Singletons Seafood Shack

Ate at Singleton's on 28 march 2016. Really liked the place. is it for folks who dine at 5 star restaurants or who love chain seafood restaurants? probably not. I had no problem with dumpsters at the far end of the parking lot or a couple of cats roaming around (in Germany, you can bring your dog to many restaurants with no problems). we started out sitting outside but found the no-see-ums were getting the better end of dinner to that point. we moved inside. service was prompt and friendly, prices very reasonable. had fried mushrooms as an appetizer-they were great! Hot and not overly breaded. I had the trigger fish blackened, cole slaw, and black beans and rice and all were really wonderful...good size portions and hot and very tasty. wife had shrimp on a skewer and new England clam chowder which wasn't like you get it in new Hampshire...but we weren't in new Hampshire! we will definitely go back every time we get to Jacksonville.

Ehhhhh...nothing to write home about. The place is really a dump. The waitstaff is not very personable and the food is "OK" but again, nothing to get too excited about. I found the prices to be a bit higher than what I would expect at a "crabshack" type restaurant. Oh yeah...and the cats. Now I like animals, but there were probably 20 cats in all different stages of pregnancy, laying around out front. We sat out on the "deck" and one decided to visit us through a hole in the screen. Nahhhh....I don't think I'll go back unless I am in the area and REALLY hungry.

Have no idea what these negative folks are talking about? Sure, the ambiance greets those who like it. If you don't like rustic maybe not for you. But it you like the best, freshest seafood around give it a try. We've been going for over 20yrs and it's the best. Kudos to the staff and cooks. It's always packed for a reason. David

ITS A DIVE! COLD BEER - GREAT FOOD Most of these comments seem to be made by yuppie folk who's usual expectations were not met. Order the blackened triggerfish sammich - it is awesome! Freshest seafood around, you can tell that by all the fishing boats moored to the pier. I gave 4/5 stars because my fries were a bit on the soggy side so order extra-crisp. I'm going back tonight!

I have lived in Jacksonville most all my life and have known about Singleton's since I was a kid. It is a great place for fabulous seafood. Always fresh and always delicious. I take out of town guests there and they ALWAYS rave about it. I have read all the comments here about Singleton's and those who gave negative comments were the exception rather than the rule. I have NEVER had a bad meal or experience there. Try it for yourself, I'm certain you will be pleased.

We were there, a party of 5, we all had shrimp baskets cooked varying ways (buffalo sauce shrimp baskets, fried shrimp baskets and steamed shrimp basket with the buffalo and fried shrimp baskets being the best unless you like to peel and eat your steamed shrimp !) . It is incredibly informal, farm tables, yes old front porch with one corner cornered off for their 3 cats - we all enjoyed it. For 5 of us it cost us around 50 (includes our drinks, shrimp, side order of hush puppies that were GREAT) plus tip. Our waitress was nice then we went into the back room to look at the boats that were carved/made by the original owner (Captain). All in all, an enjoyable experience had by all. If you decide to go, pre-dispose your thinking by understanding this is a very casual, down by the water seafood SHACK with great shrimp baskets!

The first thing you need to realize is the owner told Guy this was definatly a dump and it looks it. Had it not been for the show I would not have eaten there. Thank you Guy . I ate the blackened TGrigger fish it was awesome, service was good and friendly. I will be returning next time I'm in town.

I've stopped in a few times driving from NC to my place in central Florida. I thought the Menocran chowder was great. Much different from New England Chowder or Manhatten chowder. I did have some grilled fish one time and it was nothing to rave about.

We only went to the restauranat because of the the TV show. Guy bombed out on this restaurant. We should have known better when we pulled up and the help was sitting around outside the restaurant and their were cats lounging around outside the restaurant with a sign saying don't touch the cats. The waitress was outright rude. The clam chowder did not taste like clam chowder that I have eaten before and it was lukewarm. I had to send it back to the kitchen to be rewarmed. Even though though the shrimp was supposed to be fresh, the shrimp was tasteless with no seasoning at all. I added salt to the shrimp and the shrimp was still tasteless. I had black beans and rice with my meal and the black beans tasted canned and tasted like they were taken from the can and spooned over a bed of tastless, saltless rice. Even the coleslaw was not even cold. It tasted like the coleslaw was sitting outside of refrigeration because it was at room temperature, It was scarry. Not only was my meal bland but the adults at the table had the same complaint. Their was 7 people in our party and it was a waste of money. I wish we had read these reviews prior to wasting kour money, TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY ON THE WAY OUT THE RESTAURANT THE FRESH SEAFOOD SHOWCASE HAD FLIES LITERALLY FLYING AROUND THE SEAFOOD THAT WAS SITTING OUT. OMG. Don't waste your money. We should have asked for our money back. You would be better off going to Red Lobster. You would get better service and the food would at least be seasoned.

Rude waitress, bad service, mediocre food. If you're in Jax looking for DDD spots go to Metro Diner instead!

