Review: Pirate's Cove Bar & Grill

Summer is officially here...this was duelly noted by the heat and humidity over Memorial Day weekend.  Sunday was a hot afternoon/evening as a follow-up to a long evening of cook-outs and parties.  It was too nice to stay inside in my opinion.  Therefore, a group of my friends and I decided to spend some time outdoors, but in the shade, at Pirate's Cove restaurant and marina located on Kellogg Avenue.  I had been here once or twice before, but only for a drink or two.  My friends and I had intentions of going for both drinks and food.

Pirate's Cove is located behind Sandbar if you are a volleyball player.  It is on the Ohio River and surrounded by docked boats.  Since the river has been high, part of the parking lot was still under water a bit; however, my friend Dan, being the gentleman that he is, dropped us ladies off.  The restaurant is a "dock" type restaurant.  It is all outdoors and covered, which allowed for a great shaded area with a much needed breeze.  It wasn't too busy when we went, so we sat down immediately. 

There was nice live music from a man singing and playing steel drums.  It was entertaining and not too loud at all, a great way to set the scene of a 'water' restaurant. 

Our waitress was prompt in ordering our drinks.  We got some beers, one bloody mary, and Zac ordered what we all REALLY wanted, a daiquiri.  Kelly thought the bloody mary was just okay, and the daiquiri was nice and cold.  Most drinks were $4 or more.

Zac and Sean started with an appetizer of southwest chicken egg rolls.  These were filled with black beans, chicken, cheese, corn, onion and salsa.  They both thought these were fine. 

After a drink or two, we all decided it was time to order our meals.  The menu is pretty diverse but has many seafood options.  Their menu says they have "famous" chicken wings, but none of us opted for those.  After a long decision making process, I decided to try the sauteed grouper tacos. These were filled with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and an island mango sauce.  These definitely were topped with WAY too much cheese, it looked like cheese coneys at first.  It was a cheddar cheese and just way too much; I don't typically like cheese with fish tacos anyway, so I took most of it off.  The fish was cooked nice and the mango sauce was sweet and refreshing.  Overall, these were okay.

Ross, Dan, and Kelly all got the chicken fajita wrap which was served with fries.  I didn't try this, but they all thought it was pretty good.

Zac had ordered the cove brew house sampler.  The description on the menu said this was a "large" sampling of cheese sticks, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, shrimp, mushrooms and chicken strips.  This was awful.  Everything was overfried and there were only two of each item.  We also noticed another table who had ordered a side of onion rings that were much bigger and weren't burnt like Zac's were.  He didn't like a thing in the basket. 

Sean decided to get the cheeseburger in paradise which was served with fries.  This too was just fine.

All in all, Pirate's Cove is a fun place to go when it's nice outside to get a drink and listen to some live music.  I don't recommend eating here, however.  In my opinion, the drinks are a bit overpriced as well.  The service was fine, nothing out of the ordinary.  It's a nice place to feel the breeze and watch some of the boats on the marina. 

~Kate

Food: 1
Service: 2.5
Overall Experience: 2.5