Mr Manatee's Casual Grille - Vero Beach

First, the positive. Our server was excellent. She was very friendly, attentive, and really on her game. I believe her name was Tracy. The food was meh. I had the blackened grouper. The rice was over seasoned and not very pleasant. My wife had the grilled chicken bowl. She felt the same way about the rice, and the chicken was dry. We also had the jalapeño watermelon Margherita. They were flavorful but a weak pour. Other than the great service, I won't rush back for the food or beverage.

Stopped at Mr. Manatees on both the southbound (March) and northbound (April) legs of our boat trip down to Key West. We sat ate at the bar both times (our usual place) and our bartender Barb couldn't have been more caring and enjoyable.Southbound we enjoyed wings and both the lobster bisque and Caribbean conch chowder. On the northern leg a bacon cheese burger and a grilled grouper sandwich (saw the onion crusted cod that looked really good too) were the fare of the day.Good sports coverage on the TVs at the bar (OK, less golf would have been better, but they hockey and basketball on, so that's a plus).We'll have to try it again next time we roll through to see if the new owners keep up the good tastes and fun.

Really enjoyed the laid back, casual atmosphere with the water and manatee themes. Pretty good amount of seating inside and outside. Fish and Chips were super great. Sweet potato fries the best. Blackened salmon really good. Their coleslaw is great. Local beer on tap is always good news. Very accommodating staff.

Big fish sandwich and good price on raw oysters for Tuesday

Usually I enjoy manatees for their drink and food specials. Today I tried the burger Monday for the first time and received table service. I will likely not return after this time.I ordered the mussels to start which had an odd taste and was not very appetizing.For dinner I ordered a burger with avocado and bacon which was off the menu, I don’t remember the name.My waitress failed to explain the burger special and I ended up paying extra for everything. Not only that she didn’t bother to ask the temp, luckily she came back and I told her I wanted it medium rare…It came out well done. At first the burger looked like there was some red but as I bit into it, I realized it was way too cooked.she didn’t return to the table for over 10 minutes and was not visible on the floor. During this time our drinks needed refills as well.I eventually got the burger remade after everyone else was done eating, and can’t say I was too impressed with the burger. They cooked it right, but the patty was not seasoned or at least seasoned enough. Not a lot of flavor.The fries were tasty.