The Veranda Restaurant & Bar

As my family first walked into the restaurant, which is attached to Schlitterbahn on North Padre Island, my first thought was how beautiful it was. However pretty the interior, we then had an awkward 5 minute wait until we were seated. I even had to go find an employee to ask if we were supposed to seat ourselves, or wait and she handed us menus and then said to go sit somewhere. At first glance the menu was small and we almost left, but before turning around someone came to seat us. We sat outside and had a beautiful view of the park and sunset.
Before I write about the food, I’d like to rave on the service. Our server was very attentive and knowledgeable of the menu. He kept our drinks full and was extremely friendly. I appreciated this and the only reason I give 2 stars. One for the service and one for the beautiful atmosphere and interior of the restaurant.
Now for the food. We started with the Guacamole and chips. The chips were seasoned with something I can’t pin point, but it made them gross. Then the guacamole had way too much lime juice and it was the only thing I could taste. Yuck!
I ordered the blackened fish tacos and my husband had the coconut shrimp. My fish tacos were absolutey disgusting. When they arrived, they really looked good and had great plate presentation. However, my first bite was filled with an overpowering of blackened seasoning and oily corn tortilla. They lightly fry the tortilla, but it was like they forgot to drain the oil off and then the fish made it even more soggy. On top of the fish was a mixture of Pico de galo, cabbage, and a chunk of avocado. All of this together just wasn’t for me. My husband said the coconut shrimp were inconsistent in size, some thick and chunky, and some very thin. The sauce that came with the shrimp was supposed to be a sweet sauce, but had chunks of cilantro which ruined the sauce. The wild rice on the side was crunchy, undercooked, and very bland.
Not only was the food terrible, but then we recieved our bill. Very very expensive and not worth the price. We will not return to The Veranda Restaurant anytime soon. It is a shame considering the restaurant has a lot of potential.

Great service. Will come back. More to come.

Nice atmosphere and the staff was great, but the food was terrible. I had the Southwestern burger and it was average. My dinner date ordered the 8 oz. Ribeye with mashed potatoes and green beans. The Ribeye had so much garlic and rosemary that it was all you could taste. The mashed potatoes were nothing like I have ever tasted but the green beans were good. We sent the stake back and ordered the chicken fried stake and it was bland and some of the coating was doughy. We also ordered the Texas sized tower of onion rings as an appetizer and what a surprise. They need to remove the word Texas sized from the menu. Though they were best part of the dinner. We are not planing to return any time soon.

Before I criticize any food, I would like to commend the server. She is the only reason I’m giving this an extra star. She went out of her way to help us and even spent quite a bit of time trying to turn the volume up on the TV when we wanted to watch jeopardy. She also split the appetizer nine ways for us which a lot of places would either refuse or charge extra for (and rightly so).
Unfortunately, the food is another story. It was so overwhelmingly disappointing that I created a Unilocal account just to review it. Dinner was a little costly. The mashed potatoes were a little too garlicy and the onion rings were a little too oily for my tastes, but at least the potatoes were fluffy and the onion rings were very crisp. Things were looking okay until I tried the entrée. I ordered the red drum Pontchartrain which was so severely over cooked that it had the consistency of a pack of saltine crackers. I’m serious. You know those challenges where people try to eat a pack of saltines without water and then post the video on YouTube? Watch it. That was about my reaction while I tried to chew and swallow it. One particular swallow I remember even now because it was like rubbing sandpaper against my esophagus. I swear I could feel this particular piece of fish struggling painfully down, like it was fighting for its life, all the way to my stomach. Two of my friends ordered the same dish and both of them also complained about how overcooked it was, so my plate was not just an anomaly. I went with a party of eight other people, and I’m not sure any of us were completely satisfied with the food.
I’m not sure what advice to give you if you choose this place for a meal. Come for the service, hope your esophagus eventually recovers from the food?
Oh, the restrooms were really nice so they have that going for them.

New place in the (hopefully) soon to be finished Schlitterbahn Water Park. Bartender is friendly… Not the greatest beer selection but at least it’s cold. Food wasn’t bad for a bar. Lots of options for Happy Hour. Glad to see more restaurants popping up on Padre.

New restaurant, so this place had a nice vibe-​feel too it. They are still in the works for the whole complex but, seems to be frozen fare… Only ordered stuffed jalapeño poppers and fajita nachos with cocktails. For the poppers, first attempt at them and the peppers were cold but stuffing was warm… Second attempt… Same result. Very courteous staff though. Fajita nachos were good, worth ordering. They individual oversized tortilla chips with toppings on them individually, not your mound of chips with toppings spread across all. Probably will not return as there are better options at home.

The restaurant appears newly opened and is tucked away in the middle of some major construction for a water park. The food was decent but a little over priced. The seafood is fresh. One of our group had a steak and it was okay, but not phenomenal. Garlic mashed potatoes needed more seasoning or maybe just more butter. The service was good and our waitress was friendly but not overly so. The food was hot when it came out despite that we had one ordering fish, a steak, a pizza, and shrimp for the 4^th. Overall, we would go again.

On weekdays the service is excellent and the atmosphere and food is top notch for the area. Service declines during a busy weekend night but the bar scene, live music, and huge outdoor patio is definitely recommend.

Great place for gluten-​free options– they’re clearly marked on the menu. Some other items can be made gluten-​free. Just ask, and the chef is more than happy to accommodate. The chef, a wonderful man named Julian even came out to introduce himself and make sure the food met our expectations. If I’m ever in the Corpus Christi area again, I’ll definitely be back!