Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
$$ • Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
I got glutened here!! November 2024. It’s really frustrating because we specifically asked for a gluten-free menu right when we got there and our server said we don’t have a separate menu anymore, but the gluten-free items are marked with a little wheat icon. I asked about shared fryer and she said no we don’t share a fryer and the fries are battered with soy so there’s definitely no gluten there and then when I ordered the burger, she confirmed on a gluten-free bun correct? And I’m like yes absolutely yes. She didn’t write anything down. She was just keeping it in her head. And I even asked again are you sure you have everything down? Then when she got to our table with our order, she had already forgotten my extra avocado slices and I should have known from there that she did not remember our order correctly…….. as we were paying and packing up our food I was playing with my baby and he kept putting his hands in my mouth and I said don’t do that you touched gluten and mommy can’t have gluten and the server looked at me and she goes oh was that not a gluten-free bun, and I look at her and I’m like excuse me what? You tell me. And there was some awkwardness and confusion and my mom looks at me horrified and she touches a little piece of bun that was left on our plate and she says I’m really not sure I can’t tell and so I tell the server I’m like OK you really scared me saying that because I am celiac I cannot have gluten And she said oh I’m so sorry for scaring you. That’s not what I meant. We leave and head to the gift shop and my mom is going over our bill and she does not see gluten-free bun anywhere on the extras, add-ons, notes, Nothing on our receipt. she says I have a bad feeling. I want to talk to the chef. We walk back into the restaurant ask for the manager ask for the server, the service says let me go check with the chef. Comes back out and says that was not a gluten-free bun.
I ordered the southwest chicken salad. I took the waiter that I had a severe gluten allergy. The salad was marked as a gluten free item on the menu. When I received the salad, there was four Mac N Cheese noodles in my salad. I told the manager and she took the meal off my tab. I do NOT recommend.
They have gluten free buns for burgers and sandwiches and a dedicated gluten free frier for their french fries. I got a burger and fries and it was delicious. Their margaritas are delicious too!
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More Reviews
We had a good experience. The waitstaff was really nice and knowledgable about gluten. We had the burgers on GF buns with fries. Food was good and no issues after the meal.
We visit Margaritaville restaurants all over the country because of the extensive gluten free menu and no issues. However, this restaurant added flour tortilla strips to my daughter’s salad and she ate it before realizing. We explained how serious the gluten free is for us and there bartender who took our order seemed to get it, but the kitchen staff did not. Plus it was NYE during COVID…a perfect storm for mistakes. She was super sick.
We were so excited to try this place! But were sorely disappointed. My husband's chicken was overcooked. My food was disgusting.
Specified I was GF and ordered salad without tortilla strips. Found 3 strips in salad.
Waitress did not seem knowledgeable, ordered a garlic bacon burger without onion ring on it and side salad. The onion ring was on it and the GF bun was extremely hard.
Server was very knowledgeable about all gluten free items on menu. He explained all options to my son before ordering. He knew what sides and sauces were GF. My son was happy he got to have fries with his burger!
Went here because reviews said they have a dedicated fryer, but they do not. I got a burger and salad. Burger was average, but not worth it for the price.
Absolutely delicious! We loved everything we got here! Nachos, burgers and sweet potato fries were so good!
Food was overcooked and cold. Salad was forgotten. Bacon was not added to my burger and brought out so cold the grease was congealed on it. I could have fries but the portion was extra small and they were cold too. The only upside is I didn't get sick.
Staff aware of cross contamination
Good quantity and tasty
Fun atmosphere!
Great for GF options, just like every other location. Nachos are a must, and the NY strip was great too. Tried the Perfect margarita which was even better than my usual Who's To Blame
Had the impossible burger on a gluten free bun and sweet potato fries. Waiter was super friendly and confirmed it was a separate fryer! Expensive but worth it! Great view and great service!
