining). End with a grouper sandwich (the best I had) at the Original and then cash in your passport at the next block at Off the Hook!

Right off the boardwalk so its very convenient. It is usually busy but our service was quick and the food was delicious. Portions are good size and we sat in the outdoor seating area and got ti watch the sunset over dinner. The birds can get a little crazy but the staff is good at trying to keep them away. Great spot, great food and reasonable priced.

We had not been to Clearwater in 16 years, and back then we ate at the original Frenchy’s, which was fantastic. This time, we tried Frenchy’s South Beach Café since it was closer to our hotel. Unfortunately, the experience was just OK. The restaurant was not busy and we were seated right away, which was great. However, service took a very, very long time. We eventually had to get up and find someone, and our server came over and said he did not realize he had our table. We placed our full order at once since took so long, including appetizers and entrées, but everything came out at the same time. Someone else delivered the food, and we still did not have napkins, plates, or silverware. We had to get up and find those ourselves because our server never came back. Also we had to get up during our meal to ask for drink refills. We ordered the world-famous grouper sandwich, which was just OK. We spend a lot of time in Destin, Florida, and there are much better grouper sandwiches there. The conch fritters were pretty good, and the tuna spread was fantastic. Honestly, the tuna spread is what saved the entire experience for us. Again, service was awful! Next time we are back in Clearwater, we will likely try something different instead of returning here, very disappointing.