Latest Reviews
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The food was good! The trek to get here? I think Im gonna need a new suspension!! Staff is friendly, good environment , overall good! Good BBQ, fish, …
Heather Westrich
Snook Haven Restaurant
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Great. great. great!!. Loved this old fl place. Great food. Great atmosphere! Highly recommended! Worth the drive…
Candiceyancey
Snook Haven Restaurant
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Food is absolutely terrible. Was so surprised because the new owners have a good reputation but had lunch there two days ago and will NOT go back and …
Norma Courtois
Snook Haven Restaurant
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Snook Haven Restaurant serves American, Sandwich and Seafood. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
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9 Reviews on “Snook Haven Restaurant”
Food is absolutely terrible. Was so surprised because the new owners have a good reputation but had lunch there two days ago and will NOT go back and it is five minutes from my house. They serve DRY Carolina style BBQ ribs and it is pork. It was supposed to be Baby back ribs, what a surprise. I had to send them back. They cook with dry rub but do not tell you that. Very expensive $5.50 for fried green tomatoes that have no flavor at all, Kale was served steamed with no flavor at all. Obviously they were Not cooked with ham hocks and spices, corn on cob was shriveled up. This was mid week lunch time and maybe 15 people in whole place. If they keep serving such lousy food it will stay as slow as that all the time. Great ole time Florida atmosphere, we used to love the place but no more. Best thing is the 14 foot stuffed gator on wall that was caught last year right down the swamp to river from restaurant. That is very cool. Norma
An interesting place. We really liked our excursion to Snook Haven for dinner tonight. Eating out is usually predictable, this visit was not so routine but not in a bad way, just different.First, let me just address the food, which I found just ok. I started with French Onion soup, a special this evening that wasnt very special. For my entre I had a pick 2, pulled pork and ribs. I come from the camp that says there is no such thing as bad BBQ. The BBQ tonight was not bad. A key lime tart was also ok. I suspect eating with plastic silverware from a paper bowl, a paper tray, and a tinfoil holder influenced me somewhat.I may not have been amazed by the food, but I liked the place. Getting to the place was the first interesting test, it is at the end of a long and today bumpy dirt road that is East Venice Ave where it reaches the Myakka River. One way to get to Snook Haven is to take I-75 to exit 191, go west on River Road, the only direction you can go. Just short of a mile to the next light is E Venice Ave, turn left. The dirt road is about half a mile long.Next was finding the door to the restaurant. Seems like a simple thing. I know now circling the building one way you can order at a counter, get a buzzer and sit outside at one of the picnic tables. When your food is ready your buzzer (not really a buzzer, more just flashing lights) goes off. You hold it up and someone delivers your food. Or you can enter the building another way and have full table service. You can sit inside, in a screened room, or even outside along the river. We picked outside.The view was great, calm and serine. We did hear a gator went by about 10 minutes before we arrived, but all was quiet this dusk, except for some bees. Three bees that would not leave us alone finally chased us inside.After we finished we sat outside, listening to a good 60s group and watching a fairly active dance floor. I love 60s music. It was a very pleasant evening. We finally headed home, back up the bumpy road.The hostess and our server were as nice as they could be.
This always was an old school Florida dive but man has it gotten better being taken over by the folks who run Sharkys. They got rid of the cranky waitresses and are serving decent pork, shrimp po boys and homemade potatoe chips. Music is great here. Fire up the Harley and come back to real Florida!
Great food! Even better atmosphere! This was a hidden gem that we found and really enjoyed our visit there. The shrimp poboy was the best I have ever had. It has a great view of the river too!!
While the food is good, be very very careful about what you order or substitute as the waitress will not tell you about extra charges. Can you sub out sweet potato fries for reg fries? Yes, for $3.50 extra! But she won’t tell you that. She’ll just say yes. We did get there at a busy time, but they were out of soup, we were told we couldn’t have a appetizer out first, and we didn’t get a hot tea we ordered. We were supposed to get Cole slaw and we didn’t. We got a fruit cup. Weird. Go at your own risk. You were warned.
OUTSTANDING FOOD UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE !!. The place changed ownership in September 2010. What an improvement! The food is now great!! True restaurant people purchased it and now everything is home made…..even the ice cream. New wines and people who really WANT to work there have made this into the true Florida treasure it really is. There is not another place like this on the west coast of Florida. Local’s crowd the place with many coming in via boats. The bands are good (playing Thur – Sunday) and even during the week there is always someting going on. There is a pontoon river cruise during season and you can spend an hour cruising down this wilderness river getting close to alligators, birds and other wild life. Last time I was there we saw several deer. If you are looking for a unique Florida experience with great food and entertainment, set in a wilderness setting on a peaceful river…look no further. If you miss this place…..you’ve missed Florida.
Been going here at least 15 years. Good stuff!