Of course I had to a have cheeseburger in paradise.....on a gluten free bun that was outstanding....and I was in gluten free heaven with a designated fryer for the fries. Awesome meal and knowledgeable staff. Perfect place for celiac people to go.
Excellent service and delicious food. I enjoyed my paradise burger and fries.
not too impressive. The gluten free bun was hard. the kids meals are $10 even to feed a 1 year old. so instead of me ordering what I wanted I had to order what my grandson could eat. (we are both gf but he can't have beef) They brought my burger out with a regular bun. so then we had to make a 1 year old wait for a whole new meal to be made AFTER waiting 45 minutes for the wrong meal to arrive.
Hey have a good amount of gluten free options and I got the cheeseburger in paradise on a gluten free bun and didn't feel sick at all after eating here!
Ate at this location for the first time but had eaten at another in the past. Had cheeseburger and fries. Was quite good. Didn’t care for the cheese because it was the salty American type. Server told me they cook in separate area and fries separate too. Felt quite safe here. Would come again.
They have a lot of GF options. My one complaint was that the burger bun was hard as a rock. Overall we had a great dinner experience.
Always my favorite and they take GF very seriously. Order comes out separately and they prepare in different part of the kitchen.
GF options clearly marked on their regular menu. SO GOOD! We went twice it was so good! Highly recommend!
Excellent food and celiac friendly! Know what they are doing!
Very yummy! Shrimp skillet appetizer was so yummy with gluten free bread! Gluten free menu and our waitress, Tiara, was so knowledgeable and caring!
Delicious grouper sandwich and fries from a dedicated fryer that didn't make me sick! It was such a great meal!
Excellent experience here, twice. Separate prep area for gluten free foods, and follows proper prep protocol (fresh gloves, utensils, etc.). Drinks are pricey - they trade off Buffett's name obviously - but you're in the tourist section of the harbor, so I lived with it. Fun fact: Jimmy's sister Lucy Buffett owns Lulu's in Destin. Check them out too.
I've been living with a pretty severe wheat allergy for close to 10 years now and have had a wide array of restaurant experiences some not so great but never truly bad until eating here.
I am typically very skeptical of trying new places but I was in Destin on vacation and this is one of the few places that seemed to have enough good reviews for me to try it.
I wish I hadn't.
A few hours after eating something from the gluten free menu I was feeling pretty bad; not horrible to the point that they botched the whole gluten free thing but more like a cross contamination issue. I would suspect the fries as the culprit but can't be totally sure.
I wish I could say that I had a great meal and got sick but alas I can't. The meal itself was pretty bad. I had the flat iron steak and somehow it came out tasting repulsive. Some of this can probably be attributed to it coming out rare (like still mooing rare) when I asked for medium but not totally. It tasted horrible either way.
I would have sent it back to the kitchen had the waitress come around before everyone else in my party finished their food. Which brings me to the service portion of of this review which can pretty much be summed up as appalling. We saw our waitress maybe 5 times and she was very unfriendly throughout.
So just to sum up everything I've said...
Gluten Free friendly: no
Food quality: terrible
Service: appalling
Needless to say I won't ever try any of the restaurants in this chain again.
Maybe I just had a bad experience and all the stars aligned to create a truly awful time but I've shared my experience and you can decide if eating here is worth it.
If you like fish, get the grouper sandwich here! It comes on a super delicious GF bun with some heavenly tropical coleslaw on top... It was amazing! I had mine with a side of fries and tried the GF brownie for dessert. The dessert was good, but a bit dry and crumbly.
Overall, we had a fantastic meal and and great waterfront view 👍💕🌴
Ask for the gluten free menu. They have gluten free buns for burgers
It was a good burger. Fries left me uneasy and i ordered from the gluten free menu. I think they may have been tainted.
I'm a GF vegetarian & they made some awesome nachos with black beans instead of chili. They were SO good! They have a separate GF menu but our waitress didn't seem to know a whole lot about GF. Be sure to tell them ahead of time & they put on the ticket to have the chef prepare it separately!
