My husband and I, along with our 2 young boys, went to Barnacle Bill's for the first time July 22. First, I like the laid-back atmosphere, and our server was nice enough. She certainly wasn't rude. It was around 2 on a Saturday, so the place wasn't super busy. There were plenty of tables and none of the servers, or the kitchen, seemed slammed.

We skipped the apps, even tho there were several enticing items on the menu. When we placed our entree order, we ordered a side of hushpuppies. They were really tasty, but came too soon for my liking as we hoped to have them hot with our meal. It turned out to be a good thing they did come! My husband's burger and my shrimp salad and gumbo came out within 15 minutes of being ordered. My husband and I started eating, since we thought the kids' food would be out momentarily. About 10 minutes later (a lifetime with hungry kids!), the server came over and told us that the fried fish takes longer to cook than everything else and our food should not have been brought out. Uh, right. Her first mistake was blaming it on the kitchen...Assuming the kids' order had been turned in with our's, the fish fingers would have been frying for 25 minutes at that point. I think not! She said it would be a few more minutes. The kids were woofing down the hushpuppies, my husband's fries, and the shrimp and croutons from my salad at this point. About 15 minutes later, their food came....and my husband and I finished about 5 minutes after that. The waitress could have redeemed herself by admitting that she forgot to turn their order in and at least apologizing, but she never so much as said that she was sorry, regardless of whether it was her mistake or the kitchen's. Fortunately, our kids were having a good day and neither of them (ages 6 and 2) freaked out over not getting their food when we got our's.

That said, my husband said his burger was great, as was my gumbo. The shrimp salad was good, but nothing special. And the kid's fried baskets turned out to be tasty as well, but fairly typical of most fried baskets around. We probably would have recommended Barnacle Bill's if not for the problem with my boys' meals. I just can't stand it when a server blames the kitchen for their mistake...and even worse, I can't stand that she didn't even bother to apologize.

I can't recall ever leaving less than a 15% tip, and we usually leave closer to 20-25% (I waited tables in college, I know what its like). Our server got about 12% and she should be thankful she got that.

The other reviewer was right...go to Felix's! (which we did the next day, lol)

The bad reviews are wrong the food is excellent and the service well its ok but prices are right and the beer is cold.
There are only 2 resterants left on dauphin island and the other one the "island steamer" is terrilbe.

I'm rather surprised to see the two negative reviews on Barnacle Bill's. My husband and I just got back home from Mobile and we went there for dinner last night. We were so impressed with the food AND the service that we intentionally drove back onto Dauphin Island today to have lunch there.

Last night I had deviled crabs and fried shrimp. Both were fantastic and I'm not easy to please with my deviled crabs. My husband had the catch of the day and shrimp and he was very happy too. Today when we went back to both had shrimp.

The service was very good and both our server last night and today got a higher than average tip from us. Comfortable atmosphere too.

This quaint little bar & grill overlooking Dauphin Island Bay shares the same laid back attitude as most of the Island. While the service leaves quite a bit to be desired, the food is great. I live on Dauphin Island and dine at Barnacle Bill's on a regular basis, just not when I'm in a hurry. The grilled grouper with rice pilaf is my favorite while the steak sandwich is the terrestrial dish of choice.
So if you are looking for a place where you can enjoy your conversation without the waiter or waitress interrupting you frequently (and believe me, they wont) try “Bill’s” and take the time to enjoy your company and the food.