Hookin' Ain't Easy

This has to be some of the best fresh seafood in the St. Petersburg area! The fried blue crab was spectacular and the fries are amazing. The vibe of this place is a local bar with a beachy feel. The outdoor seating is fitted with umbrellas and fans for hot days. Also, the day we went they had live music which was nice. I will say, the ground is sand be prepared!

Hands down the best place around for seafood and good vibes. You can’t get any fresher seafood than you do right here. I tried the hush puppies grouper bites. Grouper sandwich crab smoked salmon. Good is consistent and fresh each time

Well this was a great find! Maybe the best and probably the freshest stone crab I've had. And oh, the broccoli, it's amazing! My wife had grouper nuggets, blackened. They were a little salty but good. Reminded me of restaurants in the Florida Key's.

I’m hooked!! This is some SERIOUSLY good food. Enjoyed the blackened grouper & ribs plate w/slaw. Can’t pick if the surf or turf was better! Mmmm. So good. So fresh. Very nice portions served. Great side sauces. The slaw is phenom on its own, too. So much on their menu and it all looks like many repeat visits to try!! Nice people.

Oh WHAT, this place has actual STEAMED BLUE CRABS 🦀 with OLD BAY!!! And you get to eat them outside at a picnic table! Score, so glad I found this place! I just ate the crabs but I hear the seafood is all fantastic! Oh and they have conch fritters 😍

Craving stone crab? This is a great place to enjoy them and other great seafood choices in a super cool Jimmy Buffett-style outdoor setting. The smoked fish spread is the absolute best I’ve had in St. Pete! Live music too.
I believe the owner is also a commercial fisherman and brings live catch every day to the restaurant.

It’s very off the beaten path, in a mostly residential part of south St. Petersburg, and you can easily drive right by and miss it. But, don’t do that!

We had the soft shell crab sandwich with fries, and it was exactly right! The crab was perfectly battered and fried, and the fries were natural cut with no weird breading - yummy!

The wahoo fish dip was insanely good. It had a light smokiness, big chunks of wahoo, and was nicely seasoned. Get it!

Knew about the fish market but had to try the bar/restaurant area and it was a nice eclectic experience. Bartender/Owner very helpful and friendly. He is your best source for food recommendations! And the food out of the food truck was Awesome!!! Better than most restaurants in the area!! Parking area is filled with regulars at the bar but directions when you pull in give another parking option. Once inside, plenty of room at picnic tables in large area with lots of outdoor activities, corn hole, etc. Also, bonus live music. Highly recommend and buy a t-shirt since I think the name is hilarious 😂!!!

Seen some friends try this out. So we tried it. Let's just say it was VERY GOOD! And the girl working the truck and running our food was spot on in her recommendations and was extremely pleasant👍🏻👍🏻

We tried...
- Smoked Wahoo Spread (spicy) - this was outstanding!!! Not too much mayo and just delicious.

- smoked wings (mango habenero)
Delicious. Loved them. 1 of us loved the amount of sauce on top. 1 of us would of preferred less. Sauce was perfect heat. Not a fan of the ranch. Not a ranch fan to be fairn.

- fish and chips (flounder)
Wife loved it. Cornmeal battered (not beer battered) and delicious. Nice and fresh tasting and perfectly cooked.
Fries we good but not great.

- the burger.
I know it's a fish place but this was a solid burger. Would defiantly come here to get wings and a burger. Was a fresh patty and I was able to get it mid rare and she cooked it perfect.

- the coleslaw.
Belive me on this one. Best coleslaw I've had in a long time. I like piling coleslaw on my burger. This coleslaw was perfect for that. I will come back again simply for the coleslaw.

Loved the service. Really good food. And a cool vibe. Will certainly come back again!!

They have thee best grouper sandwich in St. Pete!! My first time there I got the fried grouper and conch fritters, a few day’s later I came back and got the Blackened Grouper! All of the staff are super cool, service was fast and the food is amazing!!

Great to have you in the neighborhood!
Thanks for letting me come in after closing to pick up some fish dip. Got one of each, the spicy was better with chips. Not a cracker girl. Highly recommend 👍🏼

I felt like we stepped back in time 50 years. Very fun open air bar restaurant, serving interesting food. And nice drinks. Family owned and very kid friendly. Thank you hosts Sydney and Matthew, and Veronica and Heather.

This place is great! From the food, to the service, and the atmosphere hit it out of the park. The smoked wings were some of the best I’ve ever had. And Matt was so friendly and informative. If you’re looking for Blue Crab don’t sleep on this place! Already can’t wait to go back! Good job!

Went there Saturday 1/20/24 - 1st time there, Matt (owner) is humble and friendly. He catches the fish himself, and he serves fresh quality - it was incredible. His service, and quality of the food might have been one of the best I've ever had. We had the fresh Stone Crab and Blackened Grouper was AMAZING - I wish I lived nearby because I would eat there all the time. Keep the great work! I will definitely recommend and come back again soon. -Rob

Stoppedby for a little snack. Blue crabs and crawfish...excellent service, atmosphere and food

So this place is like a big backyard cookout and the food is outstanding. No frills sit down hang out and watch Mathew work his butt off. Any new place I go(1st time but will be there many many more times) I usually ask the owner/server to select my dinner!!!
-Stone crab awesome
-Salad w/blackened HUGE shrimp awesome
-Grouper awesomesomemore
-Most tender ribs I’ve ever had super awesome
-Charred broccoli super delicious but my wife ate most of that lol
That was what he suggested. Super delicious

Very impressive and very simple. The best. Oh yeah had to get a sweatshirt for my bro.

Thanks for a terrific experience and incredible dinner. See you soon

The retail shop has some nice fresh options some of which Mathew the owner catches himself. But, the real gem is the new patio. You wouldn’t know unless you visited but there are picnic tables and a great full bar. Live music was playing Sunday and the vibe was amazing. Ok, now the food. I had the blackened shrimp and they were excellent. Great rub and I appreciated they were shelled. Also, the fried zucchini sticks are such a great option even though the fries looked amazing too. Do yourself a favor and stop by to see what I’m taking about. Oh and the smoked chicken wings are the best I’ve ever had. Excellent smoke and still juicy.

This place is everything I hoped it was! Easily the BEST blackened grouper sanwich I've EVER had! As well as the freshest sweet stone crab claws! The owner, Matthew is a tremendous human as well! I'll be back here as often as possible.

Absolute best blackened grouper sandwich I have ever had! This will be my new go to spot for grouper. Their fries are great too. Can’t wait to try some more options on the menu. Friendly staff, owner was working the bar Saturday. Really great dude!

The smoked salmon was freaking amazing. I love the outdoor seating and cozy backyard smoke out vibe. The tiki bar in the back is pretty dreamy. This is the kind of place that I'd take any out of town visitor to ASAP. The seafood here is unrivaled. Though I also highly recommend the zucchini fries. I could eat an entire bucket of those.

My girlfriend loved the grouper sandwich, too. More than just a bar and a restaurant, Hookin' Ain't Easy also has a full fresh catch seafood market inside.