We ate here last night. Lots of choices and great service. I have celiac and get sick very easily. I had the cheeseburger with french fries and had no reaction at all. Also there is a gluten-free brownie dessert with ice cream and whipped cream was fabulous. We all shared it because it was very large servings. The waiter knew about select the seas no problems here Will definitely go again when we come back to Destin.jmo
Good gluten free menu. Staff took the time to answer all of our questions. Celiac friendly.
Terrible service. We were seated then waited for 15 minutes and were never waited on. We left and let them know how long we waited but they were very unapologetic. We went during lunch time and the restaurant was not busy.
Service was awesome, food was delicious, prices... well, more like $$$$. Much more expensive than we were led to believe. Ten dollars for a kid's meal is bit high.
amazing food! I got the nachos as a meal instead of an appetizer and they were delicious. they have a nice gluten free menu and the restaurant itself is so beautiful!
They have a GF menu with several items,including burgers, fish, and a couple appetizers. I had the taco salad, which had chili instead of taco meat, but it was yummy. The star is the GF brownie sundae, which fed four of us dessert for 7.99. You can sit inside or outside on a covered deck feet from the water, watching boats go by. Our total was $72 for 4 people. It is right next to a dolphin cruise, which we took right before we ate here, in the Marina in Destin, FL.
Drunken shrimp with GF bread to dip in the deliciousness!!! Yum!
Definitely GF friendly. I was told the Executive chef has a gluten intolerance. They have a GF menu and take great care and explained how everything is cooked in a separate area. I had not had a burger with gf bread and sweet potato fries in a long time. The menu had appetizer options and desserts as well. Definitely going back!
This restaurant opened Feb 2014. They have a gluten free menu with a handful of options- burgers, grilled fish sandwich, salads, appetizers and desserts. The waitress also tols us the fries/sweet pot. fries were GF too. After we ordered, the manager stopped by to let us know that the chef had been alerted of our allergy order. He had us repeat what we ordered so he could confirm with the cooks. The service was a normal wait but the food came out hot. My husband had a cheeseburger and fries & I had a grilled fish sandwich with sweet potato fries. The GF bun was very tasty (same bun as Red Robin restaurants). We were very impressed with the food & facility and had issues.
Reviews of this Chain
The waitstaff asked if I was Celiac when I mentioned that I would like a gf bun, and when I said yes, said “lots of people come here with that, you are very safe and well taken care of. Nothing to worry about!” Separate fryer for fries. I got the classic margarita, cheeseburger in paradise, and fries. It was wonderful to be able to eat the same things as the rest of the table. Pricey for what we received, but worth it for the ability to say we ate at the original Margaritaville. I was very pleased with how well the restaurant served me.
Items marked what can be made GF. I ordered nachos and the chips are in a bag, so they’re safe. Server was helpful and consulted with kitchen staff. The fries are made in a dedicated fryer!
I have always wanted to try Margaritaville, mostly for the experience. The experience of the restaurant it’s self is about all that I can really compliment.
The host that sat us was sort of rude (we made reservations and were maybe 5 minutes late due to traffic and us obviously being tourists not knowing the area). Our server definitely either lacked people skills or was just over his job.
There isn’t a whole lot on the menu that’s gluten free. You can either choose a burger or a salad. The food took at least 45 minutes to come out from the time we ordered. My burger was mediocre, with your typical dry and crumbly bun. I had French fries and had no reaction. For the amount of our bill, it definitely wasn’t worth the price food wise.
At least I can say that I had a margarita at Margaritaville 😂 (they’re very skimpy on the alcohol also)
Had the cheeseburger with gluten free bun. Fries are in dedicated frier. Waitress seemed knowledgeable and I did not get sick.
We are here this evening and were very pleased with the dining experience. They have gluten free hamburger buns, dedicated fryers for French fries and some salads marked on the menu that can be made gluten free. We manage multiple food allergies and the manager was very accommodating and took pictures of some food labels so we could read them.