This is the 4th DDD I've been to & I think Guy missed the mark on this one.  The Minorcan chowder was nothing special & had too much heat to really appreciate any flavor.  Service was adequate.  I'd try another DDD given a 2nd chance

I used to go to SIngleton's back in the 60's delivering laundry in Mayport as a kid. It was great then but I ate there a couple of years ago on a trip down memory lane and either my memory was faulty or they have the touch. I won't eat there again.

Food & service was excellent and we will return. However, when you first drive in their lot you are greeted by 2 or 3 large dumpsters and we almost turned around & left. But we didn't. Then we walked in the front door and almost turned around and left. But we didn't. This place is really spread out and they said we could sit anywhere and someone woul take care of us. So we wandered around looking for a good place to sit, all the while checking out what others were eating, and decided to stay. When we finally sat down a friendly waitress appeared immediately and answered all of our questions. We ordered iced tea that came with 3 nice slices of lemon and was excellent. We shared a bowl of the Minorcan Clam Chowder, also excellent. It was loaded with clams and piping hot. Then we each settled on the fried shrimp, fries, and cole slaw. When our dinners arrived, the shrimp & fries were still sizzling and done just right. The shrimp were medium sized and there must have been at least a dozen, a really nice serving. Same for the fries. The cole slaw was above average and also of ample size. We finished with Key Lime pie, which was OK, but not out of the ordinary. This place is right at the mouth of the St Johns river and the shrimp boats are tied up right there, you could almost reach out and touch them. All in all a pleasureable dining experience and we would return. They also have a nice variety of fresh local seafood and shipped in seafood. A genuine, local, seafood SHACK! 01-25-2012

This place is the pitts.  I give it a zero rating.  Awful food, blase service, and worse to follow after you eat here.  Are you sure this is the same place Guy visited?

I would have to ignore your post due to the fact you eat at Captain D's

Three Thumbs Up!!  Went this past Saturday with a couple of my motorcycle riding buddies.  We like to take long rides (couple hundred miles at least) to find obscure hole-in-the-wall eating establishments that the locals go to.  This one certainly meets the bill. Singletons is right next to the Mayport Ferry (one of 3 in FL).  I was a little tentative in suggesting this place because of some of the reviews I have read, but saw it on DDD and figured I would give it a try.  I started feeling a bit better after we talked to a number of locals in downtown JAX who, to a person, said it was excellent. All 3 of us loved the food - and the Big Galootster is a hard one impress food-wise.  We all had the Menorcan Chowder.  Actually, two of us ordered it at first - and then when it came, the third had to order some too.  All servings were FULL of clams - all the way from the bottom to the top.  Excellent! Between the three of us we had the blackened trigger fish sandwich, fried clam basket, and a fried grouper, shrimp & scallop platter.  All of the food was most excellent.  Cooked perfectly (not overcooked - easy to do with seafood).  Tried the corn fritters - terrific.  Only complaint was the hush puppies.  The one I tried was doughy and not very tasty.  But my buddy liked them - so different tastes.  If you are looking for 5 Star dining, this ain't it.  This is a great dive dining establishment - right on the water where the fishing boats tie right up to the dock.  It is air conditioned (wasn't sure from some of the reviews), but not for your Sunday Best.  Shorts and flip-flops.  This is now on our - 'Do Again' list for future rides. 

We visited yesterday. The blackened trigger sandwiches are wonderful, the deep fried pickles were good. We even tried gator tail, which wasn't bad at all. The waitress was very friendly and patient and made sure our drinks were full at all times.

Mediocre

great food http://bigalscompound.blogspot.com/2011/03/diners-drive-ins-and-divesoh-my.html

oh boy, what a waste of money.  have had much better at Captain D's.  only reason they got two stars, the beer was cold.  Of the triple "D's" this one is in the dive category.  usually when i go to dives I find the atmosphere great with pretty good food and cold beer, this place met the last requirement.  I should have listened to the other folks who posted here.

i know for a fact they use frozen clams for the chowder. He does not do any of the cooking at the resturant.

This was the first stop of our 2010 family Triple-D restaurant vacation tour.  As the owners stated during Guy's visit "this is not a diner or drive-in".  We started with the fresh fried calamari.  Our kids love calamari and this was the best we have ever had, extremely tender and fresh with no rubber band chew.  The drinks were large, great sweet tea.  The New England chowder was advertised as best in Jacksonville but this was one of the worst versions I have ever slurped down.  The deviled crab was tasty.  We ordered the steamed shrimp which were tender and spicy just the way we love them.  The fried shrimp had just the right amount of batter and were good.  The other entree was the fried Mai-Mai, which was over cooked and dry.  Make sure to order the fries extra crispy unless you enjoy a soggy fry.  Guy you did not make the best of impressions with the Singleton staff?? Not sure what happen there.  All in all a slow start to our DDD vacation

We were in Maypor area for vacation and had to visit twice since the food was so good.  Prices were very reasonable.